Jondave

Q: Apple Watch Workout App

When using Apple watch workout with indoor run or indoor walk the distance, calories and pace are all grossly underestimated. Outdoor workouts are correct.  This is likely due to my holding on to the treadmill bar when exercising. Can the values be edited to reflect the numbers generated by the treadmill?

Apple Watch

Posted on May 28, 2015 3:06 AM

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Q: Apple Watch Workout App

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  • by Ron Goodman1,

    Ron Goodman1 Ron Goodman1 May 28, 2015 3:39 AM in response to Jondave
    Level 6 (8,659 points)
    May 28, 2015 3:39 AM in response to Jondave

    Try not holding on to the bar?

  • by Brian Tesoro,

    Brian Tesoro Brian Tesoro May 28, 2015 4:24 AM in response to Jondave
    Level 2 (405 points)
    May 28, 2015 4:24 AM in response to Jondave

    I used the "Indoor Walk" function yesterday for the first time and my calories and exercise time were off by 50% and I do agree with you that I think it's because of holding onto the bar and the watch needs the swaying motion of the arm. Have you tried using the "Other" option? I'm gonna try that today to see if the results are more accurate.

  • by Jondave ,

    Jondave Jondave May 29, 2015 10:33 AM in response to Jondave
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 29, 2015 10:33 AM in response to Jondave

    Thanks Brian I will try the "Other" function.  Interestingly I exercised for 30 min recorded correctly in the workout app but the activity app only credited me for 8 minutes.  There must be many people who hold on to the handlebar when exercising with a treadmill.  I have 2 suggested solutions.  Firstly Apple should let the user edit the calories, distance and pace to correlate with the treadmill.  If this is not feasible then it should be possible to extrapolate the outdoor walk/run distance, time, pace, calories and heart rate and by using the indoor heart rate and time generated estimated values for distance, pace and calories that are more likely to accurately reflect the exercise performed.  I'd appreciate any comments on this

  • by Betty_Huth,

    Betty_Huth Betty_Huth May 29, 2015 2:48 PM in response to Jondave
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 29, 2015 2:48 PM in response to Jondave

    I have found this week that using "other" gives me the correct time on my exercise ring, where Outdoor walk I only received partial credit for the time I walked. It didn't show length of walk in the app, but it showed on the Activity Monitor under distance.

  • by terencefrombaildon,

    terencefrombaildon terencefrombaildon May 29, 2015 4:19 PM in response to Jondave
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 29, 2015 4:19 PM in response to Jondave

    I guess the reason you can't edit the things is that, although if you/we do it, we are only cheating ourselves...someone could just type in what they actually wanted to achieve, without actually doing it - giving a false set of statistics. Some people may for example do this if they have set a challenge with a friend, and didn't actually do the full challenge - they could edit in the info so, the friend could see that it has been done....just a thought...or maybe no one else has the kind of friends I have!!! :-)

  • by ddisciple,

    ddisciple ddisciple Aug 21, 2015 4:14 PM in response to Betty_Huth
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 21, 2015 4:14 PM in response to Betty_Huth

    Me too.  The outdoor walk is grossly off but the same walk on "other" credits me minute for minute. It seems as though the phone has to be attached to my hand or arm for greater accuracy.  I wished I had read this community page first. It was soooo frustrating with brisk walks with a heart rate of 130s-140s for 30 min oonly to receive a small fraction of credit.

  • by G3gator,

    G3gator G3gator Aug 21, 2015 6:03 PM in response to ddisciple
    Level 3 (571 points)
    Aug 21, 2015 6:03 PM in response to ddisciple

    By starting a workout (like outdoor walk), this triggers the heart rate monitor and is recorded as exercise. Otherwise, it is necessary to walk/run at a 'brisk' pace (apparently faster than 3.5-4 mph).

     

    George

  • by starfishy,

    starfishy starfishy Jun 18, 2016 10:22 AM in response to terencefrombaildon
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 18, 2016 10:22 AM in response to terencefrombaildon

    Surely that's up to the person if they want to cheat or not and not Apple that decides for them? If I wanted to cheat I'd simply put my watch on my husband's wrist as he's a lot fitter than I am!!

    More seriously though, is that despite having calibrated my watch on an outside walk to reflect the speed I do on the treadmill, the pace is widely inaccurate indoors. I walk on a treadmill at a pace of 10"30'/km. However, the splits show my pace as approx. 12" for the first km, 14" for the second up to over 20" for the last. Not only is it grossly inaccurate, it shows that I'm slowing down despite the fact that the treadmill is at a constant speed. Accuracy did improve by me not holding on to the bar, but not enough.

    I'm in contact with Apple support over this and will let you know what they come up with.

  • by Jonathan UK,Apple recommended

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Jun 18, 2016 10:44 AM in response to Jondave
    Level 7 (33,905 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jun 18, 2016 10:44 AM in response to Jondave

    Hi

     

    To credit progress towards your daily Exercise goal, the Activity app aims to identify activity that equals or exceeds the intensity of a brisk walk. This requirement applies both during general daily wear and when recording workouts via the Workout app.

     

    The definition of a brisk walk depends on your personal information. To check that this is accurate - and to update it over time:

     

    - On your iPhone, in the Watch app, go to: My Watch (tab) > Health > Edit - tap and adjust items, then tap on Done.

     

    During general daily wear and when using the Workout app to record Indoor Walk, Indoor Run and certain outdoor workouts when the iPhone is not taken along, the Activity app and Workout app rely on arm motion (measured by the accelerometer) to track movement for the purpose of estimating results including distance, pace and progress towards the Exercise goal.

     

    For the best results, allow the arm on which you are wearing your watch to swing naturally as you move around and during workouts (where relevant to the activity type).

     

    Calibrating your watch can improve the accuracy of estimations made by the apps. More information and instructions for calibrating your watch are available via the link below. The article also includes instructions for resetting any existing calibration data and starting the process afresh.

     

    If you would prefer to receive Exercise credit for workouts regardless of their intensity levels, track them via the Workout app using "Other" as the activity type. This will credit one minute of Exercise for each full minute of the workout. Active calories will be estimated at a rate equivalent to a brisk walk or based on data recorded by the heart rate sensor, whichever is higher.

     

    More information:

    Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support

    Use the Activity app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

    Use the Workout app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support