Exercise ring isn't updating.

jmackay wrote:

.. So Apple, I have news for you: the definition of "activity" is different for different people. Target heart rate for me is dictated by me and my cardiologist--not by some magical formula you developed with fitness experts. Give me the control I need over these apps. Let me and my cardiologist decide what counts as activity.

If you would like to submit a feature request to Apple, then you can do so here:

Feedback - Apple Watch - Apple

(You are not talking to Apple here - this is a user-based technical support community).

If you would prefer to receive Exercise credit for the full duration of your workouts, regardless of their estimated intensity levels, then 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.

However, note that neither distance nor, for outdoor workouts, a route map are recorded under this workout activity type.

One more dissatisfied user. I recently had a heart attack and subsequently knee surgery. I've been using the Workout app and the Activity app extensively while going through cardiac rehab and physical therapy. I even shared my activity with family and friends as a motivator. It was great.

After "graduating" from cardiac rehab last week, I've been doing walks locally, and walking on my treadmill at home. I noticed that the treadmill was reporting far more distance than the workout and activity apps, so I followed advice I read on other threads and "recalibrated" my fitness data on the Watch app on my iPhone 7. Well that was a mistake.

Like many others on this thread, the Activity app has now decided that my activity only counts if my heart rate increases beyond some level that I can't reach (I'm taking beta blockers--medication that limits my heart rate). Increasing it beyond that level is actually dangerous for me. So Apple, I have news for you: the definition of "activity" is different for different people. Target heart rate for me is dictated by me and my cardiologist--not by some magical formula you developed with fitness experts. Give me the control I need over these apps. Let me and my cardiologist decide what counts as activity.

SSame problem here. When I contacted Apple about it, the rep said Exercise ring looks only at heart rate--which I measured to be at target HR for age several times during my workout. I'm beginning to think it is looking at HR + accelerometer data. Anyone know for sure? And, more importantl, has anyone found a workaround?

Im having problems with the exercise ring too. Indoor cycling doesn't get included in the ring. Today I completed 50 mins of indoor cycling and the exercise still says zero. There also seems to be an issue with the calorie count which Apple is looking into. What I really can't understand is how I can have active calories with the exercise ring still showing zero. And if you've logged a workout surely it should then overide the stand prompt. I was told on Saturday that because i was on my stationary bike for over an hour that's why it didn't register a stand that hour. It all seems wrong.

I'm glad I'm not the only one experiencing these problems. I too am frustrated that even though my heart rate is clearly being monitored during my gym cycling workout, the exercise ring doesn't budge! Also, there is a huge discrepancy between what the watch says are my calories burned and what the gym machine indicates. It's also frustrating that Apple doesn't seem to be acknowledging a problem yet.

I have the same problem. I started suspecting that Apple is looking at the heart rate. However, where are they setting the target. You are supposed to reach 90% of your maximum heart rate and keep it there for 20-30 minutes. I am 64 and my maximum heart rate is 156 and 70% is 109. I hit 109 after about 10 minutes on the stationary bike. At 104 is when I start to sweat. So I think they are looking strictly at your minimum target range for calculating how much excercise you do. If you go below the target when starting up, Apple sees that as warm up, not excercising.

I choose a 30 minute workout in the activity app. It correctly tells me when 15 minutes is gone and then when I have completed 30 minutes. Apple needs to change this to match what they are recording in the rings as far as staying at or above your 70% maximum heart rate. I would rather add 10 more minutes to my 30 minutes than come back later and have to waste 10 minutes to reach my 70% and then do another 10 minutes to hit the 30 minute goal. Apple can always say you have been in your target range 10 minutes of the 20 minutes you have been excercising. That I can relate to.

According to the Mayo Clinic...

To determine your desired target heart rate zone, use an online calculator. Or, here's a simple way to do the math yourself. If you're aiming for a target heart rate of 70 to 85 percent, which is in the vigorous range, you would calculate it like this:

• Subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate.
• Multiple that number by 0.7 (70 percent) to determine the lower end of your target heart rate zone.
• Multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.85 (85 percent) to determine the upper end of your target heart rate zone.

kk5do, thanks for the extensive information. It's not as simple as that, however. The watch DOES sense activity at a brisk level SOME of the time I'm on the cycle, just not the whole time--so a 20 minute workout will end up showing up as 2 or 3 minutes. And it's not clear to me when it does sense it and when it doesn't. Maybe you have to be at or above your target rate (low end) for a full minute in order for it to register? Maybe during each of the 17 or 18 minutes it didn't count, my HR dropped transiently below target? Who can tell. I DID measure my HR periodically while cycling and each time it recorded above target, but without a continuous HR monitor I can't be certain.

I'm about to try again on the stationary cycle, having unpaired and re-paired my Watch from my iPhone (and rebooted the Watch in the process), per Apple's instructions.

I agree that it would make a lot more sense if it just told us how much time we spent exercising at or above our target rate, without requiring continuous activity above target.

Hi

i appreciate what what you're saying about the heart rate and how you think it might or should work but this morning I cycled for 50 minutes and my exercise ring registered zero. Now I see that my exercise ring is at 7 minutes which was credited when I was ironing and later when I walked my dog. My heart rate was much higher when I was cycling so how can you explain that?? You can check your heart rate on the health app in timescales against the timescales for exercise on your watch. Makes no sense!!

@Pollyfromnorthampton, agreed. Something is definitely amiss. Here's hoping there's a quick software fix, since the fitness functionality was my primary justification for getting an Apple Watch. (Now that I have one, of course, there are a boatload of other features that I adore too.)

Update.... I think those that are not getting a correct reading from the workout app have not added their personal information into the health app on their iphone.

Open the Health App

click on Health Data at the bottom

click on ME

fill in your birthday, sex and optional blood type.

If you do not have the birthday in the field, then when you are excercising, your maximum heart rate would be 220 (220-0) instead of 220-YourAge. 70 percent range would be 154 and 85 percent range would be 187. I think it would be virtually impossible for you to ever attain a heart rate for any period of time within the 70-85% range.

Hope this helps those that are not getting a proper reading.

All my info is correct and this point doesn't answer the reason why ironing earns more on the exercise band than cycling!!

AAll of my info is correct as well. That's not the problem in my case.

I am stuck. That was all I could think of. I am getting ready to ride the stationary bike and this time I am going to start as normal but instead of letting my heart rate coast up to target in 10 minutes, going to try and push it up in 5 or under and then see if it records a higher excercise time than 20 minutes out of 30. If correct, I should get to 25 minutes out of 30.

I would like to see that app tell me I have excercised 15 minutes and was in my target range for (say) 6 minutes. Then tell me I was excercising 30 minutes and in my target range 28 minutes. I could ride along a little longer to hit the desired 30 minute mark. But for yours not to work at all, hmmmmm. I will post back in about 30 minutes what it did on todays stationary ride.

I noticed this same problem when I got the watch -- it was only registering my jogs as exercise -- not my walks. However, on Sunday my rowing and sandbag workout was registered. Then again yesterday, only the time that I was jogging was logged as exercise. So I don't understand this at all -- my heartrate is on the low side when I row; I did an interval of 3 minutes rowing and 3 minutes sandbag on Sunday. My total workout was 34 minutes. It logged all 34 minutes as exercise. When I do my rowing intervals today I am going to see if I get the same result. I am starting to wonder if it's the type of exercise you log. Like rowing and 'Other' may log everything as exercise whereas walking/jogging may not. I know they have instructions to calibrate the watch for walking/jogging but I have to get an armband for my phone first in order to do that.

I'm at work but I am anxious to know if selecting 'Other' will credit all exercise.

I just finished the stationary bike for 32 minutes and it logged 30 minutes of excercise in the activity app. What I did this time was as soon as I started I rode fast to get my heart rate up to my target 70%. That took 1 minute 50 seconds. Then I slowed down a bit keeping my heart rate above that 70% mark. I opened the fitness app and then opened the activity app. That way, I can double press the crown and flip from one to the other. At the 3 minute mark (1 minute of excercising in my target range) the activity app bumpe a minute of excercise. I monitored it and it stayed pretty darn close. Worked out for 32 minutes to make the activity app record 30 minutes. The first 2 minutes were getting my heart rate to the bottom of the target range.

Now, my stationary bike has handles that are attached to the front and then to the peddles which allow them to move opposite the foot peddles in rotation. I do not use them. I keep my hands resting on the middle of my thighs. I do not use them to press my legs, just rest there. I did notice yesterday after the 30 minutes in the fitness app that I forgot to stop the app and save the data. It showed that I had rode the bike for 53 minutes but the activity app still only showed the 20 minutes. One thing the watch might be looking for is not only is your heart rate in the target range but your watch is constantly moving while you ride the stationary bike. You might try placing your hands on the tops of your thighs (I put mine mid way between the knee and the top of the leg). You can get your heart rate in the target range and then watch the activity ring after a minute or two. Hopefully you will see it start moving.