Level 2

422 points

What counts as "exercise" for the green ring??

Does anyone know what counts as "exercise"? i.e. what does it take to advance the green ring?? All the apple watch info I've seen says "brisk walk". I went for an "outside walk" using the workout app today. I walked for 56 minutes, and did 3.18 miles, with an average heart rate of 128. Yet it only counted as 17 minutes towards my green exercise ring!! What gives? We can't all be Christy Turlington training for a marathon! I'm an out-of-shape working mom with a baby! That's about as good "exercise" as I get these days.

My resting heart rate is pretty low, usually 55-65, so 128 is a pretty decent burn! I think that was a brisk walk! Maybe other people walk faster, but I was pushing a stroller and there were some decent hills.

So does anyone know what the criteria are? Does your heart rate have to be above a certain threshold?

One other thought I had- I was pushing the stroller so my left arm wasn't swinging at my side- could that affect how it measures my motion?

And, would it have made a difference if I had called it "outside run" instead of "outside walk"? I know people that jog a 17" mile...

If the point of this app is to get people to get out and moving around more, it's discouraging for the 'goals' to be so hard to reach. And there are lots of articles these days that say walking may be better exercise than running. For walking to not be "good enough" is pretty deflating.

iPhone 5, iOS 8.3

Posted on Apr 27, 2015 9:42 AM

Top-ranking reply

Alexroet Author

Level 2

422 points

Posted on Apr 28, 2015 3:51 AM

Well I went for another walk last night. 31minutes, 1.67m. Avg heart rate 126.

But this time I called it "outdoor run" instead of outdoor walk. And it says I burned 145cal (vs 196 for my 3.2m walk in the morning) and most importantly- it gave me 31 min of exercise on my green ring. Even though i walked slower, for less time, less distance, and had a lower heart rate- I got 2x as much "credit" for this walk vs the one in the morning (that was twice as long).

So bottom line- calling it run vs walk makes a big difference

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96 replies

GreyT

Level 1

10 points

Jul 16, 2017 4:28 AM in response to Jonathan UK

Same here

Sjat I sometimes do is chosing pulsetraining other

Then it will register pulse-speed

Sendt fra Palles iPhone 7 JetBlack

Den 16. jul. 2017 kl. 01.21 skrev Apple Support Communities Updates <discussions-updates@apple.com>:

Apple Support Communities

Jonathan UK has posted in the Using Apple Watch community.

What counts as "exercise" for the green ring??

frannbug

Level 1

22 points

Jul 16, 2017 5:18 AM in response to Jonathan UK

Piano practice is less painful - and I don't think it's really a cheat because nothing else makes me feel the blood coursing through my veins so much!

Actually it's true that the reason I went for an Apple Watch was that I was fed up with only getting credit for flights of stairs where I was carrying my watch and was annoyed to find that the watch changed nothing in that regard.

However I am now addicted to it for other reasons. As a music teacher I find I can set alarms on my iPhone five minutes before the end of every lesson, mark them as silent and let my watch buzz them in to me. I am now prepared for every approaching lesson and manage to wrap up every outgoing lesson on time - all without any discernible interruption for my students. Brilliant!

I will be truly happy when some of the apps don't rely on my iPhone - for example, a guitar tuner shouldn't need to be operated from a 'phone when the watch has a built in microphone and speaker.

arsook

Level 1

8 points

Jun 5, 2015 10:19 AM in response to Tony0330

Please go to https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html and report the problem. Hopefully it will be addressed in the next software update.

Jonathan UK

Level 10

164,015 points

Jan 4, 2017 10:26 AM in response to léonie

léonie wrote:

.. As it is now, we are kept in the dark.

If you would like to send feedback or suggestions to Apple, you can do so here:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

john67

Level 1

9 points

May 7, 2015 12:41 AM in response to Alexroet

NIck101 tells me that Exercise is only recorded as part of a Workout, so for tennis I need to to do an 'Other' Workout. He stress the need to do the calibration exercise with your watch.

Alexroet Author

Level 2

422 points

May 7, 2015 10:08 AM in response to cmaryg

Yup, "other" works well for me too.

May 10, 2015 7:33 PM in response to john67

Thanks, I just saw this. He needs to try calibrating using this method.

Jun 5, 2015 9:45 AM in response to nick101

Nick... that is pretty much my understanding too.

I don't think it's you that's not being clear!

Tony0330

Level 1

3 points

Jun 5, 2015 10:21 AM in response to Tony0330

Oh, and the stair counter is terrible, too. The Fitbit Surge was almost exactly right, consistently. The Apple Watch? Not so much.

Jun 7, 2015 2:37 PM in response to Alexroet

My exercise ring has gone crazy recording minutes where there was no activity. I took a nap after a brisk walk and it says I have been exercising for 303 minutes today?!?!

Alexroet Author

Level 2

422 points

Jun 8, 2015 11:57 AM in response to Tony0330

what stair counter? I haven't seen stairs anywhere in apple watch

Jun 9, 2015 10:44 AM in response to arsook

I guess I'm a little mystified about why you would want to return your watch and then go back a by the exact same one again. The fix will be a simple software update through your iPhone.

Jun 9, 2015 3:06 PM in response to Alexroet

Stair Stepper is one of 10 Workouts listed; scroll down past Outdoor Walk, Indoor Walk, Other, Indoor Cycle, Outdoor Run, Outdoor Cycle, Elliptical, Rower, ... Stair Stepper is at the bottom.

G3gator

Level 3

596 points

Jun 15, 2015 8:03 AM in response to angeluk69

The exercise function is not working correctly. Hopefully, it will get fixed soon. Hopefully.

George

Jun 15, 2015 8:11 AM in response to G3gator

Use Other in the exercise app. It will correctly credit Move and Exercise. You won't be able to track distance, etc.

IT was announced during the WWDC keynote that this will be fixed.

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What counts as "exercise" for the green ring??