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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

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 4, 2017 5:40 AM

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.


Exercise credit is awarded for each minute during which this requirement is met.


The definition of a brisk walk varies from person to person and 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.


Apple Watch uses different sensors and data sources to track the results of workouts, depending on the activity type. For example, with Apple Watch (first generation) and Series 1 models, the watch can access GPS data from the paired iPhone if it is taken along during outdoor walking, running and cycling workouts. Series 2 has built-in GPS.


During general daily wear and (for relevant activities) when using the Workout app to record workouts when GPS data is either not relevant or not available (eg Indoor Walk), the Activity app and Workout app track your arm motion (measured by the accelerometer) when estimating results including 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 Activity app and Workout app. More information and instructions for calibrating your watch are available via the link below. The article also includes instructions for resetting existing calibration data and starting afresh. Resetting your calibration data will not erase your Activity history.


If you would prefer to receive Exercise credit for the full duration of any given workouts, regardless of their estimated 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:

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

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