Alexroet

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

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  • by SharonRB,

    SharonRB SharonRB Jun 2, 2015 1:47 PM in response to Alexroet
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 2, 2015 1:47 PM in response to Alexroet

    I discovered that the arm swing does make a difference. I do a 65- minute workout on the treadmill at the gym about five days a week. The first week or two, I couldn't figure out why I was getting so little credit. I typically hold on with both hands on the treadmill. I tried holding on just with my watchless hand and letting my watch hand (in my case, it's my right) swing normally. It made all the difference in the world.

     

    Note, however, that after the upgrade to 1.0.1 I get less credit than I used to with 1.0.

     

    I don't know if you've heard about all the problems with 1.0.1, but if I'm not using the workout app, I get no exercise credit for anything like I used to get for gardening, strength training, etc. Now when I do strength training I use the "Other" setting on the workout app and I do get credit. I'm hoping they come out with 1.0.2 soon -- a lot of people are very unhappy, although it's been reported that this may be intentional rather than a bug. I can now go for hours without my heart rate being checked, where it used to be every 10 minutes (12 times a minute when in workout mode).

  • by SharonRB,

    SharonRB SharonRB Jun 2, 2015 1:49 PM in response to Charmian Gaud
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 2, 2015 1:49 PM in response to Charmian Gaud

    I had the same issue with the treadmill. I solved it by holding on with only one hand instead of two, but I would really rather hold on with two. I'd love to see a treadmill option added to the workout app.

  • by Julia Siporin,

    Julia Siporin Julia Siporin Jun 2, 2015 2:17 PM in response to Charles Sholdt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 2, 2015 2:17 PM in response to Charles Sholdt

    Charles, you probably know by now that the Activity App measures your exercise based on a "brisk walk".  From what I can tell from several people's experience, that Apple defines BRISK using the target heart rate of some mythical average 20 year old in excellent health.   I hope Apple is getting the message that their Watch users are not all 20 years of age and that as we age, our target heart rate lowers.    What I've been doing is using the Workout App. & then looking to see what my average HR was at the end of my workout.  If that number is in my target HR zone, I'm happy.

    To see that info,

    - open the Activity app on your iPhone (not the Watch app) on a day you used the Workout App (the little green jogger)

    - scroll down past "Move", "Exercise", "Stand" to "Workouts"  & click on that

    - You will see all kinds of stats:  including Average Heart Rate, Active calories, resting calories, Total Time & Distance, Average Pace & time of workout.

     

    I hope that helps.  I think I'll post this on a separate new thread.

    - Julia

  • by Julia Siporin,

    Julia Siporin Julia Siporin Jun 2, 2015 2:44 PM in response to Alexroet
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 2, 2015 2:44 PM in response to Alexroet

    From what I can tell from several people's experience on this thread as well as my own, Apple defines BRISK using the target heart rate of some mythical 20 year old in excellent health & doesn't seem to realize that their Watch users range in age considerably & that our target heart rate lowers as we age.

     

    What I've been doing is using the Workout app & then looking to see what my average heart rate was at the end of my workout.  If that number is in my target HR zone AND I got at least 30 minutes in, then I'm set for the day ** 

    To see your average heart rate & other info,

    - open the Activity app on your iPhone (not the Watch app) on a day you used the Workout App (the little green jogger)

    - scroll down past "Move", "Exercise", "Stand" to "WORKOUTS"  & click on that  ("Awards", "Steps", and "Distance" can also be found in this window.

    - You will see all kinds of stats:  including Average Heart Rate, Active calories, resting calories, Total Time & Distance, Average Pace & time of workout.

     

    Would I like to see Exercise minutes calculated appropriately for my age & desired target heart rate & reflected on the Activity tracker.  YES! 
    But until then, this is what is working for me.  

     

    I'm thrilled that my Polar Heart Rate Monitor talks to my Watch via bluetooth; however, I can't use Map My Walk at the same time.  C'est la vie for now.

     

    I find that when I set my Workout to "Other", the results seem really skewed; it gave me more credit than I think I deserved.

     

    ** A person's target heart rate might reasonably be something between 55-75% of their max heart rate- which can be calculated: 
    First find your Max Heart Rate:   220 - [your age]  gives you a quick number unless you want to do a full stress test.

    This # can then be multiplied by .55 or .75 - whatever % you want to set as your target heart rate / working zone.)

    Example: The Max Heart Rate for a 58 year old  is  162   (220 - 58 = 162). 

    55% of 162 = 94 BPM   (.55 x 162 = 93.96)

    75% of 162 = 122  (.75 X 162 - 121.5)

    So, if the average heart rate for a 30 minute workout is between 94 & 122 bpm, then you have met your own personal cardio goal for your workout.

     

    I sure hope this helps some of you still scratching your heads.  I still have questions too!  Come on Apple; make the definition of BRISK more dynamic!

  • by Tony0330,

    Tony0330 Tony0330 Jun 5, 2015 7:47 AM in response to Alexroet
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 7:47 AM in response to Alexroet

    It's really a terribly designed app.

     

    I just did a 37 minute walk wearing a 20 lb. weight vest.  My heart rate was consistently between 120 and 130.  According to the exercise app, I was credited with 12 minutes of exercise.  (And I had to restart both my phone and my watch to even get that much credit, arrgh.)

     

    I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it's a first generation product.  But it's designed very poorly.  Fitbit does so much of a better job (except the band on their watch causes allergic reactions). 

     

    I'll just use other apps to track my activity level, and stop worrying about what Apple's ridiculous activity app thinks.  The data gets pulled to other apps, so I'll just find one that's useful and actually works. 

  • by Rob Cumberland,

    Rob Cumberland Rob Cumberland Jun 5, 2015 9:28 AM in response to john67
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 9:28 AM in response to john67

    john67 wrote:

     

    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.

     

    This is definitely not the case. Activity is added from Workouts AND other things. The reason I can only be vague about "other things" is that they are vague.

     

    I do the same walk on consecutive days: one day 41 minutes Activity, the next day 9 minutes Activity. That's sans Workout.

     

    And yes, I have calibrated, I always carry my phone, I have Location Services active, etc., etc.

     

    When I got my watch I thought it was going to be useful but since the update, not so much. Because of the new Heart Rate Monitoring we apparently (according to the Apple Technical Note) only get regular data if we are inert... that's not much use. Other Heart Rate data is - unless you do a Workout - random, as is Activity time data.

     

    It seems Apple now expects us to initiate a Workout whenever we walk outdoors or indoors, to reliably track walking Activity.

     

    I don't tend to use Workouts because their Calorie data is far less than my rower computer, for example. Resting Calories, or BMR etc., doesn't account for the difference. My BMR is about 1 Calorie per minute, the shortfall over a 20 minute row is 60 Calories (Waterrower records 230 Calories, Watch records 170).

     

    So now, after the update, I'm wearing a Heart Rate Monitor that doesn't monitor heart rate predictably linked to a GPS device that can't seem to tell when I've moved a couple of miles. Unless of course I fire up a Workout (which is otherwise of little use) each time I do an Activity.

     

    Before the update I was optimistic, now I think I've wasted my money.

  • by nick101,

    nick101 nick101 Jun 5, 2015 9:40 AM in response to Rob Cumberland
    Level 5 (5,103 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 9:40 AM in response to Rob Cumberland

    Several points:

     

    1. The update has definitely broken some things that were working (for some people, at least, they were working)

    2. Without a Workout, the watch will record (albeit inconsistently right now) some types of activity - it'll record steps taken, for example. If you're carrying your phone, the Health app on the phone will record walking/running distance, estimated steps climbed etc.

    3. What you don't get without a Workout is a record of the activity as a labelled workout - you just get the raw data. So no Outdoor Run, time, pace, distance, average heart rate etc. Just you were active for so many minutes during the day, you consumed estimated calories etc

    4. Since the update, if you don't start a Workout, you don't even get the level of heart rate measurement you used to get. Unless you're in a Workout, the watch doesn't capture heart rate if your arm is moving.

     

     

    I'm not sure if I'm being clear enough, so feel free ...

  • by Rob Cumberland,

    Rob Cumberland Rob Cumberland Jun 5, 2015 9:42 AM in response to Julia Siporin
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 9:42 AM in response to Julia Siporin

    Julia Siporin wrote:

     

    My 65 year old husband has a VERY low resting heart rate which hovers around 48-53 bpm.   When we go out for a brisk walk, his heart rate gets up into the 70's or 80's which is plenty high for him, yet he gets zero minutes credited towards the green exercise ring.  I wonder if it's calibrated to a person who's resting heart rate is around 72 and is young enough to need to get above 140 bpm to be considered "brisk".   Polar has an app where it measures your resting heart rate so you get a more accurate picture of what 70% of Max HR.    Apple, tell me you don't have a "one size fits all" code in your Watch.

     

    This is a big problem. Because Apple has been vague, and moved the goalposts with 1.0.1, issued a slew of new Technical Notes, and because - frankly - Activity now seems to be broken, we are all trying to guess how the Watch works. People swinging their arms on treadmills pushing strollers uphill with one hand, and trying to guess what "brisk" means... it's ridiculous.

     

    There is no reason on Earth why our Watches should not know who we are, individually. The Health app knows your Height, Weight, Sex and Age. You can either input that data there or it will pick it up from Health, and probably elsewhere.

     

    The bottom line for me is this is not about Calibration, Brisk, Arm Movement or anything else. The Watch simply doesn't provide repeatable Activity metrics any more. Whether that is because Heart Rate Monitoring is now random, or for some other reason, I don't know.

     

    Something is wrong.

  • by Rob Cumberland,

    Rob Cumberland Rob Cumberland Jun 5, 2015 9:45 AM in response to nick101
    Level 1 (25 points)
    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!

  • by Tony0330,

    Tony0330 Tony0330 Jun 5, 2015 10:05 AM in response to nick101
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 10:05 AM in response to nick101

    Everything you say is correct.  However, you can get the information that you want by using the Runkeeper app, which works on the watch.

     

    You shouldn't have to use that workaround ... the watch's native apps should work as intended, and should not be as messed up as they are ... but at least there are alternatives. 

  • by Tony0330,

    Tony0330 Tony0330 Jun 5, 2015 10:12 AM in response to Rob Cumberland
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 10:12 AM in response to Rob Cumberland

    You're absolutely right. 

     

    As I said above, there are workarounds.  There shouldn't have to be workarounds, but at least there are workarounds.

     

    For example, to monitor HR continuously, just turn on the Workout app and pull up a HR screen in that app.  You don't really need to use Workout for any other purpose.  And then use Runkeeper to monitor things like distance and time. 

     

    It's inelegant, but at least it's functional. 

     

    The one that irritates me the most is the opaque Activity app. But I didn't buy the watch for its apps, so I just have to learn to ignore that app. 

  • by arsook,

    arsook arsook Jun 5, 2015 10:19 AM in response to Tony0330
    Level 1 (0 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.

  • by Tony0330,

    Tony0330 Tony0330 Jun 5, 2015 10:21 AM in response to Tony0330
    Level 1 (2 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. 

  • by Tony0330,

    Tony0330 Tony0330 Jun 5, 2015 10:23 AM in response to arsook
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 10:23 AM in response to arsook

    Given Apple's response rate to software issues in the past, what would you rate the odds?

     

    Apple has a disturbing tendency to hear about a bug and call it a feature.

     

    Nevertheless, I have attempted to communicate the problems, and will do so again. 

  • by Rob Cumberland,

    Rob Cumberland Rob Cumberland Jun 5, 2015 10:59 AM in response to Tony0330
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 10:59 AM in response to Tony0330

    Tony0330 wrote:

     

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

    As I understand it the Stairs data is only available from the sensors in the iPhone. I may be wrong but that certainly seems to agree with my use of both Watch and Phone.

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