Q: Workout app not counting exercise
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Jul 29, 2015 2:00 PMby léonie,Have you set your data accurately? See this help page: https://help.apple.com/watch/#/apd7d17e9500
If the age is incorrectly set, the watch might expect a higher heart rate to accept a workout as "Exercise".
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Jul 29, 2015 8:43 PMby AndronicusZeno,I double checked that the data was set accurately. Height, weight, age, and gender were all correct in the Health app, and on the "Apple Watch" app on my iPhone.
Also, I bought my mother an Apple Watch, and she is reporting the same thing, that the Exercise app will not count "indoor walk" as exercise not matter what she does. I know it is recording something, because I get credit in the Activity (red) circle when I use "indoor walk", but not exercise (green).
I have read on some of the other comments that some people are using "other" as a catch-all. I tested that today on the treadmill and it did give credit to the exercise (green) circle, but that feels like cheating to me.
Is there an Apple document somewhere that explains what is and is not considered exercise? I do not understand how the Exercise app expects me to hit a goal that I do not know exists.
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Jul 30, 2015 12:31 AMby Jonathan UK,The Activity app (which measures progress towards your Exercise goal using the Exercise ring) does not use heart rate to determine when to record exercise or to determine when you are walking briskly.
Activity app: relies on arm motion and an accelerometer to track movement.
Workout app: uses heart rate sensor and GPS.
From: Use the Activity app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support
You can report your issue with the Activity app here: https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html
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Jul 30, 2015 12:43 AMby léonie,Well, the question is about the "Workout" app, so the Activity.app is irrelevant in this content.
And the GPS will only be used for outdoor workouts.https://help.apple.com/watch/#/apd36e57e00c
Note: Outdoor and Indoor Walk/Run/Cycle are distinct workouts because Apple Watch calculates the calorie burn differently for each. For indoor workouts, Apple Watch relies mainly on your heart rate readings for calorie estimates, but for outdoor workouts, Apple Watch works in conjunction with iPhone (which has GPS) to calculate speed and distance. Those values, along with your heart rate, are used to estimate the number of calories burned.
For a workout to register in the exercise ring it is important that the fit on the wrist is perfect and the heart rate should be in the aerobic exercise range. I need to get my hear rate up to well beyond 130 for any exercise to register in the second ring, when using the workout app.
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Jul 30, 2015 12:48 AMby Jonathan UK,Have you tried repeating the calibration process a few times, including with brisk walks of at least 20 minutes outside?
Extracts from Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support
- If you frequently walk or run at a variety of different speeds, it's best to accumulate 20 minutes of outdoor walking or running in the Workout app with your iPhone at each of the speeds you frequently walk or run at.
- whenever you use Apple Watch and iPhone to walk or run outside in the Workout app, it will continue to calibrate the accelerometer by learning your unique stride length at different speeds, and get more accurate over time.
- calibration process can also help improve the accuracy of your overall calorie estimations in many of the other workout categories in the Workout app, and the calorie, distance, Move, and Exercise estimations in the Activity app.
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Jul 30, 2015 2:14 AMby G3gator,"I need to get my hear rate up to well beyond 130 for any exercise to register in the second ring, when using the workout app."
Then, something is wrong. Starting a workout should trigger continuous heart-rate monitoring. Try rebooting. If that doesn't work I would call or visit Apple.
George
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Jul 30, 2015 4:56 AMby léonie,Then, something is wrong. Starting a workout should trigger continuous heart-rate monitoring. Try rebooting. If that doesn't work I would call or visit Apple.
The workout does register the heart rate continuously, it counts the step and the distance, but it does not count it as exercise in the green ring unless the heart rate is high.
If I don't walk very briskly, so the heart rate is high, it does not not increase the exercise ring, and think that it as it supposed to be. Otherwise it would not be a workout, if the heart rate is only slightly increased.
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Jul 30, 2015 5:02 AMby G3gator,Mine counts every minute the workout app is running as exercise regardless of heart rate. When the workout is stopped (manually), it gives the average heart rate for the workout (which includes the low rate at the beginning).
I think something is wrong with your watch. Have you rebooted, reset/re-paired?
George
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Jul 30, 2015 5:23 AMby léonie,I think something is wrong with your watch. Have you rebooted, reset/re-paired?
Yes, I've done that, but not because of the workouts. And it did not change what the exercise ring is counting as an exercise. It only counts really brisk exercise with a high heart rate. I only tested with indoor walk, outdoor walk, and outdoor cycle. If the heart rate drops down towards 100 bpm, the motion ring will still advance, but not the green exercise ring. Why should the watch count something as exercise, that is is not really exercise but a leisurely walk?
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Jul 30, 2015 6:11 AMby léonie,George,
my watch is registering activity just fine, really. Only not for the minutes of the workout, where the heart rate is low - Just as described in the Watch Help:relatively
The Move ring shows how many active calories you’ve burned. The Exercise ring shows how many minutes of brisk activity you’ve done. The Stand ring shows how many times in the day you’ve stood for at least one minute per hour. Swipe up on an activity or turn the Digital Crown to see your progress as a graph.
It just does not suffice to claim to be doing an exercise by starting a work-out app. We have to be actually doing a brisk workout with an increased heart rate. If we get lazy during the workout the minutes will be shown as exercise, but not count in the exercise ring. The "Other" workout is the only workout that will advance the exercise ring in Activity without even wearing the watch.
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Jul 30, 2015 6:23 AMby G3gator,Leonie, I am confused as to the problem, but confused is not an unusual state for me ;-)
As I understand it, the green exercise ring will be triggered in two different ways. One is by starting the workout app on the watch which also triggers continuous heart rate monitoring. The second is by simply engaging in a "brisk activity." Both of these should move the ring. Frankly, I don't know if the "brisk activity" also triggers continuous heart rate monitoring, but I don't think so.
George
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Jul 30, 2015 6:31 AMby léonie,One is by starting the workout app on the watch which also triggers continuous heart rate monitoring.
It does. And when the heart rate is showing that you are not exercising but casually strolling, the green ring does not advance. Check this on your watch with the indoor walk workout active while munching chips on your couch in front of the TV.
The exercise ring should not advance.
When I do an outdoor cycle workout and take a route where I have frequently to wait in front of traffic lights and the heart rate drops while resting, a few minutes will not count in the exercise ring.
