When the competition is over, you’ll receive a notification from your watch. You can also open the Activity app on your watch to view the results. You can then view the final numbers and send a message to the other person, invite them to another challenge, or dismiss the screen. The selected workout view will now appear during all your current and future workout sessions. The Apple Watch app allows you to get directions or remember which bus you need to take without pulling your phone out and looking like a lost tourist.
- But the best wearables make data actionable, and you’ll have to do much of that yourself with RingConn.
- You see your heart rate and stats on the screen as well as your activity rings.
- There’s a lot to like about Obé, the pastel-hued fitness app that you may have seen on your Instagram feed.
- If you’ve never run before, this app offers the ideal way to start out before moving onto more independent running apps.
- You can start and control the sessions directly on your wrist, perfect for disconnecting from your phone for a few minutes.
- You’ll also get postworkout insights to help you understand your progress.
Control activity reminders
You can access guided workouts and follow along with them, for some added spice and motivation for your training. It will now also connect to Strava so you can sync your workouts across platforms, which solved our biggest reservations about NRC. Those data screens can also be edited in the Apple Watch is madmuscles a scam companion app, with options to view distance, current pace, heart rate, duration, average pace, active calories, total calories, and even running power.
Tracking Multiple Activities (Multisport Workouts)
Apple Watch Series 3 or later can record an estimate of your VO2 max using the heart and motion sensors during an Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Run, or Hiking workout in the Workout app. Once paired to an Apple Watch (any Apple WatchOS 26 capable unit), you can now build any custom workouts you want. Kieran is a world record-setting runner and one of the UK’s most experienced running journalists.
They even work together for those wanting to mix running and workouts together for a full 360 fitness experience. The filter system is front-and-center, which helps you whittle the workouts down to the type, discipline, length, trainer and even music. Apple hopes you’ll start to follow certain trainers whose workouts you enjoy most. The quality is super-high – as you’d expect from Apple – and music plays a big role. However, you can’t choose your own music for the workout, as the trainers specifically choose the tracks to suit the music. And there’s a greater percentage of shorter workouts than the likes of Fiit.
Smart Gym
The Apple Watch will calculate the calorie or kilojoule equivalent of a brisk walk when this happens. Over time, those small moments of feedback can make workouts feel less solitary and more rewarding, without changing how you already train. This moment reinforces progress without requiring you to study charts or metrics, keeping the focus on how the workout felt rather than just the numbers.
Health & Fitness Essentials
A good place to start is by searching your App Store and seeing what free workout apps it has to offer. Some are completely free or offer a free trial, and some require a monthly subscription. Your choice will ultimately depend on whether you think investing in a paid app will actually help you get closer to your goals and what you’re comfortable spending. Other things to consider are if you prefer live streaming or On demand workouts. I liked that 8fit takes a holistic approach to overall health as opposed to straight-up weight loss. I also enjoyed the workouts I tried, which were explained and demonstrated clearly, though occasionally repetitive.
Data Used to Track You
The Apple Watch doesn’t add any particular biometric resource, but it does enable you to tune out from the noise of your smartphone and find a quiet place to meditate. I love it because it permits me to take days off, isn’t pushy, and doesn’t always tell me to stand up or close my Move ring. I can ignore all that and look at the big picture of improving myself without stress. However, you can also now sync Apple Workout sessions with Strava and use the superior app, making it somewhat redundant.
If an arrow points down, your 90 day average for that metric has started to decline. To help motivate you to turn the trend around, you’ll receive coaching—“Walk an extra quarter of a mile a day,” for example. The Activity app on your Apple Watch helps you keep track of your movement throughout the day and encourages you to meet your fitness goals.
Garmin Quatix 8 Pro adds satellite messaging for safety at sea
The design alone makes it a serious alternative to Oura and Samsung. RingConn has dropped the weight to around 2-3g (depending on your ring size), and the 2mm thickness makes it the slimmest on the market. This adds up to a feel in daily use and sleep tracking that’s as close to a regular ring as we’ve ever experienced. There’s also a recovery score that https://thelakewoodscoop.com/news/madmuscles-app-review-easy-to-cancel-and-transparent-fitness-subscription/ tracks metrics such as resting heart rate, HRV, and body temperature. These are compared to established baseline scores, and there’s a traffic light system to show if these are outside of your norms.

How the experience stacks up
With its collection of preset and custom workouts, your Apple Watch can help you stay in shape and track your progress. This guide explains how the Workout app works, its customization options, advanced features, and tips to maximize your Apple Watch fitness tracking. Recently, I also realized that it might be helpful to be able to do this directly from the Apple Watch. And, after trying out a couple of options, I’ve settled on Battery Life.

APPS WE LOVE
Though Hemsworth appears in some videos, most of the routines are led by (excellent) coaches. Regardless of the model, Apple Watch can keep /2025/02/14/mad-muscles-review-no-hidden-fees-just-full-access-to-everything-you-need/ track of exercise routines by using various parts build-into the wearable device. These include the dual-core processor, optical heart monitor, accelerometer, and gyroscope. You can also pick Other when you can’t find a matching workout type.

About cardio fitness
Some apps try to shame you into working out, or bombard you with notifications, so I liked this approach. Nike’s app also offers push notification reminders (which you can turn off) to prompt you when it’s time to do a workout. While the platform is ideal for advanced athletes, beginners also benefit by learning foundational movements and mastering strength basics. “You pick a coach based on your goals and preferences, and each day’s workout—including rest—is programmed for you.
It can also provide the basics directly from the wrist, such as pace, distance, splits, and elevation. Plus, GPX files for routes can be sent to the Watch so you can follow turn-by-turn directions. Yet, a variety of Apple Watch running apps lurk on the App Store, each offering different benefits. It stands out for the right reasons among all the smartwatches with run-tracking capabilities. Daily Yoga provides free yoga sequences for all levels, including flexibility, stress relief, and strength-building flows.
And that’s the key difference with Freeletics – it’s more of a CrossFit vibe. The coaching aspect is much more front-and-center in Freeletics than other apps, and even mid-workout you’ll be prompted for feedback on how hard you found elements of the workout. Taking a completely different tact, Zova centers on three weekly workouts it calls the ZX5 program. There’s also a filter system so you can sort workouts by duration, discipline, body area, equipment, music and trainers.