How to get apple watch to automatically track exercise

The Apple Watch has always been a handy tool for tracking workouts and physical activity, but you can do even more courtesy of watchOS 8. With the latest version, you can track additional activities and get voice feedback when you hit certain exercise milestones. Plus, the Fitness app on your iPhone can display workout progress and offer suggestions for improving your health.

View Available Workouts

The Apple Watch has long supported several default workouts such as walking, running, cycling, and rowing. See all the activities available by opening the Workout app on your watch and swiping down the list. 

There is a large array of workouts to discover, including archery, bowling, downhill skiing, equestrian sports, golf, hockey, jump rope, paddling, wrestling, and more. Each new version of the watch’s operating system adds others to the mix. High interval training was added with watchOS 6, while dance, functional strength training, core training, and cooldown were included with watchOS 7 in 2020. For watchOS 8, Apple adds tai chi and pilates.

If you don’t spot your favorite workout, swipe to the bottom of the list and select Add Workout.

Start a Workout

When you're ready to track a workout or activity, swipe through the different activities until you find the one you want. If you wish to set your workout to specific calories, distance, or time, tap the ellipsis icon on the workout and make your pick. Otherwise, tap the workout to begin.

Pause the workout at any time by swiping the screen to the right and tapping Pause. When you're done, swipe to the right and tap End. A summary screen displays your total time, calories, and other data. Swipe to the bottom of the Summary screen and tap Done to record the workout.

Workout Reminders

You can set reminders on your Apple Watch to tell you to start and stop a workout if the watch detects that you're performing some type of physical activity. If reminders are enabled and you've started a workout, your watch should automatically detect the activity you're performing and ask if you want to start recording.

The request to record appears as a notification on your watch and offers a few choices: Record Workout, Change Workout, Mute for Today, and Dismiss. You may choose to record your workout if the watch identifies the correct activity. The device should also ask to stop recording after it determines that you've finished the workout.

The reminders option is automatically enabled in watchOS 5 or later, but it can be turned off. Open the Settings app on your Watch, swipe to the bottom of the screen, and tap Workout. Swipe down the Workout screen to see the options for Start Workout Reminder and End Workout Reminder; disable one or both of these reminders by tapping the switch.

Additional Workout Settings 

At the Workout screen under Settings, you can enable or disable other options. Power Saving Mode turns off cellular connectivity and the built-in heart rate sensor during walking and running workouts to extend battery life.

Tap Auto-Pause and turn on the switch to automatically pause running or outdoor cycling workouts when you stop moving and resume them when you start moving again. Activate Press to Pause to pause or resume your workout by pressing the Side button and the Digital Crown simultaneously. Turn on Detect Gym Equipment to synchronize your workouts with compatible gym equipment.

Get Voice Feedback

Siri can give you voice feedback when you reach certain milestones during a workout. For example, Siri may say that you’ve closed an exercise ring. You don’t even need a headset as the feedback will play over the watch’s built-in speaker.

To set this up directly on your watch, go to Settings > Workout and turn on the switch for Voice Feedback. The next time you reach a specific milestone, such as completing a specific exercise ring, Siri will chime in.

View Activity on Apple Watch 

After you've compiled some workouts, check your history through the Activity app on your watch. The app shows your activity for the current day in the form of rings around the circle as well as individual charts. The red Move chart displays the calories you've burned since the start of the day. The green Exercise chart indicates the amount of time you've spent exercising so far. And the blue Stand chart points to the number of hours you've spent standing that day. The goal is to close each ring.

Swipe down the screen to see the specific details for the day’s physical activity so far. Then swipe down to the bottom of the screen. Tap Weekly Summary to view a graph for the week and the total number of calories, steps, distance, and other goals you've achieved. Tap Change Move Goal to increase or decrease the number of calories you want to burn each day.

View Activity in the Fitness App

The Fitness app on your iPhone offers more data and options than the Activity app on the watch. Open the Fitness app on your phone. The History tab displays activity data and details for the current day. Tap the left arrow next to the month at the top of the screen to display a calendar. Choose a specific date to view the information for that day.

The Workouts section in the Fitness app shows your workout activity for the month. Tap the year at the top to see your overall workouts for each month; tap a specific month to drill down. Tap the All Workouts link at the top to filter the list to show only specific workouts.

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The Trends section in the iPhone’s Fitness app shows your daily workout and activity trends so you can discover how many calories you burn, how long you exercise, how long you stand, and how much distance you travel. You can also find advice on how to improve your results for a specific goal. Tap any item to see more details about it.

You receive awards based on achieving certain workout and activity goals. At the Awards section, tap the Show More link to see your awards, challenges, and workouts.

Compete With Friends

You can challenge an Apple Watch-wearing friend to a workout competition. To kick this off, you must first share your activity data with your friend. Tap the Sharing icon and tap Get Started. Tap the plus (+) button and select the desired person from your contact list.

Tap Send to send your friend the invitation. They can accept the invitation by opening the Fitness app and tapping Accept next to your name. After the person accepts, their name appears on the Sharing screen.

Next, you must invite that person to the challenge. In the Sharing section of the Fitness app on your iPhone, tap the profile icon at the top and then tap the person's name. Tap the Compete with link, then choose the type of competition. That person can then respond in the Fitness app on their iPhone. Then, let the games begin.

After the competition has started, you can compare the activity numbers for you and your opponent. Open the Activity app on your watch. Swipe to the left to see the stats for you and your activity partner. Tap the name of the other person to see more details on their numbers.

You can also check your phone for the stats. Open the Fitness app on your iPhone and tap the Sharing icon. The screen displays the numbers for you and the other person. Tap the person's name to see their stats. Tap your name to see yours.

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. The app declares the victor and assigns that person a badge. You can then view the final numbers and send a message to the other person, invite them to another challenge, or dismiss the screen.

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