Comments on Workout usage

[Jayne Doe]

My watch is a 38mm SS on white sport band.

Ran for an hour this morning and did a yoga class (hour). Stats were accurate but it ATE the battery. After workouts was at 37%. Charged it up while showering and all seems okay since then.

I was at the same level on Saturday after workout. Is my drain unusual?

Oh, I did use bluetooth headphones (Jaybird Bluebuds X) but they were connected to my iPhone 6 plus.

 

[corlando465]

I put mine to test at the gym yesterday. My gym time is not as physical as the younger crowd, so I knew the results would be a little weak, but after doing a brisk walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, it gave me 7 minutes of activity but the health rate stayed pretty close to the treadmill reading. I was impressed with that. Hoping to see improvements in results with more use.

 

[BD1]

My watch is a 38mm SS on white sport band.

Ran for an hour this morning and did a yoga class (hour). Stats were accurate but it ATE the battery. After workouts was at 37%. Charged it up while showering and all seems okay since then.

I was at the same level on Saturday after workout. Is my drain unusual?

Oh, I did use bluetooth headphones (Jaybird Bluebuds X) but they were connected to my iPhone 6 plus.

My elliptical workout is 50 minutes and uses 8% to 10% of the battery. Similar with an outside run. I am not using bluetooth headphones.

 

[daymouse]

If you go for a run outside can you get the activity app to announce your speed/average pace/etc or does that all come up on the watch when you look at it?

 

[aven8068]

If you go for a run outside can you get the activity app to announce your speed/average pace/etc or does that all come up on the watch when you look at it?

No you can't have it notify you though audio, but it does show up when you raise your wrist. I hope thats something that they add because its really needed.

I have noticed that the taptic engine will notify you at your halfway point and the completion of whatever goal you set for that particular workout. But most of the time I don't feel it when I'm running, due to it being very very subtle.

 

[Jayne Doe]

The voice coach is one thing I'm missing from Runtastic. I used the Apple watch native program for today's run since it's the only way to use the hrm. Tomorrow I'm using Runtstac with a strap for comparison. And I really miss that voice . . .

That half point tap is only noticeable if waiting for it. I totally missed it this morning.

 

[Cory Bauer]

And lastly, Battery Usage: the 45 min Elliptical workout used 11% points (65 to 54) and the Outside Run used 9% points (32 to 23). I was worried that the HR recording would use much more battery life.

Curious how you managed this! I did a 49-minute "other" workout today with weights and lost 20% battery life in that time. My 5-mile roundtrip bike commute logged as "outdoor cycle" seemed to go easier on the battery though; I think I only lost a percentage or two from my 14-minute bike ride into work this morning.

 

[BD1]

Curious how you managed this! I did a 49-minute "other" workout today with weights and lost 20% battery life in that time. My 5-mile roundtrip bike commute logged as "outdoor cycle" seemed to go easier on the battery though; I think I only lost a percentage or two from my 14-minute bike ride into work this morning.

I just did a 54 min "Other" workout (P90X2 Plyocide) and the battery went from 44 to 31, so 13 percentage points.

 

[Cory Bauer]

I just did a 54 min "Other" workout (P90X2 Plyocide) and the battery went from 44 to 31, so 13 percentage points.

Are you a 42mm or 38mm?

 

[greytmom]

I used 11% on 45 minute elliptical and 15 minute indoor bike. I do use the arm movement on the elliptical, but this doesn't seem to trigger the watch screen, which is probably why I'm not using as much battery as some of you.

 

[MartyCan]

Finally! A productive thread with info and not a bunch of whiners complaining about "his watch shipped but mine didn't" or "I've had it for 8 minutes and decided it is not for me!"

I just got mine today. 38mm sport blue. Got it set up and charged to 100% by about 4 PM. Headed to the gym. Paired it to my Wahoo Ticker X HR and my Plantronics backbeat fir headphones. Started my workout at about 4:50 with music streaming from Watch ro headphones and the HR strap connected. Workout was 1:50 and a mix of 30 min cardio and the rest with weights. I chose "other" for type. It recorded about 650 active calories which is low versus what I see when I used the Wahoo App on my iPhone for similar workouts. Don't know which is more true. The algorithm seems to vary by app.

I actually think some tell you incremental calories (what you burned versus resting) and others tell you total. Strava for example always shows a lower calorie number for my rides compared to the Wahoo app I record them on before uploading.

Anyway it was nice to glance at the calorie progress as I worked out. Even lept me there a little longer to increase the number.

The other thing I saw was that my 100% battery went down to 52% by the time I was home just after 7:00. A bit concerning as 2 hour workouts are my norm.

Also, I turned off BT on my phone before I locked it up in the locker and today it seems down more than usual. Now at 50% on a 6 plus. More than normal for me even when I used it for the tunes and HR on my workout.

To be fair though since it is day 1 i was probably playing with both more than might be typical.

 

[Cory Bauer]

I used 11% on 45 minute elliptical and 15 minute indoor bike. I do use the arm movement on the elliptical, but this doesn't seem to trigger the watch screen, which is probably why I'm not using as much battery as some of you.

Are you 38mm or 42mm?

 

[greytmom]

Are you 38mm or 42mm?

38mm

 

[justinwc80]

My wife is trying to figure out how to use the watch to measure calories burned during Zumba but the other workout didn't seem to give accurate readings

 

[BD1]

Are you a 42mm or 38mm?

42mm Space Gray

 

[Cory Bauer]

38mm

If that's the case then either there's something wrong with my 38mm watch or outdoor cycling uses way more battery. I lost 7% from my 13.5 minute bike commute alone this morning.

42mm Space Gray

On my 38mm a 49-minute "other" workout cost me 20% battery. If I can't find a way to improve battery life I may need to return mine for a 42mm just to get through the day on a full charge.

 

[greytmom]

If that's the case then either there's something wrong with my 38mm watch or outdoor cycling uses way more battery. I lost 7% from my 13.5 minute bike commute alone this morning.

Is your screen staying on the whole time?

 

[Cory Bauer]

Is your screen staying on the whole time?

Nope, it's off whenever I look at it. Although I'm sure it's activating many times by accident during a workout.

 

[PatrickNSF]

Great, helpful thread. Just received my Watch today.

Took the Watch for a 2 mile walk with the dog and it came within 0.02 of the Garmin 620. If my runs track this way, that will work for me. First test is tomorrow.

Haven't seen this yet, but is there an Auto Pause feature i the Workout app? I can't find one. Also, is there a consensus as to which third party app is the best to try at this point? I've been using a Garmin for a few years, so I'm open to any of the iPhone/Watch apps.

 

[Jayne Doe]

Did my workout this morning. Battery life was slightly better. Hour run ate up about 15% and hour gym time ate up ten percent. I did use bluetooth headphones for run. For yoga, it was just the 38 mm SS so that accounts for some of that difference. Other days, it's been much worse. I'm taking notes.

Also in my case, for some reason my iPhone 6 plus won't go to sleep. I've tried restarting, resets, etc. But since watch came to live with me, I wake in middle of night thinking, "aliens again?" Massive relief when it's only my iPhone glowing.

Called Apple, they had me unpair and pair again. Maybe this had something to do with the watch battery woes also.

 

[BD1]

Great, helpful thread. Just received my Watch today.

Took the Watch for a 2 mile walk with the dog and it came within 0.02 of the Garmin 620. If my runs track this way, that will work for me. First test is tomorrow.

Haven't seen this yet, but is there an Auto Pause feature i the Workout app? I can't find one. Also, is there a consensus as to which third party app is the best to try at this point? I've been using a Garmin for a few years, so I'm open to any of the iPhone/Watch apps.

I don't think there is an auto pause but that would be nice to have in the future.

Also, make sure you calibrate your watch:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204516

 

[Macwick]

Thanks everyone for a really useful thread. My Apple Watch arrives tomorrow and I am really excited about leveraging it for workout tracking.

A couple of questions:

1) Dumb question but I can't find the answer anywhere. Will the Activity app function when your iPhone is not present? How about the Workout app? In a perfect world I would just wear my watch to the gym. If the watch does require the phone, do you have to hold the phone for indoor runs, or can you place it on the treadmill? I currently have to hold my iPhone 6 when running so that it can measure speed/distance, and that is extremely cumbersome.

2) On the iPhone, it's not clear to me when you would use the Activity app vs when you would use the Health app to view your data. It seems like the Activity app has better visualization of your data, and the Health app is more of an information exchange for other apps. But if you're only using Apple Watch apps to measure your workouts, do you ever need to open the Health app?

3) I have used the Nike Running app for years. However, I am highly tempted to ditch it completely and just use the Apple suite of apps. Any reason not to do this? Also, any way to import years of historical workout data from Nike+ into the Health app?

Ok I lied, more than a couple of questions. Thanks in advance...

 

[greytmom]

Haven't seen this yet, but is there an Auto Pause feature i the Workout app? I can't find one. Also, is there a consensus as to which third party app is the best to try at this point? I've been using a Garmin for a few years, so I'm open to any of the iPhone/Watch apps.

Yep, you can pause. Swipe right from the screen where your workout clock is ticking, and you can either pause or end workout.

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1) Dumb question but I can't find the answer anywhere. Will the Activity app function when your iPhone is not present? How about the Workout app? In a perfect world I would just wear my watch to the gym. If the watch does require the phone, do you have to hold the phone for indoor runs, or can you place it on the treadmill? I currently have to hold my iPhone 6 when running so that it can measure speed/distance, and that is extremely cumbersome.

2) On the iPhone, it's not clear to me when you would use the Activity app vs when you would use the Health app to view your data. It seems like the Activity app has better visualization of your data, and the Health app is more of an information exchange for other apps. But if you're only using Apple Watch apps to measure your workouts, do you ever need to open the Health app?

You don't need your phone for your workouts. (Just curious, doesn't your treadmill give you the distance?)

You don't really have to look at Health. I look at it because I want to see how my HR is recorded over the course of my workouts.

 

[betabeta]

Yep, you can pause. Swipe right from the screen where your workout clock is ticking, and you can either pause or end workout.

Yeah, hopefully Apple will make it so the walking/running workouts will know when you stop and pause automatically like Runmeter.

Can't wait until we get some solid updates, until then my Runmeter elite subscription has everything Apple should, charts for everything, announces your avg speed, your current speed, your goals, distance, etc.

 

[Julien]

Yeah, hopefully Apple will make it so the walking/running workouts will know when you stop and pause automatically like Runmeter.....

I lost over a ¼ of a mile on my last run on Watch because of this. It is hard to Force Touch and then Tap Resume while looking for traffic, crossing a street and being fatigued. Hope Apple adds auto pause soon.