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lg251

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 3, 2009
369
126
Canada
Anyone doing mixed workouts with the Workout app on the watch?

Let me explain,

I have a water rower at home and usually during my training, I row about 1.5-2k kilometers then pause, do a few series of weight lifting and then head back to the rower.

I repeat this 3 times and sometimes include a few sit ups at the end.


Of course I select “Rower” when I start the Workout app, however what do you guys suggest I do when switching from the rower to the lifting? Right now I hit pause, lift the weights, sit back on the rower and “un-pause” (pretty annoying I have to admit...)


Should I just leave it running the whole time or will the results be off if I do so? What do you guys do when mixing workout activities?
 

lg251

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 3, 2009
369
126
Canada
Anyone doing various workouts during a training session? What do you guys do/suggest? Tried reading online but no advice on the Apple Support pages nor via searching on the web.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
In a discussion I had in another thread, someone said that for activities like weight lifting, you should use the "other" workout setting. I think sit-ups would also fall under "other."

So if you are aiming for strict accuracy, I suppose you should switch to "other" when doing weight lifting and sit-ups. On the other hand, I suspect that the results wouldn't be THAT much different if you just keep the Rowing workout running the whole time. I'd try it both ways and see if you get a significant difference.
 
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lg251

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 3, 2009
369
126
Canada
Alright thanks. I guess I'll give it a shot.

Rower - 2km
End + Save
Other - 10 minutes
End + Save
Rower - 2km
etc

My concern with staying on "rower" while doing some weight lifts, is would it learn and become "inaccurate" over time? Rowing metric calculations wouldn't be as precise anymore right?...if that makes sense.
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,460
Vilano Beach, FL
In the future, I could see allowing a user to setup a custom workout, with multiple types, then the alarm/haptics could inform you to switch (either time or calorie triggered).

On Fridays we do a HIIT workout for an hour, then a 30-35 minute cycle class, and I do a reset of the goals/type in between since it's a couple of minutes to setup for cycle - go from OTHER to INDOOR CYCLE.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
My concern with staying on "rower" while doing some weight lifts, is would it learn and become "inaccurate" over time? Rowing metric calculations wouldn't be as precise anymore right?...if that makes sense.

I hear your concern, and unfortunately, I don't know the answer. I know that for running/walking, Apple said the watch learns your pace, so doing other things while still running the Workout app in those modes might throw off the calibration. What I don't know is whether Rowing mode also tries to learn your pace or not. :(
 
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SpEe1113

macrumors regular
Apr 24, 2015
117
42
Florida
In a discussion I had in another thread, someone said that for activities like weight lifting, you should use the "other" workout setting. I think sit-ups would also fall under "other."

So if you are aiming for strict accuracy, I suppose you should switch to "other" when doing weight lifting and sit-ups. On the other hand, I suspect that the results wouldn't be THAT much different if you just keep the Rowing workout running the whole time. I'd try it both ways and see if you get a significant difference.

Good point. I'd probably just log it as "Other" since it's a mixed workout unless you don't mind switching back and forth...

My thought here is to remember the ultimate purpose of what you're doing, keep your focus on your workout and let the watch merely be an "aid" to help you track your progress. In other words, don't get too caught up monitoring the watch throughout the workout if you're mixing in different exercises, stay focused on your workout to make sure your form is good and you're getting the most out of it. That is ultimately what you need to see the gains, not the watch.

I typically record my weight sessions with the "Other" setting and if I do cardio after I'm done with weights, then I'll start a new "Outdoor or Indoor Run" session. I don't go back and forth between cardio and weights, but if I did, I probably wouldn't want to keep changing my workout log on my watch.
 
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Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,835
5,430
Atlanta
Alright thanks. I guess I'll give it a shot.

Rower - 2km
End + Save
Other - 10 minutes
End + Save
Rower - 2km
etc

My concern with staying on "rower" while doing some weight lifts, is would it learn and become "inaccurate" over time? Rowing metric calculations wouldn't be as precise anymore right?...if that makes sense.
I would probably just go Other and be done with it. You are asking for problems doing a Force Touch/End/Launch Workout/select Workout type/Start several times every few minutes.
 
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lg251

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 3, 2009
369
126
Canada
Good point. I'd probably just log it as "Other" since it's a mixed workout unless you don't mind switching back and forth...

My thought here is to remember the ultimate purpose of what you're doing, keep your focus on your workout and let the watch merely be an "aid" to help you track your progress. In other words, don't get too caught up monitoring the watch throughout the workout if you're mixing in different exercises, stay focused on your workout to make sure your form is good and you're getting the most out of it. That is ultimately what you need to see the gains, not the watch.

I typically record my weight sessions with the "Other" setting and if I do cardio after I'm done with weights, then I'll start a new "Outdoor or Indoor Run" session. I don't go back and forth between cardio and weights, but if I did, I probably wouldn't want to keep changing my workout log on my watch.

Before I owned an AppleWatch I would simply check the time/distance on the rower and made sure I would reach my daily and weekly goals. I'm not there to beat records or join competitions, I want to stay and look healthy. Like you said staying focused and doing it is the important part.

However, like many of us here, I enjoy to track what I do. I can see my progress and it motivates me to push myself (especially that I train alone at home).
I don't really mind taking a few extra minutes to have "better metrics". I just thought (or hoped) that it would've more convenient than it is. That maybe there was a quick flow to this... something that Apple has gotten us used to in the past.

And yes in the end I do look at the gains, not the watch...although I do enjoy looking at it in my spare time! :)
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
Before I owned an AppleWatch I would simply check the time/distance on the rower and made sure I would reach my daily and weekly goals. I'm not there to beat records or join competitions, I want to stay and look healthy. Like you said staying focused and doing it is the important part.

So when you use the Rowing Workout on the Apple watch, it gives you the distance you rowed? How does it compare to the distance logged by the rower? Just curious about how accurate the watch is.
 

twisted-pixel

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2009
886
76
San Jose, CA
I don't use anything when doing weights. I have the elliptical and indoor bike when using those, but for weights I just turn it off. I was of the opinion it wouldn't give me accurate results and so I'd rather have none at all. I don't stop when I see 200 calories for example...I do my work out and when I'm done, I'm done.
 

lg251

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 3, 2009
369
126
Canada
So when you use the Rowing Workout on the Apple watch, it gives you the distance you rowed? How does it compare to the distance logged by the rower? Just curious about how accurate the watch is.

Unfortunately, it does not track distance on the watch. To many different rowers/parameters to take into consideration. But on the other hand, it would be nice to have the option to add the distance upon clicking the "Save" button!

I don't use anything when doing weights. I have the elliptical and indoor bike when using those, but for weights I just turn it off. I was of the opinion it wouldn't give me accurate results and so I'd rather have none at all. I don't stop when I see 200 calories for example...I do my work out and when I'm done, I'm done.

I agree with you and I don't check if I've reached a specific amount of calories to stop my workout. But as I said above, I like the tracking part to serve as a guideline for improving my workouts over time. And buying the watch, I had the impression that tracking my most of my activities would be simple...It is if you stick to only one at a time is what I'm understanding now.
 
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