The Apple Watch Activity Rings are pointless

[AlanMarron]

I intentionally walk uphill because it requires more effort than flat terrain. Many times I notice my Apple Watch reporting that I have walked 4 or so miles, most of it uphill, but the Exercise Ring only reports 19 minutes of exercise for the entire walk. Now, someone please explain to me how a person can walk for 4 miles, most of it uphill, and only show 19 minutes of exercise for it. Four miles of walking usually takes me over an hour.

68 yo, former middle distance runner.

Have you calibrated your watch recently? You can find the instructions on the interwebz.

I find that the Watch’s integration of height (approximate step length), pulse, mph, resting pulse, weight, age, and other measurements (possibly proprietary) accurately calculates my exercise minutes. My measurements may also be more accurate because I have a 7 and a 9 and wear a Watch 24/7/365 so it’s throwing everything into the mix.

BTW, unless you finish your walks in a different place than where you started, you can’t walk “most of it uphill”. My walk (on my rock driveway and a rock road) has elevation changes, but because I start and finish at my front door, the total elevation change is actually zero, regardless of what it says. See attached and look at the green graph.

And keep up your fitness routine!

 

[Jonnod III]

Had a great Stand day last Thursday.

 

[Pierre535]

Stand may not be the same as walk round, but its really difficult to walk around if you don’t stand.

 

[AlanMarron]

Had a great Stand day last Thursday.

View attachment 2525086

Diarrhea or too much beer?

 

[Jonnod III]

Diarrhea or too much beer?

Nope, a disturbed night, too hot!

 

[AlanMarron]

I ❤️ my Watches. Last night with a nasty head cold.

 

[GrassShark]

Had a great Stand day last Thursday.

View attachment 2525086

This one's my record (I still find it crazy that a smart watch can't understand international travel).

 

[ajmalkhan]

Some find Apple Watch Activity Rings motivating, but others see them as arbitrary or not aligned with personal fitness goals

 

[azhava]

Glad it works for you. I don’t think rings have anything to do with fitness level. OP sounds more of rant and personal displike.

I don't think they directly correlate with fitness level, but for me they provide motivation to do something I might not otherwise do (or might not do as much of). They're nothing more than a reminder, something to keep me mindful of what I'm doing throughout the day. That's all I ask of, or expect from them - if I want to evaluate my fitness I'll look at other metrics like my resting heart rate, VO2max, body fat percentage, and/or workout stats.

There are no concrete parameters for "fitness level" which apply universally to everybody. What is superior fitness for a 68 year old man (let's just look at it in terms of strength and VO2max) would be borderline poor for an 18 year old. A 27 year old sedentary office worker with a BMI of 36 is most likely in terrible overall physical condition and basically a heart attack waiting to happen, but a 27 year old NFL offensive tackle with that same BMI is a beast.

Ask a powerlifter what it means to be "fit". Then ask the same question of a competitive 5K runner, an NHL hockey player, an NFL offensive lineman, and a Tour de France cyclist. I guarantee you all of their answers will be vastly different and there won't be much common ground.

 

[cjsuk]

Agree with OP. The rings are useless.

Case in point

This lacks any description of magnitude that is reasonable.

This is the data that represents 💩

 

[ApeBot]

I enjoy Apple fitness+ and get a sense of achievement when i close my rings (10 hrs / 60 minutes / 850 calories).

What I’m hearing is that it’s not for you. That’s cool.

 

[CyberDavis]

I submit to you that the Apple Watch Activity Rings are pointless. Let me explain.

The Stand Ring

I have to ask, why was the Stand Ring even created? There is no way for the Activity app to know what is happening during this “stand session”, as seen above, so it shouldn’t even be seen as a health benefit.


The Exercise Ring

I intentionally walk uphill because it requires more effort than flat terrain. Many times I notice my Apple Watch reporting that I have walked 4 or so miles, most of it uphill, but the Exercise Ring only reports 19 minutes of exercise for the entire walk. Now, someone please explain to me how a person can walk for 4 miles, most of it uphill, and only show 19 minutes of exercise for it. Four miles of walking usually takes me over an hour.

Is it really a challenge?

I see lots of people responding to various Apple Watch Activity Challenges with “easy peasy”, or “make it harder next time”. A challenge is defined as something that test’s one’s abilities. Is it really a challenge if it is so easy to complete? I remember one of the badges in the Apple Watch Activity app stating “earn this badge after completing a 5-minute workout.” A 5-minute workout?! One cannot even complete a proper warmup in 5 minutes, let alone an entire workout.

Hey, you are perfectly entitled to not like the rings, but as others have said it does not make them pointless.

Stand Ring.
I work at home a lot, so for me the stand option is about the prompt to get up out of my chair and move around for a minute.

Exercise Ring.
I understand it can be frustrating if it does not automatically pick up an activity.
For me, activities I want to log I start a workout. It could be a run, walk or hike, but regardless of type I use workouts to track the data and that reliably records exercises.

And I agree with others, they are more motivational than a direct indicator of health and fitness.
I use them as a reminder and encouragement to keep going with exercise.
The many health and fitness metrics recorded and visible in the Health app are a better way of tracking health and fitness.

And I guess each person needs to adjust their goals to suit lifestyle and aspirations.
I treat the monthly goals as a fun target, some are easier than others, but they are just another encouragement to keep active.

Is it all perfect, no obviously not.
Is it pointless, no it is hopefully motivational to many people.

 

[Happy_John]

"Old man waves fist at clouds?"

This seems to be the case of someone complaining about a product because it doesn't do what the producer explicitly said it doesn't do.

My Apple Watch doesn't make me coffee. Time to get outraged because Apple never said my watch makes coffee and my watch doesn't make coffee.

 

[Saturn007]

Whoa! Lots of pointed, even ad hominem, attacks on the OP and his post.

Many of those who accuse him of being judgmental are themselves quite judgmental.

Many are also fixated on his comment about the stand ring being off, while ignoring his other major points.

Few, in the midst of their dismissiveness, evaluated his two central, practical concerns —

1) How is it that his friend, who is incredibly inactive, closes her rings, especially the move and exercise ones?

and

2) Why do his hour long uphill walks register as only 19 minutes?

He's also right that his friend is living an unhealthy lifestyle and is unfit. If that’s being “judgmental”, it's with good reason and good concern.

Clearly, she is in poor health or poor condition if she tires so readily even on a walk around the block! (One also wonders what the sit. is that a 22-year-old can spend all day watching TV.)

Now, it is true, demonstrably so, that his post's title was sweeping and unfounded. The activity rings are hardly “pointless”!

To directly address his concern about the closing of rings and quality of health, perhaps his friend has set her daily goals so low, it's easy for her to close them!

That’s a key variable. If that's what she's doing, it refutes his key piece of evidence for believing that closing the rings is a pointless measure.

It'd be interesting to find out what her (and his) cardiovascular fitness measures show. VO2 Max, resting HR, EEG, HR recovery. I'll wager they'd show she has a problem. Given that, and their friendship, the OP should ask her one day…

Those other indicators add key info and reinforce the value of the Watch as a fitness measure.

By the way, demanding the OP offer solutions to the problems he raised is silly — Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company with some of the best and brightest. They should solve these issues not the OP.

His being a veteran and a combat medic is relevant — it helps show he knows what fitness and health are. Instead of acknowledging that, it became most grist for the attack mill!

Oh, one final thought. The Move indicator does have serious problems — in certain circumstances. A family member is a knitter and racks up big move “points” while knitting. I've been able to close my move ring by simply using my iPad and moving my hand or fingers around. But we take that into account.

After all these years, the Watch should know better!

 

[patmondal]

It’s great for me as an office worker as a reminder to get up and walk around. The exercise rings have been a great motivation for me.

I agree. If I’m busy working on a project or something, at 50 mins it’ll ping me and I’ll get up, get some water, walk around and get back to my desk.
Now have I gamed the system, by just shaking my wrist or making circular motions till it recognizes that I “stood and moved”. Sure, but that’s on me. Not the watch. It can be gamed, yes. But it’s motivation to do better. Which is better than nothing.

 

[fatTribble]

1) How is it that his friend, who is incredibly inactive, closes her rings, especially the move and exercise ones?

and

2) Why do his hour long uphill walks register as only 19 minutes?

Most likely the friend has her goals set low and the walk is relying on the detection function of the watch rather than manually starting a walk exercise.

He's also right that his friend is living an unhealthy lifestyle and is unfit. If that’s being “judgmental”, it's with good reason and good concern.

This is being judgmental:

I visit her often and she typically stands for 60 seconds each hour in order to close her Stand Ring. Sometimes Jane uses this time to walk to the fridge to grab a Dr. Pepper and then to the cabinet to grab a candy bar or potato chips and then plops back down in front of the television.

To directly address his concern about the closing of rings and quality of health, perhaps his friend has set her daily goals so low, it's easy for her to close them!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

By the way, demanding the OP offer solutions to the problems he raised is silly — Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company with some of the best and brightest. They should solve these issues not the OP.

False. I didn’t read any demands. I read suggestions. I can’t think of a complaint I’ve ever had of Apple where I didn’t have any notion of what I’d prefer instead. What’s better than ranting is doing something constructive like voicing your opinions or suggestions to Apple. I’d argue that complaining can be constructive if there is a desire to learn about others’ experiences, if there is a work around or a misunderstanding of a function. I didn’t read any desire to learn here.

His being a veteran and a combat medic is relevant — it helps show he knows what fitness and health are. Instead of acknowledging that, it became most grist for the attack mill!

That expertise seems missing when the OP didn’t seem to understand the importance of standing and moving throughout the day rather than sitting for long periods of time. Others have pointed this out.

 

[phillyman]

For me, it does motivate me to maybe do that extra elliptical or maybe go for a bit longer walk. I set my goals (for me) aggressively . So through gamification Apple has motivated me to do more. The Apple watch achieved what I (and I think lots of users want). A prompt. What you do with that prompt is up to you.

I do actually think the OP's woman example shows something good. She DOES get up. So maybe she reduces her chance of a blood clot? I'm not a doctor but any movement has to be good. I'm sure some of us (I know I do), rely too much on these inaccurate devices to convince ourselves we are doing good.

But again I feel any tool that gets anyone moving just a bit, has to be a good thing.

Philly

 

[IJustWannaTalk]

Whoa! Lots of pointed, even ad hominem, attacks on the OP and his post.

Many of those who accuse him of being judgmental are themselves quite judgmental.

Many are also fixated on his comment about the stand ring being off, while ignoring his other major points.

Few, in the midst of their dismissiveness, evaluated his two central, practical concerns —

1) How is it that his friend, who is incredibly inactive, closes her rings, especially the move and exercise ones?

and

2) Why do his hour long uphill walks register as only 19 minutes?

He's also right that his friend is living an unhealthy lifestyle and is unfit. If that’s being “judgmental”, it's with good reason and good concern.

Clearly, she is in poor health or poor condition if she tires so readily even on a walk around the block! (One also wonders what the sit. is that a 22-year-old can spend all day watching TV.)

Now, it is true, demonstrably so, that his post's title was sweeping and unfounded. The activity rings are hardly “pointless”!

To directly address his concern about the closing of rings and quality of health, perhaps his friend has set her daily goals so low, it's easy for her to close them!

That’s a key variable. If that's what she's doing, it refutes his key piece of evidence for believing that closing the rings is a pointless measure.

It'd be interesting to find out what her (and his) cardiovascular fitness measures show. VO2 Max, resting HR, EEG, HR recovery. I'll wager they'd show she has a problem. Given that, and their friendship, the OP should ask her one day…

Those other indicators add key info and reinforce the value of the Watch as a fitness measure.

By the way, demanding the OP offer solutions to the problems he raised is silly — Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company with some of the best and brightest. They should solve these issues not the OP.

His being a veteran and a combat medic is relevant — it helps show he knows what fitness and health are. Instead of acknowledging that, it became most grist for the attack mill!

Oh, one final thought. The Move indicator does have serious problems — in certain circumstances. A family member is a knitter and racks up big move “points” while knitting. I've been able to close my move ring by simply using my iPad and moving my hand or fingers around. But we take that into account.

After all these years, the Watch should know better!

Are you sure you're not being judgmental by judging arguments against someone being judgmental as judgmental?

 

[jnc]

I submit to you that the Apple Watch Activity Rings are pointless. Let me explain.

I purchased an Apple Watch series 10, cellular version, for the purposes of determining if I could leave my iPhone at home and just wear my Apple Watch when I’m out and about. So far it is working out perfectly, except that I find the Activity Rings horribly misleading.

The Stand Ring

I typically walk 10 to 15 miles per day with a 20 mile hike once per week - I’m ex-military and enjoy walking/hiking. I’m 62 years old, 145 lbs. and can lift 150 lbs. with moderate effort. I usually close all of my rings in the first two hours of my day. I have a friend, I’ll call her “Jane”, who brags that she also “closes her rings daily”. Jane is overweight and sits in front of the television most days. I visit her often and she typically stands for 60 seconds each hour in order to close her Stand Ring. Sometimes Jane uses this time to walk to the fridge to grab a Dr. Pepper and then to the cabinet to grab a candy bar or potato chips and then plops back down in front of the television. I have invited Jane to walk around the block with me but she needs several breaks, complains of “sweating too much” and that it “takes too much effort”. Besides, she says, “I close all of my rings so I’m being healthy.” She is 22 years old.

I have to ask, why was the Stand Ring even created? There is no way for the Activity app to know what is happening during this “stand session”, as seen above, so it shouldn’t even be seen as a health benefit.

We both close all of our Apple Watch rings daily, but which of us do you think has a good chance of seeing their 75th birthday. Think about it; exactly how many obese 75 year old people have you ever seen?

The Exercise Ring

I intentionally walk uphill because it requires more effort than flat terrain. Many times I notice my Apple Watch reporting that I have walked 4 or so miles, most of it uphill, but the Exercise Ring only reports 19 minutes of exercise for the entire walk. Now, someone please explain to me how a person can walk for 4 miles, most of it uphill, and only show 19 minutes of exercise for it. Four miles of walking usually takes me over an hour.

Is it really a challenge?

I see lots of people responding to various Apple Watch Activity Challenges with “easy peasy”, or “make it harder next time”. A challenge is defined as something that test’s one’s abilities. Is it really a challenge if it is so easy to complete? I remember one of the badges in the Apple Watch Activity app stating “earn this badge after completing a 5-minute workout.” A 5-minute workout?! One cannot even complete a proper warmup in 5 minutes, let alone an entire workout.

The best workout log

I was told years ago by a weightlifting trainer: “you can write down whatever you want in your logbook. But your body will log your true workout activity.” And he was right.

Conclusion

I’m fully aware that I can disable all health tracking on the Apple Watch. I did that last month and the watch seemed to burn through the battery life much faster. So, I reenabled the fitness tracking so I could go back to charging the watch every evening. Don’t get me wrong, the Apple Watch series 10 is a wonderful device for what it does. But, what about the people who think Apple know what they’re doing and rely on the Activity Rings for physical fitness?


Dear Apple: I really feel that this “close your rings” BS needs to stop.. it’s clearly pointless from a physical health perspective. Go spend four weeks with military basic training and you’ll learn the true definition of “physical fitness”.

The ring goals are specific to each user. You configure them yourself. It they are "too easy" it's down to the user to adjust them. If they don't, and they just want to feel like they've done something by "closing their rings" with a small goal. Then that is their freedom. Turn yours up. Don't stress about what others are doing with theirs.

 

[weather34]

Whoa! Lots of pointed, even ad hominem, attacks on the OP and his post.

Many of those who accuse him of being judgmental are themselves quite judgmental.

Many are also fixated on his comment about the stand ring being off, while ignoring his other major points.

Few, in the midst of their dismissiveness, evaluated his two central, practical concerns —

1) How is it that his friend, who is incredibly inactive, closes her rings, especially the move and exercise ones?

and

2) Why do his hour long uphill walks register as only 19 minutes?

He's also right that his friend is living an unhealthy lifestyle and is unfit. If that’s being “judgmental”, it's with good reason and good concern.

Clearly, she is in poor health or poor condition if she tires so readily even on a walk around the block! (One also wonders what the sit. is that a 22-year-old can spend all day watching TV.)

Now, it is true, demonstrably so, that his post's title was sweeping and unfounded. The activity rings are hardly “pointless”!

To directly address his concern about the closing of rings and quality of health, perhaps his friend has set her daily goals so low, it's easy for her to close them!

That’s a key variable. If that's what she's doing, it refutes his key piece of evidence for believing that closing the rings is a pointless measure.

It'd be interesting to find out what her (and his) cardiovascular fitness measures show. VO2 Max, resting HR, EEG, HR recovery. I'll wager they'd show she has a problem. Given that, and their friendship, the OP should ask her one day…

Those other indicators add key info and reinforce the value of the Watch as a fitness measure.

By the way, demanding the OP offer solutions to the problems he raised is silly — Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company with some of the best and brightest. They should solve these issues not the OP.

His being a veteran and a combat medic is relevant — it helps show he knows what fitness and health are. Instead of acknowledging that, it became most grist for the attack mill!

Oh, one final thought. The Move indicator does have serious problems — in certain circumstances. A family member is a knitter and racks up big move “points” while knitting. I've been able to close my move ring by simply using my iPad and moving my hand or fingers around. But we take that into account.

After all these years, the Watch should know better!

Bold un-constructive subject titles

"The Apple Watch Activity Rings are pointless" would it not be wiser to start a constructive conversation/dialogue with for example "do the Apple Watch Activity Rings work for you ?"​

undoubtedly the opening title with the phrase like “pointless “ bold responses will occur ,now its ok for the OP to come out and be non constructive in the title but its not ok for others to respond boldly .. two sides of a coin some of the OP points are valid some are very un-constructive and serve no use other than a rant unfortunately . constructive dialogue benefits others , i have learnt much from this forum over many years but much of the useful information gets buried in the noise of rants.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

My Apple Watch doesn't make me coffee. Time to get outraged because Apple never said my watch makes coffee and my watch doesn't make coffee.

?? Buy an Apple Watch Ultra. Mine makes great coffee. ;~)

 

[Moonlight]

No one asked about your background nor does anyone care. If you feel like you have to wear it like a badge to prove your point then maybe the problem lies with you.

Gosh I am exhausted from these threads and rants with no substance and bias up the ying yang. If you don't like the product just don't buy it and stop using it.

100% agree. I am still waiting for him to mention his height and shoe size.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I wonder if I had the energy to debate this much ... I'd probably be able to eat a whole lot more pizza and drink a whole lot more beer than I currently do. (I'm not small (very large) and nowhere near where I should be so I say this with jest and poking at myself).

 

[DougiePhresh]

Did I mention that I actually went to medical school? And served in the military as a combat medic? I do have some idea of what I’m talking about when it comes to physical fitness. Is it such a bad thing to try and bring this topic to light in the hopes that I might benefit others?

Woah, watch out for Billy Badass over here everyone

 

[JapanApple]

I use the active rings as estimations. I work out every week at the gym. I do housework, gardening, etc. I lost 50lbs in 3+ years. I know it work well if you allow your self