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Type of workout to choose for sport games (baskeball, tenis or soccer)

ChoPraTs

ChoPraTs

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 27, 2009
44
3
Madrid, Spain
Hi all,

I've recently received my new Apple Watch. I want to use it while I'm playing sports like basketball, soccer, tennis... Which of the different type of exercices into the app Workouts of the Apple Watch do you think is better to track this kind of exercice? Because none of them are showed as a category, I just only can select one of these:
  • Outdoor Run
  • Outdoor Walk
  • Outdoor Cycle
  • Indoor Run
  • Indoor Walk
  • Indoor Cycle
  • Elliptical
  • Rower
  • Stair Stepper
  • Other
 
Yes, I thought about that... but I don't know if perhaps "Indoor Run" or something similar (that don't use iPhone's GPS) is more appropiate, because sports require many movement, runs... not just to be doing exercices on the same place.
 
I use "other" for basketball. I tried walking once, because "other" does not give you distance traveled. But walking just really seemed off. Calories burned were really low compared to other.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
I use "other" for basketball. I tried walking once, because "other" does not give you distance traveled. But walking just really seemed off. Calories burned were really low compared to other.
Click to expand...

That's because when you pick Other, the watch credits you with calories even when you are not moving. In a sport like basketball where there is a lot of stopping in between movement, that'd add up to quite a lot of calories. Walking or running workouts don't give you calories when you are not in motion.
 
Night Spring said:
That's because when you pick Other, the watch credits you with calories even when you are not moving. In a sport like basketball where there is a lot of stopping in between movement, that'd add up to quite a lot of calories. Walking or running workouts don't give you calories when you are not in motion.
Click to expand...

Yesterday I tried with "outdoor run" category while I was playing soccer, but with one hour of exercise it just counted 0,4 Km distance and only 240 CAL. I think this data is not correct. Perhaps I did a mistake, because my iPhone was in a bag very near me, so I think the app was tracking GPS data but as the iPhone was not moving, the final results were very poor... So, if the iPhone is near me, I think that selecting "indoor run" perhaps is better than "outdoor run" to force Apple Watch don't consider GPS data. What do you think?
 
ChoPraTs said:
Yesterday I tried with "outdoor run" category while I was playing soccer, but with one hour of exercise it just counted 0,4 Km distance and only 240 CAL. I think this data is not correct. Perhaps I did a mistake, because my iPhone was in a bag very near me, so I think the app was tracking GPS data but as the iPhone was not moving, the final results were very poor... So, if the iPhone is near me, I think that selecting "indoor run" perhaps is better than "outdoor run" to force Apple Watch don't consider GPS data. What do you think?
Click to expand...

That sounds logical, but the truth is, nobody here knows what algorithms Apple is using to measure and calculate distance and calories for each workout settings. We are all in the dark here, trying to figure it out by trial and error. So far, all I know for certain is that Other gives you calories and exercise minutes even if I'm sitting still doing nothing. So please do try playing soccer with indoor run, and report back if you get a different result from using outdoor run.
 
Night Spring said:
That sounds logical, but the truth is, nobody here knows what algorithms Apple is using to measure and calculate distance and calories for each workout settings. We are all in the dark here, trying to figure it out by trial and error. So far, all I know for certain is that Other gives you calories and exercise minutes even if I'm sitting still doing nothing. So please do try playing soccer with indoor run, and report back if you get a different result from using outdoor run.
Click to expand...

This is the only thing that Apple explains in the manual:

Note:
Outdoor and Indoor Walk/Run/Cycle are distinct workouts because Apple Watch calculates the calorie burn differently for each. For indoor workouts, Apple Watch relies mainly on your heart rate readings for calorie estimates, but for outdoor workouts, Apple Watch works in conjunction with iPhone (which has GPS) to calculate speed and distance. Those values, along with your heart rate, are used to estimate the number of calories burned.
 
I have been doing some tests with my Apple Watch and Workout app. I think the results were very good.

The test consisted in to complete the same distance with three differents ways and compare how the Apple Watch calculate the results.

These was the tests and results:


Test 1: A lap running arround my house block, with Outdoor Run selected and my iPhone with me (Apple Watch receiving GPS data).

Total Distance: 0,44 Km.
Total Time: 02:21
Active Calories: 22 (4 Resting, 26 Total)
Avg Pace: 5'17'' KM
Avg Heart Rate: 148 LPM


Test 2: The same lap arround my house block, trying to do it in the same time, but selecting Indoor Run and without iPhone (Apple Watch without GPS data).

Total Distance: 0,45 Km.
Total Time: 02:06
Active Calories: 24 (3 Resting, 26 Total)
Avg Pace: 4'38'' KM
Avg Heart Rate: - (Not calculated, I think it was an error)


Test 3: The same lap again, selectiong Indoor Run without iPhone (Apple Watch without GPS data) but this time alterning running and walking diferent sections.

Total Distance: 0,44 Km.
Total Time: 03:24
Active Calories: 24 (5 Resting, 29 Total)
Avg Pace: 7'38'' KM
Avg Heart Rate: 144 LPM



CONCLUSIONS: As you can see, the Apple Watch calculated the same distance, with and without GPS, even I tried to cheat it walking some sections and running others. Perhaps I need to test it more time with longer distances, but I can conclude that the Apple Watch calculates the distances very good even without GPS.

So for my purposes I think "Indoor Run" perhaps is a good option to use when practicing sports like basketball, soccer or tennis, because the Apple Watch seems to know when we are running, walking or resting and taking a breath.

The only thing is that the Apple Watch don't consider the energy we use in every shoot, but I supose this elevates our Heart Rate so the calories will be calculated according to this extra effort too.

I was using the Apple Watch in my first futsal match (in a little field) and these have been the results:

Total Distance: 5,47 Km.
Total Time: 1:07:08
Active Calories: 246 (105 Resting, 351 Total)
Avg Pace: 12'15'' KM
Avg Heart Rate: 133 LPM
 
Mtmspa said:
I want to wear mine for basketball, but am worried about breaking it.
Click to expand...

Not just worried about breaking the Apple Watch, also think in not damage other players with it.

I protect mine with a wrist band like this:

MainZ35932.jpg
 
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