Why do so many people that post their movement goal on internet have such low movement goals?

[Spindel]

DISCLAIMER! I'm not out to shame anyone I'm just asking an honest question.

A thing I've noticed is that a lot of people on different forums discussing the AW that post what their movement goals are have them set really low (in my opinion).

Why is that?

Isn't the point, if you are going to use the AW to motivate yourself to be more active, to at least have some challenge so you have to do a little extra movement?

What I classify as low are people that set the goal to like 400-500 kcal/day (or lower).

Now I know I don't have a stellarly high set goal on my AW (710 kcal/day). But on most office days for me when I do not exercise this at least means I have to do something a little extra to fill my movement ring and to 200 % the movement ring actually takes some effort (never 300 %ed the ring highest I've reached was 280-290 %). I consider myself fairly active but not extremely active.

But if I had the movement goal set to 500 kcal I would still fill that ring on the most sedentary day at work where I basically only move around the office between the office and the car and the car and my door and basically nothing else.

Or are everyone that post these low goals petite 45-55 kg people? (I'm around 85 kg)

Or do people simply miss the point and just wan't to get the dopamine reward of filling all rings every day (something I do not do without some effort).

 

[cubodado]

That’s a good point. For what concerns me, my move goal is given by the calories I should burn in a rest day, maybe with few core/strength exercises.

I’m trying to close a perfect month, it doesn’t happen often, but with a high move goal I don’t think it would be too healthy to reach, I think I need a rest day once in a while.
I don’t have the patience to set it by myself everyday. Don’t think it’s fair to lower it by the end of the day.
So I keep my move goal at 500kcals, when I exercise I usually double it, with long runs I sometimes reach 300%, rarely 400% (mostly when I have a long bike tour), never hit 500%. I am around 85kg too. There are sometimes rest days with a close miss.

 

[LeeW]

I have mine set at 450; I think that is simply the default, and I have never changed that in all the years I have had a watch. Generally, I will more than double that, and some days, I triple it.

I am at my desk all day, home three days each week, and in the office two days. The issue, I guess, for most people like me is that you would need to change the goal frequently.

My awareness of my movement is there, and I don't need to set it at a specific level to motivate myself. According to my average trends, I am at 730kcal/day, stand for 13hrs, exercise for 62min, walk 5.8km, and so on. Those are pretty decent trends.

Is it to make sure I close my rings? No, that isn't a goal I worry about either. To be clear, a minimum amount each day is essential to me (consistency); it's just not vital that I become fixated on goals set by my watch for each day and then become frustrated because I didn't meet that one goal one day in the week. It's not necessarily a healthy approach to become so focused on daily goals that failing to meet one is not an option.

For most people, I say set your goals so that they are achievable every day; if you do better or smash them, then great; if you don't, don't beat yourself up over it. If, for the most part, you are beating those goals every day, then increase them. Otherwise, if you have a specific goal to lose weight, significantly improve your fitness and so on, then use those goals purposefully and increase them periodically to achieve that and use them as motivation if that works or is needed.

 

[richard13]

I generally don't post about my goals but I personally don't find value in upping my move goal. I'm going to do what I'm going to do on a daily basis so it makes no difference to me what it's set to. I don't care if I get 2x or rarely 3x.

Another reason I don't change it much is because my Monthly Challenge is often some goal that is higher than my daily average anyway. So by completing it, I'm already doing more (for at least 14 days out of the month).

I'm also more interested in steps rather than calories anyway as the other set of goals I have (from my health insurance program) is geared that way.

 

[Spindel]

Just to be clear.

Since that seems to be an argument from some of the replies.

I'm not arguing about changing the movement goal frequently, I set my once and have never changed it since.

I'm taking about just setting it once at a level that will mean you won't fill the ring without doing some little extra if you have a sedentary work/life style. Be it a 30 min brisk walk or some lighter exercise.

And sure if you don't care about what the ring is set to then you don't care. But in that case I guess you don't also share what you have it set to on internet forums/social media. I mean, even if I made this post, I'm like that and have not shared my movement goal online before this post, I was just curious since I did set it at a higher than default initially just because I knew/had a hunch that the default value was not something I should be "rewarded" for.

 

[Mackilroy]

There's a wide range of people wearing Apple Watches with an equally wide range of fitness. I only started exercising regularly three months ago, and I've bumped up my target a couple of times, and I'll probably bump it again soon, but I haven't decided what new target I want. There was a time when 400 seemed like a very high number; while I hit 700+ regularly nowadays (and I've hit 900+ a few times lately), I don't feel a need to have my target number be the absolute best I can do, just something that gets me moving and being active daily.

 

[GlenK]

I change my goals based on my exercise goals for the day. I'm 71 years old now and it would have looked a lot different a few years ago.

 

[millerj123]

“Why do people do things differently than I do?”

 

[JonnyMacx86]

For myself, if I am feeling under the weather or otherwise preoccupied for the day, I will lower my move goal to accommodate what I'm capable of that day. For some, and for any number of reasons, I think a lower move goal can be motivating. Too high might seem daunting and so rather than ignore it entirely, a lower goal would be more realistic and achievable.

 

[BenGoren]

Age and gender are also factors. As are other sorts of health / fitness properties. I guarantee you there are plenty of people for whom 500 Kcal represents a very active day.

Best I can tell, the auto-suggested goal you get on Mondays represents something along the lines of a goal that you would have met on about 80% of the days during the previous month. This is actually a really good idea for real-world usage — it’s low enough to make a perfect month attainable but only with non-trivial effort, but also high enough that, if you start slacking too much, it’s going to nag you. And you should generally be taking about 20% of your days as rest days, so … it all adds up nicely.

b&

 

[headlessmike]

Weight is a large factor. I'm about 90 kg and have my daily goal set to 800 kcal. My wife is about half of my weight and for her 350 kcal requires a similar amount of effort.

My relatively high goal helps motivate me to actually exercise regularly (I'm a sucker for gamifying things). On a typical day without actively exercising I maybe get around 500 kcal on my red ring. I do wish that the watch would dynamically set goal based on previous efforts. I've had days that clocked in at 7,000 kcal and feel like I deserve at least one rest day after that. 🤨 But I'm not a slave to my rings either and will actively avoid closing them if I feel fatigued. Overall I average 1,059 kcal per day according to my watch anyway.

Ultimately people should set a goal that helps motivate them to be active. Too high of a goal can be off-putting if you feel like you'll never make it. The ideal goal is one where you intentionally choose the stairs over the elevator or take an extra walk to push you past your target.

 

[Kay_Ess]

I didn’t know it was adjustable lol
Thought it had some kind of smart Apple algorithm to determine a good goal for me 😅😂

So thanks for posting. I’ll think about a new goal.

 

[Spindel]

I didn’t know it was adjustable lol
Thought it had some kind of smart Apple algorithm to determine a good goal for me 😅😂

So thanks for posting. I’ll think about a new goal.

My recommendation (as stated earlier) look at what you achieve on a (for you) normal day (where you don’t exercise) and then set it a bit higher.

 

[Thomas Davie]

I’m a stable (physically) dialysis patient. i purposely set my movement goals low so I don’t receive notifications about ‘trying harder’ or ‘it’s time to walk” or any other inspirational notifications. I use daily steps as a metric to inform me how well my treatment is doing.

I posted my daily steps here once, not to show off what I can do/am still capable of doing but to demonstrate the particular software I find useful (and why)

Not engaged in any sort of comparisons with others. When I need to move more I’ll go for a walk on my property or try to fimd the decommissioned gold mine that is too close to my house.

So; how well is the dialysis doing, how well are the injections of Aranest (Hemeglobin stimulating hormone) doing and to answer internal questions relating how I ‘feel’ to what I’ve eaten in the last 7 days.

That’s it.

Tom

 

[Saturn007]

Another reason to set lower move goals. The built-in goal is too high for previously sedentary people. Better to drop it a bunch and then, as one gets into shape, manually set it higher.

400-500 is actually quite good for many people, depending upon their age, weight, and physical condition. For them, it's definitely not “low”!

Here's another reason for a lower move goal. I only wear my watch about 10 hours a day, so I set a lower move goal than the watch originally suggested to account for that.

I figure I’m comparably active the other hours and would rather get 3-4 days of use out of my watch.

Of course, the weakest link in all this is that the watch's move algorithm dumbly gives you credit for hand motions such as typing, iPad scrolling, waving, cooking, and knitting, so it's way off, anyway!

 

[Bichon]

Of course, the weakest link in all this is that the watch's move algorithm dumbly gives you credit for hand motions such as typing, iPad scrolling, waving, cooking, and knitting, so it's way off, anyway!

I closed my move ring yesterday while watching TV and eating a bowl of ice cream, so yes, it can be inaccurate in ways that make me chuckle.

I remember quite a few years ago Nike used to sell running shoes with built-in fitness sensors which should theoretically give more accurate readings than sensors in a smartwatch worn on the wrist; not sure why they discontinued it.

 

[richard13]

Of course, the weakest link in all this is that the watch's move algorithm dumbly gives you credit for hand motions such as typing, iPad scrolling, waving, cooking, and knitting, so it's way off, anyway!

A couple years ago I lamented over a trip to GA (it takes 8-9 hours so most of the day) because my "move streak" would be lost. I found when I arrived that I received almost 1/2 of my move goal by driving and making stops along the way. I was pretty happy about that and completed my rings for the day (well, except "stand goal" which wasn't going to happen).

Surely, this is not the same as me walking a few miles but I was technically moving my hands, arms, etc. But I don't think it's that big enough of a deal for me to worry about it though.

 

[jz0309]

I closed my move ring yesterday while watching TV and eating a bowl of ice cream, so yes, it can be inaccurate in ways that make me chuckle.

how big of a bowl was that??

Seriously, we all have different needs, in the beginning (eg S0 - S3 time) the move goal and the badges helped motivating me, meanwhile, I do my daily exercise and everything that comes out of that is just a bonus ...
if you follow the monthly activity threads you'll see that some folks exercise a few days per week or month while others burn far more than 1000kcal per day ...

 

[Coltaine]

I average on 1500 to 1600 actively burned kcal per day.
Nevertheless, I never cranked up my move goal from the generic 500 kcal per day.
Why?
Because I somehow enjoy the rewards I get every day four doubling, tripling and sometimes even quadrupling my move goal. It keeps me motivated. Sure, I could set it to 1500 kcal per day and still close my move ring every day, but it would take away some of the fun.
And I wouldn't want to push myself to go any further either. I think 1500 kcal is plenty fine to stay fit and healthy.
So I just keep it at 500 kcal per day and watch the move ring overtake itself three times a day.

 

[mavis]

I've had mine at 450 for the past nine years; don't care about changing it even though I usually hit 200-400% each day. I'm one of those people who close all my rings 99% of the time, but won't go out of my way to close a ring that's 99% full. I just don't care. 🤣

 

[Mackilroy]

I closed my move ring yesterday while watching TV and eating a bowl of ice cream, so yes, it can be inaccurate in ways that make me chuckle.

I remember quite a few years ago Nike used to sell running shoes with built-in fitness sensors which should theoretically give more accurate readings than sensors in a smartwatch worn on the wrist; not sure why they discontinued it.

I've never managed that! Though I don't eat tubs of ice cream, maybe that would help?