Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[kabzior]

but I can now focus on the always on display and the navigation improvements

Yes please!
Navi, ClimbPro and UpAhead and we have got an absolutely perfect hiking app.

 

[edgardiez7]

Cannot wait to see the AOD on the Apple watch ultra! Gonna look gorgeus

 

[MaxSto]

Cannot wait to see the AOD on the Apple watch ultra! Gonna look gorgeus

Sure AOD would be nice, but it’s quite a battery eater while working out, where you don’t have to see the metrics all time. Long battery life is much more important then that.

If you really need to see them, just raise your wrist and boom, there you go.

The navigation improvements, like the remaining distance and elevation of the uploaded route, are a lot more important for the general usage of the app.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Lars34]

Sure AOD would be nice, but it’s quite a battery eater while working out, where you don’t have to see the metrics all time. Long battery life is much more important then that.

If you really need to see them, just raise your wrist and boom, there you go.

The navigation improvements, like the remaining distance and elevation of the uploaded route, are a lot more important for the general usage of the app.

Just my 2 cents.

Just raising your wrist while on the bike is difficult. Navigation doesn't add much, as I will need to stop anyway. You can just look at the map for the route.

 

[cfc]

Sure AOD would be nice, but it’s quite a battery eater while working out, where you don’t have to see the metrics all time. Long battery life is much more important then that.

If you really need to see them, just raise your wrist and boom, there you go.

The navigation improvements, like the remaining distance and elevation of the uploaded route, are a lot more important for the general usage of the app.

Just my 2 cents.

Different features are important to different people. Both the AOD and the navigation improvements seem to be equally requested.

My plan at the moment is to focus on AOD first (which I have been doing in the background for a while) because I want to be sure that the map in particular is possible.

I am pretty sure that I can code up the navigation features without too many problems. They should be possible and will just take a lot of time. The AOD will also take time but I want to know what restrictions there will be, if any. At the moment there are many unknowns with coding up the AOD, not least because of the need to use a completely different coding language.

That’s not to say that at least some of the navigation improvements won’t come first. Once I understand what is and isn’t possible with the AOD then I may be sick of it and want a change.

So it is up in the air at the moment as to which will come first.

 

[MaxSto]

Different features are important to different people. Both the AOD and the navigation improvements seem to be equally requested.

Just raising your wrist while on the bike is difficult. Navigation doesn't add much, as I will need to stop anyway. You can just look at the map for the route.

Yeah the navigation improvements perhaps does not add much for you, but like cfc says, different features are important for different people.

Thanks for informing us about your roadmap.

 

[Mauki]

I am pretty sure that I can code up the navigation features without too many problems. They should be possible and will just take a lot of time.

That’s not to say that at least some of the navigation improvements won’t come first.

So it is up in the air at the moment as to which will come first.

I‘m waiting for the navigation features and will be happy when you release it. You will do the right. 👍😊


I have one wish for the navigation and the map.

It's definitely a great feature that you color the loaded track in the colors of uphill and downhill. But however, this is difficult for my eyes to see. I would like to configure different colors for the loaded track and the traveled distance. Colors that for my eyes are better visible on the run.

I would think that I am not the only one who find this nice.

Check out the screenshot, that's from BLEVO (app for Specialized E-bikes). So it would be really great.

What do you think?

 

[cfc]

I‘m waiting for the navigation features and will be happy when you release it. You will do the right. 👍😊


I have one wish for the navigation and the map.

It's definitely a great feature that you color the loaded track in the colors of uphill and downhill. But however, this is difficult for my eyes to see. I would like to configure different colors for the loaded track and the traveled distance. Colors that for my eyes are better visible on the run.

I would think that I am not the only one who find this nice.

Check out the screenshot, that's from BLEVO (app for Specialized E-bikes). So it would be really great.

What do you think?

I will certainly consider it when I rewrite the route functionality. You are only the second person to ask for it, but most other features are colour-configurable so it would make sense.

Note that if you load a GPX file without elevations then the whole route is a constant purple which you may find easier to see, even if it does not show the uphill and downhill stretches. To do this you could use a text editor to rename the elevation tags in the GPX file to something else. I may make it an option to ignore elevations in the app in future.

You may also find that a different colour scheme for the map helps. Maybe the Soft or Pale schemes so that the route and breadcrumbs stick out more. Or maybe a monochrome scheme so all colour features stick out.

Also you could change the colour of the breadcrumbs by changing the Tint colour in the Theme settings for the watch app. By default the breadcrumbs are blue but if you find that difficult to distinguish from the route colours then you could change it to something different.

 

[kabzior]

Navigation doesn't add much, as I will need to stop anyway. You can just look at the map for the route.

Navigation is much more than just looking at the map, in hiking navigation is primarily about the upcoming altitude profile and the remaining distance to previously established waypoints (summit, shelter, water, etc.).
It's just that you, as a cyclist, use the application differently than we hikers do Everyone has their own needs and I do not negate AOD, even though I find it useless and I will probably never even turn it on (and that's why I cross my fingers for navi being the first)

 

[pcunite]

With 2022 and newer Apple watches not using the GPS in the phone, this is going to effect me because I use an "external" bluetooth GPS unit (Garmin GLO 2). This is because it is the most accurate GPS when I'm out in deep woods hiking. I don't care what the phone or watch do.

So, would it be possible to have the WOD app allowing for pairing to an external bluetooth GPS unit? This way I can keep high accuracy GPS.

 

[Mauki]

I will certainly consider it when I rewrite the route functionality. You are only the second person to ask for it, but most other features are colour-configurable so it would make sense.

You will need colors when you code the new remaining Elevation graph with different colors for coming/remaining elevation 😜

Note that if you load a GPX file without elevations then the whole route is a constant purple which you may find easier to see, even if it does not show the uphill and downhill stretches. To do this you could use a text editor to rename the elevation tags in the GPX file to something else. I may make it an option to ignore elevations in the app in future.

Sounds Good, but too much work before the run 😛

You may also find that a different colour scheme for the map helps. Maybe the Soft or Pale schemes so that the route and breadcrumbs stick out more. Or maybe a monochrome scheme so all colour features stick out.

Also you could change the colour of the breadcrumbs by changing the Tint colour in the Theme settings for the watch app. By default the breadcrumbs are blue but if you find that difficult to distinguish from the route colours then you could change it to something different.

I will test this.

Navigation is much more than just looking at the map, in hiking navigation is primarily about the upcoming altitude profile and the remaining distance to previously established waypoints (summit, shelter, water, etc.).

Yes that is correct.

I‘m waiting for datafields like ETA, remaining distance/time/elevation and elevation profile with coloured remaining elevation.

 

[cfc]

With 2022 and newer Apple watches not using the GPS in the phone, this is going to effect me because I use an "external" bluetooth GPS unit (Garmin GLO 2). This is because it is the most accurate GPS when I'm out in deep woods hiking. I don't care what the phone or watch do.

So, would it be possible to have the WOD app allowing for pairing to an external bluetooth GPS unit? This way I can keep high accuracy GPS.

No-one has ever asked to pair the app directly with a GPS unit. I will bear it in mind when I add other sensor types in the future, but it is unlikely unless it gets more requested. Sorry about that.

 

[Mauki]

Is there a way to get a single datafield for the trailmap?

 

[kabzior]

I‘m waiting for datafields like ETA, remaining distance/time/elevation and elevation profile with coloured remaining elevation.

Yes, it is like THE most important thing for me in hiking watch.

ClimbPro/UpAhead (in Garmin world) or AltitudeNavigation/Waypoints (in Suunto), however you want to call it
- the possibility of checking how to distribute the effort on the approach,
- or whether the stop should be made here or it makes no sense, because the shelter is 1 km away,
- or how much to the end of the route and at what time I will arrive (should I accelerate because I will not make it before sunset)
These are the real life usage scenarios on every hike and I consider it necessary.
So I look forward to adding them to WOD and then I will be able to leave Suunto at home and only take AWU - finally only one wrist will be occupied

 

[Zapdoc]

The new version of WorkOutDoors adds many new features to make it the most powerful and configurable workout app for Apple Watch (IMHO), as well as being the only app that shows a fully functional vector map to aid navigation.

This new thread is all about the new workout features in version 3.0. To read about the existing mapping and GPX route features check out the website: http://www.workoutdoors.net/Maps.html

The new workout features include:

- Completely configurable screens with 4 layouts and 3 different text sizes;
- over 160 live data metrics to choose from, including mini-graphs and buttons;
- ability to define multiple screens and cycle through them during the workout;
- interval alerts for distance, time, steps, ascent, and descent;
- maximum and minimum limit alerts for pace, heart rate, speed, and cadence;
- set a target pace and display the distance and time ahead or behind target;
- show a live icon on the map representing someone moving at target pace;
- manually start new laps or use automatic laps with configurable intervals;
- lap splits available for many metrics and at any time during or after the workout;
- many heartrate zone metrics with user configurable zones;
- much improved analytics screens on both the Watch and the iPhone;
- 3 separate rolling pace metrics with user configurable distance or time windows;
- improved geocaching capabilities including display of groundspeak extensions;
- new workout types: Cross Country Skiing, Paddling, Skating, Surfing, and Golf;
- improved settings screens, all with ability to jump straight back to workout by force pressing;
- now able to lock the screen and/or the crown, to avoid accidental touches;
- tapping a field now shows a full screen description of that field;
- can configure shortcut operations for triple-tapping, quadruple tapping or pressing both side buttons;
- new optional on-screen battery meter;
- many more new features and improvements

These features are detailed in the following posts.
[doublepost=1535620387][/doublepost]New Screen Layouts

You can now choose from 4 screen layouts:

Bottom: Data below the map (as before);
Tower: Between 2 and 4 full width data fields above 2 or 3 data fields (no map);
'L' Shape: Data below and also on the left side of the map;
Grid: 2x4, 2x5 or 3x6 data fields (no map).

View attachment 778642
View attachment 778643

Each of these formats can be displayed in 3 different text sizes. The smaller the text then the more fields that can be shown and the larger the map (if present). As before, you can always double tap to see a full screen map, and double tap again to see the data again.
[doublepost=1535620569][/doublepost]Configurable Screens

Each activity type has a set of data screens that can be cycled through during a workout by triple tapping anywhere on the display. So for example the default running screens are as follows:

- Overview (data at the bottom)
- Heart Rate (grid layout with no map)
- Target Pace ('L' shape layout)
- Steps (Tower layout with 2 full width fields and 2 smaller ones at the bottom).

View attachment 778644

The screens can be easily modified on either the iPhone or the Watch. For example it is very easy to delete the Steps screen or change it to show Elevation information. Or to add a new screen showing the Activity Ring information.

View attachment 778645
If these screens are not quite what the user wants then they can be customised to show exactly the metrics they require from a pool of over 160 different live fields. These metrics include many types of graphs and charts. The customisation can be performed on either the iPhone or the Watch app.

The metrics also include buttons that provide shortcuts for various operations, including direct access to settings screens of interest. For example the Target screen has a button showing the target pace. If you touch that button for more than 1.5 seconds (to avoid accidental touches) then it displays the target pace settings screen, where you can quickly change the target pace. This is much faster than going via the Settings menu to find that screen.
[doublepost=1535620633][/doublepost]Interval Alerts

You can now configure interval notifications for various properties, such as distance (e.g. every mile), time (e.g. every 5 minutes), steps (e.g. every 1000 steps), calories (e.g. every 100 calories), and distance ascended or descended (e.g. every 100m). View attachment 778646
In each case you can control the length of interval (e.g. every 0.25 miles instead of every mile) and also whether or not the notification includes haptics, voice feedback, or on-screen messages when you raise your wrist within a few seconds of the haptic/voice.
[doublepost=1535620697][/doublepost]Limit Alerts

You can also now configure maximum and/or minimum limits for various properties, such as pace, heartrate, cadence and speed. As with notifications you can control whether or not the limit alerts use haptics, voice feedback or on-screen messages.
View attachment 778647
You can control the sensitivity of each limit, in terms of how many consecutive breaches are required before the user is informed. For example if you have a maximum heartrate of 170 configured with a sensitivity requirement of 3 consecutive breaches then 169, 172, 171, 168 will not result in a notification, but 169, 172, 171, 175 will do. You will also get notifications when the property has returned below the limit (or above the limit for minimum limits).
You can also specify the colour that a property is displayed in when a limit is breached. By default these are red (hot) for maximum limits and blue (cold) for minimum limits. This is the background colour in the notification and also in the data fields, which makes it easy to spot limit breaches amongst other data fields.
[doublepost=1535620774][/doublepost]Target Pace

The app now has the ability to set a target pace or speed. The user can then display fields such as the time or distance that you are ahead or behind someone who is moving at the target pace. When you are ahead of the target pace then the fields are shown in green, and when you are behind then they are shown in red. Both of these colours are configurable.

You can also display a yellow circle on the map, indicating whereabouts you or a competitor would be if running at that target pace. By default the yellow dot is shown only if you are viewing a screen configured with the "Target" profile. This is considered Auto mode. The Target Pace settings screen also allows you to switch the dot off, or make it always visible for any profile.
View attachment 778648
When in auto-rotate mode the GPS location arrow is positioned towards the bottom of the screen to show more of the map ahead of you. However if the target pace dot is displayed and the target is behind you, then the blue arrow will be positioned further up in order to show the chasing target. It will never be displayed higher than the centre of the screen.

I have found this much more useful than I expected. There is something about watching a dot catching you up or moving away that is much more effective as a motivator than just seeing the numbers for the distance or time difference.
[doublepost=1535620848][/doublepost]Rolling Pace

There are three new Rolling Pace and three new Rolling Speed fields. You can configure the periods for each of the fields in the Rolling Pace settings, which are under the Workout settings. These periods can be either time or distance and default to 1 mile / 1 km; 1 minute; and 0.25 miles / 0.25 km.
View attachment 778649 Generally the longer the period then the more accurate the value, whereas the shorter the period then the more responsive it is to speed changes.

These fields were added when I saw that Apple had included Rolling Mile Pace in the Workout app in watchOS 5, but I figured it would be handy to choose the period. There are 3 fields so that users can compare 3 different periods and decide which one is the best for them.
[doublepost=1535620905][/doublepost]Laps

The app now supports both manual and automatic laps. By default laps are automatic and use the same interval as distance notifications (which default to 1 mile or 1 kilometre). There is a "Laps" option in the Workout menu of the Settings that allows you to choose between Manual or Auto laps. If you select manual laps then you should configure a shortcut (for example pressing both side buttons) to start a new lap. Although if necessary then you could include a "new lap" button on the screen.

There are many metrics for laps. Practically every metric that covers a time period will also have versions for the current lap and for the previous lap. For example there are average pace metrics for the whole workout, for the current lap, and for the previous lap.
View attachment 778650
Lap splits can be shown on the watch at any time during the workout by force pressing and selecting Info. This shows a summary screen and a "Pace Splits" button. If you tap a different field on the summary screen (e.g. heart rate) then the button changes to show a "Heart Splits" button. This is explained in more detail in the Watch Analytics section.

The iPhone app allows extensive analysis of lap splits for many different fields, as explained in the iPhone Analytics section.
[doublepost=1535620972][/doublepost]Heart Rate Zones

The new version has two new ways of representing heart rate: intensity and zone. All heart rate values can now be displayed as bpm, intensity or zone.

Intensity is the percentage between configurable minimum and maximum heart rates. These default to 0 and 180, but can be changed by the user on either the iPhone or the watch. For example the maximum is often set to 220 minus the user's age, and the minimum could be changed to the user's resting heart rate if they prefer.

Heart rate zones are based on intensities. The idea is that the body is doing different things in each zone. For example zone 2 is considered the best for burning fat; zone 3 is the best for improving aerobic endurance and zone 4 is for anaerobic endurance. By default zone 0 is below 50%; zone 1 is between 50% and 60%; zone 2 is between 60% and 70% etc. However these values can also be configured by the user.

View attachment 778651

There are also new fields showing the percentage of the workout (or current lap or previous lap) in each zone. For example if you are interested in weight loss then you would be aiming to have a high percentage in zone 2, whereas if you wanted to improve your aerobic fitness then zone 3 would be better. These percentages can be shown as numbers, or as a bar chart showing the amount of time spent in each zone.

Tried to install this app on my watch but only Installs on iPhone

 

[Mauki]

Yes, it is like THE most important thing for me in hiking watch.

And for me too, for Trailrunning.

I see, we want the same 👍😛

 

[Mauki]

Tried to install this app on my watch but only Installs on iPhone

Go to the Watch App on your iPhone and click install behind Workoutdoors

 

[cfc]

Is there a way to get a single datafield for the trailmap?

No, 2 fields is the minimum. The elevation profile goes well in the lower field though.

 

[cfc]

Go to the Watch App on your iPhone and click install behind Workoutdoors

And if that doesn’t work then try installing it from the App Store on the watch.

There is a rare bug in iOS/ watchOS where it sometimes isn’t possible to install the watch app from the iPhone.

 

[Mauki]

No, 2 fields is the minimum. The elevation profile goes well in the lower field though.

elevation profil I have on another screen 😜

 

[Mauki]

Is there a way to hide individual data screens?

I would like to have multiple run profiles. The picture shows my default when I load a track. If I just go for a run, then I would like to hide the map. For intervals I would like to use only the first screen and the interval screen to go with it.

For races I just want a single screen.

What are the options here?

What are you planning here?

Or can I duplicate the Running profile?

 

[Richo5]

Is there a way to hide individual data screens?

I would like to have multiple run profiles. The picture shows my default when I load a track. If I just go for a run, then I would like to hide the map. For intervals I would like to use only the first screen and the interval screen to go with it.

For races I just want a single screen.

What are the options here?

What are you planning here?

Or can I duplicate the Running profile?

I agree that it would be brilliant to duplicate the profiles so I can configure a different set of screens for different types of runs. I would like to be able to set up a 'Race' profile, an 'Easy Run' profile and a 'Trail Run' profile all with different screen configurations and pacing settings. I can manage with what is available (I have a set of screens for each of the above and I just switch to the appropriate one once I have started) but adjusting the target pace for each run is a bit of a pain.

Don't get me wrong - I just love this app and love the direction you are taking it and your engagement with your user base. Keep up the amazing work.

 

[PaladinGuy]

Cannot wait to see the AOD on the Apple watch ultra! Gonna look gorgeus

I love the app, but I’m just so used to having AOD that I seldom use it now. I’ll be back to using it much more often when AOD makes an appearance.

I really wish that Apple would allow third party apps to utilize GymKit, too.

 

[AAtte]

I just wanted to chip in and say that I'm VERY much waiting for the AOD update! This will be a huge thing for all MTB bikers whom want to check the trail every few seconds to not make a wrong turn. I keep my watch on the bar. Our trails in Finland are very tight with multiple small turns. With a black map it will not eat too much battery. There are apps like Kartasto which have map with AOD but it doesn't have the option to edit screens or use completely black map.

 

[cfc]

Is there a way to hide individual data screens?

I would like to have multiple run profiles. The picture shows my default when I load a track. If I just go for a run, then I would like to hide the map. For intervals I would like to use only the first screen and the interval screen to go with it.

For races I just want a single screen.

What are the options here?

What are you planning here?

Or can I duplicate the Running profile?

WOD uses Apple's workout system and at the moment the app only has one profile for an Apple activity. In the future I plan to add the ability to create custom activities that map to an Apple activity.

This has been on my to-do list for years but has risen up it recently and is probably third in line after AOD and navigation improvements.