r/AppleWatchFitness

As you can see, my total workout duration this morning was 40 minutes. But my fast run interval which was 3 km at 4:25 m/km went wrong - putting me at walking pace. I was there, I definitely ran it - as you can see by my split times. Adding up the interval times makes almost 54 minutes.

Any help? Where does this phantom 14 minutes come from?

My Ultra watch is frustrating me. My heart rate fluctuates wildly, and there are times when it doesn’t even record my heart rate. My VO2 max readings are erratic, going up and down without any pattern. Despite these issues, I’m glad I got this workout done.

I have been averaging around 20k steps a day over the last 6 months.

I have always moved around a lot, but staying consistent has made a big difference. My mood is better, my energy is better, and my days feel lighter.

I also run, and I am training for my first marathon this year. It is a World Major, so the goal is to enjoy the process, stay consistent, and finish it 🏃🏻

One thing I have learned is that you do not need to push too hard. Start small, have fun with it, gradually increase, and keep most of it easy!

Sharing this to encourage anyone who wants to start walking more. It genuinely helps 🧡

Hey everyone,

I was frustrated with fitness apps locking basic features behind expensive monthly subscriptions, so I decided to build my own. It’s called GymMe. I wanted something that works seamlessly between iPhone and Apple Watch, without needing to constantly take my phone out during a workout.

You can download it from the App Store here: GymMe . Please your comments in order to make it better :)

Below are the app’s features.

iPhone App

For the Advanced User

• Structured programs with templates exercise selection, sets, reps, tempo, rest seconds
• RPE tracking per set (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
• e1RM calculation (estimated 1 Rep Max) and progress chart
• Automatic weight/reps suggestions based on history (suggestion engine)
• Superset support with interleaved rest logic
• Tempo training (eccentric/concentric control)
• Unilateral exercises (L/R tracked separately)
• Personal Records (weight, reps, e1RM) with automatic detection
• Data export
• Metric / Imperial support

For the Beginner

• Free session mode without templates
• First steps onboarding
• Routine wizard (automatic program creation)
• Exercise difficulty levels (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
• Visual library with muscle groups, equipment, videos/images
• Draft saving - if a workout is interrupted, it resumes where it left off
• Bilingual

General

• Live Activity on the lock screen during rest
• HealthKit integration (workout + calorie logging)
• Rest timer with beep and visual countdown

Apple Watch

For the Advanced User

• Log sets directly from the watch (weight / reps / RPE with Digital Crown)
• Weight increment with 3 levels (0.5 / 2.5 / 10 kg or 1 / 5 / 25 lbs)
• Real-time heart rate (BPM) displayed inline on screen
• Drop Sets / Rest-Pause: While logging a set, select the "Rest-Pause" technique. An automatic countdown timer will trigger to guide the user's recovery period.
• L/R Tracking, Use the L/R toggle for unilateral exercises to log each side independently.
• During a workout, tap on the exercise title while on the Rest Timer screen and select "Change Exercise". From the logged sets performed during the session, users can select and modify entries.
• Data Sync-Back, after finishing the workout on the Watch, the session is saved locally. It will automatically sync back to the iPhone's "History" tab once the devices are within range again.
• Change exercise mid-workout with a pencil picker
• Skip rest to return to the next set immediately
• Cancel / Save workout with confirmation from the watch — no iPhone needed

For the Beginner

• Automatic rest timer start as soon as a set is completed
• Audio + haptic notification at the start and end of rest
• "Next Set X" label during rest so the user knows what's coming
• Elapsed timer (● in progress + stopwatch) for a sense of progress

Flow & UX

• Start workout from the watch (workout list → exercise selection → workout in progress)
• Start workout from iPhone → automatically opens exercise picker on the watch
• kg/lbs sync from iPhone settings
• Full functionality without ever taking the iPhone out of your pocket

Have fun :)

I've been working at the same office job for the last few years and recently decided to map all my Apple Watch walks downtown (either during lunch or after work). I wasn't expecting it to look this dense. One thing I found is that once the weather gets nicer during the summer months, I tend to walk by the water vs around the downtown core.

Edit: Since some have asked, the app is called MoveMap - full disclosure I developed but thought it would be the right place to share my map.

I actually got this done! My personal best was probably ~33k in a day several years ago before I retired. I saw people attempting 100k steps in a day online so I decided to try it on Saturday, May 16th, 2026.

I walked my neighborhood & the surrounding area from 12:01am to 11:59pm with food & bathroom breaks every few hours, three sock changes, two shoe changes, a shower w a change from cooler weather sweats and a hoodie to warmer weather shorts and a tee shirt. I put Vaseline on my feet before putting on my socks to help with chaffing. I took a one hour midday nap (I overslept by like 40 minutes). Between a Star Trek audiobook, music, a couple of podcasts, a phone call from a truck driver friend & my family members walking with me it got done!

Everytime I came home to use the bathroom, eat, shower, etc, I put my Apple Watch on charger and even then it ran out of juice near the 9pm mark so I put the Apple Watch on charger for a hour and kept the iPhone in my pocket. From 10pm to 11:59pm I finished the walk with the Apple Watch. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life!

By 830pm I was so drained I was just going on sheer willpower. But then my son and his wife arrived at 9pm like Thor arriving in Wakanda! They stayed with me for two hours until 11pm. Right before they left me my son told me that as long as I kept my pace I could mathematically hit the 100k and as it turns out, he was right! Out of everybody, they truly got me to the end.

I got in the house after I hit the number, ate a turkey and cheese sandwich with mustard, drank a protein smoothie and had two Advils with a tall glass of water followed by a warm (not hot) shower, crawled into bed & my wife elevated my feet on a pillow and I slept like the dead!!

Sunday was kinda rough being extremely sore. Today is the Monday after and I’m starting to feel almost normal. The swelling has gone down a lot, my feet don’t hurt nearly as much but my calves and thighs still are pretty sore. I’ve been doing gentle stretching movements and those seem to be helping. I took a slow 1 mile walk today on flat neighborhood paved roads averaging 25 minutes per mile so yes, VERY SLOW.

I will do a repeat of today on Tuesday and will be more active on Wednesday. I’ll get back to my usual ~15k steps on Thursday and I’ll go back to the gym on Friday or Saturday and do a light workout. I expect to be back to my normal routine of walking and lifting by next Monday.

I’ll be 63 this year so I’m going to take it slow getting back to my normal activities because being older, I know that my body needs time to heal. On a side note, now that it’s done, I’m going to do other things that I find challenging (like finally learning to swim!). Thanks for reading!

Bonjour, je me suis mis à courir et à nager car je suis un homme de 31 ans qui bouge peu (je poste sur TikTok et YouTube donc peu d’activité) et je pèse 98 kgs

Je me suis donc mis à courir, sur une boucle d’environ 2,4 km car incapable de faire plus. À ma première sortie j’ai dû faire 3 pauses, j’étais essoufflé et à la fin j’étais cuit et dégoulinant de sueur. L’Apple Watch m’a défini une mauvaise vo2max sans surprises.

Mais ce que je ne comprend pas, c’est qu’ensuite je ne faisais plus que 2 pauses au lieu de 3, et désormais plus qu’une seule, mon rythme au km s’est amélioré, ma fréquence cardiaque moyenne est de plus en plus faible à chaque sortie témoignant donc d’une adaptation cardio, désormais je me sens bien quand je fini une course (par exemple la j’écris sans être essoufflé de retour de la course) et pourtant d’après Apple santé ma vo2max est de plus en plus faible à chaque sortie ce qui est totalement incohérent puisque je me sens de mieux en mieux avec de meilleures performances et moins de fatigue…

Quelqu’un saurait m’expliquer ? Merci

After about 1.5 years of treadmill-only running, I recently started doing more outdoor runs, and now my Apple Watch VO₂ max increases almost every run 😅

On the treadmill it doesn't calculate VO₂ max, but since going outside it went from 43.5 (walks) to 48.8 in a bit over two weeks.

I’m guessing the watch is finally calibrating properly with outdoor GPS pace data, since my training itself hasn’t changed much (mostly easy/Z2 running, 4–6x/week).

Has anyone else experienced this after switching to outdoor running? How long did the calibration effect last before things stabilized?

A couple of days ago I posted a screenshot hitting my first 10K at an 8:21 pace. Today, Monday morning, I woke up and decided to go out — and ended up setting a new personal record on 5K: 6’44”/km for 5.01km in 33:48, with an average heart rate of 178 bpm. Not bad for someone who had never done any sport in his life.

Less than two months ago I started running from absolute zero. I remember dying at the 2km mark. Legs done, lungs done, ego done.

But I kept at it, slowly, without pressure.
I wanted to share this here because I know some of you are either in that same spot — or were there recently.

So here’s what worked for me:

•	Don’t run every day. 1–3 times a week is plenty. Your body needs rest to actually improve.  
•	Don’t go out fast. Run slower than you think you need to. Seriously.  
•	Don’t skip rest days out of excitement. That’s how injuries happen and motivation dies.

Progress is quiet and cumulative. You won’t feel it day to day, but then one Monday you wake up and you’ve run 5K without stopping and you’re staring at your watch like it made a mistake.

Hopefully this is useful to someone. We got this. 💪​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​