I’ve been doing the same fitness routine for a long time, but I’m finally motivated to take it up another level and get back to my pre-baby shape.
For the past six years, I’ve relied on my Apple Watch to give me an honest picture of how much I’m moving (or not), to round out my Move ring with a late-night walk, and to send me alerts when my “fitness level” is trending downward. (I just gave birth to a human, Apple Watch, calm down!) On the surface, it may seem like I’m doing everything right, but in reality, I’m just moving perfunctorily to hit a quota, and my body knows it. I can feel my body (and my mental state) change compared to when I was in tip-top shape and working toward my fitness goals.
My goals are to be strong enough to carry my baby without straining my back. I want to improve my endurance so I can run long distances again. I’m signing up for a 10K or half marathon in 2025. And finally, I want to gain some muscle mass and tone so I can lose that stubborn post-baby fat. Now that I’m in my 30s and three kids have kept my workout schedule busy, I know my “best shape” will look a bit different, but I know I have room for improvement. And thanks to the Apple Watch, I have some tools to help me get there.
Apple continues to make health and fitness a top priority for Apple Watch, adding new tools and features with every new Apple Watch model and WatchOS update. The latest addition, Sleep Apnea Notifications, received Food and Drug Administration approval last week and is available on Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2. But for many users, the biggest hurdle (besides willpower) is knowing the feature exists in the first place, and how to enable it on their device.
After a bit of research on both the iPhone and the Apple Watch, I’ve landed on two features that have so far been game-changing for kickstarting my fitness routine: heart rate zone display and cardio fitness.
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Why care about heart rate zones?
Rather than overhauling my current routine, which is barely sustainable as it stands, I’m enhancing the one I’m already doing by increasing the duration and intensity of each exercise. My routine consists of two Pilates sessions (strength training) and three brisk walks (cardio) per week. Cardio is great for burning calories and building endurance, while strength training burns fat and builds muscle.
One way to measure how hard you’re working during exercise is to look at your heart rate (beats per minute). A common way to get the most out of this data is to calculate your target heart rate for each activity based on your maximum heart rate (220 minus your current age). This formula is known as the heart rate reserve method.
Luckily, your Apple Watch does this calculation for you. It displays your heart rate data in real time on your wrist, categorizing it into five zones, so you can proactively understand your effort level, and you can view a summary on your phone after your workout is finished. This feature is already enabled for some workout types, but not others. Luckily, you can enable it manually and change the display order so that it appears first in your preferred workout category.
How to enable heart rate zones on your Apple Watch
Go to the Workout app on your watch. Tap the (…) option in the top right corner of a specific workout type. Scroll to the bottom of the menu and tap (Preferences). Tap the (Workout Views) box at the top. You’ll see several view options you can add and arrange. Scroll down to (Heart Rate Zones) and turn on (Include).
Enable the heart rate zone view for specific training types by turning it on in settings.
Nick Wollny/CNET
Now, mid-workout, you can turn the crown on your Apple Watch to see what heart-rate zone you’re in. According to the Cleveland Clinic, in zones 1-3 your body primarily burns fat, while in zones 4 and 5 it burns carbohydrates and protein.
Note that this manual update only turns on the heart rate zone display for that specific workout category, so if you do different types of workouts at different times of the week, you’ll need to enable that display as well. You can also manually set your heart rate zones in your watch’s settings, but by default, your Apple Watch will automatically calculate your heart rate zones based on your existing watch data and recalibrate your zones on the first of each month.
If you want to manually adjust your heart rate zones, you can do so in Settings, but by default, your Apple Watch will automatically build your heart rate zones based on your historical heart rate data.
Nick Wollny/CNET
After analysing my last 10 workouts in a fitness app on my iPhone, I realised that while I had been doing fine in Zone 1 for the entire Pilates session, I’d barely made it to Zone 3 during what was supposed to be cardio (brisk walking).
To get to the next level, you’ll need to work out in zones higher than you’re used to for both types of exercise. To reach zones 4 and 5, you’ll need to turn your walking into a jog and mix in some sprints and hills. And to reach zone 2, you’ll need to add an extra 10 minutes and extra resistance to your usual 30-minute Pilates session.
Two other features to know about
The next step was figuring out how to measure my progress. Along with subtle physical changes that I might notice outwardly, I needed something tangible that I could use to gauge my fitness level. Because muscle mass is denser than fat, a weighing scale wasn’t enough. That’s where the aerobic fitness score comes in.
You can track your cardio fitness score with the Fitness app on your iPhone.
Screenshot: Vanessa Hand Orellana
In addition to heart rate zones, Apple Watch uses your heart rate data and motion data over time to calculate VO2 max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise, according to the American Heart Association. Apple calls this your Cardio Fitness Score, and you can find it in the Health app on your iPhone.
Your score will be placed into one of three categories: high, above average, below average, or low. My current score is 41, which puts me right in the “high” category, but not by much. My goal is to get closer to my pre-3rd pregnancy score of 50. The Apple Watch is not a hospital-grade device, so I’m only using these numbers to track my progress and not for any medical purposes.
With the release of watchOS 11, the Apple Watch also gets a new feature called Training Load, which lets you see how your workout intensity is compared to the past 28 days and visualizes it in a graph. It doesn’t happen automatically for strength training exercises like Pilates, but you can enter it manually and see the results in the graph. And while it can’t be viewed in real-time during a workout like the heart rate zone information above, it can serve as a great supplement to your cardio fitness score and a way to track your progress over time.
Armed with the right tools and metrics, I am confident that I can move forward and achieve my goals. I am not looking for a quick fix, so I don’t feel the need to set a specific time frame for achieving success. Rather, I plan to celebrate success as it comes and check in after a few months.
No matter where you are in your fitness journey, it’s important to consult with your doctor before making any major changes to your routine.
Vanessa Hand Orellana
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