How does Activity track "exercise"?

[dandrewk]

Regarding the walk you took at work: the problem is that even if you had opened the workout app and selected a walk, it wouldn't count it as exercise unless you were walking fast enough. That's the issue I have and what I feel needs to change.

I mean, what about a 70 year old with bad legs, he walks slowly but he takes hour long walks to stay healthy? Is he NOT exercising? (Apparently not to some of the people in this thread.)

Nobody here is saying it is not exercising. It's just not exercising per the "mysterious" parameters set by the watch. That makes little difference to the benefits of any sort of exercise. Who cares what some device arbitrarily defines as exercise?

It might be good to alter the parameters so the user can tailor the results to his or her needs, based on their particular circumstances. Obviously, a good workout means something different to a healthy 22 year old compared to a 70 year old with bad legs. Since age/height/weight/activity level are all requested before using the watch as an activity device, perhaps some more parameters could be used.

 

[Aniseedvan]

In my original post I stated that I'm using the workout app and not getting exercise counted.



Also to the people essentially saying "walk faster", exercise is different to different people in different situations. A friend of mine lost 100lbs just by walking (not very fast) 10,000 steps a day for somewhere between 6 months and a year. By the way the apple watch tracks "exercise", he wouldn't have logged a single minute, though he lost 100lbs.... Also, like the guy a few posts up said, he did a hike and it didn't count, so something is clearly off here. (And his Fitbit counted all those steps and considered them exercise.)



As far as I'm concerned, if you're using the workout app, it should be logging "exercise". This isn't about cheating or winning or any nonsense like that, this is about accurately tracking the work you're putting in.

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Regarding the walk you took at work: the problem is that even if you had opened the workout app and selected a walk, it wouldn't count it as exercise unless you were walking fast enough. That's the issue I have and what I feel needs to change.



I mean, what about a 70 year old with bad legs, he walks slowly but he takes hour long walks to stay healthy? Is he NOT exercising? (Apparently not to some of the people in this thread.)

My father is in the elder age bracket and considers his walk with the dog as exercise yet he's been diagnosed with high blood pressure and cholesterol recently. I agree it should be based off your resting heart rate & the associated increase % but his amble is not what I'd class as exercise...!

 

[jabingla2810]

Also to the people essentially saying "walk faster", exercise is different to different people in different situations. A friend of mine lost 100lbs just by walking (not very fast) 10,000 steps a day for somewhere between 6 months and a year. By the way the apple watch tracks "exercise", he wouldn't have logged a single minute, though he lost 100lbs.....

Your friend didn't lose 100lbs in 6 months just by walking slowly every day. No way.

I'm guessing he walked fast enough to raise his heart rate and burn a good amount of calories and he probably cut his calorie intake drastically, and good for him.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're using the workout app, it should be logging "exercise". This isn't about cheating or winning or any nonsense like that, this is about accurately tracking the work you're putting in.

If you're not walking fast enough to raise your heart rate, you aren't putting in enough work to count as exercise.

The Apple Watch isn't here to pat you on the back for not doing an awful lot, it's here to motivate you into working a bit harder.

I mean, what about a 70 year old with bad legs, he walks slowly but he takes hour long walks to stay healthy? Is he NOT exercising? (Apparently not to some of the people in this thread.)

Taking a slow walk for an hour a day is better than sitting on the couch all day, and is part of a healthy lifestyle. But it ISN'T exercise.

 

[Julien]

....Also to the people essentially saying "walk faster", exercise is different to different people in different situations. A friend of mine lost 100lbs just by walking (not very fast) 10,000 steps a day for somewhere between 6 months and a year. By the way the apple watch tracks "exercise", he wouldn't have logged a single minute, though he lost 100lbs.... Also, like the guy a few posts up said, he did a hike and it didn't count, so something is clearly off here. (And his Fitbit counted all those steps and considered them exercise.)

As far as I'm concerned, if you're using the workout app, it should be logging "exercise". This isn't about cheating or winning or any nonsense like that, this is about accurately tracking the work you're putting in....

I mean, what about a 70 year old with bad legs, he walks slowly but he takes hour long walks to stay healthy? Is he NOT exercising? (Apparently not to some of the people in this thread.)

So just "...using the workout app..." should automatically count as exercise no matter what even if you are sitting down? Or should it automatically count if the person just believes what they are doing is exercise?

Losing weight is not the definition of exercise. Losing weight is simple mathematics. Less kcal in and/or more kcal out = lower body mass. Normal walking does burn a few kcal however it is minimal. 160lb male will burn about 75 kcal per mile walked and 1 lb of body fat weight = 3500 kcal.

If normal walking counted as exercise then every step you take would have to count also. Getting out of bed and walk to the bathroom would be a few second exercise counted for the day. Almost everyone would fill out the exercise Ring every single day by just doing normal activities. What would be the point? Normal walking is such a minimal increase above your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) that it is hard to measure as exercise. Apple already breaks out BMR kcal (Resting) from Active kcal.

Apple has to set a threshold and build the algorithms based on research of known metrics (1000's of studies as to what should be defined as minimal exercise for a given population) and not just meeting the lowest common denominator. Apple can't just say any activity is exercise. This is like giving all the kids a trophy.

If you are anyone has physical limitations that limit you from obtaining the minimal requirements (or choose not to invest the increased effort), then you should simply disregard the Rings.

I would suggest consulting a personal trainer to evaluate your individual needs so you can obtain the best workout/exercise regiment within the scope of your limitations.

 

[digduggler]

Just a point - you can lose weight without exercise as long as you consume less than spend in a day calorie wise. It's not as easy as with exercise but highly doable.

The exercise app is clearly tied to heart rate. If you are not interested in getting your heart rate up you will never get that ring. Getting your heart rate up is a healthy thing for the vast majority of people. I know I feel much better after doing it every day for a month, and it encouraged me to change my diet as well. Just try it for a week. If you hate it then the exercise ring is not for you.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Ok, but then why bother with the workout app at all? If all I want to do is fill up the excerise circle, then it seems that what I should do is open up the activity app, swipe to exercise, then try various activities until I find something that works to fill up the minutes.

More transparency is definitely needed!

Maybe if Apple gave the users more adjustments on the watch phone app so people could adjust at what point walking constitutes excercise. We are all not 21 years old and people of all ages will use this AW.

 

[5105973]

Another point of confusion for me. During my 4 hour canyon hike the Apple Watch recorded only about a couple hundred calories burned. I didn't get to close my calorie ring. I was incredulous. But sitting on the bus or in the car logged me far more calories and closed my calorie ring faster than the hike did. We were at that point driving in mountainous country in Southern California. So is the watch easily fooled by up and down motion that has nothing to do with exercise? This happens to be at home on bumpy rides, too. Is it just my watch or everyone's?

 

[MICHAELSD]

When I'm sitting it counts active calories. Assuming it counts hand movements...?

 

[Subdiv]

Ever since the 1.01 update, my exercise ring is much more responsive. I mowed the lawn yesterday (which is not that fast a walk) and registered 29 minutes of exercise. Before the update, I would get nothing at all for mowing (except sweat and grass sticking to my face.)

 

[5105973]

Just a point - you can lose weight without exercise as long as you consume less than spend in a day calorie wise. It's not as easy as with exercise but highly doable.

The exercise app is clearly tied to heart rate. If you are not interested in getting your heart rate up you will never get that ring. Getting your heart rate up is a healthy thing for the vast majority of people. I know I feel much better after doing it every day for a month, and it encouraged me to change my diet as well. Just try it for a week. If you hate it then the exercise ring is not for you.

Like I keep saying, though, it counts outbursts of extreme anger as exercise. The watch can be fooled. It's not healthy to get that angry. Fortunately only a couple of people can get me that worked up and I've jettisoned one of them from my life after seeing what it did to my exercise ring! Lol!

I wish I wore a Fitbit so I could compare how the two devices evaluate my activity. The Apple Watch just seems wonky to me especially since the update. My landscaping work is very physical and I do a lot of lifting and hauling for several minutes at a time almost as if I were weight lifting. It seems odd to not get credited for any exercise anymore. I did when I first got the watch. I actually thought my watch settings were messed up so I did everything I could to reset but nothing happens. The exercise ring barely budges anymore unless I get angry. Oh well getting angry helps the Incredible Hulk to get muscles. Maybe Apple is on to something after all.

Also during the hike my husband got credited for many more paces and calories than I did. I know he's a lot bigger than me but his stride is larger. Shouldn't I get more footsteps than him? A lot of time I even got too far ahead talking to a friend and doubled back to rejoin him.

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Ever since the 1.01 update, my exercise ring is much more responsive. I mowed the lawn yesterday (which is not that fast a walk) and registered 29 minutes of exercise. Before the update, I would get nothing at all for mowing (except sweat and grass sticking to my face.)

wow I'm having the opposite experience with the update. Also since the update flipping my wrist doesn't activate the screen as well anymore.

 

[Night Spring]

Ever since the 1.01 update, my exercise ring is much more responsive. I mowed the lawn yesterday (which is not that fast a walk) and registered 29 minutes of exercise. Before the update, I would get nothing at all for mowing (except sweat and grass sticking to my face.)

Apple definitely tinkered with their algorithm for how they count excerise, but for me, it has gotten much more difficult to fill the ring. Before the update, a brisk walk to my subway stop counted as excerise -- if it took me 5 minutes to walk there, I'd get credit for 5 minutes of excerise. But now I only get 1, or sometimes 0.

 

[digduggler]

Another point - weight lifting doesn't really count as exercise (on any platform - check out myfitnesspal or google it). You don't really burn calories doing it (although you will as the muscle builds/recuperates). It's worthwhile though and will let you run/walk/workout faster and harder.

Jumping rope always gets me minutes. And it's a relatively cheap cost.

 

[bushido]

its because the stupid HR isnt working on 1.0.1 properly. i was running for 20 minutes earlier and i got 1 minute of exercise credited for it cuz it hasnt checked my HR in 90 mins. so annoying

 

[beardedsteven]

I got exercise minutes by driving my dog to the groomer this morning....

 

[5105973]

Another point - weight lifting doesn't really count as exercise (on any platform - check out myfitnesspal or google it). You don't really burn calories doing it (although you will as the muscle builds/recuperates). It's worthwhile though and will let you run/walk/workout faster and harder.

Jumping rope always gets me minutes. And it's a relatively cheap cost.

This is such a bummer for me. I am only 48 but have hereditary joint problems afflicting my knees. Some days I can run and jump rope, but it's not a dependable exercise for me. I never know when inflammation will strike. My mom has full blown osteoarthritis and I likely will in a few years and will be lucky if I can walk at all. I enjoy and can lift weights, no problem, at least for certain types of lifting. Obvious nothing involving my knees. I can walk fast on level ground and uphill for miles without tiring. Going fast downhill hurts my knees badly and I can't do that more than a few minutes and plan routes accordingly. I can do jumping jacks in moderation since no knee bending with weight on the knee is required. I can swim.

So basically most of what I can do and like to do in terms of physical activity apparently doesn't count as exercise. It's discouraging in terms of tracking my exercise. Of course I won't be a crybaby about it. I'll swim swim swim. Someday the Apple Watch will be able to follow me into the pool.

 

[beardedsteven]

I'll swim swim swim. Someday the Apple Watch will be able to follow me into the pool.

+1 I'm already ready for the Apple Watch Swim edition!

 

[trek360]

Apple definitely tinkered with their algorithm for how they count excerise, but for me, it has gotten much more difficult to fill the ring. Before the update, a brisk walk to my subway stop counted as excerise -- if it took me 5 minutes to walk there, I'd get credit for 5 minutes of excerise. But now I only get 1, or sometimes 0.

Not sure if Apple did this too, but I got a message from Fitbit that they way they counted exercise was changed based on guidelines from the American Heart Association--active minutes would only register if doing an activity for 10 minutes or more.

 

[digduggler]

This is such a bummer for me. I am only 48 but have hereditary joint problems afflicting my knees. Some days I can run and jump rope, but it's not a dependable exercise for me. I never know when inflammation will strike. My mom has full blown osteoarthritis and I likely will in a few years and will be lucky if I can walk at all. I enjoy and can lift weights, no problem, at least for certain types of lifting. Obvious nothing involving my knees. I can walk fast on level ground and uphill for miles without tiring. Going fast downhill hurts my knees badly and I can't do that more than a few minutes and plan routes accordingly. I can do jumping jacks in moderation since no knee bending with weight on the knee is required. I can swim.

So basically most of what I can do and like to do in terms of physical activity apparently doesn't count as exercise. It's discouraging in terms of tracking my exercise. Of course I won't be a crybaby about it. I'll swim swim swim. Someday the Apple Watch will be able to follow me into the pool.

Have you tried rowing? It's no impact and a great total body workout. And I can say from experience it will get you your ring.

 

[dandrewk]

Another point - weight lifting doesn't really count as exercise (on any platform - check out myfitnesspal or google it). You don't really burn calories doing it (although you will as the muscle builds/recuperates). It's worthwhile though and will let you run/walk/workout faster and harder.

Jumping rope always gets me minutes. And it's a relatively cheap cost.

Of course you burn calories while weight lifting. In fact, I'd wager the caloric burn per second is higher than most other endeavors. What do you think your muscles are using while hoisting all those pounds? You're heart rate is zooming up and down like you were doing wind sprints at a track. If you don't sit for long periods between sets, your total caloric burn can match anything you do on a treadmill.

However, it can be difficult to lose weight if you only do weight lifting for exercise, as muscle weighs more than fat. You'd need to diet as well. But weight lifting does raise the metabolic rate, so your resting caloric burn should rise.

You are correct there are no fitness trackers that have weight lifting applications, as it's near impossible to determine an accurate metric. Even manually determining caloric burn is a "best guess". When using the Apple Watch, I use the "other" activity for workout. This -will- fill up the exercise ring as every minute is logged.

BTW, my last trip to the gym using the "other" activity - 55 minutes, 220 calories burned. I generally move through the sets pretty quickly, but I do sit for about five minutes halfway through.

 

[digduggler]

"So do we really know how many calories a person burns while pumping iron? According to this exercise list from Harvard Medical School, a general 30-minute strength training session burns an average of 90 calories (180 calories per hour) for a 125-pound person, 112 calories (224 calories per hour) for a 155-pound person and 133 calories (266 calories per hour) for a 185-pound person. "

You should strength train, but not for caloric burn as your primary goal. I manage to get exercise minutes while strength training, but with jump rope, jumping jacks, etc between sets and with no rest. Doing this for 30 minutes (benching, curls, tris, quads, hamstrings, etc mixed in with some movement in between sets) usually gets me 400 calories or more for 30 minutes under Other. Otherwise I find my heart rate is hard to elevate enough to get the exercise 'credit'.

"Despite what is likely a low to moderate calorie burn, strength training shouldn't be neglected—especially during weight loss. When losing weight, you will lose some muscle mass along with body fat. If you don't perform resistance training regularly, up to 30% of the weight you lose can come from muscle tissue, which doesn't do your health, fitness or metabolism any favors in the long run. Strength and muscle mass are essential for overall health and daily functioning."

Google around - I was disappointed when I found this out too. You do burn calories after lifting though but it's very had to quantify. It might be higher per second but you wouldn't lift for an hour straight so that's a bit of a false argument. You will burn FAR more calories running for an hour than a normal hour's lifting session.

Don't get me wrong - I love to lift. But it's not going to get you much caloric burn credit and it's hard to get your heart rate up without some interval aspect.

 

[dandrewk]

Nevertheless, you DID say weight lifting doesn't really burn calories.

The fact that it's difficult to measure accurately doesn't mean it isn't happening. And I never said I strength train to burn calories. For me, it's about muscle tone and metabolism.

Like many, I've gone on several diets in my lifetime. BY FAR, the most successful diets included serious weight training. It burns it off the quickest, and vastly more important, KEEPS it off. The biggest payoff - when strength training, I don't crave junk food nearly as much, if at all. I guess it's true the human body knows what it needs.

I've been regularly lifting for several years now, and my BMI has been in the lower "normal" range the entire time. I don't plan on ever stopping.

 

[digduggler]

I will make you happy and modify it - strength training really doesn't burn many calories. And it certainly won't get you much if any exercise ring credit by itself to stay on topic. An elevated heart rate is required.