Track Fitness with Apple Watch Activity Monitor: A Guide

Understanding and Configuring Your Apple Watch Activity Monitor

If you’ve recently acquired an Apple Watch, you may be in the process of familiarizing yourself with the Activity monitor. Many users initially wonder about the purpose of the various circles displayed.

The Activity monitor represents Apple’s take on fitness tracking, and it’s a robust system. However, some adjustment may be needed to fully understand its functionality.

The Three Activity Rings

Upon initial observation, the Activity monitor is characterized by three concentric rings, colored red, green, and blue. During the initial Watch setup, you will be prompted to define your desired daily caloric expenditure goal.

This goal can be revised each Monday when your weekly activity summary is presented.

Accessing more detailed information about each ring is achieved by swiping right on the Activity monitor face. Swiping upwards reveals a comprehensive explanation of what each ring signifies, as illustrated in the accompanying screenshots.

Ring Breakdown: Move, Exercise, and Stand

The red ring represents the Move ring, indicating the total number of calories you’ve burned throughout the day.

The green ring is the Exercise ring, displaying the amount of time (in minutes) you’ve dedicated to physical activity.

Lastly, the blue ring is the Stand ring, tracking how many times you’ve stood up for at least one minute during each hour of the day.

Deeper Data Analysis

The Activity monitor provides a clear overview of your daily progress and areas for improvement. For those who are serious about tracking their fitness over extended periods, such as weekly or monthly, utilizing the Activity app on your iPhone is recommended.

This app allows for a more in-depth examination of your collected data.

Understanding the Activity App on Your iPhone

The Activity app serves as a central hub for tracking your daily, weekly, and monthly physical endeavors. It allows users to review their progress week by week and month by month, visualizing their Activity circles on a daily basis.

Selecting any specific day provides a comprehensive overview of your activity levels for that period.

Analyzing Your Movement with the Move Section

Within the Move section, you can monitor your daily caloric expenditure and compare it to your established goal.

The app also displays your total calories burned throughout the entire week.

Evaluating Exercise Duration

The Exercise section details the amount of time you dedicated to physical activity.

This is presented in relation to your daily exercise target, alongside the total time spent in motion during the week.

Tracking Stand Time

The Stand section monitors how well you met your daily standing goal.

It also indicates the number of hours you remained inactive.

Reviewing Workouts and Achievements

At the bottom of your Activity history, you’ll find a record of any workouts initiated during the day, as well as any achievements you’ve unlocked.

Detailed Workout Information

Tapping on the Workout section reveals a detailed report of your exercise sessions.

This includes metrics such as calories burned, workout duration, distance covered, and the type of workout performed.

Exploring Achievements

The Achievements tab, located at the bottom of the Activity app, showcases both earned and unearned accomplishments.

For those motivated by challenges, this feature provides ongoing goals to pursue.

Customizing Activity Notifications

If you prefer to disable achievement notifications or adjust other Activity settings, such as reminders to stand, you can do so through the Watch app on your iPhone.

Customizing Activity Tracking on Your iPhone

To modify the settings of your iPhone's Activity monitor, including alert preferences and timing, navigate to the Watch app on your iPhone and select the Activity section.