Shop E Store Apple Watch has always been a powerful device for tracking your health and fitness. But two recent changes in watchOS 11 make achieving your goals easier than ever. Here are the details:
Set Apple Watch goals for daily health, including rest
When the Apple Watch first debuted, its three activity rings were very tightly defined.
To close all the rings, I had to achieve 30 minutes of exercise and 12 hours of stand time per day. These goals cannot be changed. Only the movement ring was customizable.
In recent years, watchOS has also added support for changing exercise and stand goals. But it’s only in recent months that watchOS 11 has implemented two more important Activity Ring changes.
You can now take rest days and sick days. You can also set different goals for each day of the week in your activity ring.
watchOS 11 supports the ability to “pause” your Activity Ring for more than one day, so it won’t stop recording even if you don’t close it that day.
You can also adjust your daily goals so that, for example, weekdays require more exercise and weekends are easier.
Here are two reasons why these changes to Apple Watch can help you reach your health goals.
- Streaks can be a great motivator for continuing healthy habits.
- Goals need to be seen as realistic or you will give up quickly.
I’ve seen these two principles in action in my own Apple Watch journey. Let me explain.
Why Apple Watch health fixes are important
My longest streak before closing a moving ring is 285 days.
It was an exciting season, but it all came crashing down when I contracted the coronavirus and could barely get out of bed for several days.
Knowing that my streak was broken and how long it would take to set a new streak record was very demotivating for me. I quickly got out of the habit of closing my ring every day.
If I had the ability to pause my goal, I would have been able to get back on track faster.
Similarly, because the Apple Watch has historically treated each day the same, I often struggled to keep the rings consistent. It’s never been right for me to be expected to meet a standard goal the next day even if I move a lot.
Now, you can plan, for example, to do a lot of exercise on Friday, then take it a little slower on Saturday. My Apple Watch doesn’t shame me for doing that.
Did these Apple Watch changes help you reach your health goals? Let us know in the comments.
