how to record aerobics on apple watch

Apple Watch: understanding the difference between the “move” and “train” rings, the ones we try to fill on a daily basis

The Apple Watch is a particularly useful companion for those who want to keep fit, lose weight or even increase their physical capacities by setting daily goals. For this purpose, the watch has the Activity system, which, using three circles of different colors, measures the wearer's activity during the day. These three circles are obviously not interested in the same data. And while the name of the blue circle, “Get Up”, is pretty self-explanatory, the other two “Practice” and “Move” can be misunderstanding. Here are some elements to see more clearly and understand why Apple has chosen this 3-circle system:

How the Apple Watch “Move” circle works

The moving circle corresponds to the red ring. It measures the number of calories burned each day by the wearer. To fill the circle, you have to burn a certain number.

And it's actually the movements of the arm that will create the filling of this red circle, unlike the training circle, which fills up when the watch detects a certain heartbeat.

So a walk can fill the “Move” circle faster than a bike ride. Another thing to know, this is the only circle where the user can change the goal.

What about the "Train me" circle?

This indicator fills up when the watch has detected intense physical activity, based on a higher than normal heart rate. Thus, to achieve the 30 minutes to complete the circle, you must perform a sufficiently intensive session for it to be detected as athletic.

A strength training session, for example, in which between each exercise the wearer sits down and sees their heartbeat drop again, could simply never trigger the threshold limit necessary to qualify as “M” circle activity. train ”.

Fortunately, the watch adapts to the wearer at this level, by detecting a heartbeat level at rest and a heartbeat level during sports activity, to be more able to detect when the wearer is exercising.

Moreover, this is why the objective here is not customizable. Because a person who is not used to sports has a heart that can quickly accelerate with light walking or jogging. If she embarks on an active active sport, the heartbeat threshold for physical activity will be more easily reached than in a professional athlete.

Indeed, the latter, who has a heart much better prepared for the effort and therefore less inclined to accelerate too much, will have to make more effort precisely to trigger the threshold of physical activity and thus complete the 30 minutes. of the “Train me” circle.

This 30-minute threshold was chosen by Apple and is probably based on figures from the World Health Organization, according to which it is advisable for an adult to perform between 150 and 300 minutes of average or intensive activity each week to maintain a healthy. This equates to a range of 21 to 42 minutes per day, with 30 being right in the middle.

Three complementary circles

This is why the three activity indicators complement each other particularly well. Each of them focuses on a specific part of physical activity during a day, targeting a different activity: heartbeat for the “Train” circle, and wrist movements for the “Move” circle without forgetting to get up. to break the long sessions of sedentary lifestyle, even with someone athletic!