Looking beyond the apple watch as a runner

[myusernamedoesnotmatter]

Hello, I am new to this forum (as a long time lurker), so if this post does not please some gatekeeping rules that I don't know of I apologize.

On Christmas in 2021, I got a hand-me-down series 4 apple watch, and I loved it at the time. However, writing this 16 months later, my goodwill towards this iGadget has slowly deteriorated since my interests have changed. At the time, I used to be overweight and did not regularly exercise, but over this school year (yes, I am in high school) I decided to join track and field and cross country, and now I am in shape and a regular athlete. The apple watch is more of a distraction then a benefactor when it comes to actual sports training.

For one, Apple Watch is excessively gamified. It makes sense for people who are looking to lose weight seriously, but it becomes a massive distraction for athletes. This gamification prioritizes calories and exercise time, which is great for losing weight, not so much when you are trying to maintain or gain weight. I find gamification greatly increases my anxiety over my training, since I think about the watch stats more than the actual training. It is likely the reason I struggle with strength training, since the gamification system prioritizes cardio exercise over all others. This gamification system is IMPOSSIBLE to turn off.

Another problem is track and field. There is no "button" to press to count laps or sections when running, but with the touchscreen. This is a massive problem, since I have no clue what my splits are for repeats exercises most of the time, which can be really insightful. The "automatic" track workouts introduced in watchos 9 are terrible, since they count the rest time as part of the average pace, and it can be slightly off because technology can only be so accurate.

I am expecting watchOS 10 to drop support for the series 4, which means that it is on its last legs. What should I move onto? I am looking for a more affordable, frankly dumber device that can measure miles accurately and have a better stopwatch system for track and field. I remember fitbits would always break down after about a year of use from being low quality. Is there anything y'all recommed? Thanks

 

[Howard2k]

It seem that the main issue is you, not the watch.

1) Distraction - This seems to be a large concern. Whatever device you use it will have the ability to distract you. Whether it's smart watch features of a pretty dial, you need to be able to focus on the parts that matter.

2) Goals and Rings - As above, you can ignore the rings. You can also change the targets. You might have one target while losing weight, another target while maintaining weight, and another target while gaining weight. You can adjust those targets. I've never been in overweight but I find the rings useful, though I do adjust them to meet my current objectives.

3) Physical Button - I suspect the button on the Ultra would meet this objective.


Garmin has a dumbed down series of watches - fewer distractions but from what I hear they have fantastic features for athletes. I'd consider that or the Ultra. Fitbit would be worth a look too. I liked using FitBit but I usually found that they never lasted longer than 18 months.

But whatever you get you need to be able to apply your focus where it matters. Don't dumb something down because it distracts you, learn to ignore the distraction. You should be able to use a computer to work without spending all your time on that same computer surfing the net. You need to be able to drive a car without being distracted the by radio all the time.

 

[cthompson94]

For one, Apple Watch is excessively gamified. It makes sense for people who are looking to lose weight seriously, but it becomes a massive distraction for athletes. This gamification prioritizes calories and exercise time, which is great for losing weight, not so much when you are trying to maintain or gain weight. I find gamification greatly increases my anxiety over my training, since I think about the watch stats more than the actual training. It is likely the reason I struggle with strength training, since the gamification system prioritizes cardio exercise over all others. This gamification system is IMPOSSIBLE to turn off.

I understand you pain with the Apple Watch for those who weightlift and are looking to positively gain weight, but unfortunately it isn't a easy metric to track as far as sets and reps and how much weight of each and well it can be done there are apps that do it but it becomes tedious and that is why I think most people tracking those numbers are still using pen and paper. For lifting weights the only thing the watch can really track is your heart rate, but even the algorithm is more geared for cardio like you said so a 30 min or 1 hour weight session will not relect that unless you manually put that in. As someone who is the opposite and do mainly do weight training/strength training over cardio it is just something you have to get past with current smart watches as they are all basically cardio centric and I feel part of it is because of so many variables for instance a 135 bench wouldn't burn the same or near the same calories for everyone some people use that as a max, some can't do that, some use that for warm-ups and some that isn't even a warm up where using your height, weight, age, and heart rate and running smart watches can decently approximate the calories burned as opposed to doing something like bench press. The focus is also different where typically cardio is looking at target heart rates that changes depending on the goal (with the exception of HIIT when it is a combination of both), but strength training you are not typically going for a heart rate other than a gauge since the goal is to basically tear muscle to be repaired stronger.

Another problem is track and field. There is no "button" to press to count laps or sections when running, but with the touchscreen. This is a massive problem, since I have no clue what my splits are for repeats exercises most of the time, which can be really insightful. The "automatic" track workouts introduced in watchos 9 are terrible, since they count the rest time as part of the average pace, and it can be slightly off because technology can only be so accurate.

For this, have you tried different apps that possibly utilize the crown or maybe turns the whole screen into a split time screen so that all you have to do is possibly tap twice, the first tap to wake the screen and the second to record the time without having to look at the screen and tap a designated area

 

[myusernamedoesnotmatter]

I understand you pain with the Apple Watch for those who weightlift and are looking to positively gain weight, but unfortunately it isn't a easy metric to track as far as sets and reps and how much weight of each and well it can be done there are apps that do it but it becomes tedious and that is why I think most people tracking those numbers are still using pen and paper. For lifting weights the only thing the watch can really track is your heart rate, but even the algorithm is more geared for cardio like you said so a 30 min or 1 hour weight session will not relect that unless you manually put that in. As someone who is the opposite and do mainly do weight training/strength training over cardio it is just something you have to get past with current smart watches as they are all basically cardio centric and I feel part of it is because of so many variables for instance a 135 bench wouldn't burn the same or near the same calories for everyone some people use that as a max, some can't do that, some use that for warm-ups and some that isn't even a warm up where using your height, weight, age, and heart rate and running smart watches can decently approximate the calories burned as opposed to doing something like bench press. The focus is also different where typically cardio is looking at target heart rates that changes depending on the goal (with the exception of HIIT when it is a combination of both), but strength training you are not typically going for a heart rate other than a gauge since the goal is to basically tear muscle to be repaired stronger.

For this, have you tried different apps that possibly utilize the crown or maybe turns the whole screen into a split time screen so that all you have to do is possibly tap twice, the first tap to wake the screen and the second to record the time without having to look at the screen and tap a designated area

1. I completely understand why the apple watch is bad for strength training, it's a squaring the circle engineering problem.

2. Do you have any applications to recommend for essentially just a stopwatch with button controls? I almost completely avoid third party apple watch applications since every developer makes things a subscription service nowadays, so a OTP would be better than a freemium recommendation.

 

[cthompson94]

1. I completely understand why the apple watch is bad for strength training, it's a squaring the circle engineering problem.

2. Do you have any applications to recommend for essentially just a stopwatch with button controls? I almost completely avoid third party apple watch applications since every developer makes things a subscription service nowadays, so a OTP would be better than a freemium recommendation.

Unfortunately I do not I apologize, but I really hope someone who does know of a good app spots this thread an can make a suggestion. If I knew how to develop I would love to make a basic app that does something like I mentioned in my last response as something that basic but helpful would probably work or as howard2k mentioned using the ultra button, but of course that requires the higher cost and weight watch.

 

[PatrickNSF]

Hello, I am new to this forum (as a long time lurker), so if this post does not please some gatekeeping rules that I don't know of I apologize.

On Christmas in 2021, I got a hand-me-down series 4 apple watch, and I loved it at the time. However, writing this 16 months later, my goodwill towards this iGadget has slowly deteriorated since my interests have changed. At the time, I used to be overweight and did not regularly exercise, but over this school year (yes, I am in high school) I decided to join track and field and cross country, and now I am in shape and a regular athlete. The apple watch is more of a distraction then a benefactor when it comes to actual sports training.

For one, Apple Watch is excessively gamified. It makes sense for people who are looking to lose weight seriously, but it becomes a massive distraction for athletes. This gamification prioritizes calories and exercise time, which is great for losing weight, not so much when you are trying to maintain or gain weight. I find gamification greatly increases my anxiety over my training, since I think about the watch stats more than the actual training. It is likely the reason I struggle with strength training, since the gamification system prioritizes cardio exercise over all others. This gamification system is IMPOSSIBLE to turn off.

Another problem is track and field. There is no "button" to press to count laps or sections when running, but with the touchscreen. This is a massive problem, since I have no clue what my splits are for repeats exercises most of the time, which can be really insightful. The "automatic" track workouts introduced in watchos 9 are terrible, since they count the rest time as part of the average pace, and it can be slightly off because technology can only be so accurate.

I am expecting watchOS 10 to drop support for the series 4, which means that it is on its last legs. What should I move onto? I am looking for a more affordable, frankly dumber device that can measure miles accurately and have a better stopwatch system for track and field. I remember fitbits would always break down after about a year of use from being low quality. Is there anything y'all recommed? Thanks

Get a Garmin 2xx series. The 265 reviews seem quite good.

 

[chadamorrill]

The problem with gamification runs the gambit of brands; Apple, yes, but also Fitbit, Garmin, Polar, etc. They all have some "motivator" to get the average person off the couch and do some work. As you stated, we don't necessarily need that push.

As an aside, and on a personal note, when I first got my Apple watch, I set my move goal pretty high, then struggled mightily to hit it on days I didn't go for a run or bike, especially on weight training days. I knew I was working hard, but I couldn't seem to budge the Activity ring enough during a lifting session to meet my goal. That pissed me off, so I set my goal at a much more obtainable level for those "off" days. That makes me a lot happier, because most days I don't think about the gamification process, I simply hit the goal. But for the days I need that push, I push for it, because it's pretty obtainable.

The story above is to say, set your "gamified goals" super achievable so you don't worry about them. It's ok. No one is going to call you out on it. I promise. If you don't like that or aren't convinced, go get an old Timex Ironman with front facing lap buttons, and then take notes the old way with pen and paper (or manually input them into Strava or whatever your preference). No, you won't have the GPS data, but to your points in your original post, you may not even care about that. And you definitely won't have to worry about some digital assistant bugging you to stand every hour or hit some arbitrary goal. Just my two cents.

Oh and congrats on joining CC and T&F and getting fit while still in high school. I too was overweight through middle and high school, but didn't figure out that I actually enjoyed being active til I was a junior or senior in college.

 

[myusernamedoesnotmatter]

The story above is to say, set your "gamified goals" super achievable so you don't worry about them. It's ok. No one is going to call you out on it. I promise. If you don't like that or aren't convinced, go get an old Timex Ironman with front facing lap buttons, and then take notes the old way with pen and paper (or manually input them into Strava or whatever your preference). No, you won't have the GPS data, but to your points in your original post, you may not even care about that. And you definitely won't have to worry about some digital assistant bugging you to stand every hour or hit some arbitrary goal. Just my two cents.

I do care about GPS, I actually prefer road running over track by a large margin, so GPS measuring is a must.

 

[chadamorrill]

I actually was just coming back to edit my post, and since you've noted that GPS does matter, all the better I just make a new one. I've just been researching the COROS brand. They've got some cheaper options, and look very much to be an up and coming (albeit been-around-for-a-while-now) brand. Even has some exposure on DC Rainmaker, whom I like a lot. The Pace 2 is $200 and seems to be highly recommended.