Apps New version of WorkOutDoors, the Workout app with a Map

[oeagleo]

What sort of estimates do you get from the 5X?

Looking back, I must have been high, or something. A "mall walk", using the 5x, and a calibrated footpod, (I know it's calibrated correctly, we have an oval here that was used in the Winter olympics, and the track is calibrated to the .01 mile per approx 1/4 mile (442 meters) ) and I get for a .51 mile walk, at 28:18 min/mile pace, Average HR of 104, and it was 89 calories. Another "mall walk", this time 2.23 miles, 23:03 Min/Mile pace, 51:18 minutes, and Average HR of 118 gives 341 calories. Once again, using the calibrated Footpod. I have compared the AW with known mall distances, one is approx .91 mile, the other, (the latter walk above) is approx 1/2 mile around, and the watch closely coincides with what I get from the Fenix. I must have been thinking with the left side of my brain, I need to do a few more outside walks, but I think I "may" have been mistaken above.

 

[cfc]

Glad to hear that things were more consistent this time!

If you have any questions or suggestions about the app then please let me know.

 

[oeagleo]

Finally figured out how to export a .GPX file from WorkOutdoors, and today decided to a direct, head to head competition between the AW Series 3 SS, and my Fenix 5x. I used your app WorkOutdoors to generate the track, and export to a .GPX file. Both watches were worn on the same arm, about an inch apart. Same path, same time, as close to same everything as I could. The F5x used a calibrated footpod that I calibrated at an Olympic Ice Skating oval we have here that is measured to the .01 mile. The difference in distance is .02 for about a mile and a half between the AW and the Fenix, so I say that's not bad. Here is a direct comparison between the tracks in MyGPSFiles, showing both tracks. Interesting result, I know which I think is better, but what do you think here?

http://mygpsfiles.com/app/#MgcgZF58

 

[ftaok]

Finally figured out how to export a .GPX file from WorkOutdoors, and today decided to a direct, head to head competition between the AW Series 3 SS, and my Fenix 5x. I used your app WorkOutdoors to generate the track, and export to a .GPX file. Both watches were worn on the same arm, about an inch apart. Same path, same time, as close to same everything as I could. The F5x used a calibrated footpod that I calibrated at an Olympic Ice Skating oval we have here that is measured to the .01 mile. The difference in distance is .02 for about a mile and a half between the AW and the Fenix, so I say that's not bad. Here is a direct comparison between the tracks in MyGPSFiles, showing both tracks. Interesting result, I know which I think is better, but what do you think here?

http://mygpsfiles.com/app/#MgcgZF58

Not sure what I'm seeing. But it is curious that the times are so far off.

 

[oeagleo]

Not sure what I'm seeing. But it is curious that the times are so far off.

It might have been that I stopped the Fenix activity first, then had to figure out how to stop the Work Outdoors activity. I left it there, thinking that it would continue to count the heart rate for the "2 minute cooldown", so that is probably the difference. Like I said, they were on the same wrist, same walk. Just didn't get the AW stopped as quickly as the Fenix. My bad.

 

[ftaok]

It might have been that I stopped the Fenix activity first, then had to figure out how to stop the Work Outdoors activity. I left it there, thinking that it would continue to count the heart rate for the "2 minute cooldown", so that is probably the difference. Like I said, they were on the same wrist, same walk. Just didn't get the AW stopped as quickly as the Fenix. My bad.

In any event, the orange track looks better.

 

[cfc]

Finally figured out how to export a .GPX file from WorkOutdoors, and today decided to a direct, head to head competition between the AW Series 3 SS, and my Fenix 5x. I used your app WorkOutdoors to generate the track, and export to a .GPX file. Both watches were worn on the same arm, about an inch apart. Same path, same time, as close to same everything as I could. The F5x used a calibrated footpod that I calibrated at an Olympic Ice Skating oval we have here that is measured to the .01 mile. The difference in distance is .02 for about a mile and a half between the AW and the Fenix, so I say that's not bad. Here is a direct comparison between the tracks in MyGPSFiles, showing both tracks. Interesting result, I know which I think is better, but what do you think here?

http://mygpsfiles.com/app/#MgcgZF58

That is a pretty good test, and it is good to see that they are so close given the inherent inaccuracy of GPS, which is clearly shown by the plots. Both devices are far from perfect but, in this case, I think the AW is slightly better.

In my limited experience both Garmin devices and AW are similar in terms of GPS tracking. I have seen plenty of head-to-head comparisons by users where Garmin wins and and plenty where AW wins. For example today I saw a clear win for Garmin, so it's good to see AW edging this one (IMHO).

Thanks for the detailed comparison!

 

[michaelb5000]

Thanks for the new version. Looks great, but it has so many new features I haven't even begun to test everything. But it does steps and floors climbed and of course has great maps.

I see you added paddling and rowing screens. My frustration when kayaking or paddling with the apple watch is that each stroke activates "raise to wake". So I have to remember to turn that off (using theater mode actually). But also that paddling seems to sometimes get counted as steps. Is there a way for the apple watch to know that the workout is "paddling" and to therefore not count steps and for your app to count "strokes" instead?

 

[cfc]

Unfortunately as far as I know 3rd party apps cannot control the raise to wake, so you will still need to change that manually.

When starting a workout the app tells the watch the activity type, so watchOS will know that you are paddling. WorkOutDoors will count strokes (and also display stroke cadence, stroke length etc), but if watchOS counts them as steps then there isn't much the app can do I'm afraid. It would be nice if watchOS realised that any "steps" during a paddling workout do not count in daily step totals, but I guess it doesn't know if you were to actually get out and walk a bit during the paddle.

Glad you like the new version. As you say, I have probably gone a bit overboard on new features. I will post a thread on it here soon, when I have finished updating the website.

 

[ftaok]

Thanks for the new version. Looks great, but it has so many new features I haven't even begun to test everything. But it does steps and floors climbed and of course has great maps.

I see you added paddling and rowing screens. My frustration when kayaking or paddling with the apple watch is that each stroke activates "raise to wake". So I have to remember to turn that off (using theater mode actually). But also that paddling seems to sometimes get counted as steps. Is there a way for the apple watch to know that the workout is "paddling" and to therefore not count steps and for your app to count "strokes" instead?

Different people have different levels of OCD.

I can understand wanting Health to count steps and only steps. However, if you're goal is to track a fixed number of steps each day, wouldn't you want to get credit for the excercise you do that is not step based?

Personally, back when I tracked steps (with an iPod nano), I would get a bit miffed that I didn't get credit for steps when using a Precor AMT (kinda like an elliptical). To me, paddling is more strenuous than walking, so if I got credit for 1 step for each paddle, I'm OK with that.

But YMMV.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Had a couple of issues with the distance freezing on activities, then starting again later but the lost distance never being recovered, anyone else?

 

[cfc]

Had a couple of issues with the distance freezing on activities, then starting again later but the lost distance never being recovered, anyone else?

Sorry about that. This was probably due to the previous version of the app defaulting to using Apple's distance estimates, which could be unpredictable for some users. For example they would ignore sections of the workout that were at speeds they considered invalid. I think this was to handle situations such as when users forgot to end the workout and drove home, but it also caused issues when people walked during a running workout, or vice-versa.

In the new version released yesterday the default is to use the GPS distance (with some intelligent smoothing), which should fix the problem. Apple's estimates are still available if you switch on "Intelligent Distances" in the settings, but this should not be necessary for most people.

 

[oeagleo]

Had a chance to try the new version today, and I'm really pleased. The exported files are great, and move right into Movescount, and Garmin Connect without a hitch; same for Strava. The only thing I found is that it actually takes a bit before the activity is moved into the "rings" section of my watch/Phone, but I think that's an Apple thing, because the activity is in the Health App, just doesn't show up to close the rings. I can live with that, it's a great accomplishment, thanks for tossing this out there! Good Job!

 

[cfc]

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't noticed the delay with the rings but, as you say, it is probably an Apple thing if the activity is in the Health app.

Glad you like the app!

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Sorry about that. This was probably due to the previous version of the app defaulting to using Apple's distance estimates, which could be unpredictable for some users. For example they would ignore sections of the workout that were at speeds they considered invalid. I think this was to handle situations such as when users forgot to end the workout and drove home, but it also caused issues when people walked during a running workout, or vice-versa.

In the new version released yesterday the default is to use the GPS distance (with some intelligent smoothing), which should fix the problem. Apple's estimates are still available if you switch on "Intelligent Distances" in the settings, but this should not be necessary for most people.

Ok thnx, will dload the new version.

 

[oeagleo]

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't noticed the delay with the rings but, as you say, it is probably an Apple thing if the activity is in the Health app.

Glad you like the app!

Do you keep a record of who's donated? I think I did donate for the app right after I discovered it, stated that it made my Apple Watch into a Fenix 5x, or something like that. I'd like to be sure, if you have records.
Thanks

 

[cfc]

Do you keep a record of who's donated? I think I did donate for the app right after I discovered it, stated that it made my Apple Watch into a Fenix 5x, or something like that. I'd like to be sure, if you have records.
Thanks

Sorry, but you must be thinking of a different app as I have never had any donation system. It's a single one-off payment for the app on the App Store.

I am very glad to hear that you like the app that much though!

 

[Musikomat]

Just finished my first walk with the updated version after having used the app for some time now.
Can't praise your work enough! In my opinion everything one could ask for is there, and the amount of customization possibilities is spectacular.
For me this is truly one of the very few highly valuable apps for an apple watch!

Thanks!

 

[cfc]

Just finished my first walk with the updated version after having used the app for some time now.
Can't praise your work enough! In my opinion everything one could ask for is there, and the amount of customization possibilities is spectacular.
For me this is truly one of the very few highly valuable apps for an apple watch!

Thanks!

That is fantastic to hear! Many thanks for taking the time to post about the app. It is much appreciated.

 

[rbart]

I have tested the final version for my last workout and there was an issue for me.
Autopause was not working, so I have decided to use the buttons to force pause.
But after some time, it has also stopped to work, and I wasn't able to pause ...
So I have stopped my workout and finished with Apple stock app.
It's a pity to have these small issues, the app is so promising ...

 

[cfc]

Was it a running workout and did you have auto pause switched on (it defaults to being off)? I haven't heard of manual pause not working - what were the symptoms?

 

[oeagleo]

Sorry, but you must be thinking of a different app as I have never had any donation system. It's a single one-off payment for the app on the App Store.

I am very glad to hear that you like the app that much though!

Oops.. well, in that case my advice is "Don't ever get old, and if you do, be nice to your brain when you're younger!" LOL Thanks, I just wanted to make sure that I did my part...

 

[cfc]

Oops.. well, in that case my advice is "Don't ever get old, and if you do, be nice to your brain when you're younger!" LOL Thanks, I just wanted to make sure that I did my part...

Good advice but unfortunately a bit late for me!

 

[rbart]

Was it a running workout and did you have auto pause switched on (it defaults to being off)? I haven't heard of manual pause not working - what were the symptoms?

I am not sure I have configured auto pause.
I can't find where it's set ...
The "manual" pause wasn't working because the workout time was increasing.

 

[cfc]

I am not sure I have configured auto pause.
I can't find where it's set ...
The "manual" pause wasn't working because the workout time was increasing.

To switch on auto-pause go to Settings and select the Workout menu. If you are in a running workout then it shows an "Auto-pause when Stopped" option. There is a bug because this option should appear when no workout is active (with a caveat about running) but it doesn't. Sorry about that - I will fix it in the next version. However you should be able to start a workout, set the option and then end the workout.

As to manual pause not working that is very strange. The pausing is done by Apple's workout system - the app asks it to pause and the system tells it when it has, which should be immediately. The GPS location and the metrics should go grey and a pause message should appear. As this is not happening but I haven't heard of this issue before then it could be a random install error (which sometimes happens with watchOS). Please try uninstalling the watch app, rebooting both phone and watch, and reinstalling the app. Sorry to offer the standard "reboot" advice but it can help, especially with strange errors.