Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[oric1sg]

The app asks Siri to speak the alerts so in theory it is a Siri voice. However you can change the accent in the voice settings if that helps?

No, it doesn't. I did try all the accents but the voice is not from Siri. Siri voice is very smooth and sounded more human but the voice from the WOD doesn't sound natural, not humanlike.

 

[cfc]

No, it doesn't. I did try all the accents but the voice is not from Siri. Siri voice is very smooth and sounded more human but the voice from the WOD doesn't sound natural, not humanlike.

All I can say is that the app uses the watchOS mechanism for speaking a phrase and the volume of that is affected by the Siri volume.

 

[Jopi69]

Is it possible somehow to edit lap screen? If I make a new lap in the laps screen at the moment it only shows laps speed, pace and length. I’d like to see some other metrics and I’d assume making this configurable wouldn’t be too hard.

Thanks.

 

[cfc]

Is it possible somehow to edit lap screen? If I make a new lap in the laps screen at the moment it only shows laps speed, pace and length. I’d like to see some other metrics and I’d assume making this configurable wouldn’t be too hard.

Thanks.

Which laps screen do you mean? The one that appears each lap; the one at the end of a workout; or the one on the iPhone?

 

[Jopi69]

Which laps screen do you mean? The one that appears each lap; the one at the end of a workout; or the one on the iPhone?

The one that appears if I make a manual lap or split.

 

[cfc]

The one that appears if I make a manual lap or split.

Yes, you can configure the metrics that are displayed on that screen. Go to the Alerts settings and choose the activity (e.g. Running). Then tap "New Manual Interval". You can then configure the 3 metrics that will be displayed when you start a new interval.

 

[Jopi69]

This is great! Would it be possible to fit more than three metrics and maybe ad an configuration option that the metrics are displayed until dismissed?

 

[cfc]

This is great! Would it be possible to fit more than three metrics and maybe ad an configuration option that the metrics are displayed until dismissed?

No-one has asked for that before but I will bear it in mind the next time I am looking at that area.

Note that you can make the messages appear on the screen for longer in the Other Settings screen. Only up to a maximum of 5 seconds though.

 

[Nemensi]

@cfc: Have you been able to reproduce this?

To reproduce this issue:

1. Disable Bluetooth on the Apple Watch
2. Open WOD on the Apple Watch
3. Press and hold the side button
4. Press and hold the Crown until the home screen is displayed to quit WOD
5. Open WOD on the Apple Watch and start a workout
6. The message 'Activate Bluetooth to allow WorkOurDors to connect to accessories - Settings/Close' is displayed
7. Select 'Close'
8. End the workout
9. Goto 3.

 

[cfc]

@cfc: Have you been able to reproduce this?

I have changed the way the app deals with Bluetooth in a way that may fix this but I haven't specifically tested that. You are welcome to try the beta if you want? If so then please email me at info@workoutdoors.net.

 

[Celestial Wolves]

Sounds an interesting feature. If more people request it then I may add it.

Could indeed be interesting, but preferably then as an option and not a fixed setting.
Edit: was meant in support of @ArrToo ’s feature request.

 

[cfc]

Could indeed be interesting, but preferably then as an option and not a fixed setting.
Edit: was meant in support of @ArrToo ’s feature request.

The ability to automatically start a new interval when back at the start would definitely be optional and would default to being off if I did add it.

 

[Yeahbsolutely]

I was running with WOD and Polar H10 yesterday. WOD connected as normal to H10 before starting. Since my the heart rate-strap was not wet enough initially, the heart rate did not update the first minutes, but it fixed itself later on. However, looking beneath the watch, I saw that the optical Apple Watch sensor was continuously active during the entire remainder of the workout (80 mins)—even when the H10 was properly recording and WOD displaying the H10 data. Is it possible to auto turn off the internal optical sensor during workouts to save battery?

 

[cfc]

I was running with WOD and Polar H10 yesterday. WOD connected as normal to H10 before starting. Since my the heart rate-strap was not wet enough initially, the heart rate did not update the first minutes, but it fixed itself later on. However, looking beneath the watch, I saw that the optical Apple Watch sensor was continuously active during the entire remainder of the workout (80 mins)—even when the H10 was properly recording and WOD displaying the H10 data. Is it possible to auto turn off the internal optical sensor during workouts to save battery?

The app does disable workout heart rate readings if it is using an external HRM, but the watch will still take its usual readings, as it does throughout the day. Usually these become more frequent during a workout but not if you are using an external sensor.

 

[kfmfe04]

Great app! Please pass Heartrate Zones data to Fitness.

Below was captured on iOS 16 beta, WatchOS 9 beta, on a run I did in the Apple Workout app.
Shows up in iOS under Fitness > Outdoor Run > Heart Rate > Show More.

Showing the zones and elapsed time is really useful.
Thank you.

Edit: Ah - I can see the data under Workoutdoors > Workouts > Heart > Zones! Stupid me - such a thorough app must have that data somewhere ^^. Make this feature request a "nice to have" then. TY.

 

[mechpass]

@cfc Dot you already know whether you can implement the new running metrics like ground contact time and vertical movement which where announced at the WWDC? Being a runner obsessed with form, I would appreciate having these metrics available in WOD a lot. So much that I may switch to iOS' native running app in the case that it cannot be implemented.

 

[cfc]

@cfc Dot you already know whether you can implement the new running metrics like ground contact time and vertical movement which where announced at the WWDC? Being a runner obsessed with form, I would appreciate having these metrics available in WOD a lot. So much that I may switch to iOS' native running app in the case that it cannot be implemented.

I definitely plan to add the new power and running metrics to the app. I am hoping that it won't be too difficult because they are a subset of the metrics provided by Stryd, which I have already integrated throughout the app (screen configuration, alerts, intervals, exporting etc). So I have already done most of the hard work for Stryd.

In theory it should be pretty easy (famous last words!). I just need to make the app request that watchOS supplies the power, vertical oscillation and ground contact time in the same way as it currently requests heart rates, calories etc.

However I haven't looked at it in detail yet as I tend to wait until at least the 3rd or 4th beta before coding anything up. I have learnt the hard way that the first few betas are usually a bit flaky and it is easy to waste time working around a "quirk" that gets fixed in later versions.

 

[johnl1275]

This is slightly off topic, but I feel like this is a good place to ask this question with all you runner experts... I am looking for a website or an app where it will give me a weekly summaries (and preferably yearly and monthly too) related to heart rate zones. So I would like to be able to see of my total training for a given week, how much time did I spend in Zone 1, Zone 2, etc... If it had average pace in there too that would be great, but there are lots of places to get that number.

I am having some issues with my heart rate and am trying to see where it started, what an average week used to look like, and what it looks like now.

Thanks in advance...

The on-topic part of this is I use WorkOutDoors exclusively as my running app!!

 

[NME42]

This is slightly off topic, but I feel like this is a good place to ask this question with all you runner experts... I am looking for a website or an app where it will give me a weekly summaries (and preferably yearly and monthly too) related to heart rate zones. So I would like to be able to see of my total training for a given week, how much time did I spend in Zone 1, Zone 2, etc... If it had average pace in there too that would be great, but there are lots of places to get that number.

Can all be done with runalyze.
There are reports and histogram charts you can configure that shows distribution of your workouts across heart rate zones.

 

[Maryn]

This is slightly off topic, but I feel like this is a good place to ask this question with all you runner experts... I am looking for a website or an app where it will give me a weekly summaries (and preferably yearly and monthly too) related to heart rate zones. So I would like to be able to see of my total training for a given week, how much time did I spend in Zone 1, Zone 2, etc... If it had average pace in there too that would be great, but there are lots of places to get that number.

I am having some issues with my heart rate and am trying to see where it started, what an average week used to look like, and what it looks like now.

Thanks in advance...

The on-topic part of this is I use WorkOutDoors exclusively as my running app!!

Runalyze

 

[johnl1275]

Can all be done with runalyze.
There are reports and histogram charts you can configure that shows distribution of your workouts across heart rate zones.

Runalyze

Thank you both! I will check that out! 👍👍

 

[ADowdalls]

My WorkOutDoors app on my AW7 froze when running today - the map failed to move although it seemed to continue recording the run. Turning the crown had no effect (no zoom). I could not find any way to recenter on where i was etc. It remained frozen at one location. I had to stop the app and restart on iwatch. Is this a known bug or am I doing something wrong?
Alex

 

[jon08]

My WorkOutDoors app on my AW7 froze when running today - the map failed to move although it seemed to continue recording the run. Turning the crown had no effect (no zoom). I could not find any way to recenter on where i was etc. It remained frozen at one location. I had to stop the app and restart on iwatch. Is this a known bug or am I doing something wrong?
Alex

Happened to me a few times before. Seems like a problem with the new Thunderforest maps (assuming you use those?), but I don’t know for sure. Force quitting the app and reopening it seems to help; no need to restart the watch… but no idea how to reproduce the bug.

 

[cfc]

My WorkOutDoors app on my AW7 froze when running today - the map failed to move although it seemed to continue recording the run. Turning the crown had no effect (no zoom). I could not find any way to recenter on where i was etc. It remained frozen at one location. I had to stop the app and restart on iwatch. Is this a known bug or am I doing something wrong?
Alex

A couple of people have mentioned this with the Thunderforest maps but I am unable to reproduce it. Sorry about that. Please could you send me the wkt file for that workout. Hopefully the more examples I have the more likely I can spot a pattern. To do this tap the Export button 3 times quickly and send it to info@workoutdoors.net. And maybe use the default Mapbox maps until I can fix it.

 

[southpaw2five]

What is everyone’s favorite system for getting maps into WODs? I’ve used Strava but trying to drop the subscriptions and this is the only thing holding me back.