Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[cfc]

Hi CFC in the next iOS, the iPhone could track activities.

So why not develop an WOD app fully fonctionable on iphone ?

I know all the data is based on the Apple Watch, but it could be great to use the iPhone as a bigger monitor, as for bike or hike

At the moment I am totally focussed on the watch app but in the long term I intend to make the app work standalone on the phone as well. In the medium term I will probably add some sort of mirroring feature to display live metrics on the phone app (mainly for cyclists with bike mounts) as this would be a logical step in the right direction.

There is a chance that I may do this as part of coding up the always on display (which requires the new SwiftUI language). This is because iPhone development is easier than watch development for WOD (fewer restrictions and more screen space to play with) so I may implement the screen layout configuration code in SwiftUI on the iPhone first. That is just a possibility though.

 

[Significant1]

Feature request. Ability to trim start and end of workout in the phone app would be nice. Using an online service is an hasle and the workout cannot be reimported to workoutdoors unless I am mistaken.

 

[cfc]

Feature request. Ability to trim start and end of workout in the phone app would be nice. Using an online service is an hasle and the workout cannot be reimported to workoutdoors unless I am mistaken.

The problem with that is that it wouldn't change the workout in Apple's Health system, which can't be edited. I may allow it one day though as that may not matter to some people.

There are "Back to Start" and "Possibly Travelling" alerts which will hopefully remind you to end a workout.

 

[Significant1]

The problem with that is that it wouldn't change the workout in Apple's Health system, which can't be edited. I may allow it one day though as that may not matter to some people.

There are "Back to Start" and "Possibly Travelling" alerts which will hopefully remind you to end a workout.

Ok, thought that was the problem. What about deleting and create a new workout in Apple Health, is that possible? Or create a new workout and let me delete the old one in Fitness.

Have to look into those alerts. But trim would still be an nice option.

 

[cfc]

Ok, thought that was the problem. What about deleting and create a new workout in Apple Health, is that possible? Or create a new workout and let me delete the old one in Fitness.

Have to look into those alerts. But trim would still be an nice option.

This would the a lot of work because the app uses a "live" workout builder during a workout, which is very different to creating a new workout from scratch.

I may add it one day but at the moment there are more requested features that are higher priority. Sorry about that.

 

[Pchecoandres]

Hello, I am new to WorkOutDoors, I've been exercising a lot with the native workout app of the apple watch, now I normally Walk, Run then Walk for recovery, in the watch app, I switch between workouts to don't alter the pace and differentiate when I am running or walking and statistics overall, How can I do that on WorkOutDoors app?

 

[cfc]

Hello, I am new to WorkOutDoors, I've been exercising a lot with the native workout app of the apple watch, now I normally Walk, Run then Walk for recovery, in the watch app, I switch between workouts to don't alter the pace and differentiate when I am running or walking and statistics overall, How can I do that on WorkOutDoors app?

You can't change activity type during a workout in WorkOutDoors. However you could do a running workout and set up a repeating slow/fast interval schedule where each interval is manually ended. You may want to configure the New Interval command to happen when you press both side buttons, so you could do that to change from slow to fast.

For more information on creating intervals see here: http://www.workoutdoors.net/Intervals.html

 

[j0hnmerrick]

Hello
You often talk about features at the top or bottom of your backlog.
Is there a page where we can consult this backlog (with the forecasted versions for example).
Maybe we could even vote on the features

Thanks

 

[cfc]

Hello
You often talk about features at the top or bottom of your backlog.
Is there a page where we can consult this backlog (with the forecasted versions for example).
Maybe we could even vote on the features

Thanks

It's nothing formal. I just keep track of what is requested and order the features according to demand and difficulty.

 

[estesbubba]

I've been using WOD with routes while hiking RMNP and it works great. One thing on out and back routes is it appears to randomly do the elevation grade colors, so you really don't know what's coming up. It would be really nice for it to them based on if you're doing the out or back. I think it would be pretty easy for WOD to determine which direction you're going based on the latest GPS points.

I know as a work-around I could make just the out route, but then I need to remember to go into settings and reverse. Plus I always do the entire route in Footpath so I know everything about the out and back. Also, I do routes where only part of the out and back overlap with a loop in the middle, so reverse wouldn't work with these.

I have this same problem with out and back routes for cycling. It would be a great enhancement.

 

[cfc]

I've been using WOD with routes while hiking RMNP and it works great. One thing on out and back routes is it appears to randomly do the elevation grade colors, so you really don't know what's coming up. It would be really nice for it to them based on if you're doing the out or back. I think it would be pretty easy for WOD to determine which direction you're going based on the latest GPS points.

I know as a work-around I could make just the out route, but then I need to remember to go into settings and reverse. Plus I always do the entire route in Footpath so I know everything about the out and back. Also, I do routes where only part of the out and back overlap with a loop in the middle, so reverse wouldn't work with these.

I have this same problem with out and back routes for cycling. It would be a great enhancement.

The app doesn't yet have the concept of following you, which is why it cannot decide which gradient to show for an out-and-back route.

I plan to add this in the future, which will also allow many other new features such as remaining time/distance/ascent; a graph of the elevation profile with a "you are here" marker; turn-by-turn navigation; target workout etc.

 

[muellered]

Anyone else often getting longer hiking distances with Apple's pedometer enabled in AOD's Distance & Average Pace settings vs. GPS distances? It's quite frustrating, as I tried recalibrating my Apple Watch but it didn't seem to help (did several 20-min walks on flat terrain as recommended by Apple and whatnot), so I really don't know what's the problem with Apple's pedometer. GPS distance indeed seems to be more accurate than the latter, when compared with official hiking distances online!

So I then switched to GPS for Distance & Average Pace instead of Apple's pedometer in AOD's Hiking Settings. That way AOD records the GPS distance in hikes. But it will still report shorter GPS distance vs. Apple's pedometer at the end of the workout. In the Fitness app, however, the workout includes Apple pedometer's (longer and incorrect) distance. Not sure how I feel about this - would still prefer to not to have to rely on GPS only (so to avoid possible inaccuracies due to poor signal in dense forests etc), but Apple's pedometer often grossly overestimates my hiking distance for some reason. I really don't understand why...as I always correctly record workouts on my Apple Watch - walking/hiking for walking/hiking, running for running, etc.!

Yes!! So I am not the only one who's facing this issue! The distance is being overshot by quite some distance and I don't know how to resolve the issue.

Following for updates on how to get it back to normal

 

[cfc]

Yes!! So I am not the only one who's facing this issue! The distance is being overshot by quite some distance and I don't know how to resolve the issue.

Following for updates on how to get it back to normal

Usually the best fix is to calibrate the watch as described by Apple here:https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204516

Also make sure that you use the correct activity type in whatever workout apps you use. For example if you go skateboarding or cross country skiing and tell the watch that you are running or walking, then it will confuse Apple's algorithm and it will often get your stride length wrong when you are actually running or walking.

Sometimes Apple's algorithm just doesn't seem to work for some people or activities, possibly due to a varying stride length, either naturally, deliberately (e.g. walk/run) or due to terrain. This is why WOD has the option to measure the distance using GPS instead.

Of course GPS has downsides as well if the signal is impeded for whatever reason (e.g. tunnels, buildings, trees etc), which is why the app defaults to using Apple's distance estimates.

 

[ChecksD]

Does anyone know if its possible to set up a pacing strategy on WOD? Having previously been a garmin user and ditching in favour of AW and WOD (which I absolutely love), I'm about to do my first time targetted run for which I have a pacing strategy, but a dire memory.

Is there a way to set up the route with vary target times to use the "time against target" feature to map the pacing strategy?

 

[d3vp0ll]

This is the best app I’ve ever used on the Apple Watch!

 

[cfc]

Does anyone know if its possible to set up a pacing strategy on WOD? Having previously been a garmin user and ditching in favour of AW and WOD (which I absolutely love), I'm about to do my first time targetted run for which I have a pacing strategy, but a dire memory.

Is there a way to set up the route with vary target times to use the "time against target" feature to map the pacing strategy?

There is no easy way to do that at the moment, but there is an outside chance that you may be able to synthesise it somehow with an interval schedule (depending on what you need).

I plan to add a "target workout" feature in the future where you can compare against a previous workout (or a GPX file) in the same way that you can currently compare against a fixed target pace. This will require the ability for the app to follow a route, which will be added with the planned improvement to the navigation features. I probably won't add target workout at the same time as those features, but it will be much easier to implement after I have added them.

 

[ChecksD]

There is no easy way to do that at the moment, but there is an outside chance that you may be able to synthesise it somehow with an interval schedule (depending on what you need).

I plan to add a "target workout" feature in the future where you can compare against a previous workout (or a GPX file) in the same way that you can currently compare against a fixed target pace. This will require the ability for the app to follow a route, which will be added with the planned improvement to the navigation features. I probably won't add target workout at the same time as those features, but it will be much easier to implement after I have added them.

Thanks - I appreciate the quick response. I might have a fiddle with the interval schedule and see what I can do. Any plans to add desktop access - perhaps easier to set routes etc than on the phone?

 

[ArrToo]

How’s about a way to edit/set the distance for a run after starting one? At present I think the only way is to set it at the start, and this is separate to an interval schedule. Being able to change/set this during a run (like you can change target pace/speed, for example) would mean I wouldn’t be faced with a big dash where the expected finish time is on my main screen when I forgot to start a run with the distance, and would also mean it could easily be added as a target to an interval schedule. Plus, I’ve lost count of the times when I’ve thought I only wanted to do 5k but changed my mind and want to extend to 10k. (OK, that’s a complete lie, but I’m sure there are some out there like that! … Maybe 10k down to 5k for me, actually. 😆)

 

[Otto Pilot]

oddball and perhaps too specific a feature request regarding external sensors. is there any chance that WOD could ever work with the Garmin Varia Cycling Radar? the most recent revision added BTLE, and atv least one or two other watch apps support it. that would be a fantastic addition!

 

[cfc]

oddball and perhaps too specific a feature request regarding external sensors. is there any chance that WOD could ever work with the Garmin Varia Cycling Radar? the most recent revision added BTLE, and atv least one or two other watch apps support it. that would be a fantastic addition!

A couple of people have mentioned it, so it is on my radar . It isn't very high priority though. Sorry.

 

[tcarlisle]

In OSM/Thunderforest sometimes different types of ways (aka paths) are intentionally overlapped. For example when a trail or road becomes a ski run in the winter. I have found that while using WOD when hiking in areas where ski runs overlap trails, the trails can be obscured and difficult to see. And, even if the runs and trails don't overlap, it can be visually confusing to have them both present on the map at the same time. While I haven't tried skiing with WOD yet, I imagine the reverse holds true as well.

WOD has the ability to toggle on/off certain OSM features under the Map Styles settings. I'm wondering if it would be possible to add the ability to toggle on/off ski runs and hiking paths...maybe even dirt roads in the Styles menu? Even better would be a setting to toggle these based on activity type. Perhaps there's a better way to do this with a Summer and a Winter map but that probably would get into a whole other matter.

This is probably low on the priority list but it would help to de-clutter the map for these given scenarios. If needed I can provided some more info, images, or locations where trail/road/ski run ways or tags overlap in OSM.

Thanks for a great app!

 

[cfc]

In OSM/Thunderforest sometimes different types of ways (aka paths) are intentionally overlapped. For example when a trail or road becomes a ski run in the winter. I have found that while using WOD when hiking in areas where ski runs overlap trails, the trails can be obscured and difficult to see. And, even if the runs and trails don't overlap, it can be visually confusing to have them both present on the map at the same time. While I haven't tried skiing with WOD yet, I imagine the reverse holds true as well.

WOD has the ability to toggle on/off certain OSM features under the Map Styles settings. I'm wondering if it would be possible to add the ability to toggle on/off ski runs and hiking paths...maybe even dirt roads in the Styles menu? Even better would be a setting to toggle these based on activity type. Perhaps there's a better way to do this with a Summer and a Winter map but that probably would get into a whole other matter.

This is probably low on the priority list but it would help to de-clutter the map for these given scenarios. If needed I can provided some more info, images, or locations where trail/road/ski run ways or tags overlap in OSM.

Thanks for a great app!

That sort of “intelligent” map is definitely in my plans for the future but very rarely requested.

I did something similar with maps in a previous app, so it is a concept that really interests me. However, as ever, I prioritise features according to demand, and unfortunately very few people have asked for it.

 

[NME42]

Can't wait to run WOD on a new Apple Watch Ultra with Action Button and the bigger display...

 

[cfc]

Can't wait to run WOD on a new Apple Watch Ultra with Action Button and the bigger display...

I just hope I can get one on day one. The last time they made major changes (series 4) I had to wait several weeks despite repeatedly refreshing the Apple Store from the moment it was available.

 

[NME42]

I just hope I can get one on day one. The last time they made major changes (series 4) I had to wait several weeks despite repeatedly refreshing the Apple Store from the moment it was available.

We all keep our fingers pressed!