Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[pina]

So I have some alerts set up during a run, like when my pace is too fast. Today I used a run schedule for my run and I also inserted an target pace zone. While running, both alerts were running. Better behaviour would be that only the alerts I set up in the scheduled run would be used and not both alerts because it gets too much…

Is there a setting where I can easily do that?

I was also wondering whether this app can measure the respiratory rate during a run? It’s a pretty important metric for runners

 

[cfc]

So I have some alerts set up during a run, like when my pace is too fast. Today I used a run schedule for my run and I also inserted an target pace zone. While running, both alerts were running. Better behaviour would be that only the alerts I set up in the scheduled run would be used and not both alerts because it gets too much…

Is there a setting where I can easily do that?

I was also wondering whether this app can measure the respiratory rate during a run? It’s a pretty important metric for runners

You can control whether regular alerts occur during an interval with the "Enabled Regular Notifications" option at the bottom of the interval configuration screen. This can also be over-ridden in the main Schedules configuration screen.

I don't think the Apple Watch provides respiration rate during workouts. As far as I know that is only available when sleeping, but I could be wrong.

 

[pina]

*delete*

 

[pina]

You can control whether regular alerts occur during an interval with the "Enabled Regular Notifications" option at the bottom of the interval configuration screen. This can also be over-ridden in the main Schedules configuration screen.

I don't think the Apple Watch provides respiration rate during workouts. As far as I know that is only available when sleeping, but I could be wrong.

Great! I didn't notice that setting, thanks.

I'm using an apple watch series 5 at the moment and I was wondering whether workoutdoors can benefit from the blood oxygen sensor and other added sensors from newer series in comparison with my series 5?

I'm asking this because my series 5 battery is getting pretty bad but I'm thinking of waiting for the series 10

 

[cfc]

Great! I didn't notice that setting, thanks.

I'm using an apple watch series 5 at the moment and I was wondering whether workoutdoors can benefit from the blood oxygen sensor and other added sensors from newer series in comparison with my series 5?

I'm asking this because my series 5 battery is getting pretty bad but I'm thinking of waiting for the series 10

I don't think that blood oxygen is available real-time to third party apps, especially during a workout. As far as I know the only way to get a reading is to use the O2 app, and that asks you to keep still for 15 seconds which isn't practical during most workouts.

However WorkOutDoors will show the running metrics that are provided by the series 6 watches and newer: power, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation.

 

[xerxas]

I swear i thought you could start a run (from the countdown screen) by pressing the action button. Am i just remembering wrong or did i miss a configuration option.

 

[cfc]

I swear i thought you could start a run (from the countdown screen) by pressing the action button. Am i just remembering wrong or did i miss a configuration option.

Pressing the action button should start a workout if the app is displaying the start screen with the big green button. If not then check that the acton button is configured to use WOD in Apple's Settings app. If it is then try rebooting the watch because that often fixes strange issues with the action button.

 

[xerxas]

Pressing the action button should start a workout if the app is displaying the start screen with the big green button. If not then check that the acton button is configured to use WOD in Apple's Settings app. If it is then try rebooting the watch because that often fixes strange issues with the action button.

I restarted my watch and I have it configured to Workoutdoors and first press to open. Pressing the action button on the screen with the start just flashes orange and does nothing. I have one sensor and it’s green with no countdown enable.

 

[cfc]

I restarted my watch and I have it configured to Workoutdoors and first press to open. Pressing the action button on the screen with the start just flashes orange and does nothing. I have one sensor and it’s green with no countdown enable.

In that case I don't know what to suggest. Sorry.

 

[Miggui]

Hi Ian since the last update, I have found this latency time on the display that I have already had several months ago. Datas are not refreshed until I raise my wrist. I’m all updated v5.4.5.
Any idea? Thanks !

 

[mgmooij]

After starting WOD, you do first choose Running before hitting the action button again? I tried that yesterday and I could start the workout with the action button. What settings do you have at “Settings - Start Options”? I have all three Precision Start options enabled.

 

[cfc]

Hi Ian since the last update, I have found this latency time on the display that I have already had several months ago. Datas are not refreshed until I raise my wrist. I’m all updated v5.4.5.
Any idea? Thanks !

A few people (4 or 5 so far) have mentioned this with watchOS 10.4. I assume that it is busy doing some processing after the update and as a result it is not allowing WOD to update the screen when it is in the background.

Hopefully it will improve when watchOS has finished its processing, but it may be worth rebooting the watch to see if that helps. If it doesn't improve then I can't think of any way that the app can work around it, so fingers crossed!

 

[xerxas]

After starting WOD, you do first choose Running before hitting the action button again? I tried that yesterday and I could start the workout with the action button. What settings do you have at “Settings - Start Options”? I have all three Precision Start options enabled.

I have all 3 precision start on too.

So I played around with this and if you set the watch to "start a workout" and then say run? then you can basically always start on precision start.

Then after if you switch it back to "open workoutdoors" it'll start. If you force kill the app and then immediately open it (whatever method action or thru watch menu) action button will never work. If you force kill the app and then wait a while then start the app (whatever method action or thru watch menu) then it'll work.

The key (at least with using the action button to open) is if it opens immediately and the orange flash has any text then later it'll work. Otherwise if it takes a long time and the orange flash doesn't have any text upon opening then it'll basically never work.

The fun part is post start the action button works fine

 

[cfc]

I have all 3 precision start on too.

So I played around with this and if you set the watch to "start a workout" and then say run? then you can basically always start on precision start.

Then after if you switch it back to "open workoutdoors" it'll start. If you force kill the app and then immediately open it (whatever method action or thru watch menu) action button will never work. If you force kill the app and then wait a while then start the app (whatever method action or thru watch menu) then it'll work.

The key (at least with using the action button to open) is if it opens immediately and the orange flash has any text then later it'll work. Otherwise if it takes a long time and the orange flash doesn't have any text upon opening then it'll basically never work.

The fun part is post start the action button works fine

Thanks for the details. I will investigate at some time but, to be honest, you are the only person to be reporting problems so it won't be for a while. Sorry about that. Also I hate dealing with the action button area of watchOS because it is so flaky!

 

[xerxas]

Yeah I think action button on apple watch ultra is a huge pain for 3rd party apps. Thanks!

 

[mk313]

Probably the simplest question ever asked on here, but I've read the user guide/ FAQ & still can't figure out what is causing this issue, so hoping someone on here has experienced it & can tell me what I"m doing wrong.

First off love the app & use it all the time for hiking. The one issue I'm running into is that sometimes the watch doesn't seem to follow where I'm at, so that the pointer arrow is off the screen, then I need to scroll with my finger to move the map back to where I am to see the route. But other times it works as I'd expect (pointer always on screen & the map adjust to keep me roughly in the center of the screen as I move.

As it works correctly most, but not all of the time, I'm guessing that I'm activating some feature that I am unaware of.

Thanks in advance for any help,

 

[cfc]

Probably the simplest question ever asked on here, but I've read the user guide/ FAQ & still can't figure out what is causing this issue, so hoping someone on here has experienced it & can tell me what I"m doing wrong.

First off love the app & use it all the time for hiking. The one issue I'm running into is that sometimes the watch doesn't seem to follow where I'm at, so that the pointer arrow is off the screen, then I need to scroll with my finger to move the map back to where I am to see the route. But other times it works as I'd expect (pointer always on screen & the map adjust to keep me roughly in the center of the screen as I move.

As it works correctly most, but not all of the time, I'm guessing that I'm activating some feature that I am unaware of.

Thanks in advance for any help,

If you pan the map away from where you are (either accidentally or on purpose) then the "tracking" icon appears in the bottom left of the map instead of the green compass. Tap this icon and the map will start tracking your location again.

Glad you like the app!

 

[mk313]

If you pan the map away from where you are (either accidentally or on purpose) then the "tracking" icon appears in the bottom left of the map instead of the green compass. Tap this icon and the map will start tracking your location again.

Glad you like the app!

Thank you!

 

[tcarlisle]

I had to wipe my watch and iPhone and install from scratch (i.e. not a backup) due to...reasons (thanks Apple Support). Now that I have everything set up again I cannot get WOD to read or display heartrate. I have all the permissions turned on in the Health settings. I've also followed the troubleshooting instructions in the User Guide and uninstalled/reinstalled the apps after restarting the devices but I'm not having any luck.

Am I missing something? I am on the latest WOD beta if that makes a difference.

 

[cfc]

I had to wipe my watch and iPhone and install from scratch (i.e. not a backup) due to...reasons (thanks Apple Support). Now that I have everything set up again I cannot get WOD to read or display heartrate. I have all the permissions turned on in the Health settings. I've also followed the troubleshooting instructions in the User Guide and uninstalled/reinstalled the apps after restarting the devices but I'm not having any luck.

Am I missing something? I am on the latest WOD beta if that makes a difference.

You may be experiencing a rare bug with iOS/watchOS where the watch seems to lose the permission. To fix this switch all of the Health permissions off, then reboot both the iPhone and the watch, and then switch them all on again. This procedure nudges iOS into sending them to the watch again.

 

[alzxjm]

I searched the thread for "Fewer GPS and Heart Rate" but didn't turn up any responses to my question, so here it goes:

As a way to maximize battery life for a fastpacking expedition, could I use the following setup?

1. Low Power Mode with Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings enabled
2. Outdoor Run in Workouts app
3. Map-Only in WorkOutDoors for routing - I have the routes created and all necessary tiles downloaded.

Also with phone in Airplane mode. This would potentially allow for maximum battery savings. My question is whether it is significantly better than

1. Low Power Mode
2. Running in WorkOutDoors
3. Airplane mode, etc.

I'm aiming to go about 68-72 hours between charges with a cumulative 18 hours of running tracked. This may certainly be impossible, but I'd like to run the experiment. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be along for purely experimental purposes: my main devices for the trip are a Garmin watch and my iPhone. I'm planning on keeping the iPhone and AWU2 in Airplane mode 99% of the time. I will also have a battery pack and Apple Watch charger.

Thanks!

 

[cfc]

I searched the thread for "Fewer GPS and Heart Rate" but didn't turn up any responses to my question, so here it goes:

As a way to maximize battery life for a fastpacking expedition, could I use the following setup?

1. Low Power Mode with Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings enabled
2. Outdoor Run in Workouts app
3. Map-Only in WorkOutDoors for routing - I have the routes created and all necessary tiles downloaded.

Also with phone in Airplane mode. This would potentially allow for maximum battery savings. My question is whether it is significantly better than

1. Low Power Mode
2. Running in WorkOutDoors
3. Airplane mode, etc.

I'm aiming to go about 68-72 hours between charges with a cumulative 18 hours of running tracked. This may certainly be impossible, but I'd like to run the experiment. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be along for purely experimental purposes: my main devices for the trip are a Garmin watch and my iPhone. I'm planning on keeping the iPhone and AWU2 in Airplane mode 99% of the time. I will also have a battery pack and Apple Watch charger.

Thanks!

18 hours of workout use together with 3 days of other use sounds very unlikely, but to answer your questions:

The Fewer GPS and Heart Rate option only affects Apple's native app. So even if you are using WOD just for the map then the watch will still be using full GPS accuracy and frequency.

It is not a good idea to run two apps if you want to save power. The fewer apps you run the better, so don't run anything else on the watch (e.g. audio apps). Also if you are running a workout in Apple's Workout app then that app will get priority in terms of appearing on the screen, which means that it won't be easy to use WOD for maps.

So I recommend using WOD by itself. Low Power Mode for the watch is essential (permanently rather than just for workouts) and I would also recommend disabling wake on raise, so that you need to tap the screen to see it.

Airplane mode on both the watch and phone may help. It sounds like it will in theory but I don't know if it does in practice. Make sure to transfer all the offline maps that you need to the watch in advance.

Other things that may help are rebooting the watch a few hours before you start and not installing a watchOS update in the week before (from what I hear watchOS 10.4 in particular seems to do a lot after installation).

Good luck!

 

[tcarlisle]

You may be experiencing a rare bug with iOS/watchOS where the watch seems to lose the permission. To fix this switch all of the Health permissions off, then reboot both the iPhone and the watch, and then switch them all on again. This procedure nudges iOS into sending them to the watch again.

Yes, I've tried that already--and at your suggestion I just tried it again. I've also tried deleting and re-installing the apps. Nothing is working. Any other suggestions?

 

[alzxjm]

@cfc Thanks for the response! Sounds like this isn't going to work. I think what I'll do is use the AWU in Apple's intended mode: Low Power Mode + Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Recordings (FGPSHRR) and see how long I make it. This is just an experiment, after all, and I'll get all the data I need from the Garmin. This trip hardly has any navigation anyway so WOD isn't really necessary.

I'm kind of curious to see how the AWU2 performs as Apple intends. I've tried it before on short hikes in familiar areas, but I was really underwhelmed. I would have no way to look at upcoming trail intersections or navigate towards waypoints unless I'd created said waypoint while physically in that location, such as a campsite or parked car. I guess they expect you to carry a map and just use the Watch as a compass while the Workouts app records the activity in the background? I would expect to be able to drop a pin on a map and get on-the-fly routing to that location. This is super straightforward on my Garmin Epix Pro, for example.

For this trip in particular, I have no idea if it will even properly track my backcountry run on the Pennsylvania trail I'm exploring. The map is downloaded in my iPhone Maps app, but I'm not clear if that contains topographical or trail data. When I go "off road" in my local town with LPM+FGPSHRR enabled, the watch will sometimes snap to nearby roads and record really deranged tracks. I assume the Watch (and Apple) is smart enough to avoid that behavior.

Next trip out, I'll try with WOD in its intended form, with a few tweaks to extend battery life. The whole experiment is just a fun lark anyway: I'm bringing a battery pack and charger. Mostly I'm just curious to see what happens!

 

[cfc]

Yes, I've tried that already--and at your suggestion I just tried it again. I've also tried deleting and re-installing the apps. Nothing is working. Any other suggestions?

Have you waited many minutes for a heart rate? Sometimes the sensor can take a while to get a lock.

If you have an HR chest strap then try connecting that to watchOS (not WOD) and see if that helps. If you can see data from that then it is probably not a permissions problem and is probably just the watch sensor not working for you.