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Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features
- Thread starter cfc
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Importing structured workouts is currently 3rd on my list of features to add in the future, after the always on display and route / navigation improvements.
Pace zones are further down the list. I have held back from adding them because it makes sense to add power zones at the same time, and I want to see how the new power metrics work first. From a technical point of view it will be pretty easy to add pace and power zones by just adapting the heart zones code. However it will also be a lot of work because there is a lot of heart zone functionality that would need copying. There are 70+ metrics based on heart zones, as well as several alerts, configuration screens, analysis screens etc.
This has been requested a few times before. I have held back because I wanted to do it properly with the ability to configure exactly how the default workout names would be structured.
However most people do just seem to want some way of making the exported files uniquely named, and it would be very easy to add an option to include the date, so I will try to sneak that in at some time. Maybe between betas.
That will be in the next version. That post was back in March, but the current version on the App Store was released in February. The next version will be a year's worth of full-time work on the app, and will include lots of little changes like that as well as the headline changes of topographic maps and bluetooth sensors (both of which took far longer than I expected).Ian, sorry to dig out this old thread.
How come I can't find the Crown & Shakes option when I in this screen? Has it been removed recently?
I'm currently on WOD 4.3.6, iOS 15.2 & WatchOS 8.3.
Thanks for this wonderful app and your superb support
In the future I plan to release much more regularly!
I think small increments will be good for many reasons, but not least to indicate for new customers, that this app is actively maintained and worth your money (which it is).
Having just upgraded my s4 to s7 I also look forward to AOD support now. Even just an optional simpler version during workout, if full SwiftUI is a big change (it is my understanding, that SwiftUI is required for AOD support).
SwiftUI is required as far as I know. I plan to do some investigation if I get time during beta testing and depending on how that goes I may release a version just addressing AOD.
The first version may just display a basic SwiftUI screen when the wrist is not raised during a workout (probably without the map), but in the longer term I will probably rewrite the whole UI in SwiftUI (which will be “interesting“).
Good luck I am sure it will become "Interesting"! I tried for "fun" during covid lockdown to look into it a year ago and just couldn't get into the required mindset of functional programming. I might just be to old, but I don't think it helped that the tutorials kept showing new smarter ways to do the same things over and over again, so the resulting app became hard to read with a mix of methods, but no standard way. Maybe I should have tried a bit longer for it to click, but lockdown ended + health problem in family, so I had to change focus.
SwiftUI does seem a very different way of doing things. I am a bit worried that it is geared towards making simple stuff easier to code at the detriment of more complex stuff, but we shall see. Hope 2022 is better for you and your family.
Yes, you can configure the format and content of each individual interval. To do this go to the interval schedule settings in the iPhone app and select a schedule and then an interval. You will see a screenshot of what the screen will look like. There are controls to the left of the screen to allow you to configure the layout and font size, but if you tap the screen itself then a new settings screen appears where you can control what is shown in each individual cell, just as you can on the Screens tab for non-interval workouts.
Note that many metrics have 6 different versions. For example pace has current pace, average pace, current lap average pace, previous lap average pace, current interval average pace and previous interval average pace. The previous interval metrics are very useful for rest intervals when you may want to see your stats for the preceding fast interval.
Hello, and thanks for all your replies!
Just received an AppleWatch for Christmas and had no idea your app was such a hit! Congratulations!
Shall I understand that the new release (mainly interested by AOD) is for January or early Feb?
Thanks
Just received an AppleWatch for Christmas and had no idea your app was such a hit! Congratulations!
Shall I understand that the new release (mainly interested by AOD) is for January or early Feb?
Thanks
The next release will start full beta testing soon and will be released to the App Store when that is complete. It won't have the AOD though because I haven't started looking into that yet. The main improvements are bluetooth sensor support and topographic maps, although there is lots of other new stuff as well.
I will probably start investigating AOD if I get a chance during the testing and will make a decision as to when to include it after that. The issue is that apps need to be written in Apple's latest development language (SwiftUI) to be able to update the screen when it is not active, but WorkOutDoors was first written long before that appeared.
So in the long term I need to update the display part of the code to use SwiftUI but in the short term it may be possible to just display a basic SwiftUI screen when you lower your wrist.
Sorry, I have no plans to allow the analysis of workouts created by other sources. The main reason is because if there is a problem then I do not want to end up investigating bugs in such sources (some of which I have probably never heard of).
Also WorkOutDoors is primarily about creating workouts rather than analysing them. There are many apps and systems like Strava, Garmin etc that allow you analyse a workout created by any app, but only WorkOutDoors can affect your experience during a workout, so I am mainly focussed on that. Plus I can't really compete with Strava et al!
I'd suggest HealthFit for this purpose. It's a one time purchase like WOD with a No Data Collected privacy policy like WOD. Fantastic app that is constantly updated.
Does anyone know if fall detection "Only during workouts" works on the AW 7 when using WOD for the workout? I'm mainly concerned for cycling, but guessing if it works for cycling, it works for all workouts.
So I'm still having a few problems with my heart rate cutting out for bits of my workout. I'm guessing it's a combination of skin colour, temperature and strap fit. Given that I only really have control over the last of those, I'm going to try out a sports loop and a braided loop and see if they work better than the Nike sport band I have been using.
If that doesn't fix it adequately I think it's time to try out a Bluetooth HRM. From a bit of research the Polar H10 seems to be a solid workhorse choice and appears to work well with Apple Watches. Does anyone use it with WOD? Or is there something else that is a more natural fit with WOD?
If that doesn't fix it adequately I think it's time to try out a Bluetooth HRM. From a bit of research the Polar H10 seems to be a solid workhorse choice and appears to work well with Apple Watches. Does anyone use it with WOD? Or is there something else that is a more natural fit with WOD?
The H10 is fine with WorkOutDoors for outdoor workouts. It is the model I use. However there is a bug in the current release version of the app when using it for indoor workouts because it generates readings so frequently that the app wrongly assumes there is an issue and this affects some of the stats in the WorkOutDoors iPhone app (but not in Apple Health).
This will be fixed in the next version of the app but in the meantime it's best not to use an external sensor for indoor workouts (although usually it is outdoor workouts that people need an external sensor for).
One advantage of the H10 when the new version of the app is released is that it supplies real time HRV. The next version of the app will be able to connect to Bluetooth sensors of many types. The current version can use HR via watchOS but the next version can connect directly, which means that it can access this HRV data in real-time and display it and record it for analysis after the workout.
Thanks for that, and the H10 recommendation. The only indoor workouts I do are skipping using the YaoYao app and some of the core strength Apple Fitness workouts (free trial...), so that issue shouldn't be a problem for me.
It's really hilly where I live, so I'm quite tempted to just get an external HRM anyway if it reacts faster, as I'm constantly changing pace and effort due to changes in grade. It might work really well for skipping too due to the wrist movement.
Regarding HRV, I'm not really sure what I'd use that data for! From what I can tell some people use it to figure out if their body is ready for training or in need of some rest. Luckily I usually go for a run after taking the kids to school, and the walk home up a steep hill serves as a great warm up and also lets me know how I'm feeling.
It's really hilly where I live, so I'm quite tempted to just get an external HRM anyway if it reacts faster, as I'm constantly changing pace and effort due to changes in grade. It might work really well for skipping too due to the wrist movement.
Regarding HRV, I'm not really sure what I'd use that data for! From what I can tell some people use it to figure out if their body is ready for training or in need of some rest. Luckily I usually go for a run after taking the kids to school, and the walk home up a steep hill serves as a great warm up and also lets me know how I'm feeling.
External HRMs often have a higher update frequency than the watch, and they are usually better when it is cold. The optical sensor in the watch can struggle for some people when the blood vessels are further from the surface, but this doesn't affect the electrical sensor in most chest straps.
To be honest I am not sure how useful real-time HRV data is, but I figured that as it was available then I would offer it to the user!
The app will support heart rate sensors for any activity type; speed/distance sensors for running or cycling; cadence sensors for running or cycling; power sensors for cycling; and the Stryd footpod for running (which uses the cycling power profile and a custom profile with running dynamics).
I can't find if the Varia uses a public BLE profile but if it does then I will consider it for future versions.
FYI, I wrote a simple article on Workoutdoors on my new Apple Watch blog. I wanted to let people know about it, since it is without doubt one of the most valuable Apple Watch apps on the App Store! Anyone feel free to let me know if I missed anything or accidentally misspoke on anything.
www.ChronoMac.com
www.ChronoMac.com