X
Health
Why you can trust ZDNET : ZDNET independently tests and researches products to bring you our best recommendations and advice. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Our process

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.

Close

How to change fitness goals on Apple Watch

Did you know you can easily change your Apple Fitness goals and customize what it takes to close your rings? In this article, we show you how.
Written by David Gewirtz, Senior Contributing Editor

As soon as you strap on an Apple Watch, you're entering into an interesting symbiosis with a surprisingly complex piece of Apple technology. The Apple Watch becomes the center of your quantified self, recording movement, activity, heart rate and more.

If you're an Apple Fitness user, your day revolves around meeting your Watch's demanding requirements for activity. In that sense, it's a lot like a little dog -- always demanding more activity. In Apple Fitness parlance, it's all about closing your rings.

There are three rings:

  • Movement: Measures your overall activity throughout the day. 
  • Workout: Measures the time and intensity of your workouts. 
  • Stand: Measures how often you get up off your duff and move around. 

When you get your Apple Watch, movement defaults to about 500 calories, Workout requires 30 minutes, and Stand requires 12 stands across 12 hours. Initially, you could only modify the Movement calorie value. But that changed in a recent iOS release, and now you can set your goals for all three.

Review: Apple Watch Series 7: Bigger really is better

Do this by loading the Activity app on your Watch:

incoming-ce549b90-516c-4c38-ac3f-6be303509ed6.png

You'll see your three rings for the day. It's after midnight as I write this, so I haven't recorded much activity yet.

Also: What is Apple Fitness? Here's what it can do for you

incoming-63fe4a67-0fe4-487b-a1e0-b663699f0e91.png

Flick your finger up on the Apple Watch face until you see the Change Goals menu.

incoming-0951f5cd-317b-4d75-b19d-dd54e01652f1.png

Tap it once, and you'll be shown your Movement fitness goals (Movement is red).

Also: The best fitness trackers: Improve your health with 24/7 data

incoming-a806cea8-9593-416d-a5e6-61a18f9b85dd.png

Tap the plus or minus buttons to choose your burn rate. If you're not sure what goal to set, check with your doctor or your trainer. Then, press Next. You'll see the green Workout goal:

incoming-4147bfba-2a2d-4863-b251-66e9a9e5479b.png

I like to do 30 minutes, but I don't always do it all at once. Sometimes I use workout times to break up my day. Sometimes I do different kinds of workouts. But 30 minutes a day is a good goal for me. Again, check with a medical professional to understand what numbers you should choose.

Finally, let's set the Stand setting. Click next to move to the cyan settings screen.

incoming-3eb6f10d-c905-4ee7-b871-ed30c73cc78b.png

As with Movement and Workout, tap plus or minus to change the number of hours where you must stand. Remember, stand requires you to stand once an hour for the number of hours you specify.

And that's it. Tap OK, and you've changed your fitness goals. Now, go out there and make yourself proud.


You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.

Editorial standards