While you can use any compatible fitness app to track activities on the Apple Watch, the native Workout app gives you a ton of options. That said, the default settings may not always be to your liking. This is especially true if you’re following a training plan, have specific targets you’d like to hit, or want to choose which metrics you see on screen during your activity.
The good news is that you can totally customize the Workout app to better suit your needs. Here’s how to get started.
Setting a workout goal
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Starting an activity in the Workout app will default to an “open goal” session, which means you don’t have any particular goal that you want to hit. And, since it’s the most flexible option, there’s a good reason it’s the default. However, it’s not the most helpful if you’re looking to work out for a specific period of time, distance, or calorie goal.
To set a goal for most activities:
- Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch.
- Scroll down to your desired activity.
- In the upper-right corner, hit the three-dotted button.
- Select between Calorie, Time, or Open goals.
- Adjust to your desired target.
- Hit Start.
Certain activities have an additional option to set Distance goals. These activities include outdoor and indoor running, outdoor and indoor walking, outdoor cycling, outdoor and indoor swimming, and hiking. The process is the same as the above.
Outdoor running will also give you the opportunity to set a Pace Alert. This feature will notify you when you’re ahead or behind a specified pace after one mile. You can do this both for your average pace and rolling pace. Your average pace refers to your