How Using Custom Workouts on Apple Watch will make you a better Athlete (and everything you need to know about creating them)

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How Using Custom Workouts on Apple Watch will make you a better Athlete (and everything you need to know about creating them)



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Before I start: Are you looking for my thoughts on Apple Watch Ultra?

I am using my Ultra everyday for all my training, and comparing to series 8 and series 7, as well as a Garmin Foreunner 955, so my thoughts will be coming and will form part of in-depth articles on the use of it, and watchOS9, for athletes. What I am not doing is a big old review that talks about the screen size, action button, the siren, etc - there are many excellent reviews out there on that already on this. What I am more interested in is day to day use for training and events and how Apple Watch Ultra stacks up for that. Stay tuned if that is what interests you too. And check out my Twitter where I will be posting ad-hoc thoughts.

It’s an exciting time for Apple Watch and watchOS 9 - the Ultra and the new workout app and features have motivated me to start writing this blog again. I hope you enjoy it!

This first post was meant to be relatively simple on custom workouts, creating them, and using them. Still, it turns out I had a lot more to say about this than I thought, so instead, I have split it in two - this first one is on Interval training and the full details of creating custom workouts on the Apple Watch; stay tuned for a follow-up post on using the workouts in practice, including setting up your workout views.

And with that, let’s crack on.

What are Custom Workouts (or Intervals) ?

At some point during my journey to get fit and to complete a full length IronMan (or two!), I discovered that the “No Pain, No Gain” thing is a bit daft.

For example, I used to go out and run as fast as I could for 5k or 10k (or whatever distance) and feel I had done a great bit of training. But that was not an effective way of improving my performance.

I soon came to understand that training specifically on areas of my training, with an aim of getting better at that area was a smarter approach. Interval sessions (i.e. custom workouts on Apple Watch) are the core of this.

Interval training is so obvious for improving performance that it (or the lack of it) was one of the red flags that led to Rosie Ruiz, the Boston Marathon cheat, being discovered. After apparently winning the race in 1980 she was asked what sort of Interval training she had been doing, she said “What are Intervals?” A clear sign that something was not quite right if she was a performance athlete!

It’s not all benefits though, when I started doing Intervals it became apparent that it would include sessions where my average pace would look ridiculously slow on Strava. Something that alarmed me because my average pace isn’t all that anyway! But I came to live with it and I find adding details of the set in the title and description, helps me feel better, because now everyone can see I am a serious athlete with a proper planned session, or something. Also saying something like “70.3 pace” indicates you are a triathlete, which is impressive (to some).

via The Apple Watch Triathlete

December 10, 2024 at 07:17PM