Move Your Butt

ByDon

One of the most popular uses of the Apple Watch is fitness. The Activity app is the center of that universe and one of the newest features is the ability to “share activity”. I am sort of a couch potato so when my friend Jen Mayer over at Charlotte Street Computers invited me to share activity with her, I was hesitant. But I did it anyway so I could see how this stuff works. Jen works sometimes as an aerobics and spin instructor so I am going to have a hard time competing with dog walking and the occasional swim in the ocean.

If you wear your Apple Watch throughout the day, the Activity app can automatically track your daily movements. You can check your progress, meet goals, and customize notifications. To get started, just open the app on your Apple Watch and enter some information about yourself.

You can check on your progress by opening the Activity app on your watch which will give you an immediate picture of your progress. Swipe up to see details for each ring. Swipe up again to see more, like how far you’ve gone that day. Firmly press any screen to change your daily Move goal. You can adjust only this goal.

There are three rings to measure your progress towards your goals, Move, Exercise and Stand. The Move ring shows how many active calories you’ve burned so far. Active calories, unlike resting, are ones that you burn by standing or moving around. The Exercise ring shows how many minutes of brisk activity you’ve completed so far. Complete your daily Exercise goal by exercising for at least 30 minutes each day. The Stand ring shows hours in which you’ve stood and moved for at least a minute. Complete your daily Stand goal by standing up and moving around for at least 1 minute during 12 different hours in the day. Even if you stand all day, you still need to move around. If you’ve specified that you use a wheelchair, the Stand ring switches to the Roll ring. Roll shows hours in which you’ve pushed around for at least 1 minute.

You can share your data with your friends for competition or just for fun. Stay motivated by sharing your activity with your family, friends, or trainer. When your friends meet all three Activity goals, finish workouts, or earn achievements, you get notifications about their progress.

To get started, add your friends. After you add friends, open the Activity app, then swipe left. Tap a friend to see their stats for the day. You can even send a message to all your friends just like in the Apple commercials.

Who knows, sharing my data with Jen and Grace might make me move my ass more…

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