Tag: exercise

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apple

Running on empty: the Apple Watch’s half-baked HIIT feature

Running woman
Running woman

<!––>When Apple unveiled watchOS 4 at its developer event in June, I was excited to see major upgrades to the Watch’s workouts app. In particular, the inclusion of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) appealed to me as a runner. HIIT alternates short, intense bursts of anaerobic exercise (“I’m going to die”) with periods of recovery (“Gasp. Gasp. Gasp.”). No, it’s not fun, but it is effective; research shows that HIIT can boost cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, and even brain power.

What should a HIIT app do?

A great HIIT app should include a great HIIT timer. You tell the app your interval length goals. How long should the intense intervals be? The rest periods? The warm-up and cool-down?

Then, once you actually start your run, the HIIT app should alert you every time the intensity level changes. “Beep, beep! Thirty seconds of all-out sprint! Go, go, go!” Then, just when you feel like your heart’s going to explode, finally, blessedly, you get another alert: “Beep, beep! Jog for a minute and rest.” And then the whole cycle starts again; you scale your effort up and down, while the app does stopwatch duty. Maybe it even tracks your effort level via heart rate and taunts you if you’re slacking. The app is the coach, barking orders to you, the athlete.

Apple’s HIIT feature

Apple has access to APIs that third-party developers don’t, so I was eager to see how they would implement these HIIT features. As the long summer of Apple Watch developer betas crawled by, I waited impatiently for the opportunity to test the new workout app for myself. Finally, yesterday, I got my first chance, here on vacation at the beach.

I had imagined myself streaking down the sand, like that famous opening scene from Chariots of Fire. Splashing through the foam. Feet pounding the sand. Eyes closed, face lifted skyward, arms outstretched. My Apple Watch would coach me to a lofty runner’s high; it would command me, and I would fly.

Only… as I quickly discovered, that’s not really how the Watch’s HIIT feature works. Inexplicably, the HIIT workout doesn’t actually do any of that. In fact, it doesn’t really seem to do anything. The workout app includes no interval timing functionality whatsoever. You’re apparently expected to track your progress in your head somehow by watching the clock. That’s problematic. You’re left asking, “Did I start this interval at the 5:15 or the 5:30 mark?” Or “How many intervals is that? Have I finished three or four?”

HIIT requires ruthless timekeeping. You need someone (whether a person or a digital companion) to order you around. Run now. Rest now. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Don’t count the ticking seconds. Focus entirely on your effort level. Apple’s “You’re on your own” approach just doesn’t cut it.

Wrap-up

Until Apple adds an interval timer to the workout app, its HIIT feature is pretty useless. Its calorie-counting algorithm may be more accurate than previous workout types, but it does little to help you reap the benefits of high-intensity training. For now, HIIT nerds are better off using a third-party HIIT tracker like Seconds. You’ll lose the official workout app’s perks (like its convenient ‘Now Playing’ pane), but at least you’ll know when to bust your butt and when to take a break. ■

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apple tech

Justifying an LTE Apple Watch

Apple Watch

Tech rumormongers claim that Apple will announce an LTE-equipped Apple Watch at its September event. I’m intrigued to see how Apple makes the case for adding the cell radio. What is a cell-equipped Watch for? Or, put another way, when would I be willing to leave behind my phone?

For me, the only answer is, “When I’m working out.” I hate bringing my iPhone on runs. There’s no good way to carry it; arm straps are awkward, and hip belts make the phone’s heft hard to ignore.

Theoretically, an LTE-enabled Watch could make it easier to leave my iPhone on the dresser when I go running. I could still send and receive urgent messages. If I were an Apple Music subscriber, I could stream any song on the go—not just the playlists I presync to the Watch.

But there are other reasons I bring my phone along on runs—things that even a cell-connected Apple Watch couldn’t do. For example, I occasionally stumble across something interesting while I’m out: a glorious sunrise, a gnarly snapping turtle, a dew-starred spider web. I whip out my phone and snap a photo—a nice reward for my exercise efforts. What happens when the “camera that’s with you” is no longer with you?

Another problem? Podcasts. There’s currently no good way to play podcasts from the Apple Watch itself. Apple inexplicably continues to ignore podcast playback as a potential Watch feature. Meanwhile, third-party apps, hindered by the platform’s limited APIs, haven’t filled the gap. If I want to catch up on my favorite shows while I run, the iPhone needs to come along for the ride.

For me, then, an LTE-equipped Apple Watch seems to create as many problems as it solves. That makes it tough to justify the added cost, particularly if the carriers charge a per-month fee (which is likely).

To be fair, Apple hasn’t made their pitch yet. There may be a use case here that I can’t think of—a benefit that would outweigh the drawbacks of running phoneless. Or maybe they’ll find ways to replace more of the phone’s functionality than currently seems possible. In any case, I’m looking forward to hearing their argument on September 12.

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Life Uncategorized

‘What We Think About When We Run’

Feet went numb, stomachs ached, lungs heaved, exhaustion loomed, hills hurt, heat sapped, vomit threatened; all told, fully a third of runners’ thoughts concerned the downsides of running.

In the years since high school, I’ve run thousands and thousands of miles. I’ve run in subzero temperatures, kicking numb toes through shin-deep snow. I’ve run beneath pouring rain, shoes squelching with each soggy step. I’ve run through sweltering heat, sucking thick air. I’ve run beside busy two-lanes, along barely-maintained wilderness trails, and atop groaning treadmills.

Friends who admire my jogging habit sometimes assume that I must love it. That I’m addicted to some mythical runner’s high. That I feel at one with the world when I’m pounding the pavement.

The truth? I resent every mile. When I run, my brain repeats a bitter mantra: “I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.” I dread every workout and only “enjoy” running when it’s over.

So why run at all? Why torture myself? Simple math. My running regimen burns extra calories and gives my diet some breathing room. It’s hardly the romantic or devout rationale some runners cite.