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After buying an Apple Watch to improve my gym performance, I can confidently say it’s one of my best-ever tech purchases. I use my watch to train better for CrossFit and weightlifting in a handful of ways, which you’ll learn about below.
Monitoring My Heart Rate
Since many of my workouts are high-intensity, monitoring my heart rate is one of the main ways I use my Apple Watch to improve my training at the gym. I do this by monitoring my heart rate during the workout and checking my heart rate graph afterward.
First, let’s talk about monitoring my heart rate. Some of my workouts have an eight-minute time cap, whereas others are 30+ minutes of high-intensity work. For the latter, I’ve spiked my heart rate at 190 BPM far too early on multiple occasions.
When I notice that my heart rate has gotten high early in the workout, I bring it down to something more manageable and go all-out in the final few minutes. Similarly, I can use my readings to push harder in shorter workouts.
At the end of each workout, my Apple Watch provides a summary of my average heart rate and the maximum I achieved. One particularly helpful feature is the graph showing how my heart rate varied throughout the workout.
After seeing how my heart rate varied during the workout, I can use that information to be more efficient in future sessions. You can view your workout history in the Fitness app on your iPhone. I recommend learninghow to calibrate your Apple Watch for accurate fitness trackingto ensure the best results.
Checking Stats With Apple Health
Your gym workouts are only one part of a healthy lifestyle, and in my opinion, you should also marry your Apple Health statistics with your workout overviews. Several factors, such as sleep and stress in our lives, can impact how well we train at the gym.
I pay close attention to a handful of stats in the Health app to determine why I performed well in a particular workout. Even more importantly, I can also determine why a workout wasn’t great and how I can fix that in the future. The most important stats for me are:
You can also measure your VO2 Max and other helpful metrics. If you want to become fitter overall, check out theseapps to build an effective hybrid training program.
Setting Workout Goals
I normally train in classes because I enjoy the social aspect, and I always exert myself more than when I train alone. However, if I work out on my own, one way to stay motivated and put more effort into my workouts is by setting goals.
Whensetting up an exercise in the Workout app on my Apple Watch, I sometimes set up time and calorie objectives. This is especially useful on days when I don’t feel like going to the gym, as it means that the workout will feel less like a slog.
Using Specific Workouts
When setting up workouts on my Apple Watch, I always use the most relevant to my exercise. For example, when I do a CrossFit WOD, I useCross Trainingand record my bike ride home. If I’m doing Olympic weightlifting or ordinary lifts, I useTraditional Strength Training.
Choosing the right workouts helps me better categorize my data and monitor my progress. It also means you get access to the correct metrics for goal-setting—for example, distance moved and calories burned.
Sure, you can progress in the gym without buying an Apple Watch. However, if you’re goal-oriented and are trying to improve your training, I highly recommend buying one. You’ll have access to better statistics and can customize your workouts with greater accuracy. Feel free to copy how I use my wearable to train better if you need a starting point.
