Recommended Free Tools
Before you train, change only the Apple Watch Workout settings that fit your session: put useful metrics first, build a Custom Workout for planned intervals or goals, and decide whether automatic pausing and battery-saving features suit you. There is no single best preset. Menu names and available options can vary by watch model and installed watchOS; Apple’s current user guides include watchOS 26 and watchOS 27.
Make the workout screen useful at a glance
Workout views vary by activity. In the Workout app, select the workout, open Views, include the screens you want, edit the Metrics or Metrics 2 sets, and reorder views so the information you check most often appears early. Cardio-focused workouts have more views by default. Apple Watch Ultra can display a fifth metric in the documented setup. Apple’s Workout settings guide
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Choose metrics for the session rather than trying to display everything. For a run, possible options include heart rate, average pace, elevation, running power, splits, vertical oscillation, ground contact time, stride length, and segment views. A steady run may call for pace and heart rate; a hill session might make elevation more useful. Apple’s running guide
Set goals and structure only when the workout needs them
For a goal-based session, choose a time, distance, or calorie goal when starting the workout. For planned intervals, create a Custom Workout with a warmup, repeated work and recovery periods, and a cooldown. Depending on the workout, periods can be time-based, distance-based, or open-ended. Stationary workouts such as Elliptical or Pilates do not offer Distance as an interval option. Custom Workouts are unavailable for Multisport and Open Water Swim. Apple’s Custom Workout guide
#1 Best Overall
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416RQ0rtsUL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Workout alerts can provide a prompt such as a pace or heart-rate target, and alerts configured for a workout can be reused when you select that workout type. These controls are useful for a structured session, not a prerequisite for an easy or unplanned workout.
Choose how much automation you want
Auto-Pause
Auto-Pause can pause and resume outdoor running and cycling workouts when you stop, such as to cross a street or get a drink. Turn it on if stops are common and you want the watch to handle them. If you prefer uninterrupted elapsed-time data or manual control, leave it off and pause the workout yourself. Apple’s Workout settings guide
Rank #2
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31caPPnRysL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Workout reminders
Start, resume, and end reminders can prompt you to begin or continue recording a workout, or to finish it. Apple says these reminders are on by default. Keep them on if prompts help prevent missed recordings; change them if they interrupt your routine.
End Workout Confirmation
This option asks you to confirm when ending a workout. It can help avoid an accidental finish; if you value ending a session with fewer steps, you may prefer not to use the confirmation.
Rank #3
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Starlight Aluminum Case with Starlight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31YiTby0pOL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
Calibrate if distance or pace seems off
Apple says calibration can improve distance, pace, and calorie measurements, and can help the watch learn your fitness level and stride when GPS is limited or unavailable. It is an optional setup step, not a guarantee of exact measurements.
- Wear the watch in a flat, open outdoor area with good GPS reception.
- Walk or run at your normal pace for about 20 minutes. You can combine sessions to reach that duration.
- If you regularly train at different speeds, calibrate for about 20 minutes at each speed.
Apple also lets you change units for energy, pool length, cycling, and walking and running workouts in Workout settings. Apple’s Workout settings guide
Rank #4
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Midnight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31Gq8SToFJL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
Use Water Lock and battery-saving features selectively
Water Lock
Enable Water Lock if water, exercise, or clothing and gear cause accidental screen interactions during a workout. It is intended to help prevent those taps from interrupting the session. Apple’s Workout settings guide
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode can extend battery life during workouts, but it reduces features and information. Apple says it disables Always On Display, background heart-rate and blood-oxygen measurements, and heart-rate notifications during workouts. Other notifications may be delayed, emergency alerts may not arrive, and some cellular and Wi-Fi connections are limited. It is unavailable on Apple Watch Series 6 and Series 7.
Best Value
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41s72HIk5TL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings
This additional option reduces how often GPS and heart-rate readings are taken. It also turns off alerts, splits, and segments. Use it only if extending battery life matters more than those readings and workout features. Apple’s Workout settings guide
Check model-specific shortcuts
On Apple Watch Ultra models, Precision Start can begin a workout without a countdown when enabled in Workout settings. Apple’s running guide also documents configuring the Ultra Action button to start a run or mark a segment. These controls are model-specific; they are not settings every Apple Watch wearer needs to change. Apple’s Workout settings guide Apple’s running guide
Quick Recap
A quick setup by workout type
| Session | Settings to consider |
|---|---|
| Outdoor run | Put the one or two metrics you follow first; consider Auto-Pause for stop-and-go routes; calibrate outdoors if pace or distance needs improvement. |
| Intervals or goal-based training | Set a time, distance, or calorie goal, or create a Custom Workout with warmup, work, recovery, and cooldown periods; add an alert if a target prompt will help. |
| Indoor or stationary workout | Choose activity-specific views and goals. Distance-based Custom Workout periods may not be available for stationary activities such as Elliptical or Pilates. |
| Long workout with low battery | Consider Low Power Mode and, if its tradeoffs are acceptable, Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings. |
| Swimming or gear that triggers taps | Use Water Lock when accidental interactions are a concern. Custom Workouts are not available for Open Water Swim. |
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
