How to change activity goals on your Apple Watch

The Apple Watch puts your fitness goals front and center with its activity rings feature. Completing those rings by standing, hitting your calorie burn goal, or enjoying a period of activity every day is part of the fun of owning the wearable. But what if you find the default Apple Watch goals are just too lofty for you? This explainer will detail how you can adjust your Apple Watch move goals to your liking.

QUICK ANSWER

To adjust your Apple Watch move goals, open the Activity app on your Apple Watch. Tap Change Goals and adjust each goal to your liking.

What are the Apple Watch activity rings?

The Apple Watch features three activity rings, and each ring corresponds with a different goal.

• Move goal (red ring): The number of active calories burned daily. This is a personal goal set by the user. The Apple Watch also recommends a new goal each week.
• Exercise goal (green ring): The amount of exercise or activity completed. By default, a full ring is represented by at least 30 minutes of activity.
• Stand goal (blue ring): This ring tracks the amount of time a user stands during the day. Specifically, you’ll need to stand for at least one minute within 12 different hours daily to complete this ring. Notably, for wheelchair users, this ring becomes the Roll ring.

See also: Train every muscle group with this one routine

Changing activity goals on the Apple Watch

It’s pretty easy to tweak activity goals on the Apple Watch. If you find that a recommended goal is too ambitious or feel particularly motivated, you can adjust these goals accordingly.

To change the Move, Exercise, and Stand goals on the Apple Watch

• Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch.
• Swipe up to the Change Goals option and tap on it.
• The Apple Watch will cycle through the three goals, starting with the Move (calories) goal.
  • Tap on the + icon to increase your goals or the – icon to decrease it. When you’re satisfied, tap Next.
  • Do the same for Exercise (minutes) and Stand (hours) goals.
• When complete, tap OK to save your goals.

Also read: The best home fitness streaming services

How can I close my Apple Watch rings?

You might wake up one morning to feel less motivated than the last. That’s okay. It’s completely normal. However, in this instance, you might feel guilty for not closing your Apple Watch rings or meeting your activity goals that day. We have a few tips that’ll help you reach your goals.

Get chores done

Believe it or not, the Apple Watch doesn’t care if you go to the gym or stay at home cleaning your house. If you complete 30 minutes of physical activity, you can easily close your Exercise ring.

Head to your Workout app, select Other as the workout type, set the goal as 30 minutes, and tap Start. Grab that list of household chores, and get moving. After 3o minutes have elapsed, your Exercise ring should be closed. If you don’t have any chores, try gardening or DIY. Notably, this is also an easy way to close your Move goal.

See also: Best home fitness tips, gear, and apps

Share your activity goals with friends

The Apple Watch also lets users share activity goals with friends. This is an easy way to remain accountable and motivated.

To invite a friend, open the Activity app, swipe left, and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Tap Invite a Friend and select a friend. Once your friend accepts your invitation, you’ll be able to see their activity progress.

Take a stand

Finally, wondering how to close that Stand ring? Well, it’s as easy as getting up and walking around for a few minutes each hour. The Apple Watch will also remind you if you haven’t moved in a while, so this is arguably the easiest ring to close.

FAQs

Q: Can I change my Apple Watch rings to other metrics?
A: No. Unfortunately, you can adjust your Move, Exercise, and Stand goals, but you can’t switch them out for distance, sleep, or water intake.

Q: Does the Move goal account for all calories burned during the day?
A: No. The Move goal only factors the calories burned during activity; it does not include the base caloric burn.

Q: My Apple Watch isn’t counting my exercise towards the Exercise goal. What’s wrong?
A: The Apple Watch wants you to push your heart rate well above its resting rate, so you can’t simply select Other as your workout type and sit on the couch. You’ll need to raise your heart rate during a workout for it to count towards your Exercise minutes.