How To Change your Move Goal on an Apple Watch

A move goal is part of the Activity app on the Apple Watch that works a bit like Fitbit or another fitness tracker. It is capable of counting calories, tracking exercise, and more. If you find your original goals too easy, you can change your move goal on an Apple Watch. This tutorial will show you how.

The Activity app is a powerful inducement to move more and shake off our sedentary lifestyle. With many of us sitting at a desk all day typing for a living instead of doing manual labor, anything that encourages us to move more must be a good thing, right?

Apple and other tech manufacturers seem to think so as there are dozens of movement and fitness trackers on the market right now, with more to come.

How to Change the Move Goal on an Apple Watch

Changing the Move goal on your Apple Watch is exceptionally simple. Fortunately, you can change your Move goal directly on your Apple watch. Here’s how:

1. Tap on the Activity app on your Apple Watch.
   
2. Use the Digital Crown or your finger on the screen to scroll down and tap on Change Goals.
3. Tap the up or down arrows until you reach the calorie goal you wish to achieve daily. Then, tap Next to set the new Move goal.
   
4. Your new Move goal takes effect immediately.

You can update your goals as many times as you’d like. If you view your goal within Activity, the new setting should be reflected there.

The Activity App on the Apple Watch

The Activity app on the Apple Watch works a little differently than other fitness trackers. While it can count your steps, it is more about movement and calories than how many times you took the stairs.

The Activity app uses three rings. There is a ‘Standing ring‘ that tries to get you to stand for an hour a day. There is an ‘Exercise ring‘ that can include programmed workouts and a Move ring that counts general movement on a daily basis. Each ring will grow every time you perform one of the corresponding actions.

The Move goal is the one you can configure to your own specific needs. It uses a calorie counter to assess how much you move by combining all its sensors, including a heart rate monitor. It will then use your age, gender, height, and weight to assess a healthy level and gradually stretch those goals to help you improve.

The Move goal is achieved by burning active calories (you’re moving, exercising, etc.).

Viewing Activity goals on the Apple Watch

The Activity app collates all of your goals daily or weekly. If you’re looking to make improvements or just see how far behind you are, you can do so quickly within the app.

1. Launch the Activity app and scroll to the Digital Crown.
2. Scroll to view data as numbers, the ring, or a graph.

Every Monday, the app collates the previous week’s data for you to view.

1. Long press on the screen with the Activity app running.
2. Select Weekly Summary from the popup menu.

You have the same display options as when viewing daily goals stretched over a week.

Do Fitness Trackers Work?

The original Fitbit was launched in 2009, and ten years later, Americans are still growing in size and becoming more unfit and unhealthy. So do these devices work?

The evidence doesn’t tell us either way as yet. Studies have shown that fitness trackers on their own will not make you fit. A fitness tracker alongside a genuine desire to get fit and improve your health will be more effective. So if you’re looking for the Apple Watch to force you into a life change, you’re out of luck. If you’re looking for it to help you achieve your stated goals, it can do that and more.

You need to already want to lose weight, burn more calories, move more, or whatever to make an investment in a fitness tracker worthwhile. We have all seen people with one on their wrist and never seem to lose weight. Unless you are psychologically invested in the process as a whole, it’s just an ugly bracelet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to more of your questions about the Apple Watch Activity.

Can I silence reminders?

Absolutely! Whether you just need a break from fitness or you need to moderate which reminders you get, you can do so from your Apple Watch. Here’s how:

Open the Apple Watch app on your phone and tap on ‘Activity.’ Toggle the switches on and off as you need them. You can turn off the ‘Stand’ reminders, competitions, etc.

I want to share my activity with my friends. Is that possible?

Yes! All you need to do is open the Activity App (Fitness app if you’re using iOS 14 or later) and tap on the ‘Sharing’ tab in the lower right-hand corner. Tap on the ‘+’ icon and type in the contact of the friends you’d like to share your activity with. Tap ‘Send’ in the upper right-hand corner.

Your friend will receive a message that you’d like to share your activity, and they can choose to accept it. This is the perfect solution for those who want to work out with others or have an accountability buddy to help them get healthier.

How does the Apple Watch track my movement?

There are a few ways that your Apple Watch tracks your movement and, therefore, helps you stay on track with your move goal. First, you can start an activity. It’s important that you do this if your arm isn’t continuously moving (as Apple states, if you’re pushing a stroller, for example).

The other way that your Apple Watch tracks your movement is with, well, movement. As your arm swings, your Watch acknowledges that movement and logs it toward your move goal.

If you are invested in your health, gradually increasing your move goal on an Apple Watch is one of the many ways technology can help. Along with a bunch of other useful functions, becoming healthier is the perfect reason to justify buying a new Apple Watch!