I closed my rings for 500 days by cracking the Apple Watch code

Last year, I shared how a single Apple Watch alert pushed me to become more active and transformed my life. A lot has changed since then, yet one constant has persisted: closing my Activity rings every single day. Despite moving between countries and going through a wide range of ups and downs, I remain committed to at least 30 minutes of exercise and burning over 500 active calories daily.

I didn’t miss a day, and now that my streak has crossed the 500-day mark, it got me thinking: What makes the Apple Watch’s fitness system so effective? By design, Apple has incorporated multiple pillars that keep everything in place. Each feature plays a role in supporting my fitness journey, and removing any of them could cause it to fall apart.

Find your sweet spot

It all starts with the daily goals you set in watchOS. For the feature to work constructively, I had to pick numbers that are challenging, yet not too challenging. You wouldn’t want to close your Activity rings without breaking a sweat, but neither should you set goals that mean you have to push beyond your limits on a daily basis. As such, I’ve long opted for 30 minutes of exercise, 500 active calories, and 12 stand points. That’s my sweet spot.

Setting up the daily goals, however, is evidently insufficient on its own. After all, I enabled them when I got my first Apple Watch around a decade ago, but I didn’t fully commit to them until recently. For the Activity ring system to be helpful, one must make a conscious decision to take it seriously.

Fortunately, the Apple Watch offers optional reminders to make sure you close your rings before midnight. I’ve customized the notifications to minimize unwanted alerts since, at this point, I don’t need all of them to hit my goals before nightfall.

The daily Activity rings act as the main foundation for the Apple Watch’s fitness system, but committing to them without other forms of support can be challenging.

Pursue your streak

This brings us to the second pillar, the Longest Move Streak award. The Apple Watch calculates how many days in a row you’ve closed your Move ring and gives you a daily award when you extend your longest streak. This gamification has discouraged me from neglecting my Activity rings, particularly after maintaining a streak for several months.

However, like the daily goals, you must commit to the streak for it to actually work. When you do that it stops being a worthless digital badge and becomes representative of your dedication. There have been days when I didn’t want to exercise due to international travel, low energy, mild illness, and the like. But I didn’t want to lose my streak, either, and that drive was stronger every time.

Learn to deal with bad days

Nevertheless, emergencies occur, and sometimes it’s physically impossible for us to close our Activity rings on a certain day for one reason or another. Luckily, the Apple Watch recently added support for rest days, letting you pause rings or tweak your goals temporarily.

While I’ve never paused my rings, I did lower my Move goal from 500 to 400 active calories a single time due to sickness. That day, I had managed to exercise lightly for 30 minutes, but burning 500 active calories proved too much. Had I not been able to tweak my goal, I would have lost my streak, potentially discouraging me from caring about my rings for a very long time.

Explore guided workouts

I’ve been running 5Ks casually for over a year. That workout type on its own, however, is not sustainable for closing your daily Activity rings. Some days your legs need a break, while others are too warm or stormy to go outside.

I’ve always prioritized achieving a functional, lean physique, focusing on cardiovascular fitness and flexibility rather than bodybuilding through traditional weightlifting at a gym. Apple Fitness+ caters to my exact needs, as it offers a growing library of diverse guided workout videos. At first, I was primarily doing High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), but then I pivoted to kickboxing, as it feels more balanced and still incorporates HIIT-like conditioning rounds.

At this point, I shadowbox for 30 minutes on most weekdays, which closes the Activity rings from the comfort of my home. I occasionally go for core, yoga, and HIIT workouts, too. Had it not been for Fitness+, I would’ve lost my streak a long time ago, as exercising indoors without guidance is tedious, and I can’t get myself to leave the house daily. 

I also appreciate how the Apple Watch works independently when recording workouts. I often leave my iPhone at home when I run, as the watch can collect metrics and play music via AirPods. The Activity rings also support other workout apps in case you prefer third-party services.

Mahmoud Itani / Foundry

Enter the friend zone

While the features above have been my core motivators, the friend system in the Apple Fitness app has also played a role in keeping me committed. The app lets me add my friends to share our daily progress, send supportive messages, and compete against each other. Engaging with likeminded folks certainly makes the active lifestyle feel less isolated.

Speaking of competitions, the Fitness app also notifies you about personalized monthly challenges that vary depending on your existing goals and habits. That’s in addition to limited-edition awards that you can claim by completing a certain task on a specific day. It’s always fun to earn these digital badges and share them with other fitness enthusiasts.

How to tweak the Apple Watch formula

While Fitness, as we’ve established, gets most things right, there are a few annoyances that I hope Apple addresses in the near future. Overall, the algorithm is too pushy, frequently prompting you to increase your goals if you meet them every day. Some people, myself included, are on weight-gain diets and aren’t supposed to burn calories beyond a certain point. The Fitness app should let users decide whether they’re aiming to lose or gain weight when setting up daily goals, as the one-size-fits-all approach can do more harm than good for certain users.

The way stand points are calculated could also be tweaked, as detection can be off. For example, carrying a box across the room with my arms steady won’t always register that I’ve stood up. Meanwhile, shaking my arm for a bit while seated will earn me a stand point.

Overall, the Activity rings system could use an overhaul, as it has remained largely unchanged since its initial debut over a decade ago. While it’s undoubtedly effective, it can get boring after several years of use. A refresh may also entice lapsed users to give it another shot.

Mahmoud Itani / Foundry

An aid to willpower, not a replacement

The Apple Watch and Fitness app have made a real difference in my life. Thanks in part to their promptings, working out is no longer an optional activity for me; it has become part of my subconscious daily routine. I wake up, have my coffee, shadowbox without thinking twice, then proceed with my day.

During the past year, I have gained over 20lbs (9kg) of healthy weight, upgrading from a slim build to a toned one. I also ran my fastest 5K yet in just 26 minutes. More importantly, more than three years after quitting drinking and smoking, I find it easier than ever to reject alcohol and cigarettes in social gatherings. I finally feel at peace with—and fully in control of—my body and mind. It turns out there’s nothing more liberating than disciplining oneself.

The Apple Watch offers all the tools you need to foster an active lifestyle. For the system to be productive, however, you must follow its directions religiously. Ultimately, only your willpower can fuel dramatic changes and build new habits. Good luck.