TechSmartwatchesI finally earned the ‘Perfect Week’ trophy on my Apple Watch after two monthsThe experience taught me a lot about my habits and how Apple’s wearables track physical activitiesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechSmartwatchesI finally earned the ‘Perfect Week’ trophy on my Apple Watch after two monthsThe experience taught me a lot about my habits and how Apple’s wearables track physical activitiesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The experience taught me a lot about my habits and how Apple’s wearables track physical activities
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Not sure about you, but I love collecting fitness-themed virtual badges and trophies –FitbitandGarminoffer these, and so does Strava. I got hooked on Apple’s system when I tested theApple Watch Series 8and ran theLondon Marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra. So when it came to trying the Apple Watch SE (2nd Generation), I set myself the goal to earn to ‘Perfect Week’ trophy to keep things exciting.
To do this, you need to hit your Stand, Exercise and Move goals every day for a week. This means standing up for at least a few minutes for at least 12 hours, exercising for at least 30 minutes, and hitting your daily calorie goal every day. This all sounds straightforward – it is – but in practice, you might find (as I did) that there is one day a week when hitting all three goals is a real challenge.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
It could be because you’re having a lazy day, but occasionally, it’ll come down to theApple Watchnot detecting your movement just right. I missed out on my Stand goal at least a couple of times because the smartwatch didn’t log my walks at home, as I was traversing the great distance between my home office and the kitchen. It can be a real downer when this happens, especially if you only notice right before bedtime that you only have 11 hours instead of 12 logged.
Of course, hindrances such as not hitting the Stand goal on Wednesday and having to restart my ‘Perfect Week’ streak won’t discourage a fitness pro like me. I know that no matter how sophisticated thebest smartwatchesare, there will always be an element of uncertainty in how they track your vital metrics. Expecting any watch to knowexactlywhat you’re doing throughout the day is just an impossible ask.
After all, watches rely on their sensors to ‘see’ you, so anything they can’t detect via these will be missed. Plus, it also very much depends on the algorithm to make sense of the sensor data, which is – and always will be – tailored to the ‘average person’ and not you, meaning it will occasionally misinterpret data.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
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A more proactive approach helped me a lot. Instead of waiting until the watch prompted me, I moved around at the start of the hour just to be sure. When I walked to the train station in the morning, I recorded the activity as a walking workout, again, just to be sure. I went on another walk at lunchtime, so I didn’t have to exercise quite as much after work.
All these little things did add up. Once I had my system in place, earning the ‘Perfect Week’ trophy felt almost effortless. I went way over my Exercise and Stand goals practically every day, which in turn, made me confident about hitting the goals for the rest of the week.
Moving around for 30 minutes daily and standing up for five minutes every hour shouldn’t be an achievable goal for anyone remotely fit. You need to move around a little bit if you want your metabolism and brain going, and trying to earn these trophies will help you do that. In a fun way.
Today’s best Apple Watch dealsApple Watch SE 40mm$10.99ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 7 45mm$429ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular$193.65ViewSee all pricesApple Watch SE (2022)$249$199ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Ultra$19.45ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Apple Watch dealsApple Watch SE 40mm$10.99ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 7 45mm$429ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular$193.65ViewSee all pricesApple Watch SE (2022)$249$199ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Ultra$19.45ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Apple Watch dealsApple Watch SE 40mm$10.99ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 7 45mm$429ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular$193.65ViewSee all pricesApple Watch SE (2022)$249$199ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Ultra$19.45ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Apple Watch deals
Apple Watch SE 40mm$10.99ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 7 45mm$429ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular$193.65ViewSee all pricesApple Watch SE (2022)$249$199ViewSee all pricesApple Watch Ultra$19.45ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch SE 40mm$10.99ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch SE 40mm$10.99ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch SE 40mm
Apple Watch SE 40mm
$10.99View
$10.99
$10.99
See all prices
Apple Watch Series 7 45mm$429ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch Series 7 45mm$429ViewSee all prices
$429View
$429
$429
See all prices
Apple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular$193.65ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular$193.65ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular
Apple Watch Series 8 45mm GPS + Cellular
$193.65View
$193.65
$193.65
See all prices
Apple Watch SE (2022)$249$199ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch SE (2022)$249$199ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch SE (2022)
Apple Watch SE (2022)
$249$199View
$249$199
$199
See all prices
Apple Watch Ultra$19.45ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch Ultra$19.45ViewSee all prices
Apple Watch Ultra
Apple Watch Ultra
$19.45View
$19.45
$19.45
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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