We all know the Apple Watch can be a great ally to help us get in shape. Now it's the getting there that can be the problem sometimes. The biggest hurdle outside of willpower is just knowing what features exist and which metrics you should be paying attention to today.

I'm showing you the four Apple Watch features I'm using to level up my fitness routine and get back into peak shape. I'm Vanessa Hriana, and for those of you who know me, I'm back. And for those of you who don't know me, I was a

skate reporter for eight years, and after a brief hiatus, I'm now back with the Skate Voices Contributors program sharing tips and tricks with you. Now, if you're just getting started, closing your Move rings is a great place to start. Not only does it keep you honest about

how much or how little you're doing, it actually kind of gamifies the whole exercise experience, which to me makes it a little more fun and somewhat addictive. Now, if like me, you're already doing that, you're doing the basics and you want to step it up, then you're going to have to

work out harder and dig a little bit deeper to find those metrics. Now, the good news is you may not actually have to completely alter your existing fitness routine unless you want to, and you maybe want to spend more time at the gym, which is great for you. Just as a mom

of three, not realistic for me. I got to work with what I got and make my existing workouts more intense. One way to measure intensity on your Apple Watch is using your heart rate zones during a workout. Your watch categorizes your live heart rate data into five different

zones based on your maximum heart rate. In zones one and two, your body is mostly burning fat. Beyond that, as you get closer to zone five, which is your maximum, our body starts burning more carbs. Once you know where you want to be in terms

of your goals, you can start using this data as cues during your workout. I love this feature because it lets me take action live while I'm still in the workout. My usual running route ends on a hill, so old me would just lose steam and walk up as a cool down. New me sprints up

that hill with a baby stroller in my hand just to peek at zone five for a few seconds to activate heart rate zones on your watch, go to your workout of choice and press on the three dots on the top right. Now scroll down to the bottom and

hit preferences, workout views, and scroll down to heart rate zones. Some workouts like running and cycling have it on by default, but not all. Once you've toggled it on, scroll down to reorder and move it to the top if you want to have it as your main workout page. The Apple Watch

uses your individual biometric data to calculate your own heart rate zones. So that's what I use, but you can also customize it directly on the settings app from your watch. Once you figured out what your starting point is by either reviewing old heart rate data on the

fitness app or monitoring it live, you can really pinpoint what pushing yourself looks like for you, whether for cardio or strength training. Just don't go near zone five if you're just starting out. I've also set up alerts on my Apple Watch that notify me when I've

reached my goals or when I'm kind of dipping below it this can be for a specific heart rate zone which I've done for most of my workouts or for different goals like pace and intervals hit the three dots again and go to preferences next scroll down to alerts these will

vary by exercise so it's worth poking around the different options these are my Pace alerts and this is how I set up interval time for strength training this keeps me focused on crushing my goal rather than having to look at my wrist all the time now another way to measure

intensity is through a new feature called training load this one is new to watch OS 11 and sadly not available for Apple Watch models before the Series 6 it ranks the intensity of your workout on a scale from 1 to 10 as it compares

to your 28-day average unlike heart rate zone this data is displayed after the fact on the workout summary once the results are in there's not much you can do but you can use the data to guide your next workout and cut back or push yourself a little bit more you can also

see the past 7 days worth of data by clicking on the Move ring and then that graph on the top right the Apple Watch will do this automatically for some workouts like running and cycling or you can grade yourself manually for any one of them you'll find even more data on

the Fitness app on your iPhone scroll down to the all categories tap training load and toggle the date range in my 7-Day average I've clearly started to lose some steam so my goal would be just to start trending upward again now let's talk about measuring progress over time

Now, jeans don't lie, but stretchy pants they do. So, I needed a better way to measure my progress than just the waistband. Plus, muscle is more dense than fat, so you may not even see a big change on the scale even though your health is

improving by a lot. For this, I'm using a metric called cardio fitness, and it's hidden in the health app. Your cardio fitness score is basically Apple's fancy term for your VO2 max, or the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise. And according to Apple,

it's a strong indicator of your overall health. Your score is categorized into four different levels: high, above average, below average, and low. Humble brag, no big deal, I'm at a level high, but I have plateaued over the last couple of weeks. And my goal would be to get closer to 50,

which is where I was before my third pregnancy. And realistically, I could expect to get there in about four months. But let's be honest, the holidays are coming up, and I'm just happy with an upward trend at this point. I'm also not

a physician, so please check in with yours before you make any major changes to your existing fitness routine, especially as it relates to heart rate. Safety first. Now, for all things Apple Watch, make sure to check out cnet.com. I'll see you next time.

4 Apple Watch Fitness Features You May Not Know Exist

CNET is the premier destination for explaining and navigating the changing world around us. Through news, product reviews, price comparisons, and more, we’ll tell you what’s new in the parts of modern life that increasingly matter more — from health, home, and money to tech, culture, and climate — and how to get the most out of them.

CNET

Introduction and Overview of Apple Watch Fitness Features

Apple Watch's fitness features can be challenging to understand and utilize effectively.

Introduction of Vanessa Hriana and her experience with fitness and the Apple Watch.

Closing Move rings as a starting point for fitness tracking and gamification.

Advanced metrics for users beyond basic fitness tracking.

Using Heart Rate Zones for Workout Intensity

Measuring workout intensity using heart rate zones (five zones).

Understanding the different energy sources burned in each heart rate zone (fat vs. carbs).

Using heart rate zone data to adjust workout intensity in real-time.

Activating and customizing heart rate zones in the Apple Watch settings.

Using heart rate data to personalize workout intensity.

Utilizing Alerts and Training Load for Enhanced Tracking

Setting up alerts for reaching or falling below specific heart rate zones, pace, and intervals.

Using alerts to maintain focus on workout goals without constantly checking the watch.

Using the 'Training Load' feature (WatchOS 11 and later) to measure workout intensity on a scale of 1-10.

Training Load data is displayed after the workout and can be used to guide future workouts.

Viewing past 7-day training load data in the Move ring and Fitness app.

Tracking Progress Over Time with Cardio Fitness

Using cardio fitness (VO2 max) as a metric for measuring progress beyond weight.

Cardio fitness is a better indicator of overall health than weight alone.

Cardio fitness score is categorized into four levels: high, above average, below average, and low.

Setting personal goals for cardio fitness improvement.

Reminder to consult a physician before making significant changes to fitness routines.

Call to action to check out cnet.com for more Apple Watch information.