Whether you’re an Apple fan or not, you gotta admit, their gadgets are pretty impressive, so admittedly, we got a bit excited when it was finally unveiled this week at the company’s Time Flies event, a live-streamed virtual event due to the Covid-19 outbreak. However, one concern most gadget enthusiasts frequently bring up when a company like Apple releases a new version of a product is if there are enough upgrades to make it worth the purchase.
The Apple Watch is a jack-of-all trades when it comes to a smart watch. You can reply to messages, take phone calls, track your workouts and also do sleep tracking. The fitness tracking aspect of the Apple Watch is one of the main reasons why we like it. Not only does it have a variety of workouts you can track (like outdoor running, hiking, strength training, etc…), but your workouts’ data is stored in Apple Health which can be exported to other apps for further analysis.
Did you know you can use your Apple Watch as a remote shutter to take photos and videos through your iPhone? I started doing this as a way to improve my weightlifting and gymnastics skills without having to rely on someone else to film my activities. With the Apple Watch and my phone I have become a one man film crew and can finally confirm if my squats went “below parallel”.
Follow along and see how you can start doing this if you have an Apple Watch or are thinking of getting one.
Last March I decided to purchase a separate chest strap worn heart rate monitor, specifically the Polar H10 Bluetooth Smart HR Sensor, to use with my Apple Watch when tracking my workouts.
You might be thinking, why would you buy a heart rate monitor when the Apple Watch already tracks heart rate?
Did you know the Apple Watch can be used to give you your estimated VO2 max score? I didn’t, but you’ll be happy to know that it can measure it without you having to go through the more troublesome and traditional way of measuring VO2 max by running your ass off on a treadmill.
While not as accurate as the treadmill-oxygen-mask method the Apple Watch gives you a simple way you can start collecting and testing your own VO2 max.
What is VO2 max you may ask, here are FAQs about VO2 Max.