How to Set Up Workout Splits with Notifications on Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch has a cool feature that can help you track your walking, cycling, or running pace during workouts using splits. A split is just a way to measure the time it takes to complete specific parts of your workout. This feature is super handy for keeping track of your progress, managing your pace, and pushing your performance to the next level.
What Are Workout Splits?
Splits are predefined distances during a workout—like every 250 meters—where your Apple Watch will read out your pace. For beginners, this is great for setting a steady rhythm and building endurance slowly, while advanced athletes can use splits to fine-tune their performance, nail interval training, or see how long they can maintain a target pace.
For example, during a five-mile run, your time at each mile marker is called a “mile split.” Runners often use splits to:
- Check if they’re pacing evenly.
- Stay on track to hit specific performance goals, like running a 5K in under 30 minutes, improving marathon times, or building endurance for a triathlon.
If you’re doing a timed mile, you might check your splits every quarter-mile to ensure you’re staying on target. At the end of each split, Siri will announce your pace for that segment.
This feature works for running or walking workouts, whether indoors or outdoors. Splitting offers many benefits, for example:
- Pacing: Keep a steady pace throughout your workout.
- Performance Tracking: Compare split times to monitor your progress.
- Motivation: Regular updates keep you engaged and focused on your goals.
Please note that you can also create custom workouts, like a sauna workout.
Step 1: Get Your Apple Watch Ready for Notifications
To make sure you’re not missing any split updates, tweak your settings for maximum alerts. This ensures you’ll get the feedback you need right when you need it, keeping you on pace and helping you adjust as necessary.
On Your iPhone:
- Open the Watch app.
- Tap the My Watch tab.
- Go to Sounds & Haptics.
- Turn the Alert Volume to max.
- Set Haptics to Prominent.
On Your Apple Watch:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Siri > Siri Responses.
- Turn up Voice Volume – Speaker to max.
These settings make sure Siri’s voice notifications and haptic feedback are loud and clear.
Step 2: Set Up Workout Splits
Now that your Apple Watch is ready, here’s how to set up splits for your workouts:
- Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch.
- Choose your workout type (e.g., run or walk) but don’t start it yet. For this article, I am using Indoor Run.
- Tap the three dots next to the workout.
- Use the Digital Crown to scroll to the bottom. You can also use your finger.
- Tap Preferences (available on watchOS 10 and later). Preferences is all the way down.
- Tap Splits.
- Ensure that Split Alerts is turned on and than tap Distance.
- Pick the distance you want for each split (e.g., 250 meters, 1 mile).
- Tap Set.
- Tap the back arrow to return to the workout start screen.
You can repeat this for other workout types like cycling or walking. Adjusting split distances based on your goals is a great way to get the most out of your workouts. For example, shorter splits can help with interval training, while longer splits work better for endurance sessions like cycling.
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