Heart rate intervals on Apple Watch: run until 160, walk until 120
Most interval plans end every block on time or distance. Training by heart rate works the other way round: you run until your heart rate reaches a ceiling, then walk or jog until it drops to a floor, and repeat. Here is why that works, what the built-in Workout app can and cannot do, and how to set it up in a few taps.
Why end a block on heart rate?
- It adapts to your day. Heat, hills, a bad night: on a fixed 3 minutes you either suffer or coast. When the block ends at 160 bpm, the effort stays the same and the duration adjusts.
- Recovery that is actually recovery. Walking "until 120" means you start the next repeat rested, not after an arbitrary 90 seconds.
- Great for zone 2 and for beginners. Run easily until you drift above your ceiling, walk briefly, run again. You stay in the zone you want without staring at your wrist.
Can the Apple Watch Workout app do this?
The Workout app has custom workouts with work and recovery steps, and it can alert you when you leave a heart rate zone. At the time of writing, a step itself can end on time, distance or "open" (you tap to continue), not on reaching a heart rate. So the app tells you that you are above 160, but you still have to skip to the walk yourself, and back again when you have recovered.
Heart rate intervals in RunSpan
In RunSpan every block ends on distance, time or heart rate, whichever comes first. "Run until heart rate 160 or 10 minutes, walk until 120 or 5 minutes, repeat until I stop" is a workout you can build, and the watch moves on by itself, with a voice cue and a tap on your wrist.
- Install RunSpan from the App Store on your iPhone; the Apple Watch app comes with it.
- Open one of the workouts below in the free web planner, or build it on your iPhone under Create.
- Send it to your watch, go outside, wait for GPS and tap Start.
Three workouts to start with
- ♥ 160 / 120, until you stop: 5 minutes warm-up, then run until 160 (max 10 min), walk until 120 (max 5 min), and repeat as long as you like.
- Zone 2 with walk breaks: run until 145 (max 15 min), walk until 125 (max 3 min). A calm aerobic run that never drifts too high.
- 5 × ♥ 165 / 125: a harder session with five repeats, warm-up and cool-down.
The numbers are examples. A common starting point for the ceiling is about 80 to 85% of your maximum heart rate, and for the floor about 65%. Set your maximum heart rate in RunSpan under Settings, then the watch also shows your zone (Z1 to Z5).
Questions
Does my Apple Watch need the iPhone during the run?
No. The watch app runs on its own and measures heart rate and GPS itself. If you carry your iPhone, it shares its GPS with the watch for the best distance and pace.
Is this free?
The free run is always free. Interval workouts are part of the subscription, €0.99 a month or €9.99 a year, with the first week free. The web planner is free.
More: run-walk intervals on Apple Watch · interval workouts you can open right away · help