Interval training on your Samsung Galaxy Watch

Your Galaxy Watch has GPS, a heart-rate sensor and a good screen, so it can coach you through intervals on its own: run, walk or sprint, with a tap and a voice cue at every switch. This is how to set it up, from a simple run-walk to "run until heart rate 160, walk until 120".

Which Galaxy Watch?

Every Galaxy Watch with Wear OS: the Galaxy Watch 4 and all newer models, including the Classic, FE and Ultra versions. The older Galaxy Watch 3, Watch Active 2 and Gear watches run Tizen instead of Wear OS and cannot install Wear OS apps.

With Samsung Health

Samsung Health has custom workouts too: depending on your watch and software version you can set up segments on time or distance, on the watch or in the Samsung Health app on your phone. For a fixed scheme, such as 1 minute running and 1 minute walking, that can be enough. Want more control over your intervals, or a workout you can also plan on a computer? Then a dedicated interval app helps.

With RunSpan

1. Install RunSpan from Google Play: on the watch itself, or in the Play Store on your phone, where you choose your watch as the device.
2. On first start, allow location and body sensors; they are needed for GPS and heart rate.
3. Build a workout on the watch with Create workout, or tap one of the workouts below to open it in the free web planner. There you send it to your watch with ⌚ To watch and the 4-character code that Sync on the watch shows.
4. Tap the workout, wait for Ready, go! and tap Start. At every switch you hear what comes next and feel a tap; the big number shows what is left of the block, with your pace right below it.

• Distance, time or heart rate: a block ends on whichever comes first, so "run 1 km or 6 minutes" and "walk until your heart rate drops to 120" are both possible.
• Repeat until I stop: set a repeat to ∞ and finish it with ⏩ End repeats when you have had enough; your cool-down follows.
• See if you run evenly: from the second repeat your previous one runs along as a grey line behind the numbers.
• Without your phone: RunSpan runs entirely on the watch, so you can leave your phone at home.

Workouts to try

• Run-walk 1:1: 1 minute running, 1 minute walking, 10 times. The way to start.
• ♥ 160 / 120 until you stop: run until your heart rate reaches 160, walk until it is back at 120. Change the numbers to suit your own heart.
• 8 × 400 m, 90 seconds easy in between: the classic speed session.
• 4 × 4 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy: for your aerobic capacity.

Each one opens in the planner, where you can adjust it before sending it to your watch. More sessions in interval workouts you can open right away.

Tips for the Galaxy Watch

• Start with one tap: add the RunSpan tile next to your watch face; it starts the workout you ran last.
• Skip a block: press the bottom button or double-tap the main screen.
• Rain and sweat: the 💧 water lock on the control page keeps the screen from reacting; press and hold 💧 to unlock.
• Reliable heart rate: wear the watch a little tighter than usual, a finger's width above your wrist bone.
• Screen on during the run: that is the default, so you can always read your pace. Prefer to save battery? Switch it off in Settings.

Questions

Can I see my runs afterwards?

Yes. The watch shows a summary and keeps every run in History. Once your watch is linked to the planner, your runs also appear there with route, heart rate and ascent, and you can download them as GPX for Strava and other apps.

Does it also work on my phone?

Yes. No watch with you? The same workouts run on your Android phone, with GPS, countdown, pace and voice cues.

What does it cost?

€4.99 once on Google Play, for watch and phone together. No subscription, no ads. The web planner is free.

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