How to add specialised activities to your Workout app

I’m probably not tipping you off on a secret talking about the new sport categories and icons Apple added to the workout app in the early autumn of 2017. After all, these additional workout activities have been around for a while.

With that said, have you ever bothered to make sure you are looking at all the right icons when launching the workout app on your wrist? Are those green, quirky stickman truly geared to your past time activities, or are you routinely falling back on the ‘Other’ icon to track any sport slightly less conventional than, say, an indoor run?

If I have caught you out, let’s put an end to it now. The fact of the matter is that there is an abundance of unique workouts available for your watch. The key to pinning them to the front workout interface is to drag them out of the woodworks just once. It goes without saying that this exercise is not only a visual gimmick but also – more practically – creates a new category to utilize and filter inside your iPhone’s activity app.

Climbing, golfing or sailing on the weekend? Then don’t forget to bring your Apple Watch. Here we go!

How to add your favorite activity to the Workout interface

Before you will get to select your tailor-made workout, you’re going to have to start the much dreaded ‘Other‘ workout one final time.

1) Thus, hit the Workout app on your Apple Watch.

2) Scroll until you spot the Other activity and start.

3) Once you’re done, wrap it up as per usual: swipe right and End the workout.

4) The next bit is crucial. Do not fly past the workout summary and hit done. Instead, touch the grey tab reading Name Workout atop the summary screen.

5) Time to sift through the (alphabetically ordered) list and tell your watch what you’ve actually been up to all the times you used to select  the ‘Other’ option.

golf icon apple watch

6) Tap it. When locked in, scroll down to save the workout. Hit Done and watch the magic happen in front of your eyes:


Boom! As touched on in the opening, not only will this newly created category stick around as a workout option going forward, but it will also be available to filter as a category inside your iPhone’s activity app. If anything, hitting the green stick man actually matching your past time activity will therefore make for a terrific (sports) diary to review.

How many weekends did I manage to get onto the golf course last year? When did my pal and I go hit the slopes again? It’s now all neatly recorded in the Activity app.

There is not a lot of information out in the public sphere about whether these icons are capable of more accurate readings with respect to calories burnt than the generic ‘Other’ equivalent. All the same, it feels undeniably good to have your own activities represented when skimming through your workout app, so go set up your watch properly now!

Also, let us know in the comments if your recreational sport has not been covered by Apple (yet). You would be surprised about the eclectic mix at choice!