At the beginning of 2017 I started putting together weekly “PBR” 60-minute Spotify playlists for y’all to use for your workouts and runs. This new feature was super well-received but as time has progressed I’ve decided to consolidate it into one BIG monthly playlist rather a shorter weekly one. I’m all about efficiency over here. 🙂
I spend so much time putting together playlists for my yoga and strength classes. In the month of August alone I made 25 playlists! So if you are looking for more frequent updates, be sure to follow me on Spotify and you can use my yoga or strength playlists for any of your workouts.
I am hugely motivated and influenced by music and I know that many of my students are too. I am constantly mixing up my music and keeping it fresh. I’ve also found that each class I teach seems to have a different vibe. And this isn’t just different vibes for different formats but the actual class times seem to have their own personalities. I’m also neurotic about keeping my classes fresh and I try not to repeat playlists, sequencing or workouts if I have students in the class that took my class in the previous few days.
SEPTEMBER 2017 WORKOUT PLAYLIST
Soooo….here is your September 2017 Workout Playlist. It’s THREE HOURS and 50 SONGS to motivate you through your runs and workouts. I hope you enjoy! I highly recommend listening to it on shuffle although I did try to mix up the songs in a way that flows and makes sense.
And here is the direct link to Spotify if you’d like to click over and follow.
DETAILS ON MY FITNESS WATCH
I have received so many questions lately in blog comments and on Instagram about the watch I use for workouts.
It’s the Apple Watch Series 2. Tanner gave it to me for Christmas last year. I have some thoughts to share on it.
SIZE
I love the size of this watch. It’s much less bulky than GPS watches of the past. It’s very comfortable to wear. The screen is fairly easy to read for the size.
GPS
The GPS is SO FAST. It’s amazing. I never have to stand outside for 5 minutes waiting to start a run because I’m trying to sync to GPS. I also find it to be very accurate.
Heart Rate Monitor
This watch has a built in heart rate monitor on the wrist. For the most part I find it to be pretty accurate but I would never say it’s 100%. Sometimes it’s crazy high or crazy low for the activity I’m doing and also loses connection to reading heart rate somewhat frequently.
Battery and Charge
The Apple Watch Series 2 is super easy to charge. You just place it on a magnetic charging circle thing that lines up to the back of the watch. It charges quickly and I find that it holds a charge for about 2 days.
Text and Email on Your Wrist
You can get your text messages and emails on your Apple Watch. Some might think this is awesome, it’s not my favorite feature as I am already checking my phone too much as it is. I’m sure I could easily turn this off.
One-Stop Activity Tracking
Honestly, the reason why I wear my Apple Watch so much is because it’s a one-stop shop for all of my activity tracking and it’s so comfortable to wear. I MUCH prefer my TomTom Spark for running because of the stats and analytics but I find myself just using my Apple Watch because I already have it on and it’s already tracking my other workouts and steps.
I’m Admittedly Bad at the Apple Watch
This is wear I’m recruiting you to help me. I am SO BAD at my Apple Watch. I don’t feel like I use even 10% of the functionality that it has. I would love any tips you might have for how to get more value out of it. Also, I hate the run reporting. It’s impossible to figure out splits and get meaningful reporting like I get with my TomTom. Is there a separate app or something I should be using along with the Apple Watch to be able to see all of this info?
I know that was not the best review but I just wanted to try and answer some of the questions that I’ve received…and hopefully some of you can point me in the right direction of getting more of what I need out of this watch! 🙂
What fitness watch or tracker are you currently using?
Any Apple Watch tips?
I’d love to get an apple watch — probably once version 3 comes out!
Smart decision! I’ll probably get Tanner one for his birthday! 🙂 (He doesn’t read the comments…haha)
I’m thinking about getting an Apple Watch but like you have no idea how to use it or its capabilities — would love a follow-up post if your readers help you figure it out 🙂
Same here!!
Me too! I have an apple watch series 2 and LOVE it but feel like I’m not using it to its potential either!
Haha – I’ll consider a, “How I learned to use my Apple Watch” follow up! 🙂
I’be been thinking about getting an Apple Series 2 watch because I have Apple Music (which I LOVE) and would love to listen to it when I run (and I hate running with my phone). I’m so reliant on my Garmin. Do you find the GPS data – pace/distance – to be accurate? Will the battery sustain a 2 hour run?
I used to have a Garmin and I felt that that was more accurate than Apple Watch to be honest. Apple Watch also doesn’t seem to be accurate when tracking my steps as in it says I have walked fewer steps than I know I have. However, you can use it for treadmill running and the longer I run the more accurate it is (once you hit two miles it seems to be in sync).
I have worn my Apple Watch and TomTom Spark at the same time (one on each wrist) and I got identical mileage stats.
Hey Mina – I do find the GPS data to be very accurate. I’ve worn both the Apple Watch and my Tomtom at the same time and I get identical stats from them. The Apple Watch has a great battery life.
Not sure yet if there’s a way to do it directly through the watch, but the Endomondo and Nike Run club apps (both free!) both report back splits and all other types of run stats and they’re pretty user-friendly. One thing I love about the apple watch is being able to ping my phone; if you’re like me and constantly misplacing it when doing things around the house or at work, it’s a huge time-saver!
GREAT tip on being able to ping your phone. This one is going to come in handy for me when I’m rushing to get out of the door and can’t find my phone!
I’ve been interested in the Apple watch for a while now. Just wondering, are you able to receive texts and calls without your phone on you? I would love to be able to run without my phone but with kids I feel like I need to have it, thanks!
No, you have to be within Bluetooth range to receive those alerts. Rumor has it that the next version, which might be announced next week, will have data capability on the watch so you won’t have to be tied to your phone.
Hey Michelle – no, unfortunately you have to have your phone within range to receive texts and calls.
Are you using the associated Activity app on your iPhone? It should have downloaded automatically when you set up the watch. Once you log your workout on the watch, look at it in the activity app and it will tell you your average pace overall, and per each mile, along with other stats. I don’t run, but get those stats when I log an outdoor walk or bike ride, so assume it’s the same for running.
One of my favorite features is being able to load music directly onto the watch to use with wireless headphones.
OOH – that is a great tip w/ the music – thanks!
Yes, it totally is. Thank you! I don’t think I realized that! 🙂
Thanks to you guys, I have now just learned this! Thank you! It’s extremely helpful.
I’m not sure what kind of data the Garmin provides, but the Apple watch does provide mile splits! I’ve had my watch since March and only just discovered where this lives. If you go into Activity App on your phone (the one that is the 3 circles that mirror your daily fitness goal circles on the watch), if you click into your activity on any given day, it’ll give you some additional information. BUT, if you click on the Avg Speed, it drops down and shows you your mile splits. I wish I could show you a screenshot, but sadly cannot. Hope that helps! Let me know if that isn’t clear!
Hey Chelsea – I just learned how to see the splits thanks to y’alls comments. Unfortunately, it still isn’t quite the level of robust reporting that you get with the garmin/tomtom watches but it sounds like you can use the watch in tandem with an app like runkeeper to make this happen! 🙂
I’m new to the Apple Watch (series 2)… like under 3 weeks… but I already love it. I was struggling with the decision because I had ready so many negative reviews about the running/active lifestyle functionality but I haven’t had one thing to complain about it, but then again I have been using a non-fancy Timex watch as my main running watch since… forever… so my standards aren’t really high.
ANYWAYS I use the Runkeeper (free) app when I run– it uses the GPS without the need of your phone (unlike other 3rd party apps) and once you connect to your phone, it gives you a map and a full run breakdown on your phone.
Michelle– you need to have your phone within Bluetooth range (I think around 33 feet?) in order to receive texts and calls, so no, you would still need to run with your phone if you wanted to be accessible.
Hey Katy – thank you for sharing your experience with the watch. I used to use the RunKeeper app all the time so maybe I’ll try to use it with the Apple Watch. This is awesome!
There may be an easier app or better way but
I open the activity app from my phone and scroll down to the bottom and it’ll have your total run stats under workout. Click it, click avg pace and it’ll break it down by mile.
Sorry if you already knew that/wasn’t helpful!
This is so helpful Katie. I was always trying to access this through the Health app. THANK YOU!
I’ve had a fitbit for four years now and have gone through several different versions as they’ve added new features. Right now I’m using a Charge 2. I’ve had a Flex, Alta, Blaze, and Flex 2. The Blaze face was too big and I didn’t love it but my Charge 2 is a great size for my wrist and it has HR. The Flex 2 I bought for swimming. That said, I bought a Apple Watch Series 2 about a month ago and wore it for two weeks before deciding to return it. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but the only difference between it and my Fitbit was that I could reply to texts and answer phone calls (which I did like). I know it does a lot more than those things but the more I thought about it the more I realized I wouldn’t use the other features. It just didn’t make sense for me to have spent the money and not be in love with it. The biggest thing for me was that I have four years of data on the fitbit app and didn’t want to give that up. THEN Fitbit announced their new smartwatch, so I’m going to wait and see what it looks like (in person) and what the reviews are and may consider buying it.
Hey Amanda – thank you so much for sharing this honest opinion! It’s very helpful!