How to pause Activity Rings in watchOS 11 when you need a break

AppleInsider

While Activity Rings are a staple for fitness enthusiasts, there might be times when you need to pause them. Here's how you can do it in watchOS 11.

How to pause Activity Rings in watchOS 11

The Activity Rings on the Apple Watch are a great way to keep track of your daily movement, exercise, and standing goals. However, there are situations where keeping them active isn't practical.

For instance, maintaining your usual activity level could interfere with the recovery process if you're recovering from an illness or injury. Pausing the rings allows you to prioritize healing without feeling pressured to meet daily goals.

Additionally, you might not be as active as usual during vacations or rest periods. Pausing the rings helps preserve your motivation and avoids disrupting your streaks and achievements.

How to pause Activity Rings in watchOS 11

With watchOS 11, Apple has made it easier to manage your Activity Rings, including pausing them when necessary.

Pausing the Activity Rings on watchOS 11 is a straightforward process

1. Press the Digital Crown to open the app grid.


2. Tap on the Activity app. Once inside, tap the rings.


3. Look for Pause Rings and tap to choose how long a pause you want

You can set that pause to be for any length of time you want. If you're going to be away, you can set a date of when you're back, for instance.

When you're ready to resume tracking, tap Resume Rings and the Activity Rings will begin monitoring your movements again.

Pausing the Activity Rings on watchOS 11 is a straightforward process that adds flexibility to how users manage their daily fitness goals. Whether taking a break for health reasons or enjoying a vacation, the feature ensures that your activity tracking is as realistic and accommodating as possible.



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appleinsideruser

Whilst I can see the point, it seems like cheat. Will paused ring high scores be identified as such to maintain bragging rights for the non-pausers?

eightzero

Pauses any "streak" when you do this? 

brianus

appleinsideruser said:

Whilst I can see the point, it seems like cheat. Will paused ring high scores be identified as such to maintain bragging rights for the non-pausers?

I suppose it could be a cheat. But I was just today diagnosed with a disease that I fear may make it difficult to close my move ring for awhile, so I really, really wish this feature already existed. I have a close to 9 year streak and seeing it ended by an illness also hardly seems fair (or deserving of an asterisk on my record)

radarthekat

appleinsideruser said:

Whilst I can see the point, it seems like cheat. Will paused ring high scores be identified as such to maintain bragging rights for the non-pausers?

Wish I could have done this in February when I spent 16 days in the hospital for cancer surgery.  Over three weeks without solid food caused me to lose 25lbs and become very weak.  Chemotherapy after that has kept me down, but since June I’ve been closing all my rings again daily.   

appleinsideruser

radarthekat said:

appleinsideruser said:

Whilst I can see the point, it seems like cheat. Will paused ring high scores be identified as such to maintain bragging rights for the non-pausers?

Wish I could have done this in February when I spent 16 days in the hospital for cancer surgery.  Over three weeks without solid food caused me to lose 25lbs and become very weak.  Chemotherapy after that has kept me down, but since June I’ve been closing all my rings again daily.   

Best wishes for a continued recovery.

Stabitha_Christie

appleinsideruser said:

Whilst I can see the point, it seems like cheat. Will paused ring high scores be identified as such to maintain bragging rights for the non-pausers?

Cheat at what exactly? The fitness features of the Apple Watch are there for people to help people tack their personal fitness journey. The only person a wearer can "cheat" by faking stuff is themselves.  

There are prettily good reasons a person may want to pause their fitness tracking. Getting sick, medical procedures, travel (Apple Watch does not handle timezone changes well and completely bungles crossing the international dateline) and the list kinda goes on, 

If someone wanted to "cheat" they could just lower calorie goal to 10, exercise to 5 and stand to 6. But again, they are only cheating themselves. 

appleinsideruser

Stabitha_Christie said:

appleinsideruser said:

Whilst I can see the point, it seems like cheat. Will paused ring high scores be identified as such to maintain bragging rights for the non-pausers?

Cheat at what exactly? The fitness features of the Apple Watch are there for people to help people tack their personal fitness journey. The only person a wearer can "cheat" by faking stuff is themselves.  

There are prettily good reasons a person may want to pause their fitness tracking. Getting sick, medical procedures, travel (Apple Watch does not handle timezone changes well and completely bungles crossing the international dateline) and the list kinda goes on, 

If someone wanted to "cheat" they could just lower calorie goal to 10, exercise to 5 and stand to 6. But again, they are only cheating themselves. 

OK, I'm feeling the vibe. Perhaps all achievements are equal, but some are more equal than others. It was just an observation and I take your point about its only cheating yourself. We shouldn't get too hung up on these things — I will probably use it myself the next time I'm travelling all day.