WatchOS 9 Workout Updates: What's New?

pcmag.com:

Fitness has always been a main focus of the Apple Watch, and the smartwatch will soon offer even more workout-tracking tools.

Apple's watchOS 9 promises to bring a host of new and upgraded features to the Apple Watch Series 4 and later this fall. On top of new watch face designs and productivity improvements, the update includes a hearty list of features around health and working out.

We plan to install the watchOS 9 public beta as soon as it arrives next month, and these are the workout-friendly features we're most excited to check out.

When tracking a run, the Apple Watch will now measure your stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation, metrics typically reserved for running-specific wearables. You'll also be able to race against yourself on frequently used routes, and receive alerts when you're behind or ahead of pace, or go off course.

The watchOS 9 update will allow the Apple Watch to track your heart rate zones, a feature most fitness trackers already offer. This feature makes it easier to monitor your intensity and adjust accordingly to maximize gains, or allow rest periods at appropriate times. Apple says you'll be able to manually set your heart rate zones, or automatically calculate them based on your existing Health data.

In addition, the Apple Watch Workout app will soon give you the ability to create custom workouts that include work and rest intervals.

For triathletes, there’s nothing more frustrating than needing to manually adjust your watch's settings to track different segments. Apple is about to automate the process with a new Multisport tracking option within the Workout app.

Sensors in the watch will monitor movement patterns to automatically recognize and track swimming,