Track Heart Rate Zones in iOS 18 Fitness

Apple’s iOS 18 and watchOS 11 fitness updates provide streamlined tools to monitor cardiovascular intensity directly from your wrist and paired iPhone displays. This guide outlines the specific custom metric layouts available for tracking heart rate zones, how to enable dedicated zone screens, and how to configure real-time intensity targets during workouts.

Dedicated Heart Rate Zones View

The primary layout for monitoring effort is the standalone Heart Rate Zones View. Instead of crowding multiple disparate data points onto a single screen, this dedicated layout focuses entirely on cardiovascular effort.

  • Layout Elements: It displays your current heart rate, your active heart rate zone (Zones 1 through 5), and a persistent timer indicating how long you have spent in each individual zone during the session.
  • Visual Gauge: A color-coded vertical bar visually shows your real-time position within the active zone and your proximity to crossing into higher or lower thresholds.
  • Compatibility: This view is available across all major cardio workout types, including Outdoor Run, Indoor Run, Cycling, HIIT, Rowing, and Elliptical.

Multi-Metric Custom Layouts

If you prefer a unified screen with multiple performance indicators, the Metric 1 and Metric 2 Layouts allow you to embed heart rate data alongside pace, distance, and cadence.

  • Metric Slots: These layouts accommodate up to six active data fields on modern Apple Watch displays.
  • Heart Rate Metrics: You can configure individual slots to show your Current Heart Rate, Average Heart Rate, or Current Zone without dedicating the entire screen to the multi-zone bar graph.
  • Split/Interval Views: For interval-based training, metric layouts can be configured to display segment-specific heart rates alongside overall session metrics.

Custom Workout Target Alerts

When building structured interval workouts, custom layouts support real-time threshold monitoring via Target Alerts.

  • Zone Targets: When creating a custom workout, you can assign a target Heart Rate Zone to specific intervals (e.g., maintaining Zone 4 during a hard sprint and Zone 2 during recovery).
  • Alert Screen: During the workout, an automated layout appears when you drop below or exceed the designated zone, prompting you to adjust your effort.

How to Configure Heart Rate Layouts

To activate and arrange these views for any workout profile:

  1. Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch.
  2. Tap the More (...) icon on the workout profile you want to customize (e.g., Outdoor Run).
  3. Tap the Edit (pencil) icon on your preferred workout mode (such as Open or Goal-based).
  4. Select Workout Views, then tap Edit Views.
  5. Scroll down to locate Heart Rate Zones and toggle the switch to the Include position.
  6. Use the reorder controls to move the Heart Rate Zones screen closer to the top for faster access via the Digital Crown.

Customizing Heart Rate Zone Calculations

iOS 18 automatically calculates your five heart rate zones using the Heart Rate Reserve method based on your age and resting heart rate. To customize these ranges manually:

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Navigate to Workout > Heart Rate Zones.
  3. Select Manual instead of Automatic.
  4. Adjust the upper and lower limits (BPM) for Zones 1 through 5 to match clinical test results or personalized training protocols.