How to Edit Fitness Goals on Your Apple Watch and iPhone

Your Goals Should Fit Your Life — Not the Other Way Around

Apple Watch’s default fitness goals are reasonable starting points, but they’re not calibrated to you. The default Move goal (500 calories) might be too low if you’re active or too high if you’re recovering from injury. The good news: you can change all three goals whenever you want. The better news: you should, because the right goals make the rings motivating instead of demoralizing.

Changing Goals on Apple Watch

  1. Open the Activity app on your watch (the three rings icon)
  2. Scroll down using the Digital Crown or swipe
  3. Tap Change Goals
  4. Adjust the Move goal using the + and − buttons (or scroll with the Digital Crown)
  5. Tap Next to set the Exercise goal (in minutes)
  6. Tap Next to set the Stand goal (in hours)
  7. Tap OK to confirm

Changing Goals on iPhone

You can also adjust goals from your iPhone:

  1. Open the Activity app on iPhone
  2. Tap Change Goals at the bottom
  3. Adjust each goal and tap Next

Note: some iOS versions don’t show the Change Goals option in the iPhone Activity app. If you don’t see it, change goals directly on the watch.

Setting Realistic Goals

Move (calories): This is active calories burned, not total calories. Check your average over the past two weeks and set your goal slightly above that. If you’re averaging 400 active calories, set the goal to 450 — challenging but achievable. Don’t set it to 800 because you “should” burn more. Unrealistic goals lead to giving up.

Exercise (minutes): 30 minutes is the default and it’s a good target for most people. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, which is about 22 minutes per day. 30 minutes gives you a buffer.

Stand (hours): 12 hours is the default — standing for at least one minute during 12 different hours. If you work a desk job, this is harder than it sounds. If 12 is consistently unachievable, lower it to 10 and work up from there.

The Common Mistake

Setting all three goals high at the same time. If you increase your Move goal from 400 to 700, increase your Exercise goal from 20 to 30, and keep Stand at 12, you’ve made every ring harder simultaneously. Change one goal at a time. Hit it consistently for two weeks, then adjust the next one. Gradual progression beats ambitious failure every time.