Zones for Training Reviews

by Rock And Roll Ain't Dead

It contradicts itself and doesn't agree with the health app. For example last week I went for a 40 minute run, a 3 mile hike, and a gym session. In the stats screen it records all of these activities, and if I look at the workout specifically I can see that my heart rate was indeed in zone 1 or higher for all of these, yet in the "time spent in this app" chart, it only shows 69 minutes in zone 1 and 0 in all others, even though when I add the workouts up manually, I have well over 150. And last week it showed about 25 minutes in zone 2 as well.

I've also had it show 200+ minutes for the week on Friday afternoon, then when I go back and look at it the next day it drops to 60-80 something minutes. Basically Zones is useless for me since I wanted to use it to track time in HR this app for training. Waste of money.

by Frustrated X 1000

I had high hopes for Zones for delivering cues when training within customizable heart rate this app. Sadly, the Settings | Sync Now function does not work (always times out), so the Watch version of Zones is stuck in its belief that my maximum heart rate is 185. Because of this error, the best Zones can do is tap my wrist when I change between preset this app based on a max heart rate of 185. Not the customizable this app I was hoping for. The Watch version of Zones does correctly send workout data to both the iPhone Health app, and the iPhone version of Zones (so the sync error is not an issue with the Watch app talking to the phone)... There is apparently no option on the website (or in Zones ) to report bugs. Maybe the developers read one-star reviews and will provide support for the broken Settings | Sync Now feature...

by Snerblap

Froze up my watch 3 quarters through my first workout. I looked at my watch to see my heart rate and found it said that I was only at 73bpm when it should’ve been well over 120 could not get it to read my heart rate again until I shut down the watch. The watch took over 10 minutes to restart, then when I restarted Zones not only had it lost app previous workout information when I clicked start it’s spent another 10 minutes with the screen that said starting. Once I finally killed Zones and started it again it started to read. As you can imagine I was disappointed not to mention this was during fairly intense workout where I have little to no patience for interruptions. I will try it a few more times and I will update this review if things get better.

by 3211234:(asp

I downloaded Zones today and noticed that the zone color bars/times in the watch don’t match the ones in the phone app when using four this app. Makes me want to wait till this is fixed before paying to get the Pro version since I don’t know if that will have the same problem. Example, the light blue-green bar in the watch represents cardio, but in the phone, it’s orange. The blue-green in the watch is cardio, but cardio is orange in the phone app. The orange bar in the watch is warm up, but blue-green in the phone app is warm up. The only color bar/time that is the same for both is red for peak/time. Yeah, it’s enough to make a head spin. This is an issue that needs to be fixed ASAP! Please fix this.

by ATHIIT11

I am a user of Zones who had upgraded to Pro. I do HIIT training about 4-5 times a week, and often have to restart in the middle of the my workout for freezing up and not registering my heart rate correctly. Then recently, it stopped transferring data from my watch to the phone. After restarting both iWatch and iPhone, I tried to delete Zones and re-install. It lost all of my data. I contacted customer service and they referred me to an online faqs page of what’s supposed to happen when one tries to delete Zones (2 prompts are supposed to show up, the second allowing you to keep your health data). However the second prompt never showed up for me and Zones deleted after the first prompt. I tried deleting again as a sanity check since I absolutely do not remember that second prompt, and again it deleted Zones after the first prompt. Now my last 6 months of workout data is gone. I guess not the end of the world in the greater scheme of things, but still frustrating that the glitches in Zones keeps it from working as it’s supposed to. Will be utilizing a different app, as this one is obviously not trustworthy.

2 stars because it’s great when it actually works.

by Tomatoesaretops

I purchased the pro version of Zones mostly because I liked the idea of getting a buzz when you entered a new zone as a form of motivation. Until now I had used the exercise app that comes with the watch.

I haven’t had the glitch problems of others so in that sense it’s been reliable. My problem is that Zones is really inflexible in terms of establishing goals and delivering into on the watch itself. I am not especially interested in how long I’ve been exercising but rather the distance I’ve covered. In the past I’ve had goals like 20 miles a week then 23 etc. Zones does not allow for distance goals. Only time goals (e.g. 250 min of exercise a week). I want the face of the watch to tell me how far I’ve walked/ran not how long. I wish the settings would let me choose that preference.

by Dfpcmaia

The one reason I wanted an app like this was to see my heart rate this app for all my exercises.

And you can totally do that... but only for this week’s exercises. No way to search, no way to find HR this app for individual workouts older than this week. For example, if you want to see if the 5K you ran this week was less strenuous on your HR than the one you did last month, Zones can’t do that for you.

There’s nuggets of possibilities in Zones that could make it truly great, but it seems like there are arbitrary limits everywhere that hold it back. For example, the Insights tab has great potential, but there aren’t enough parameters to customize that could make it truly great.

by Princess*Zelda

I purchased an Apple Watch about two months ago and have been using this app to help track my fitness progress ever since. I love everything about it so far, especially the graphs and insights available for the upgraded version (definitely better than other apps that charge monthly or yearly subscription fees). The only thing I would really love to see change is the ability to edit past workouts. When I purchased an indoor bike (this was a few months prior to getting my Apple Watch and using this app), I used a different app my phone to log all of my workouts on the bike, but there unfortunately wasn’t a way for me to input the distance at the time—and being that it is an indoor bike, Zones ’s estimates of miles travelled were very low (0.02, etc.). While I love that this app allows me to edit the distance on all of the cycling workouts I have recorded through the this app app on my Apple Watch, I’m disappointed that I can’t edit previously logged entries and have more accurate graphs. I tried using different apps to input distance, but every attempt at this only doubled my workout entries and caused all of my data/graphs to be incorrect in this app. Please, please, pleeeease add the edit feature or some sort of manual entry for workouts saved from other apps! This would be a lifesaver and help me make so much more sense of my cycling data! It is honestly the only thing keeping me from giving Zones 5 stars!

by Willisrunner

Started to train using heart rate this app a couple of years ago with an old TomTom watch. Just recently switched to the Apple Watch and have been looking for a great app to help me train by heart rate zone. Zones has been great for tracking my workouts and keeping tabs on time and distance in each zone after the fact... The only problem I have found is that the HR zone training I follow recommends staying in a specified zone for certain durations, or to maintain a zone for the whole workout, and it’s hard to constantly keep an eye on your watch to make sure you’re still in the correct zone (especially in winter when it’s below a few layers of clothing). I know it now buzzes your watch when you change this app, but half the time I’m not sure if I jumped from 2-3 or 3-4. I just wish there was a way to set a HR zone target for a workout and have the watch vibrate consistantly when you’re above or below the zone target like my old TomTom watch.

by Steev U

Zones is very intricate, without being confusing. After syncing Zones with my current Health results I was not happy with my overall performance. This gave me tons more matrices to look at and see were I could personally do better. I bought the paid version and recommend you do also. If you find the free version intriguing, skip that morning coffee tomorrow, and grab the paid version. Well worth the Deeper Dive. My only comment is they reference using the WHO for some of its health guidelines. Maybe make them region specific? Dietary availability should be considered before using a source such as the WHO.

by Cpprboom

I hate the apple exercise app on the watch because it shows your heart rate but doesn’t tell you what zone you are in but Zones’s watch app does and even alerts you when you change this app! I love it! I also love you can also, for the most part, edit the data. When I run on a treadmill it does a pretty good job estimating distance but it’s not accurate so I like for the most part it allows me to edit it. However sometimes it doesn’t. I also would like if I could delete activities. Because I use different apps for recording different activities but also use the this app watch app it duplicates my activity and I can’t delete it. Being able to delete activities would help and would warrant a five star!

by G-Capo

I upgraded to the PRO version which at $5 is a huge bargain. It provides a lot of very useful data and allows me to target my workout in ways I wasn’t able to on other apps. The information is clearly presented as well! However I reluctantly have to give it 4 stars because it uses up a lot of battery. I was fine on battery life until I downloaded Zones . Nothing major but I can’t get a full day’s use anymore and have to change right before the end of a work day instead of 9 or 10 pm. However I have been willing to accept it because of the useful information I receive and because the iPhone charges to 50% very quickly anyway.

by Digitalredx

This is, without a doubt, one of the most-used apps on my phone. I love how easy it is to see what my heart rate was after each workout—just looking at it afterward motivates me for next time. I also like the cumulative data and seeing how many of each type of workout I did over the previous month or year. It syncs flawlessly with my Apple Watch, and I’ve never had an issue in more than a year of being an avid user. Excellent fitness app.

by Bdotson1

Since the latest iOS update that crashes on me intermittently. The only way I can get it to work is to wait about an hour or two later and then try to re-launch it. What happens it will suddenly shut down and when I try to re-launch Zones it’ll briefly flash an error message -So quickly that I can’t screenshot it or even get to read it. I’ve really enjoyed Zones, but for the moment it’s unusable for me. Look forward to when it gets repaired.

by Amorninglight

I looked for an app for 3 weeks trying to find one that would work seemlessly with the Apple Watch to show what my heart rate is and what zone I was in. The fact that this one taps me one my wrist when I go from one zone to another clinched it for me. I have told a lot of people about it. When I told my physical therapist thru the weight lose center she just passed it on to everyone she sees. It’s the best app for anyone that is trying to lose weight or training for a marathon. I can’t save enough about it. Great design developers keep up the good work.

by Bikerx1013

A very nice addition to the Apple Watch workout feature. In the “pro” version you can add other workouts to customize your program. The this app are color coded, as you aim towards your specific goal. You control the data via your “health” app on your iPhone, and can learn how well you are doing on the “this app” app on the phone. Zones records a plethora of information, and makes it easy to see where you need to improve. First starting , I hit my “fat burning” zone , and worked out for what I thought was a long time. Zones begged to differ: only 3 minutes!!
The only component missing is someone yelling at you,” GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND START YOUR WORKOUT!!”

by Erikadeee

Zones is ok. I’d give it 3 stars because it freezes and twice randomly shut down in the middle of a run in the first week I used it.

One star because I’m unhappy that it says it’s shareable (through family sharing) on Zones page and I paid for the upgraded version. But any app that forces you to pay for the upgraded version through Zones is not truly shareable (it will charge each individual in the family share account for the upgraded version through Zones ). Apple and the developers should be more forthcoming with this feature (ie all upgraded apps should be able to be purchased directly through Zones Store and not in app purchases which won’t allow family sharing features). Really dishonest.

by Lives In Houston

I use this on combination with strava and Apple to get a much deeper level of understanding, analysis and detail on my effort and hart rate and aerobic this app. Data is taken in from my device and from strava and then analyzed. I don’t use this app to measure my activity.

The analysis is excellent and really useful to monitor my improvement and effort. I can see how much time I spend in each zone and where I put my effort. I have used this to stay in a specific zone to burn fat or improve endurance.

I bought the premium which gives even more detail and stats on how I’ve performed. I’m very useful stuff and if you like our data Zones is very good. Basically I haven’t seen any other mainstream app go to the lengths this one does. If you’re training for any sort of event or are trying to just get better in performance this gives you a great insight to how you’re doing.

by Skijorer

Zones has really helped me focus in on that missing element of my training and that is what zone I am in. Before I was constantly guessing or trying the do math in my head while also trying to breathe! Zones fixed that. It’s important to note at least for me, Zones is an addon app. Meaning I start my appple run and when I am finished Zones pulls data from my watch and puts its into readable format. I have not played around with just running Zones yet but it says it will show you your zone. I use it to look back and say was I running those mile repeats in zone 3 or 4 or was I dogging it. I paid the 5 bucks for the “pro” version and it’s worth every cent. If you are looking for an app to refine your training. Don’t hesitate get this one now !! Also after about 30 workouts I have zero problems with it missing data

by Schobbish

Woohoo it’s beautiful and that’s a great selling point for Zones but what I like about it and what inspired me to write this review is this: Zones will track and analyze your heart rate in workouts started with the Workouts app. I just tracked a workout in the Workouts app because that will give me achievements, but when I looked in the this app app I found that workout there and it was graphed and told me how long I spent in each zone. The this app app can also track many more types of workouts than the Workouts app (such as fishing, strength training, and even fun), although I’d recommend tracking your workouts with the Workouts app if it’s there so you can get the achievements.

by SweetSolitude98

I’m pretty old and I’ve just about downloaded every app related to HR /workout there is. This is one of the best workout app I have found. It’s intuitive, SO EASY to use and the integration with the Apple Watch is great. This is also a beautiful and user friendly app. Given the fact that it’s developed by a two person team it seems like an app that’s made by a huge team of developers. Having been a developer myself, I know how hard it must be to develop something like this at this level of refinement. My hat is off to you both.