Fit as How to add a workout to Apple Health manually, with date and time
A gym class, a swim, a bike ride from last week: Log Workout in the Insights tab saves it with the real date and time. Pick the type, set the date, start time and duration, add calories and distance if you have them, and tap Save Workout. Walking-type workouts with a distance also add steps on the side.
★ 5 (10) Why add a workout by hand?
The activity happened. Apple Health has nothing. That gap is the whole reason this screen exists: a swim with no watch, a bike ride with a flat phone, a gym class where you left your phone in the locker again.
This is different from the Home tab, which adds steps and distance for today only. Use Log Workout when the date or the workout type matters.
Which workout types can you add?
The Activity Type list has 11 options: Walking, Running, Treadmill, Hiking, Cycling, Swimming, Yoga, HIIT, Functional Strength, Cooldown and Other. Treadmill is saved in Apple Health as an indoor running workout.
How to add the workout, step by step
- Open the Insights tab and tap Log Workout. A sheet with the same title opens.
- Under Activity Type, choose the workout, for example Walking.
- Under Details, set Date to the day and start time. The picker stops at the latest start that still ends by now.
- Set the duration with the stepper, for example Duration: 45 min (1 to 1440 minutes).
- Under Metrics (Optional), type Calories (kcal) as a whole number and Distance (km) with a point or a comma, if you know them.
- Tap Save Workout. The sheet closes and the workout is in Apple Health.
The sheet has no ad and no PRO check: it is free every time.
Worked example: yesterday's evening walk
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Activity Type | Walking |
| Date | Yesterday, 18:00 |
| Duration | 45 min |
| Distance (km) | 3.2 |
| Saved in Apple Health | Walking workout, 18:00-18:45, 3.2 km |
| Steps also written | 3.2 km divided by 0.762 m, about 4199 steps (not shown in the app) |
| Row in Workout History | 3.20 km · 14.1 min/km, 45m |
The pace is the duration divided by the distance: 45 / 3.2 = 14.06, shown as 14.1 min/km.
Does a manual workout add steps too?
Only for Walking, Running, Treadmill and Hiking, and only when you enter a distance. The steps are distance divided by the same 0.762 m stride used everywhere in the app. A cycling or yoga workout adds no steps. The distance is stored on the workout itself; unlike the Home tab, no separate walking + running distance entry is written.
Check it in Workout History
Back in Insights, tap Workout History. The screen titled History lists user-entered workouts from Apple Health, newest first, up to 100, with type, date, km, pace, duration and kcal. The This Week section adds up total distance and average pace. Pull down to refresh and tap Done to close.
This list pulls in manual workouts from any app, not just Fit as, which can be surprising the first time an unfamiliar entry shows up. The three cards at the top of Insights (This Week, Best Pace, Longest Logged Walk/Run) work from your last 50 workouts in Apple Health.
Errors you may see
- A workout cannot end in the future. Pick an earlier start time or a shorter duration. The start time plus the duration goes past now.
- A workout already exists for this time period. Another workout in Apple Health starts inside the time you picked. Move your start time.
Questions and answers
Can I manually add a workout to Apple Health for a past date?
Why doesn't my Home tab walk appear in Workout History?
Do I have to enter calories?
Can I edit a workout after saving?
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More Fit as guides
- Turn a walk's distance and time into steps in Apple Health
- Steps per km by stride length: the 0.762 m calculator in Fit as
- How many steps is a 1 hour walk, or 30 minutes of walking?
- Log a treadmill walk or run as a real workout in Apple Health
- Logged steps not showing in Apple Health after a Fit as log: what to check
- How do I log a run I did without my phone?
- Swimming workout tracker: how do I log a swim in Apple Health?
- How do I add cycling distance to Apple Health?
- How many steps in a marathon?
- All questions about Fit as
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