As a fitness editor, one fitness tracker trend I never saw coming was strapping my Apple Watch to my ankle. But here we are.
The New York Times recently highlighted this new trend, and I can see why it makes sense for some users. Fro examples, certain medical professionals can’t wear wristwatches, and people with tattoos who find they interfere with the heart rate monitoring.
Other users have claimed wearing an Apple Watch on your ankle leads to more accurate tracking, such as moms who, like me, have found pushing a stroller interferes with the accuracy of the step counter.
While Apple hasn’t responded to the ankle-wearing trend, the supporting documents make it clear the heart rate monitor and calorie measuring functions are designed to be worn on the wrist.
Intrigued to find out more, I wore my Apple Watch Series 9 around my ankle, and my Garmin Epix Pro around my wrist. Here’s what happened.
The Apple Watch missed half of my run
My normal 4.5-mile route takes me across a level crossing where I often have to pause my run and wait for the train to pass. It was only when I hit the crossing for the second time on my return home I realized my Apple Watch had automatically paused when I first stopped and hadn’t resumed.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Apple Watch 9 | Garmin Epix Pro |
| Distance | 2.23 miles | 4.5 miles |
| Pace | 8:23 | 8:33 |
| Heart rate | 159 bpm | 158 bpm |
I manually resumed the watch, only to find the workout app kept pausing every few minutes for the last mile. As a result, the Apple Watch only tracked 2.23 miles.
I guess a workaround here would be to turn the automatic pausing off. However, I also found the watch kept locking on the run, requiring me to stand on one leg and attempt to put my password back in, much to the amusement of the drivers waiting at the crossing.
The pace and heart rate data weren’t too far off
Despite missing a big chunk of the run, I found the Apple Watch recorded my pace and heart rate pretty accurately. According to my Garmin, I ran at a pace of 8:33 min/mile. Apple made me slightly faster, with an 8:23 min/mile, but not a million miles off.
When it comes to heart rate monitoring, my Garmin recorded an average of 158 beats per minute, with a max of 175. Apple recorded an average of 159 beats per minute, with a max of 178. That’s pretty impressive seeing as the sensors aren’t designed to be worn around the ankle, and I had leggings and socks between the sensor and my skin.
I wouldn’t want to do this again
For a few practical reasons, I won’t be making a habit of running around the streets with my watch around my ankle. Firstly, I was concerned about my watch being mistaken for an ankle monitor and my neighbors thinking I was on house arrest.
Secondly, my Apple Watch being on my foot meant I had to dig my phone out of my pocket to purchase my groceries at the bakery on the way home, as there was no way I could tap my Apple Pay with my foot.
And finally, I was pretty worried about my baby pink Apple Watch band getting ruined by the muddy sidewalks and my heel-striking tendencies as I ran. This is less of a problem for those opting to wear their Apple Watch on the treadmill, but for the foreseeable future, I’ll be keeping mine on my wrist.
