WatchOS 5: Closing my green rings is easier!

We’ve had WatchOS 5 for just over a week now and I’m really happy with the changes in the calculations of exercise activity. I recently wrote that I felt the threshold for earning green ring minutes was too high. Apple states that a brisk walk is what is needed to close the green rings but I was finding that I usually needed to jog. A brisk walk was usually not enough and that’s a problem for people that might have joint problems. I have a bum knee so jogging is something I have to be careful of. For the past few days I’ve been earning my green rings with a brisk walk again. Whatever calculations are being performed to determine exercise minutes seems to have been changed to a lower level. Previously it seemed I needed to keep my heart rate at 110-120bpm or higher and now it would seem that 100bpm is enough. In my case this is perfect as my bpm during a brisk walk is usually in the range of 90 to 110.