Why gymgoers are wearing their smartwatch on their ankles

A group of fitness lovers have shared a hack for getting the most out of your workouts. But is there any truth to the viral gym trend?

Fitness trackers are typically designed to be worn on the wrist – but gym junkies have decided its more effective on a different body part.

A new trend gaining traction, dubbed the “Apple Watch hack”, has seen among fitness lovers wearing their smart watch around their ankles, claiming it leads to more accurate workout tracking and “mind blowing” results.

Ben Lucas, founder of Flow Athletic, a leading fitness and yoga studio in Sydney, explained the reasons behind the growing popularity of the trend.

“The first is if people want to track their steps or workouts throughout the day, but they can’t have a watch on their wrist getting in the way,” he told news.com.au.

“For example, a kettlebell workout could be an issue while wearing a watch on your wrist as it could get caught.

“Additionally, there are some professions, such as being a surgeon, where you need to keep your wrists free, so by wearing it on your ankle, you can still track your steps.”

Another reason is to address the problem of users accidentally pausing their tracker during workouts.

Content creator @bodiebyana is one gymgoer who struggled with this problem.

“I’m so tired of putting my watch on my wrist and halfway through my workout realising that it was on pause the whole time,” she said in a clip that received over 45,000 views.

“When I put it on my ankle, it never happens.”

In an interview with the New York Times, the 23-year-old explained that she discovered the hack after looking for solutions online.

She found that many people were turning to their ankles to address this issue, which can happen when the watch screen is accidentally touched or bumped during exercise.

Because the screen is sensitive, even a drop of sweat can register as a touch and pause the workout.

She then bought an adjustable velcro strap, and the rest is history.

“Never going back,” she claimed.

Gymgoers are putting their smart watch around their ankles for better tracking during workouts. Picture: TikTok/@bodiebyana

Another fitness influencer, @hauskris, who is credited with popularising the walking treadmill and standing desk combination, is also a fan of the ankle smart watch method.

As someone who spends much of her work-from-home days walking, she says she likes to have accurate measurements of her steps.

“When I use my walking pad, my wrists aren’t moving while I’m working — only my feet and ankles are moving,” she explained.

“I remove the strap and then re-strap it around my ankle so it will accurately track my steps as my wrists don’t move. So chic. It’s the best hack ever. I do this basically every day.”

An influencer straps hers to her ankle while walking on her treadmill. Picture: TikTok/@hauskris

This trick is also said to be effective during less intense activities, such as shopping.

In one experiment, one TikToker, @MediocreMomAdventures, took two ten-minute walks around Target – one with the watch on her wrist and the other with it in her sock.

When the watch was on her wrist, and she kept her hand on the trolley, it recorded only 91 steps.

In contrast, when the watch was on her ankle, it calculated 835 steps, prompting her to call the results “mind-blowing”.

“So the big lesson here is … put your watch on your ankle,” she noted.

People have claimed that it solves the issue of your watch mysteriously pausing during your workouts. Picture: TikTok/@hauskris

One woman even did a test to see if the ankle method was more accurate, and it was. Picture: TikTok/@mediocremomadventures

So, does this method really make that much of a difference?

Apple has stated in its consumer support materials that key features of the Apple Watch are specifically calibrated for wearing on your wrist, rather than for other parts of the body.

For example, the watch uses LED lights in conjunction with semiconductors to measure the “amount of blood flowing through your wrist at any given moment”.

However, according to Mr Lucas and other anecdotal reports on TikTok, there are mixed reviews regarding its effectiveness when worn on the wrist.

“Depending on which metrics are most important to you, wearing it on your ankle could be beneficial,” he said.

Benefits aside, some people are sceptical about trying out the trend due to the unusual appearance of wearing a watch on the ankle.

One TikTok user called it a “gym ankle monitor,” while another joked that it looked like “you’re on gym arrest”.

“Mine is always trying to call the police,” quipped another user.

Originally published as Why gymgoers are wearing their smartwatch on their ankles