How to Change Activity Goals on Apple Watch (Move, Exercise, and Stand)

Last updated: June 2026

How to Change Activity Goals on Apple Watch (Move, Exercise, and Stand)

Apple Watch lets you change your Move, Exercise, and Stand goals at any time — directly on the watch, in the iPhone Fitness app, or on a per-day-of-week schedule if your activity varies significantly throughout the week. The default goals Apple sets when you first set up the watch are a starting point, not a permanent assignment. Changing them to match your actual fitness level and current objectives is one of the most impactful adjustments you can make to get real value from the Activity rings.

How to Change Your Move Goal on Apple Watch

The quickest way to adjust your Move goal is directly on the watch:

1. Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch
2. Scroll down using the Digital Crown until you reach the Move ring section
3. Tap Change Goals
4. Select either Change for Today (temporary, resets tomorrow) or Change Daily Goal (permanent until you change it again)
5. Use the + and − buttons to adjust the calorie target, or spin the Digital Crown
6. Tap Set to confirm

The Move goal adjusts in 10-calorie increments. If you are changing your Exercise goal, you will follow the same steps and use + and − to adjust the minutes target. Stand goal adjusts in 1-hour increments.

How to Change Activity Goals Using the iPhone Fitness App

If you prefer a larger screen:

1. Open the Fitness app on your iPhone
2. Tap your profile photo in the top-right corner of the Summary tab
3. Tap Change Move Goal
4. Use the + and − buttons to set your new target
5. Tap Change Move Goal to confirm

Note: Through the iPhone Fitness app, you can only change the Move goal. Exercise and Stand goals must be adjusted on the Apple Watch itself.

How to Schedule Different Goals by Day of the Week

If your activity varies significantly throughout the week — for example, you work out intensively on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but take it easy on weekends — you can set different goals for each day. This feature was introduced in watchOS 7 and is one of the most underused Activity settings:

1. Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch
2. Scroll down and tap Change Goals
3. Tap Change Daily Goal
4. Tap the Goal Type button in the top-right corner
5. Select Schedule
6. Set a different Move calorie target for each day of the week
7. Tap Set Schedule to save

A scheduled goal structure is more honest than a single flat daily target. If your Thursday gym session burns 650 Move calories but your Sunday rest day barely reaches 200, a uniform 400-calorie goal means you either under-challenge yourself mid-week or fail every Sunday. Scheduling solves this by letting each day have a goal that matches what that day actually looks like.

How to Change Your Goals Just for Today

If you are ill, injured, travelling, or simply need a rest day without breaking your award streak, you can temporarily lower your goal for just that day. Select Change for Today when prompted after tapping Change Goals. The adjusted goal applies only to the current day and resets to your normal goal at midnight.

This is particularly useful for managing your Move streak during recovery periods. A 200-calorie “for today” goal during a sick day lets you close the ring with minimal movement, preserving your streak without forcing activity that could be harmful.

How to Pause Your Activity Rings

If you need a longer break — recovering from surgery, illness, or a demanding life event — you can pause all three rings for up to 90 days without losing your award streak:

1. Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch
2. Tap the Weekly Summary button
3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Pause Rings
4. Choose a duration: today, one week, one month, or a custom number of days (up to 90)
5. Tap to confirm

Your streak counter will remain frozen and resume from where it left off when the pause ends. To end a pause early, open the Activity app, tap your rings, and tap Resume Rings.

Apple Watch’s Weekly Goal Suggestions

Every Monday morning, Apple Watch sends a notification summarising your previous week’s activity and suggesting a new Move goal for the coming week. If you closed your Move ring every day, it will typically suggest a slight increase (often 10–30 calories). If you struggled to close it consistently, it may suggest holding steady or lowering slightly.

These suggestions are useful as a general nudge, but they are based purely on recent performance and do not account for external context — a holiday, a change in job, a fitness goal shift. You are always free to accept the suggestion, decline it, or manually set a different number. For most people, the right approach is to accept small weekly increases during periods of consistent activity and override suggestions during atypical weeks.

Default Activity Goals and What to Change Them To

Before watchOS 7, the Exercise and Stand goals were fixed and could not be changed. With watchOS 7 and later (including watchOS 26), all three goals are fully adjustable — including on a per-day-of-week schedule.