Build a running habit that sticks.

Even if you hate running.

A beginner run/walk coach for Apple Watch that cues each jog and walking break from your heart rate, not a clock. Sessions take twenty minutes and start with a walk.

Start your first session freeFor Apple Watch, on the App Store

Will it work with your Watch?

A smiling woman with a white earbud jogging toward the camera on a tree-lined park path in warm evening light.

First Gear during a workout on Apple Watch, with a vertical green gradient fading to black, 122 bpm within the 115 to 135 bpm range.

Why First Gear is different.

Most beginner 5K plans run on a clock: jog for sixty seconds, walk for ninety, ready or not, or they just announce when your heart rate is in range. First Gear coaches you through it, telling you when to jog and when to walk from your heart rate. The program is built on progressive overload: each stage asks a little more than the last, so the adaptations running depends on have time to build.

First Gear on iPhone showing the next session, Monday: a 20-minute run and walk at stage three of six, with the week's recap from Lana, this week's sessions, badges, and history below.

See how it works.

Press play. Lana, one of First Gear's coaches, walks you through a session in under a minute while the Watch shows what your wrist does: the walk, the run, the drift over the top, and the score.

Read the full program Hear both coaches

The First Gear method.

Six stages. You choose when to move up.

Each stage narrows your coaching range a little. Sessions take twenty minutes at every stage.

After each session, your iPhone shows your time, your route, and your Easy score: the share of scored time your heart spent in range, walking included.

Stage 130 bpm20 min
Stage 225 bpm20 min
Stage 320 bpm20 min
Stage 415 bpm20 min
Stage 510 bpm20 min
Stage 610 bpm20 min

Stay in range for at least 85% of the scored time in three recent sessions, with time between them, and your coach can offer you the next stage.

Stages organize your practice. They are not a fitness test.

Questions before you start.

I've quit running before. Why would this stick?

How is this different from the Workout app already on my Watch?

What does it cost, and how do I cancel?

Your next twenty minutes start here.

Pick your three days and head out. Your first session starts with a walk, and you can walk all of it.

Your first session is free, with no subscription. Then you get seven days free if you're eligible. Cancel at least a day before it ends and you pay nothing.

$4.99/month or $29.99/year after the trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. Local prices and trial eligibility appear in the App Store.

Needs Apple Watch Series 6 or newer, SE (2nd generation or newer), or Ultra, and an iPhone.