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First Gear for Apple Watch

Zone 2 sets the top. Your coach says when to walk.

First Gear is a heart-rate running coach for adults starting out. Choose Zone 2 on Plan and it sets the top of your range, from Apple's own Zone 2 on iOS 27 and watchOS 27. Your coach cues a walk as you near the top and a run when there is room.

Your first session is free, with no subscription.

Now on Apple Watch and iPhone.

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

Needs an iPhone and Apple Watch Series 6 or newer, SE (2nd generation or newer), or Ultra. No Watch? Phone runs work with AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2.

First Gear during a workout on Apple Watch: 123 bpm, inside the 116 to 135 bpm range, with a green band around the edge of the black screen and the line In your range.

Use the Zone 2 you already have.

On iOS 27 and watchOS 27, First Gear reads the top of the Zone 2 that Apple Health shows you. Choose Zone 2 on Plan and that number becomes the top of your range. Until Health has one, we estimate it from your age and resting heart rate.

Hear when to walk.

Your coach follows your live heart rate and cues a walk as you near the top, then a run when there is room again. Lana or Cal says it, and your wrist taps. You do not have to read a number mid-run.

Walking keeps it easy.

If a slow run still pushes your heart rate past the top of Zone 2, you are not doing it wrong. Walking breaks are how you stay under it, so they belong in every session. There is no pace to hit.

Zone 2 is one of four ways to set the top.

Your range has a top and a bottom. On Plan, you choose what sets the top: First Gear's own estimate, MAF (180 minus your age), Zone 2, or a number of your own. First Gear's estimate is the default. If you have never thought about zones, leave it there. If you already run by Zone 2, choose it.

Your stage sets the bottom. At stage one the range is thirty beats wide, and it narrows to ten beats by stage six as the bottom rises. Whatever sets the top, First Gear keeps it within set bounds, at least ten beats under its safety stop.

This is a coaching range, not a measurement of your physiological zones. Apple's Zone 2 sets the top and nothing else: First Gear does not coach by Apple's other zones or count your time in them.

See how the range and stages work

Built for starting, not for a training block.

First Gear is a beginner coach first. Sessions are twenty minutes by default, three days a week, and you can set the length from 10 to 60 minutes on Plan. Six stages shape your range, and moving up is always your choice.

Easy running is something you repeat, not something you finish. There are no streaks to protect. Miss a week and your stage waits for you, with no catch-up workout.

Read our guide to zone 2

The bottom steps up. The top barely moves.

One example
  1. Stage 1: 102 to 132 bpm
  2. Stage 2: 107 to 132 bpm
  3. Stage 3: 115 to 135 bpm
  4. Stage 4: 123 to 138 bpm
  5. Stage 5: 126 to 138 bpm
  6. Stage 6: 128 to 138 bpm
  • In your range
  • Below it: your coach invites you to run
  • Near the top: your coach calls a walk
  • Over it: ease off
One example runner: age 52, with a resting heart rate of 59. Your range comes from your own age and resting heart rate, so your numbers will differ. The shape holds: as the bottom rises, a walk has less room before your coach invites you to run again.

Questions about Zone 2 in First Gear.

More on easy running.

Understand zone 2.

Why the same name means different things on a watch and in research.

See how it works.

The range, the six stages, and what your coach does in a session.

Hear Lana and Cal.

Try the real first-session samples and choose the voice you want on your next run.

Your next easy run can start tonight.

Download First Gear, choose Zone 2 on Plan if you follow it, and set aside twenty minutes. Your first session is free, with no subscription.

Now on Apple Watch and iPhone.

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

Needs an iPhone and Apple Watch Series 6 or newer, SE (2nd generation or newer), or Ultra. No Watch? Phone runs work with AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2.