GoKawiilIf you use an Apple Watch with cardio equipment, GymKit should be on your radar. It’s the best way for Apple Watch and a fitness machine like a treadmill or elliptical to exchange workout data, producing more accurate measurements than either device can provide alone.
Apple introduced GymKit with watchOS 4 in 2017, but compatible equipment has remained surprisingly difficult to find. The good news is that, nearly a decade later, you no longer need to spend around $15,000 on a GymKit treadmill.
Instead, you can spend around $1,000 on an excellent home treadmill that works with Apple Watch. I’ve been testing the BowFlex T6 treadmill this summer, and its combination of GymKit support, approachable pricing, and dial controls makes it easy to recommend.
What makes Apple GymKit so useful
GymKit provides a two-way connection between Apple Watch and compatible treadmills, ellipticals, stair steppers, and indoor bikes.
Without GymKit, cardio equipment knows your pace and distance but needs separate hardware to measure heart rate. Apple Watch tracks heart rate but has to estimate treadmill distance and pace from your wrist movement.
GymKit lets the two devices fill in each other’s gaps. Apple Watch sends heart-rate data to the treadmill, while the treadmill sends back measurements it knows directly from the workout.
Anthony Winge, Director of Product Development at Johnson Health Tech, tells 9to5Mac that calories, speed, distance, pace, time, incline, and heart rate sync in real time between the treadmill and Apple Watch, creating a more unified and accurate Fitness app record.
Using GymKit with the BowFlex T6
Pairing is intentionally simple, but what surprised me is how forgiving the process can be. You can connect Apple Watch before starting, but you do not have to do everything in that order.
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