Google finally switches on Pixel Watch’s proper strength training mode

Google is finally rolling out the step-by-step workout system it announced with Pixel Watch 5, and it is not limited to the latest model. Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4 can also now guide you through complete workouts.

The workout actually lives on your wrist

Step-by-step Workouts started rolling out on November 10 and should reach supported watches over the coming week. It works with strength workouts, mixed workouts and routines created through Google Health Coach.

You can build a workout manually inside Google Health using a library of more than 1,000 predefined exercises. Alternatively, Google Health Coach can create one for you based on what you want to do.

Once the session starts, the watch shows the current exercise, your targets and what is coming next. You can change the number of reps or the weight directly from the wrist if the original plan turns out to be too easy or too ambitious.

Google also synchronizes the workout between the phone and watch. If you pause or end the session on one device, the other follows. But importantly, you do not actually need to carry the phone around once you start training.

That was one of the things we highlighted when we previously looked at how Pixel Watch 5 strength training was supposed to work. At the time, the feature was still listed as coming soon. It has now moved from demo material to something owners can actually use.

Google has added the small things

The system can automatically move through sets and rest periods, with visual timers and audio cues telling you when it is time to continue. If you prefer to control the pace yourself, you can switch automatic progression and audio guidance off during the workout.

You can also record reps and weights as you go rather than trying to remember everything afterwards. That puts the Pixel Watch much closer to dedicated strength-training apps where the workout itself becomes the interface.

Pixel Watch 3 and 4 owners get the good part too

Step-by-step Workouts are rolling out to Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 5. That makes this a fairly substantial free upgrade for owners of the two older generations, particularly anyone who does regular gym work.

There is one caveat. Building workouts through Google Health Coach requires Google Health Premium, along with the Google Health app and an internet connection. The company does not apply that same subscription requirement to manually creating routines from its exercise library, so you should still be able to build and follow your own sessions without paying for the AI coach.

Google has spent years building up Pixel Watch health tracking through Fitbit. This update pushes in a slightly different direction. Instead of simply measuring what happens during a workout, the watch can now help run the workout itself.