Roni Essex
Freediver, Spearo, Creator
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Roni Essex
Freediver, Spearo, Creator
I’ll admit it—I’ve always been a sucker for a good gadget. Phones, cameras, freediving gear—you name it. So when the Apple Watch Ultra 2 launched, with its titanium frame, ocean-depth ratings, and promises of peak fitness tracking, I didn’t think twice. I convinced myself that it wasn’t just another toy but a necessary investment in my well-being. The watch was supposed to help me be healthier. What I didn’t expect was how it would completely change my lifestyle—and turn me into someone who checks their VO2 max, sleep score, and heart rate variability (HRV) before breakfast.
When you strap on the Apple Watch Ultra, you’re thrown into a world of numbers and metrics you never knew you needed. It tracks everything: steps, calories burned, heart rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep quality, and even blood oxygen levels. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to all the metrics. I just closed my rings whenever I could, enjoying that little buzz on my wrist as if it were some Pavlovian reward. But the more I wore the watch, the more curious I became. Why was my HRV low some mornings? What did VO2 max even mean?
Before long, I was neck-deep in research about how all these metrics are connected. I started realizing that this little watch wasn’t just a passive tracker—it was a full-blown fitness coach.
VO2 max is a measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise. The higher your VO2 max, the better your cardiovascular fitness. According to data from Harvard Health, increasing your VO2 max can reduce your risk of chronic disease and improve longevity. When I first checked my VO2 max, I expected decent results. After all, I’m an active guy, and I love freediving. But the number staring back at me suggested otherwise. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t where I wanted it to be.
That’s when the Apple Watch Ultra turned into my personal trainer. I started running regularly, using interval training to boost my cardio fitness. The watch tracked every run, showing me how my heart rate responded and how my VO2 max improved over time.
Every run became a science experiment. I paid close attention to my heart rate zones to ensure I was pushing hard enough without overtraining. My goal was to maximize time in the aerobic zone to boost endurance. The Apple Watch Ultra’s coaching features were surprisingly accurate. These nudges helped me avoid burnout—something I used to be guilty of. I also started doing interval runs, which studies show are one of the most effective ways to improve VO2 max. Within three months, my VO2 max had improved significantly.
Sleep tracking was both eye-opening and brutal. I used to think I was a great sleeper. Eight hours a night, no problem. But the Apple Watch Ultra revealed a harsher truth. Sure, I was in bed for eight hours, but how much of that was actual restorative sleep? Not much, apparently.
The watch breaks sleep into three stages—REM sleep, deep sleep, and light sleep—and I learned that most of my sleep was light and fragmented, which explained why I felt groggy in the morning. Research from the National Sleep Foundation shows that poor sleep affects everything—mood, metabolism, even cardiovascular health.
The first step was accepting the reality of my terrible sleep. I cut back on late-night screen time, switched to decaf in the afternoon, and started winding down with breathing exercises guided by the Mindfulness app. Within a month, my sleep scores improved, and I felt noticeably better.
Heart rate variability might not be as famous as VO2 max, but it’s just as important. HRV measures the time between heartbeats—a higher number generally means better fitness and recovery. The Apple Watch Ultra tracks HRV giving you a daily Recovery Score. I started paying attention to my HRV every morning. If it was low, I knew it was time for a rest day. If it was high, I’d push myself harder. This simple insight helped me avoid overtraining and reduced the risk of injury.
Apple knows how to get you hooked. The Activity rings are the perfect example. They track three daily goals—Move, Exercise, and Stand—and closing those rings is ridiculously satisfying. I started walking extra laps around the neighborhood just to hit my step goal. I’d sneak in quick bodyweight exercises during breaks to keep my rings happy.
Apple’s monthly challenges and achievement badges make fitness feel like a game. The competitive side of me couldn’t resist. One of the best and most dangerous features of the Apple Watch is the Activity Sharing function. You can connect with friends and compete to see who can burn the most calories in a week. It’s all fun and games—until you realize you’ve become obsessed with beating your buddy’s daily calorie burn. I started doing extra workouts just to stay ahead in the rankings.
The Apple Watch Ultra doesn’t just track running and walking. It supports dozens of workout types, from strength training and yoga to swimming and skiing. It’s waterproof up to 100 meters, with detailed metrics, and its freediving mode has been particularly useful for monitoring my performance. I started diversifying my workouts. On recovery days, I’d do yoga or mobility work. On cardio days, I alternated between running, cycling, and swimming.
The beauty of the Apple Watch Ultra is that it makes you more mindful of the small choices you make every day. Things like taking a 10-minute walk after lunch, doing a quick breathing exercise before bed, or standing up every hour during the workday suddenly feel like wins. These tiny changes add up over time. According to research from Stanford University, even short bouts of exercise can reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve longevity.
One day, my Apple Watch Ultra alerted me that my resting heart rate was unusually high. It wasn’t anything serious, but it made me more aware of how my body was responding to stress and overtraining. The watch also tracks blood oxygen levels—a crucial metric for freedivers. This feature helped me fine-tune my breath-hold training, ensuring I stayed within safe limits.
The Apple Watch Ultra didn’t turn me into a fitness guru overnight. What it did was make me more intentional about my health. It showed me the gaps in my routine and gave me the tools to improve. I’m stronger, fitter, and more mindful of my body than I’ve ever been. And while I still geek out over my VO2 max, I’ve learned to focus on the bigger picture: living a healthier, more balanced life.
If you’re considering the Apple Watch Ultra, here’s my advice: Don’t expect it to change your life on its own. It’s a tool—a very smart one—but you have to put in the work. That said, if you’re ready to embrace the data and let it guide you, this watch can do incredible things. It helped me sleep better, exercise smarter, and become the healthiest version of myself. And now, if you’ll excuse me, my rings aren’t going to close themselves.