The coach
A voice coach in your ear, on every run
The Gears voice coach is an audio running coach that reacts to your pace, heart rate, steps and the ground as you run. Every line is pre-recorded and chosen by rules on your iPhone or Apple Watch. Nothing is generated during your run.
How does the voice coach work?
It watches what you would, if you had the time: pace, heart rate, cadence and the slope underfoot. When something changes, rules on your device pick the right line from hundreds of recordings and play it over your music. No generated speech, no text-to-speech, no signal needed.
The coach has no name and never says the app's. Dry, factual, unimpressed by effort that isn't there. Warmth is earned. A blunt line plays only when the numbers back it: never harsh about what it can't see, never cruel about you. Only the excuse.
- Shifting up from Easy
Gear two. Settle into it.
- Before a Hard block
Gear three is coming. Settle the breathing now.
- The Hard block starts
Gear three. Go.
- Pace well under the Hard range
More. This is gear three, not a jog.
- Back in range
Yes. That's gear three.
- Into the recovery
Back to gear two. Hold the effort, lose the strain.
Which coach voices can I choose?
Three voices: same lines, same rules, same coach. Pick one in You → Settings → Coach → Voice; the watch follows your iPhone.
| Voice | How the app describes it |
|---|---|
| Luke (default) | “The voice Gears was first recorded in: low and even.” |
| Chris | “A low voice with an easy, everyday delivery.” |
| Sarah | “A higher voice, light and clear.” |
What does the coach talk about?
What a coach beside you would mention. Nothing it can't see:
- Gear changes and what's next: gear, reps, duration, countdowns.
- Corrections: creeping up on an easy stretch, sitting under a hard one, running the walk.
- Patience, while your heart rate catches up with a new effort.
- Technique: breathing, posture and habits, on a timer and never claimed as detected. See cadence metronome and breathing rhythm.
- Your cadence, measured from your steps.
- Hills, as you meet them and, on roads you've run, just before. See the hill running coach.
- The day's warmth, in words, never degrees. See running weather.
- An honest word before a hard session, on the last rep, at halfway and at the finish.
- Safety: a very high heart rate, or “Something hurts” on the End sheet.
- The last rep of a hard session
Last rep. This is the only one that tells the truth.
- Finishing a hard session that was run properly
Done. That was real. Not many people do that on a Tuesday.
Can I make the coach talk less, or more?
Yes. How often it talks has three settings, on iPhone and watch:
- Quiet: gear changes, countdowns, the build-up to Hard, controls and safety. No corrections, no encouragement.
- Normal: everything, with corrections and company spaced out.
- Talkative: company the whole way, more technique, and a guided warm-up: settling in, breathing, shoulders, hands and arms, posture, feet, cadence, a tension scan and an effort check.
- First minute
First few minutes are for settling in. No pace to hit. Just find a rhythm.
- Shoulders
Drop your shoulders away from your ears. Let them hang.
- Effort check
You should be able to talk in full sentences right now. That's the effort.
Lines don't repeat soon, so a long run never becomes a loop. Mid-run, Coach quiet on the run screen keeps the coach to the run's blocks and safety lines for the rest of the run; Coach talks brings it back.
How tough is the coach?
As tough as you choose. Toughness has five levels and changes the wording only; facts and safety lines sound at every level.
| Level | What it means |
|---|---|
| Calm | 1 of 5, the gentlest. The facts, kindly, with plenty of encouragement. |
| Honest (default) | 2 of 5. Says plainly how the hard parts went. |
| Firm | 3 of 5. Also calls out drifting and missed efforts. |
| Direct | 4 of 5. Also says so when you skip or stop early, with less praise. |
| Ruthless | 5 of 5, the toughest. The sharpest lines first, praise only for a hard finish. |
While you build up, or when you've been told to go carefully, the coach stops at Firm whatever you chose, and the app says so. Quieter or tougher is always your choice, never the app's.
Can I run with music and a voice coach?
Yes. The coach dips your music for each sentence, then lets it back up. Music plays from your own app, which the iPhone's Sound sheet can open; on the watch, the run screen includes Now Playing. The coach has its own volume, on the run screen and in Settings.
- Pause
Paused. I'll pick up when you do.
Which lines can never be silenced?
- Heart rate very high
Heart rate's very high. Ease off now. This isn't the session for that.
- You end the run with “Something hurts”
Stopping. Rest it. I'd rather lose a run than lose a month.
What Gears doesn't do
- No generated speech, no new lines mid-run. Every line is pre-recorded and chosen by rules.
- It can't see your form. Breathing and posture cues are timed reminders, not observations.
- No music player, and no replacing your music app.
- English only, for now.
- Not a person, and not a medical voice. Training guidance.
Your first coached run is free. Then coached runs are part of Gears Plus; recording runs stays free.
Questions runners ask
Is the Gears coach a real person?
No. It's pre-recorded voice lines, chosen by rules on your device as you run. Pick from three voices: Luke, Chris or Sarah.
Does Gears use AI to coach me?
No. Live coaching is rules on your iPhone or Apple Watch choosing pre-recorded lines. Only “In your own words” sends anything to an AI model, and only if you allow it.
Can I turn the coach down mid-run?
Yes. Tap Coach quiet and it keeps to the run's blocks and safety lines, or use the coach volume on the run screen.
Does the voice coach work offline?
Yes. Every line lives on your device, so it works with no signal, on Apple Watch alone or iPhone alone.
Can I use the voice coach with just my iPhone?
Yes. The iPhone runs a whole coached run alone. With an Apple Watch, you can leave the phone home and listen through Bluetooth headphones.
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