N4x4 vs Stellar Intervals

Supports iPhone Duo, with expanded workout views and hands-free training when propped open. The best Norwegian 4x4 App on the App Store. Train the Norwegian 4x4 without watching the clock or guessing your effort. N4x4 reads your live heart rate — from Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3, Garmin, WHOOP, Polar, or any Bluetooth monitor — and turns it into clear push, hold, and ease-off cues through every interval. When you finish, you see exactly how long you held the target zone, and how today compared with last time. Four 4-minute efforts, three easy recoveries. 33 minutes, warm-up and cooldown included. It trains VO2 max, the fitness marker most closely tied to how well you age, and it's one of the most studied ways to raise it. If you're going to invest time in your health, this is a strong place to start. HIT THE RIGHT ZONE • Target zones calculated from your own max heart rate • The number turns orange when you're below the zone and red when you're above, on both iPhone and Apple Watch • Spoken and haptic nudges when you drift out and stay out • A haptic countdown into every interval change: two taps, then the buzz USE THE SENSOR YOU ALREADY OWN • Apple Watch: install N4x4 on your wrist and heart rate streams automatically • AirPods Pro 3: the earbuds you're already wearing double as your heart rate monitor (iPhone on iOS 26) • Garmin (Broadcast Heart Rate), WHOOP (HR Broadcast), Polar, Wahoo, COROS, Powerbeats Pro 2, and any standard Bluetooth chest strap or armband • Wearing more than one? You choose which source wins • A built-in guide with exact, per-model setup steps EASY TO KEEP THE HABIT • Voice coaching through every interval, with the phone locked and your music ducked • Night-before, morning-of, and comeback reminders — each on its own switch • Weekly streaks, and a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island FINISH WITH PROOF • Every interval charted against its target zone • Time in zone, time to zone, and a note per interval for your settings • Last session laid over today's, so progress is easy to see • Your usual workout — Cycle, Run, Kettlebells, and more — pre-selected when you save SEE THE PAYOFF • Your VO2 max trend from Apple Health • Training calendar, milestones, and full session history Works on the treadmill, rower, bike, stair climber, with kettlebells, or on the open road — any cardio that gets your heart into the zone. No account. No subscription. No ads. Your data stays on your device and in Apple Health. Start with one hard session a week. Add a second when you're ready.

Most Norwegian 4x4 timers count the clock. Stellar Intervals counts what matters: the time your heart is truly in the zone — and how fast it recovers afterward. THE PROBLEM WITH CLOCK-BASED 4x4 The Norwegian 4x4 protocol calls for four 4-minute intervals above ~85% of your max heart rate. But it takes time to climb into that zone — often 60 to 90 seconds. A standard timer counts that ramp-up as "work," so you get an uneven, watered-down dose every session. Two workouts that look identical on the clock can be completely different efforts. TRUE TIME IN ZONE Stellar Intervals fixes this with a heart-rate-gated timer. The interval clock starts only when you cross your 85% threshold — and pauses the instant you drop below it. No more junk time. Every session delivers a true 16 minutes of high-intensity stimulus. Repeatable, predictable, honest. A CLEAN SIGNAL: HEART-RATE RECOVERY Here's what true time in zone unlocks. Heart-rate recovery (HRR) — how many beats per minute your heart drops in the first minute after an interval — is one of the most studied markers of cardiovascular fitness. But it's only meaningful if the effort before it was consistent. Because Stellar Intervals standardizes every interval to the same load, your HRR becomes a clean, comparable number you can trust. Track it interval to interval and week to week, and watch your fitness improve in a metric measured from your own training. THE SCIENCE The Norwegian 4x4 protocol is the gold-standard interval method for improving VO2 max — and VO2 max is one of the strongest predictors of long-term health and longevity. Stellar Intervals helps you execute the protocol precisely and follow your progress through HRR, a marker researchers have long tied to heart health and aerobic fitness. FEATURES Heart-rate-gated timer — counts only true time in zone Auto-pause when you fall below 85% HRmax Per-interval heart-rate recovery (HRR) tracking Long-term HRR and time-in-zone trends Works with Apple Watch and Bluetooth chest straps Sport-agnostic: run, bike, row, ski, or elliptical Apple Health integration Clean, distraction-free workout screen HONEST BY DESIGN Stellar Intervals does not estimate or claim to measure your VO2 max — no app can do that accurately from your wrist. What we do measure, we measure for real: your true time in zone and your heart-rate recovery. Two numbers you can trust, both improving as you train. WHO IT'S FOR Runners, cyclists, and rowers chasing VO2 max gains. Longevity-minded people who already track HRV, sleep, and biomarkers. Anyone who wants their 4x4 done with precision instead of guesswork. Requires a heart rate source (Apple Watch, Apple Airpods Pro 3 or Bluetooth HR monitor). Start your first true interval today.