While regular exercise has always been considered a necessity for staying active, both physically and mentally, the past 12 months have seen a shift in the way we engage with our personal fitness goals, namely, moving from the gym to the living room floor. Considering this, the fitness world has had to adapt by creating innovative ways to keep us motivated—and of course, Apple was leading the charge on the tech front.
Adding to its already extensive offering on Apple Fitness+, which was launched in late 2020, the app has built a new collection of fitness programs focused on workouts designed specifically for pregnant and older users, as well as beginners ready to kickstart their fitness journeys, available from April 20.
“With more options for getting started, and staying active and healthy during pregnancy as well as at any age or fitness level, we hope even more people will be inspired to keep moving with our amazing team of passionate trainers,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of Fitness Technologies.
If you’re ready to start closing those activity rings more often (or looking to up your daily targets), read on for everything to know about Apple Fitness+.
What Is Apple Fitness+?
Launched in late 2020, Apple Fitness+ is a new service designed to help users through a series of guided workouts using a seriously impressive lineup of trainers. The subscription will give you access to a bank of prerecorded workouts from 10 training styles, including HITT, yoga, dance, treadmill and core, with little to no equipment necessary.
Just a heads up, you will need an Apple Watch to join Fitness+, but the investment means you can measure everything from heart rate to calories while working out, and means don’t need to head to the gym to get your daily cardio in.
The best part too, after using Fitness+, the app will learn your preferences and personality and cater to the workouts you enjoy—basically, choosing which workout to do every day won’t become a workout in itself.
What Are The New Apple Fitness+ Programs?
Time To Walk
For the last 12 months, fitness has become not just a necessity for many but a means of keeping our mental health in check amid lockdown. To help people stay active and encourage users to get moving, Fitness+ has announced its Time To Walk feature—a new program created to encourage users to walk more often.
The feature includes episodes from inspiring guests for walkers to immerse themselves in, including people like Dolly Parton, Shawn Mendes, and Wanda Sykes, who all share meaningful stories, music and photos that inspire them—all played out on your wrist as you walk.
In honour of Earth Day on April 22, Jane Fonda will appear as the week’s Time To Walk Guest, with the actor and activist talking about “standing up to her fears and the power of taking action to fight climate change.”
Workouts for Pregnancy
With the focus on helping women stay active during pregnancy, and prepared for life with a new bub, the “Workouts for Pregnancy” program consists of 10 workouts across a range of activities—strength, core and mindful cooldown. Led by Fitness+ trainer (and mum-to-be) Betina Gozo, who is joined by trainers and new mums Emily Fayette and Anja Garcia, each workout is 10 minutes, designed to accommodate women at any stage of pregnancy and fitness level.
Workouts for Older Adults
Exactly as the name suggests, Fitness+ “Workouts for Older Adults” is a series of eight workouts designed with the user in mind, focusing on strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and mobility. Led by trainer Molly Fox, the workouts include a range of yoga, HIIT, dance and strength, with many of the workouts done with light dumbbells or bodyweight. Similar to Workouts for Pregnancy, each session is 10 minutes long and is perfect for elderly users who are keen to get active but don’t want classes that are too strenuous or intense.
Workouts for Beginners
Apple knows that many users are wanting to start a fitness journey, but don’t even know where to begin—which is where their latest Workouts for Beginners comes in. For those just getting started out in the world of working out, this lineup of programs is a great launching pad, with a range of activities to choose from that help build strength, stamina and flexibility.
How Much Is Apple Fitness+?
The fitness app is $14.99 a month, or $119.99 per year, and for those looking to invest in an Apple Watch, a three-month subscription is included with any purchase.
To learn more, head here.
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