A few months ago Apple announced Fitness+, its subscription workout service for Apple Watch owners. The service is basically a lot of workout videos that sync with your Apple watch health data. Apple has done a really good job of making it engaging by producing high quality workout videos. Its $9.99/mo or included with Apple One.
If you want to know the nitty gritty about the service check out the Apple Fitness+ page or this review by DC Rainmaker. Both go into the more technical details of the service. DC Rainmaker discusses the cycling and treadmill workouts in detail and compares the service to Peloton.
Once you have signed up for Apple Fitness+ you are going to need an iOS device, an Apple Watch, and any of the devices needed for the workouts: mat, barbell, stationary bike, rower, and/or treadmill.
My experience so far has only been with a few Yoga and Core workouts. All have been very well done and enjoyable workouts. I have done a few of the 10 minute classes, some 20 minute ones, and one 45 minute Yoga class. All workouts have been done on my iPhone XR with AirPods.
Video workouts need 2 things: high quality trainers and good production value. When you are watching a video you cannot ask a question or have an instructor correct your form. It is critical that the instructions be clear and well structured. The lighting needs to be good so I can see what is happening. Oh and the last but not least: the music needs to be great.
In the case of Apple Fitness+ they went and got the best trainers around. They then created some very nice studios to shoot the videos. Finally they used Apple’s enormous music library to ensure the best music is played. The results are highly engaging workout videos that keep you motivated through to the end.
The first few days I kept it easy doing 10 and 20 minute workouts. Partly because I wanted to try some different teachers and also because I am lazy. Today I did a 45 min Yoga workout and it was a good one. It got my temperature up and the sweat falling on my mat.
The Core workouts have been good too with enough variety to keep it from being dull. I need to give the HIIT and Dance workouts a shot but so far the Yoga and Core workouts will get me through rainy days when I cannot bike. I have done a short Yoga then short Core with a 5 minute Cool Down to start the day off and its been great.
I was excited for Fitness+ to come out and so far it has not disappointed. While I had an issue with connecting to my watch once, that was resolved by turning the bluetooth on my phone off and on.
Apparently the cycling workouts are not as great as Peloton’s but since I haven’t ever used Peloton I don’t mind. If it does reach a point where I am on a stationary bike this winter I am sure the cycling workouts will suffice.
Overall if you have an Apple Watch I suggest giving Fitness+ a try. In our case we already had Apple Music and 2TB of iCloud storage so getting Apple One was just a few dollars more. It is probably much better to watch the workouts on a larger device like an iPad or a TV with Apple TV, but I can make do with my phone.
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