Three reasons to give Apple Fitness + a try

2020 has been the year of the at-home workout. With many gyms having occupancy limits or being straight-up closed due to COVID restrictions, more and more people are discovering the pros and cons of working out at home. 

With the launch of Apple Fitness+, your at home workout might be improved thanks to a little virtual encouragement. This new service from Apple has launched with ten different types of workouts including dance, yoga, and high intensity interval training. They can be done with your iPhone, iPad, or AppleTV with equipment you already own like a treadmill or stationary bike. Or using less specialized fitness tools like dumbbells, a yoga mat, or even your own body.

There is lots to experience and like about Apple Fitness Plus. Until you’ve tried the service for an extended period of time, it might be hard to figure out exactly what you like most about it (and where there’s room for improvement). But right out of the gate, here are three things that make Apple Fitness Plus worth trying.

Make the most of your workout time

Apple Fitness + makes it very easy for you to figure out what exercises to do on any given day. One of the tough things when you’re starting out on your fitness journey is figuring out what to do during your exercise time. If you know the broad category of what you want to work on (core, bike, yoga) you just tap that category and select a specific class from the list. The classes are led by skilled trainers showing you exactly what to do. So instead of eating up your workout time figuring out what to do next, just follow the leader! And, the more workouts you do, the better suggestions you’ll find for workouts to try next.

Workout within your limits (or push ’em)

During your workouts do you ever wonder if you’re working out too hard? Or maybe not hard enough? Apple Fitness + will take out some of the guessing thanks to the way it works with the Apple Watch. Stats like your heart-rate, calories burned, and the rings from your activity app appear on screen during your workouts. So you can monitor these to decide if you need to push a little harder, or ease up. There’s also something called the Burn Bar (on certain cardio workouts) that shows you how you’re doing compared to other people who have done that workout. If you’re feeling competitive, this can be a fun feature to help you push yourself.

Apple Fitness + is free to try

The best fitness routine is the one that you actually do. You don’t want to invest money in classes or equipment and then discover the stuff you got or the classes you committed to aren’t right for you. Apple Fitness + lets you try their classes so you can decide whether this is going to be a lasting part of your fitness routine. If you update to the latest versions on your phone, ipad, or apple TV and your Apple Watch, you can get a one month free trial. If you buy a new Apple Watch you get a three month trial. After the trial, in Canada, Apple Fitness + costs $12.99 per month or $99.99 for a year and you can share your subscription with family members. This can be a great way to figure out if virtual classes and at-home workouts will help you on your fitness journey.

If it’s been awhile since you last worked out, or maybe you’ve never tried fitness classes, Apple Fitness + could be a great entry point for you. There’s relatively low physical and technical barriers between you and the classes. Within Apple Fitness + there is a beginner’s playlist so you can easily get started. And in some of the video classes, you can even follow along with instructors who have modified workouts to be more or less difficult depending on your overall fitness level. The new fitness service from Apple has a lot of cool features that could appeal to beginners as well as people looking to enhance or change up their at-home fitness routines.