Apple Fitness + is Apple’s new subscription service ‘powered by the Apple Watch’. It offers fitness classes for everyone, both beginners and enthusiasts. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
What do you need for Apple Fitness +?
Apple Fitness Plus requires an Apple Watch Series 3 or later and an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. The watch tracks your activity while you follow the class that is playing on the other device.
Some Apple Fitness + classes are all bodyweight exercises. Others, like most strength training classes, require two small dumbbells. There are also indoor running, rowing, and cycling classes, requiring a treadmill, rowing machine, or static bike, respectively. For yoga classes, a mat and blocks are useful, but not essential.
In general, you also need some room to move. Many of the classes are energetic and include jumping, swinging your arms, and other activities that can easily turn off a nearby light.
If you can’t free up space in your living room, you may want to use Apple Fitness + at the gym.
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How much does Apple Fitness + cost?
Apple Fitness + costs $ 9.99 per month or $ 79.99 per year. However, there is a one month free trial for anyone who owns an Apple Watch Series 3 or later.
If you purchased an Apple Watch after September 15, 2020, you will receive a three-month free trial.
Sign up for Apple Fitness +
Signing up for Apple Fitness + is as easy as opening the “Fitness” app on your iPhone, tapping “Fitness +” and then following the instructions.
Of course, your iPhone must be running iOS 14.3 and your Apple Watch must be updated to watchOS 7.2. If you’re using an iPad, you can download Apple’s Fitness app from the App Store. If you’re planning to track workouts on an Apple TV, make sure it’s updated to tvOS 14.3, including the built-in Fitness app.
In the Fitness app on your iPhone, tap Fitness +, tap Continue, then tap Try It Free. Select whether you want to pay monthly or annually once the trial period ends and tap “Try It Free” again.
That is it! You’re signed in and ready to sweat.
What kind of classes can I take?
At launch, there will be 180 lessons in nine categories with 21 trainers, with more weekly.
The categories include:
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
- Yoga
- Core
- power
- Treadmill
- Cycling
- Rowing
- Dance
- Mindful Cooldown
Lessons are 5-45 minutes long and have accompanying Apple Music playlists. Depending on the workout you are doing, you can choose from the following types of music:
- Chill Vibes
- Hip Hop / R & B
- Latin grooves
- Throwback Hits
- Cheerful Anthems
- Everything Rock
- Latest hits
- Pure dance
- Topland
You don’t need to subscribe to Apple Music to listen during workouts. If you do, you can quickly grab the music from a workout and put it in your Apple Music Library.
After you sign up for a class, Apple asks for permission to track which classes you take. It’s probably safe to assume that the more popular classes and trainers will be offering new workouts more often.
How to find a workout on Apple Fitness +
With many different workouts to choose from, there are a few ways you can find one quickly.
At the top of the Fitness + screen on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll see a list of the different exercise categories. Tap one to see a long list of available options. You can tap ‘Sort’ to sort the list, but the best way to do this is to tap ‘Filter’. You can then filter the different classes by ‘Trainer’, ‘Time’ or ‘Music’.
This is a handy way to find exactly what class you want. For example, I was able to quickly find a 10 minute HIIT class with a Top Country playlist (nice Jamie-Ray).
Suggested classes are also listed on the main screen. As you use the app, they become more personal. At the moment, my suggested options are “New This Week,” “Popular”, and “Simple and Fast,” and each of these contains twenty classes or so.
Tap ‘View all’ to see more.
How to Exercise with Apple Fitness +
Exercising with Apple Fitness + is quite easy. Just find a workout you want to do, tap “Let’s Go” and follow the trainers’ instructions. They do a great job of breaking down and demonstrating all the different moves.
While you are exercising, the top left corner will show your current active calories, heart rate and the duration of the workout. You will also see your activity rings there. Go hard, and you can watch the “Move” and “Practice” rings fill right before your eyes.
During cardio training you will also see a ‘Burn bar’. This compares your performance to everyone else who has done the workout. It tells you if you are ‘In the Pack’ or ‘Ahead of the Pack’. It offers some encouragement, and it’s also balanced based on your age, gender, and weight.
To change or turn off the statistics you see while exercising, tap ‘Metrics’ at the bottom right.
After a workout
After you complete a workout, you’ll see a performance summary of how you did it. If you loved a workout and want to save it to your favorites, tap ‘Add’.
You can also tap “Share” to share a workout (not your stats) with a friend. Or tap “Mindful Cooldown” to do a short stretch and meditation session.
Is Apple Fitness + for beginners?
Apple Fitness + is excellent for people who have no experience with fitness and sports. There is even a “For beginners” playlist on the home screen. It includes seven short introductory classes: two for strength, yoga and HIIT, and one for core. You can do them as often as you want to build your confidence.
Each class is also coached by three trainers: the head coach and two assistants. One of the assistants is always demonstrating a low-impact version of the movement. For example, in a running class on a treadmill, that assistant will be power walking, or in a HIIT workout, their movements will involve less jumping and bending.
It’s great to have someone to follow if you can’t do the high-impact version for whatever reason.
In a more subjective way, I was really impressed with how friendly, diverse and engaging all trainers are. No matter what level you are at, you will be able to find someone you like who gives coaching lessons for you to do.
How to cancel your Apple Fitness + subscription
When you sign up for the free trial, you also agree to pay $ 9.99 per month (or $ 79.99 per year) after the trial ends. If you decide you don’t like Apple Fitness +, cancel your trial period immediately so you don’t forget it.
To do this, open the Fitness + app, tap your profile picture in the top right, then tap your name to see all your subscriptions.
Tap on ‘Fitness’, then ‘Cancel Free Trial’. This ends your free trial and also prevents your card from being charged.
