Keeping fit and healthy has always been important to our everyday lives & with the Coronavirus pandemic keeping us away from our favourite leisure activities, we’ve seen a boom in fitness apps to help keep us fit at home & from in front of our TV’s & mobile devices.
On the 14th of December 2020, Apple released their own Fitness+ subscription service which they describe as “the future of fitness”. This service works seamlessly with your Apple iWatch (Series 3 & above), Apple iPad and AppleTV services. I’ve tested the App across all devices over the last 7 days and I have been very impressed indeed!
The videos are easy to follow, trainers are very clear and I love the feature which projects your exercise ring/goals on scene alongside the trainer-led workout. For someone like me, I like to see my workout effort being rewarded & having my exercise ring in front of me at a glance certainly gives me the motivation to push that extra level harder. I especially like that Apple have created a workout library for beginners & during every workout, you have the option to follow one of the trainers who is completing the same workout in a different way. This really opens up the app to a wide range of people – those who are only just starting out to those more experience fitness fanatics.
I’ve tried Cycling workouts, walks, HIIT, Yoga and a workout that Apple name “Mindful Cooldown”, which helps you unwind and stretch after one of the Fitness+ workouts. Mindful Cooldown is a great idea from Apple – fantastic for pre & post workout & even useful to help loosen up after a day behind the desk in the office. These aside, the fitness app also features many other types of workout suited to your needs. Apple Fitness+ features Workouts that can vary from between 5 minutes all the way through to 45 mins, so the app always features a workout that you can squeeze into any type of day.
Through every individual workout, the Apple Trainers send the user a message to “close your rings” at the end of the workout, which is a constant message throughout the Fitness+ subscription. If you’re as driven as me to close your Fitness ring, this message certainly hits home. I’ll be reviewing Apple Fitness+ rivals over the coming months as one of our #SnapReviews which are our at a glance reviews to give you an indication of how Fitness+ faces up to its competition.
The Verdict:
The 3 Pros:
- Ease of use across all Apple Fitness+ enabled devices.
- Exercise ring being shown on screen alongside workouts to help motivate Fitness+ users.
- Motivational trainers who are very easy to understand and follow.
The 3 Cons:
- It would be great to create custom workouts.
- Lack of Kettlebell specific workouts, which are very popular.
- You will only get the full experience if you have all of the required Apple devices.
One extra special thing that stood out for me was: Sign language gestures before and after each workout, which shows that Apple have created a workout app for everyone.
Score out of 10: 9.5/10. Really impressive and cost effective against rivals Peloton and FIIT. Apple have created a very unique product here. I’d recommend trialling the app via the 30 day free trial if you already own an Apple Watch, or a 3 month trial if you intend to buy a new watch. Remember – you don’t need an Apple Watch to use the service, you can just select and follow the workouts on your iPad/iPhone or AppleTV screen without the fitness metrics.
~YourReviewTeam
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