Adding to its already-vast workout offering, Apple Fitness Plus has launched a collection of new fitness programs focused on workouts designed specifically for pregnant people, beginners, and older users
“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, in a press release.
Workouts for Pregnancy
The new “Workouts for Pregnancy” program are led by expecting mom Betina Gozo (alongside several other trainers on hand to demonstrate potential modifications) and consist of 10 workouts across Apple’s strength, core, and mindful cooldown categories.
Betina is a Nike Master Trainer and actually the creator of US Women’s Health’s Woman’s Guide to Strength Training who has worked with a bunch of top industry leaders as a fitness professional with a focus/emphasis on strength training.
Each of Betina’s workouts is about 10 minutes long and designed specifically for pregnant users, with variations and suggestions for modifying the exercises as a pregnancy progresses.
Workouts for Older Adults
As the name implies, Apples new “Workouts for Older Adults” is a series of eight workouts meant for elderly users that are designed to use either light dumbbells or the user’s bodyweight and feature modifications to use chairs or walls to assist as needed. A great one for those who are keen to work out but can’t quite handle something too intense because of their age and mobility.
Workouts for beginners
Additionally, Apple is adding new beginner-focused workouts that you’ll find across the yoga, strength and high-intensity interval training categories.
The workouts will focus on form and warm users into fitness for the ultimate starting place.
Apple Fitness+, which launched at the end of last year, costs $14.99/month or A$119.99 /year and feature studio-style workouts ranging from HIIT and yoga to dance and rowing. The workouts (naturally) centre around the Apple Watch to allow you to see your metrics—heart rate, calories, time, etc.—from your watch on the screen while you sweat. You can use it with your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, depending on where you’re working out.
“Seeing this information animate at exactly the right time with the right information can be incredibly motivating, and make it easier to get through your workout,” Jay Blahnik, senior director of fitness for health technologies at Apple, tells WH.
Your watch will also log all physical activity that you do (Fitness+ workouts, outdoor strolls, you name it) to help craft suggestions for Fitness+ workouts that make sense for your routine and recovery needs.
“The entire service is built to help more people close more Activity Rings more often,” Blahnik says.
The intuitive experience sorts workouts in shelves labeled “More of What You Do” and “Try Something New” based on your inclinations. You can also see what classes and trainers your friends and family can’t get enough of via Activity Sharing.
The point is to make the process of choosing a workout as personal and simple as possible. “Some people want recommendations, some people know exactly what they want, some people only want the latest workouts and other people want to enjoy the process of discovery,” Blahnik says. “We built Fitness+ to make it easy for all of these types of users to navigate the workout library without feeling overwhelmed.”
Outside of the new classes, Apple is also adding additional trainers to the Fitness+ team. The trainers are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, and from all different walks of life. (Check out some the faces behind Fitness+ on the Instagram account, and there may be more members of the fam by launch.)
“Of course we wanted the Fitness+ trainers to be specialists in their field, but we also wanted each of them to have their own inspiring fitness journeys and life experiences that we believe would resonate and inspire our users,” Blahnik explains. “We wanted Fitness+ to be a service where everyone was invited to the party, regardless of your fitness experience or ability.”
The company is also planning to release a new episode of its “Time to Walk” series in time for Earth Day on April 22nd. The episode will feature Jane Fonda talking about standing up to one’s fears and the power of climate advocacy. All of the Fitness+ additions will be available starting on April 19th.
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