App Review: Apple Fitness Plus - By Felicia
These photos were taken after this article was written.
Since today at 3:00, people around the world have been trying out and reviewing Apple’s new workout service, Apple Fitness Plus. This review is going to show you my experience with Apple Fitness Plus so far.
First of all, how do you get Apple Fitness Plus in the first place? Well, obviously, you need an Apple Watch. Then, you need to purchase Apple Fitness Plus. Once you’ve purchased it either alone or as a part of Apple One, there are a few things you must do. To start, you need to update your devices to iOS 14.3/iPadOS 14.3/tvOS 14.3/watchOS 7.2. Once you do that, the service is available automatically in the Fitness app on your iPhone. Optionally, you can install the Fitness Plus app on your iPad, or walk over to your Apple TV where the Fitness Plus app is installed by default.
Once that was done, I sprinted over to my Apple TV, where my dad was waiting for me, ready to start a workout. I began by looking at the Beginner program, where seven short 10-20 minute workouts are available. The first workout was Absolute Beginner Strength with Kyle. It was 10 minutes long, and came with the songs “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang, “GDFR” by Flo Rida, “Believer” by Imagine Dragons, “Raise Your Glass” by P!nk, and “Memories” by Maroon 5. The songs really motivated me, and that’s partially due to the fact that they were hand-picked by the trainers themselves.
During the workout, I could see my workout metrics, including the time that had passed plus the halfway point, my heart rate, and my activity rings. The coolest part was that, when Kyle, the trainer, said “This is your last chance to up your activity rings”, my activity rings zoomed into focus! I could also see that my heart rate remained at a steady beat of 130 bpm during the workout. I don’t know exactly why, but seeing my heart rate made me more motivated, just like the music did. I have to admit, though, that the workout was harder than I thought. At the start of the impressive 10-minute workout, it was so easy. My heart rate was around 100 bpm. But later on, the push-ups and lunges really upped my heart rate until 130. Although this isn’t very high and I wasn’t at all out of breath, my legs and arms felt satisfied. So satisfied that I decided to do a mindful cooldown!
A mindful cooldown is, hence the name, a cooldown after a workout. Even though the workout that I did was a piece of cake compared to the menacing 45-minute ones that I’ll do in the future, a mindful cooldown sounded amazing. So I decided to try it. This was mostly bends and stretches, deep breaths and meditation. It was slightly repetitive, but nonetheless I still enjoyed it almost as much as I did for the main workout.
In conclusion, I adore Apple Fitness Plus. After school, I could try a 5-minute yoga workout. Or maybe, on the weekends after a long session of coding, I could do a nice 15-minute HIIT one. It depends. You see, I love it for 2 main reasons. One, it’s detailed and makes me motivated. Two, it’s very customizable. This is the best workout service ever! Now, time for another workout.
Later note: The workout I did afterwards was Absolute Beginner Yoga with Dustin for 10 minutes.