Fitness+ Fitness+ experience so far

[rhyme2]

I’ve been using Fitness+ since it was released and thought I’d share my experience so far and also ask how everyone else is finding it.

I signed up for the free trial expecting that I would take the free month and then go back to Sworkit and my usual outdoor exercises, but I think I am hooked.

Yoga: I’m a beginner. I have tried a couple of live classes before, but have found it too difficult (thought I couldn’t even manage a downward dog) and frustrating. And I’ve tried Pilates, but ended up hurting my back. Flexibility is not my strong point. The Fitness+ trainers are much better at explaining exactly how to do each move than the live trainers I have seen in the past, and are also always ready with advice regarding how to modify exercises to be at the right challenge. I suspect they are better for beginners than advanced yoga practitioners, but those who are advanced probably already have their routines established. My favourite Yoga trainer is Jessica, as she is careful about reminding you of good form and reminding you of available modifications — perfect for beginners. Molly is also good (probably better at the intermediate level).

HIIT: I have good cardio fitness and am enjoying the longer (30 minute) HIIT workouts. Could do with some 45 minute HIIT workouts. I’m in the middle of the pack on the burn bar but find it easy to get my heart rate up by pushing myself a little in these workouts. My favourite trainer is Jamie Ray — he’s charismatic and none of his moves hurt my knees or challenge my dexterity excessively. I can’t say the same for all the trainers — jump lunges do hurt my joints.

Dance: Nope. The dance workouts don’t get my heart rate up (so they feel pointless) and are frustrating. There’s no “absolute beginner” dance workout to teach you the moves, and there needs to be, for those of us who are clutzes.

Core: Yes, these are good at beginner level. Do I need core workouts, or does yoga cover it? Not sure.

Strength: I’m a beginner and so far, I am finding these challenging but effective. Dumbbells are needed. My favourite trainer so far is Sam, but I haven’t yet tried most of the others.

Music: Meh. Mostly gym pop and hip hop: not my style. How about some energetic jazz, some electronica, hard rock, or even a classical music workout?

 

[LeeW]

Been using it daily, like to mix it up a little, maybe do a 30 min HIIT or a 20 min HIIT and 10 min Core or some HIIT and Strength.

I agree that Jamie is really good but not come across a bad trainer as such. I do find that the challenge can vary significantly but that will vary from person to person. For example, there is one with Jamie that is a good challenge and other with Bakari that really gets the heart rate up (7 down to one). But the most recent addition with Kim was just too lacking in intensity and I wanted to stop it and go back to one that I knew was more challenging, I ended up sticking with it but doing a 30 min strength after just to make up the difference.

It will get better as time goes on, probably more as a result of simply having a wider range of workouts to choose from.

Overall I like it though, it adds more to my normal routine and that is always a good thing. Worth the money? Absolutely.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

I will subscribe for a year once my trial ends, the service is great. Is it perfect? No, but I am sure Apple will improve it.

I do the treadmill workouts for the most part and haven't experienced a bad trainer yet. I set a record for most calories burned in a day the other day and I've been active daily with my watch for about 5 years now so this is noteworthy. The workouts keep you engaged and you want to finish it. I feel like I'm being watched and I don't want to fail. When before, I had nobody telling me to keep going. Obviously I know they can't see me, but I get the feeling they are watching.

Things I'd like to see added:

1) Running workouts without a treadmill required

2) Live classes ala Peloton, Echelon, etc

3) Customized music. I know the trainers often integrate the songs into their script, but it wouldn't really change much if I was listening to a different song at the time.

 

[Canyda]

I have done 3 workouts so far (HIIT, yoga and cycling) and am enjoying it. Will probably use it more when the weather turns cold (we have had a mild winter so far) as right now it's still pretty easy to get outside for a long walk or hike and not freeze to death.

 

[bumbo]

Oh yeah if they did running without a treadmill (for outdoor use, like Nike Run Club) I'd be all over this and then use the other exercise types too

 

[LouE37]

Wife and i upgraded to new Apple Watches and are giving fitness+ a go for 3 months. So far i like it, good music and variety of workouts. One thing i would absolutely love to see, support for screen mirroring. It works up until you press play and then the screen your trying to view on goes black.

 

[Canyda]

Did my first Dance workout today and while I probably looked like a flailing walrus (Flailing Walrus would be a good name for a rock band) it was fun and got me 30 minutes of exercise, so I'm a fan.

 

[dmk1974]

Wife and I got new Apple Watches last month and signed up for the trial. So far pretty good. She especially likes the bike classes. I do more treadmill, but really, just prefer watching a video running on a shore or trail somewhere. The HIIT classes are pretty good and we do those together. She links to the big display via the Apple TV and I just try to time it in sync on my iPhone. I'm sure they will build the library over time, and yes, a few live classes would be great.

 

[salz4life]

Is it true that the service can only be AirPlayed via an Apple TV and not a TV with Airplay capabilities. I guess I understand why they would do that, but I have no need for an Apple TV as I have Roku's with the App. I can't see myself buying an Apple TV strictly to use Fitness + on the TV.

 

[dmk1974]

Is it true that the service can only be AirPlayed via an Apple TV and not a TV with Airplay capabilities. I guess I understand why they would do that, but I have no need for an Apple TV as I have Roku's with the App. I can't see myself buying an Apple TV strictly to use Fitness + on the TV.

I could not get it to AirPlay to a Roku Stick, Roku TV, nor AppleTV. It plays previews on all, and audio only on the actual workout. Other apps are just fine with AirPlay on those 3 devices of mine.

On AppleTV, it's actually a Fitness+ app (need latest sofrtware) and no phone is needed.

 

[Canyda]

Did another 30 minute Dance workout today. Thought this one was more complicated than yesterday's and harder to follow. However, worked up a good sweat, got my Exercise ring closed and completed about half my Move ring.

Think tomorrow I'll do a 20 minute Dance and 10 minute HIIT.

 

[bransoj]

Done a couple of the cycle classes to rock music this week and enjoyed them. Picked up an Apple Watch last week so signed up for the trial, tempted to keep it if I use it on a consistent basis.
Be nice to have some more country specific content, I’m in the uk so some more up based trainers and music would be good.

 

[rhyme2]

I have an Apple TV, but it’s an older one and doesn’t have the app (or any apps). I agree that allowing air play would be good.

 

[rhyme2]

One improvement I’d really like would be some way to keep track of workouts that you have done, rate them and categorise them. Sometimes I want a HIIT workout with Jamie-Ray that I haven’t tried yet, but there’s no way to see which ones I have tried. Sometimes, I want a yoga workout that will stretch my legs, but I need to go through the descriptions individually to find a likely workout. If I’ve tried a workout and didn’t like it, I want to be able to keep track of that, too.

 

[Canyda]

Done a couple of the cycle classes to rock music this week and enjoyed them. Picked up an Apple Watch last week so signed up for the trial, tempted to keep it if I use it on a consistent basis.
Be nice to have some more country specific content, I’m in the uk so some more up based trainers and music would be good.

I did a 10-minute HIIT workout this morning and the trainer, Kim, noted she was from the UK.

 

[Canyda]

One improvement I’d really like would be some way to keep track of workouts that you have done, rate them and categorise them. Sometimes I want a HIIT workout with Jamie-Ray that I haven’t tried yet, but there’s no way to see which ones I have tried. Sometimes, I want a yoga workout that will stretch my legs, but I need to go through the descriptions individually to find a likely workout. If I’ve tried a workout and didn’t like it, I want to be able to keep track of that, too.

The workouts I finish get marked with a little check mark in the corner. See photo attached from my iPhone, but it's the same on my Apple TV.

 

[rhyme2]

The workouts I finish get marked with a little check mark in the corner. See photo attached from my iPhone, but it's the same on my Apple TV.

Good point. But I can’t filter by checked or not checked and I can’t see which ones I have done two or three times.

 

[Canyda]

Good point. But I can’t filter by checked or not checked and I can’t see which ones I have done two or three times.

Yes, you are correct about that. And I agree it would be nice to have the additional bits of data for sorting that you've highlighted in your earlier post.

 

[bransoj]

I did a 10-minute HIIT workout this morning and the trainer, Kim, noted she was from the UK.

Ah, i've only been doing cycling ones as we have a spin bike at home currently through a friend who has a fitness place thats closed currently due to Covid so she lent us the bike. Not tried any of the other stuff yet as only got my iPhone 12 to watch it on which is fine on the bike but will be a struggle for other stuff.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

I would also like to see the app display how you did in a workout previously if you do the same workout again. Show how many calories you burned so you know your personal best and try to beat that. Maybe in addition or in place of the burn bar as an option. Compete against yourself rather than just others.

 

[H. Flower]

The music is my only main gripe so far:

- Allow users to mix it louder
- Provide more variety

 

[GreenLightLuke]

Great idea @LarrySW - would be great seeing historical data like that. Or even a pop up notifying you of more calories burned etc.

Would be great to see a "ghost" on the burn bar like racing games do when you're trying to beat your own time

I love Fitness+ - great content and since I've been using it, I've closed my rings every day since the 28th December (600 move, 30 mins exercise, 12 hours stand) - definitely gets you moving more in a way that is actually fun.

I've had dropped connections before which has ruined my workouts, so would be great to see a resume feature or being able to scrub to a certain part of the workout.

 

[shotts56]

As we're all sharing, I thought I would share my feedback on Apple Fitness. I'm a 47 year old guy who weighs 18 stone (250 lbs in American money). I eat too much and drink too much, but I do walk 10k-15k steps a day with my dog. I stopped going to the gym because everyone there is half my age, half my size, and all know exactly what they are doing.

So I tried out Apple Fitness at home, getting up at 6am and doing a short workout before walking the dog. I couldn't be more impressed. Have only done the 10 min beginner classes, and next week I'm going to move onto the 20 min beginner classes. So far I'm loving it, I feel a little bit better about myself, and I would recommend it to anyone in my position.

 

[mckdaddy]

Really enjoying it so far. I often like to pair workouts, such a 20-min strength w/ 10-min core or any 30-min combination of hiit, yoga, strength or core.

The only change I feel is obvious would be to add a 10- or 20-second rewind button. There are few times where I would like to hear their instructions a 2nd time or see a move demo’d again.

 

[LeeW]

I stopped going to the gym because everyone there is half my age, half my size, and all know exactly what they are doing.

I was the same, this time last year I was getting ready to quit going to the Gym, too many prima donnas being impatient because they wanted to use what you were using and you were not going fast enough.

I changed to working out from home, walking more and so on. Especially from the point lockdown happened in March 2020. My wife and I have walked over 700km in the past 9 months. That may not seem a lot to some but that is more than we walked in the preceding 5 years.

Also relying on YouTube videos of workouts to do during the week but it was a pain to find a good selection that suited you, Apple Fitness, on the other hand, provides everything you need, well everything we need.

In Jan 2020 I weighed 15 stone, my wife was 19 stone. Today I am 12 stone, my wife is 15 stone. It's been a horrible year for many reasons but a great one for our health and fitness which will only get better in 2021.