2022 into 2023 has been an interesting time for me. I haven’t said anything here on the blog yet (I believe) but back in the middle of November I was fired from a job that I had been at for the last 10 years. Emotionally and mentally it’s been a bit of a struggle but I’m starting to get my head clear and put structure back into my day.
One of the unfortunate side effects of all this was that I gained some weight and am now the heaviest that I’ve ever been. With everything else that’s been going wrong in life, I needed to at least get that back under control.
Diets don’t work for me. There’s nothing I hate more than being told I can’t do something and when it’s myself saying it, I laugh in my face. Right now, in an attempt to shed some weight off, I’m back to keeping an eye on my caloric intake (though I’m not outright denying myself stuff in most cases) and I’m also working out. I’m trying to get some physical activity in every day, whether that be going for a walk, to the gym, or doing an Apple Fitness+ workout.
Lately, I’ve been a lot better getting my daily activity in and I guess Apple knew now would be a great time to motivate me with some new Fitness+ additions. Last week, the company put out a press release documenting a new workout type, meditation theme, artist spotlight, Time to Walk guests and trainers.
While I won’t be getting into the weeds on all of these, there’s a few that I do have some thoughts on that I would like to share.
Kickboxing Comes to Fitness+
I think this is easily the announcement from this press release that I am most excited about. I don’t own any fitness equipment (mat, dumbbells, resistance bands, etc) yet, so when picking Fitness+ workouts to do, I’m often looking for ones that don’t require equipment. Kickboxing is going to be one of those. Serving as a total body cardio workout, Apple had this to say:
Each workout will consist of a distinct round of moves followed by one final round, which will combine the moves users just learned into an all-out one-minute interval. No equipment is required, and workouts will be 10, 20, or 30 minutes long.
Generally when I’ve been doing Fitness+ workouts up to this point, I’ve mainly done either HIIT or Dance as that let’s me get my cardio in without having to get down on the ground (until I get some kind of mat or blanket). This is a workout I can see myself really diving into, though, and that’s good because that’s the kind of thing that will keep me motivated.
Fitness+ will have two trainers for Kickboxing: Jamie-Ray Hartshorne (Treadmill, HIIT, and Time to Run) as well as Nez Dally, a Muay Thai fighter who made history for being the first woman to wear a hijab while competing in Thailand. In addition, Brian Cochran is joining the HIIT team and Jenn Lau joins Strength as a trainer as well.
Meditations for Sleep
Something Apple has been pushing a lot lately on watchOS is Mindfulness. This is something that’s always been a part of the device, originally being limited to just breathing. With the addition of Fitness+ came the addition of audio mediations. While these are available as videos on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, you can also do them on your watch with a pair of connected earbuds.
Meditation is not a daily practice in my life and I’d be lying if I said that before yesterday I’d ever tried Apple’s meditations, but I have tried mediations in the past. Back when I was on Android I used and app called Smiling Mind. When I switched back to iPhone I fell off of the practice.
Up until now, Apple has managed to sneak most of their mediations past me, but the addition of Sleep-centric ones is very intriguing to me as I struggle a lot with sleep. Quite frequently, I need to use Melatonin to get to sleep as my mind is constantly going. I’m hoping this might be something that I’ll be able to work into my routine to help me find it easier to fall asleep. This could also be the gateway to me accessing other mediations throughout the day.
Two New Collections Are Being Added
This is where the press release really started to intrigue me. In addition to everything else the company announced, Apple is adding two new collections to Fitness+. According to Apple they are:
6 Weeks to Restart Your Fitness, designed to motivate users to build a new habit by working out every day, featuring a perfect blend of workouts to help users onramp back into fitness. Available January 9.
Level Up Your Core Training, featuring 10- and 20-minute core workouts taken to the next level with the use of dumbbells. Available January 23
This is right about where I started to wonder if Apple has been spying on me and attempting to tailor this announcement in a way that gets me excited about fitness. I haven’t hit the point where I have any interest in core training yet, but 6 Weeks to Restart Your Fitness seems like just what I need to really get myself ready to return to the gym. (Full disclosure: I’m writing this on Sunday and yesterday I went to the gym. I lasted 25 minutes and I’m still feeling it today.) Needless to say, this is going to be a great way to guide myself back into being physically active, as opposed to the method I’m using now: hope for the best.
Other Announcements
In addition to all of the above, Apple is also featuring a few more additions to Fitness+. The first is a new Artist Spotlight featuring Beyoncé:
The Artist Spotlight series — which dedicates an entire workout playlist to a single artist — expands with new workouts featuring music by Beyoncé, including songs from her latest album, RENAISSANCE, bringing her iconic music to the service. On Monday, January 9, seven new workouts featuring the singer’s music will be available across Cycling, Dance, HIIT, Pilates, Strength, Treadmill, and Yoga. The energy and themes in each workout are inspired by the album’s notion of rediscovering what makes individuals unique and powerful to help uplift users in the new year.
Following the release of the Beyoncé Artist Spotlight on Jan 9th, the Foo Fighters will be getting one on Jan 16th, with the third featuring Bad Bunny dropping on Jan 23rd. Out of the three of these artist spotlights, the only one that appeals to me is the Foo Fighters, but I’m ok with that. One of the things that I love about Fitness+ is that they have music for everyone. Personally, my musical home is rock and metal and then branches out from there and so far when I have done Fitness+ workouts, I haven’t struggled to find ones that have music I enjoy. I hope everyone else is finding that journey just as easy as I am.
The final big piece of the Fitness+ announcement is that there’s a new slate of guests coming to Time to Walk for its 5th season. The first of these guests I’m super excited for is the legendary Jamie Lee Curtis. The second I see this episode drops I’m planning on taking a nice long walk to hear everything that she has to say. The other Time to Walk episode I’m very excited for this season is Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), who also happens to have a new Apple TV+ series with Harrison Ford coming soon called Shrinking. Other guests this season include: Amber Ruffin, José Andrés, Nina Hoss, Colman Domingo, Nathan Chen, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
That about wraps it up for my thoughts on the latest round of announcements for Apple Fitness+. Have you had a chance to check out the service? Is it part of your workout routine? Did you try it and it wasn’t for you? Let’s keep the conversation going down in the comments below!
Dan Stransky 