Apple Fitness+ is now available with various workouts for $9.99 per month

Back in September of this year, Apple introduced a new service: Fitness+. Now, months later, it’s finally available.

When Apple first unveiled the new service, the company said it would launch before the end of 2020. Sure enough, Fitness+ is now available for interested individuals. First things first: Apple is offering a month free for anyone who currently owns an Apple Watch. However, if you buy a new Apple Watch now that the service is launched, you can get a total of three months free from the company.

After the free trial ends, you’ll need to choose a way to pay for the service. You can opt for a monthly payment plan, which will cost you $9.99 per month. Or you can pay for a full year up front, which will require you to fork over $79.99. Or, you can choose to go the Apple One route. If you choose the Premier package, which costs $29.95 per month, you can get Fitness+ included in the bundle. (Apple One Premier also includes Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Music, and 2TB of iCloud storage. It can be shared with Family Sharing, meaning up to five additional family members can take advantage of each service.)

How it works

Apple Fitness+ is all about health and exercise. It relies on the Apple Watch to track critical information, including your heart rate, calories burned, exercise minutes, and more. The service itself is within the Fitness app, which is available on the iPhone, the iPad, and the Apple TV. Launch the service, and you’ll find a wide range of exercises and workouts to choose from, including HIIT, walking and/or running on a treadmill, strength training, yoga, cycling, rowing, and many other options.

Using Fitness+

Once you launch Fitness+, you’ll be able to see your chosen instructor on your chosen screen (whether it’s your iPhone, iPad, or on your TV with Apple TV). You will also see your pertinent information displayed on the screen during your workouts, too. So you’ll be able to see how long your exercise has been going on per session, your heart rate, calories burned, and, if applicable, miles covered.

There is also something called the Burn Bar, which, according to Apple, is designed to promote healthy competition and get an “added push”. It will show you how you “measure up” to others who have participated in the same exercise, giving you an added boost if that’s your sort of thing.

Exercises to chose from

There are many different exercises, workouts, and cooldown options to choose from. Here’s a quick list of what Apple is promoting on its official site for the service:

• High-intensity interval training, or HIIT
• Treadmill Walk
• Treadmill Run
• Rowing
• Dance
• Cycling
• Yoga
• Core
• Strength
• Mindful Cooldown

Not just for inside the house

While Fitness+ is designed to work inside the home, users get to choose where they do their workouts. With the service available on the iPhone and iPad, you can take your workouts with you when you travel, too. What’s more, Fitness+ will work in gyms as well.

Recommendations to keep you moving

Apple Fitness+ is designed to make it easy to find a way to stay active and healthy. With smart recommendations, the service will generate more options for you based on the workouts and exercises you’ve done in the past. The service will suggest new trainers to check out, too, based on the other workouts you’ve done in the past on your Apple Watch.

Freedom of choice

Fitness+ users will be able to not only choose their workout, but also the duration of their session. They can choose a workout that lasts from five minutes all the way up to 45 minutes. What’s more, users will be able to choose their trainer and their music, too.

Fitness+ trainers also specialize in picking music. Working with editors at Apple Music, they create the best possible playlist to keep your workout moving. And if you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you can save and download the playlists from Fitness+. Here’s to rhythm for every repetition.

The trainers

Here’s a quick list of the trainers that Apple is promoting on its official site for Fitness+:

• Jhon Gonzalez
• Jamie-Ray Hartshorne
• Kyle Ardill
• Kim Ngo
• Emily Fayette
• Dustin Brown
• Anja Garcia
• Jessica Skye
• Tyrell Désean
• Sherica Holmon
• Barkari Williams
• Molly Fox
• Ben Allen
• LeShawn Jones
• Kym Perfetto
• Josh Crosby
• Gregg Cook
• Betina Gozo
• Scott Carvin
• Sam Sanchez
• Amir
• Ekbatani

The important details

Apple has a quick breakdown of some of the most important questions to ask regarding Fitness+, so we’ve broken them down just below.

• Do you need an Apple Watch?

  • Yes. Apple Watch personalizes your Apple Fitness+ experience by integrating your personal metrics, like your heart rate and the calories you burn, into every workout. It brings them to life on the screen to keep you informed and motivated. To use Apple Fitness+ on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, an Apple Watch Series 3 or later is required.

• What Fitness+ is:

  • Apple Fitness+ is a new fitness service powered by Apple Watch. You can choose from a catalog of workouts led by expert trainers. In-session metrics, like heart rate and calories burned, are transported from your watch to your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, so you don’t have to take your eyes away from your workout to see how you’re doing. It’s like your Apple Watch is on the screen.

• Are all levels of fitness covered?

  • Yes. Fitness+ is created for everyone from beginners to experts, with modifications for all levels in every workout. You choose the type of workout, the time, and the trainer — it’s totally up to you. There’s also an instructional program called Absolute Beginner for people who need to learn the basics.

• Where can you find it?

  • If you own an Apple Watch, Apple Fitness+ will automatically appear as the center tab in the Fitness app on your iPhone. For iPad, it will be called Fitness and available for Apple Watch users to download from the App Store. The Fitness app will also be available on Apple TV.

• Do you need special equipment?

  • It depends on the workout you choose. While many don’t require special equipment, for some you need things like dumbbells, a yoga mat, a stationary bike, a rowing machine, or a treadmill.

• How do you get that free trial?

  • Starting September 15, customers who purchase an Apple Watch Series 3 or later will be able to start with three months of Apple Fitness+ free. The offer can be redeemed on your iPhone once Apple Fitness+ is available later this year. Your iPhone and Apple Watch will need to be updated to the latest OS, and you’ll have three months to claim the offer after the first activation of the eligible device.

• Is your Fitness+ data kept private?

  • As with all of Apple’s products and services, we have designed Apple Fitness+ with privacy in mind and to give you control over your information. All your Fitness+ workout recommendations are powered using on-device intelligence. And when using Apple Fitness+, neither calories nor the workouts and trainers you choose will be stored along with your Apple ID.

Now that Fitness+ is available, do you plan on checking it out?