This is something you will not find on Fitbit and Samsung services, which also offer training content along with their wearables. Similar to Fitness +, Fitbit Premium costs $ 10 a month and includes a Coach program with simple exercise videos and guides on nutrition, sleep and meditation. Samsung Health is free and you can also exercise on Samsung TVs, but most of the content is from third parties. Perhaps Apple’s toughest competitor is Peloton, but it is more expensive, costing $ 13 a month. In addition, to get similar metrics on the screen, you would have to shell out about $ 2,000 for one of the company’s treadmills or bicycles – at which point the monthly fee skyrockets to $ 40. (The cheapest subscription is for people who not own the company’s exercise machines.)
Apple easily outperforms the competition in integrating the watch, but that alone does not do a fitness service. The quality of the exercises themselves is an important factor to consider. Fitness + offers a decent range of activities, including yoga, dance, basic exercises, strength training, high intensity intervals, treadmill runs, rowing and indoor cycling, for those who have access to the right machines. There is also an introductory section for beginners, so they can start with the basics, how to properly form or how to properly set up their rowing machine. The rest of the videos last between five and 45 minutes and, although you can search by trainer, music, duration and activity, you cannot filter by level of difficulty.
I was surprised when I found myself choosing a video based on the type of music, even in non-dance training. I chose a central session with no preference for a coach and based my decision entirely on the fact that I would play animated hymns. When you find a workout you like, you can save it to your iPhone, but that option was not available on Apple TV.
Apple
Frankly, all workouts at Fitness + seem to cater to newbies. Apple says on its website that the service “is created for everyone, from beginners to experts”, and that all videos offer modifications for all levels. Although I appreciate it in theory, in practice, none of the yoga videos was challenging enough. I tried two 45-minute videos and a few shorter options, and found myself missing the most difficult poses and safes of my regular classes.
I also found the dance classes quite easy, although they raised my heart rate. The workouts I found most challenging were HIIT and core. Yoga is often perceived as low intensity and almost relaxing, but it is not so. That said, the selection at Fitness + only perpetuates this myth.
Furthermore, I don’t have many complaints about the training itself. All the coaches I met were very friendly. Coaches also appear in each other’s videos supporting the leader, posing as examples of change. These cameos are fun – I enjoyed seeing my favorite dance coach, LaShawn, on a yoga workout, for example. I also found it interesting to see an expert in a category appear on videos in which he may be another novice.
Apple
Another thing the coaches did was to use American Sign Language (ASL) to receive deaf or hearing impaired users. At the end of many of the exercises I tried, the coaches signed “thank you”, for example. It’s a nice touch, although I think more can be done. In some exercises, like yoga, you can lose sight of the screen in poses like a dog down or a child. These situations make it difficult for the hearing impaired to know when to move on or when to get up again. Something as simple as a tactile tip on your watch can make Fitness + much more accessible.
Inclusion is important and, with Fitness +, Apple does its best to welcome those who are new to the world of exercise at home. But it could do better by including intermediate and advanced users. Over time, novice users will improve and can quickly find that Fitness + is no longer challenging enough. This is a simple problem to solve, at least – Apple can easily add more difficult videos over time. The good news is that, with its excellent technology, Fitness + has laid the foundation for a satisfactory service that can grow with its users.