Fitness+ Plan

Apple introduced their Fitness+ service at the same time as their services bundle, Apple One, came online. It had a select number of upbeat trainers delivering 10, 20 and 30 minute workouts in disciplines such as rowing, indoor running, HIIT and strength training. They’ve developed it further by introducing additional workouts such as Pilates and kickboxing, and now with iOS 17 they allow you to develop your own custom workout routine.

I’ve been using this since the start of the iOS 17 public beta, and have found it to motivate me a lot more than needing to select a random workout ever did. You begin by deciding the workout types you would like included, the length of workout, and what days you would like this to occur. Fitness+ then developers a plan for you based on those parameters. I personally opted for 20 minutes a day, four days a week, including core, strength, kickboxing, Pilates, HIIT and dance. In the morning I get an alert letting me know my workout is on today, and the first exercise I have if it has been split into two 10 minute workouts, instead of a single 20 minute session. If I haven’t completed the workout during the day, I get a reminder in the evening letting me know I still need to complete it to finish my schedule. Sometimes I still get these alerts even if I’ve completed today’s session. Beta life.

I have found this to be extremely motivating. There’s nothing like having the Tyranny Of Choice taken away from you, and a workout prepared on your behalf, ready for you to complete. This has been the biggest motivator for me. Previously I’ve found myself wondering what type of workout to choose, how long for, even the style of music. This is all selected for me now, and I just need to show up and get it done.

iOS 17 has a lot of excellent functionality coming out next week, but for me, this is definitely one of the highlights.