Raymond Wong Reviews Fitness+

Raymond Wong, writing for Input:

I’ll never make the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine, but my once skinny frame is more defined and toned than it was pre-COVID-19. Let me be clear: I don’t enjoy working out at home. I do it because it’s a daily routine that boosts endorphins to keep me sane. Looking good is secondary to feeling good, which I’d argue is more important during the pandemic than before.

With my mindset, I was not expecting much from Fitness+, Apple’s new fitness subscription service ($9.99/month, $79.99/year, or bundled with Apple One Premier for $29.95/month) that pairs an Apple Watch with video workouts delivered on an iOS device or Apple TV. “Great, Apple is trying to reinvent the Jane Fonda workout tapes my mom used to watch in front of the CRT,” is what I thought at first.

Many Apple Fitness+ workouts later, I am hooked. It’s not just that Apple’s hired a bunch of attractive and fit trainers draped in immaculate Nike activewear to coach you through various workouts (there’s no shortage of those on YouTube), but that the fitness routines and the coaching are actually fun.

Apple’s messaging makes clear that Fitness+ was designed to be welcoming, fun, and scalable from newcomers to fitness experts. The reviews strongly suggest they nailed it. It reminds me of Apple’s computing platforms — the way the iPhone and Mac are intended to be great for experts and non-experts alike, and that non-experts can get into it and grow to become experts.

★ Monday, 14 December 2020