Apple Fitness Plus was released at the very end of 2020, and it’s a guided fitness solution powered by the Apple Watch. It's a subscription service that can be shared with your iCloud family, and it comes with over 11 workout types. Apple adds over 25 new workouts every week, and their durations can be pretty much any length of time between five and 45 minutes. Apple has now announced a notable update for the service, introducing both Collections and a "Time to Run" feature, rolling out January 10th.
Collections, according to Apple, are curated series of workouts and meditations to help users reach a certain goal. "Time to Run" is an audio running experience that aims to help users become more consistent and better runners.
“At the beginning of a new year, we know many people are looking for new ways to go after their goals. With these new additions, Fitness+ makes it easy to get motivated and stay active anywhere, with the most complete library of high-quality and diverse content to train your mind and body, no matter where you are on your fitness journey,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies. “We can’t wait for people to get motivated to reach their goals with Collections, and inspired by Time to Run’s exploration of iconic cities with rich running history.”
There are six collections to start with, and they come with a suggested plan to help users make intentional training choices.
- 30-Day Core Challenge
- Improve Your Posture with Pilates
- Perfect Your Yoga Balance Poses
- Run Your First 5K
- Strengthen Your Back, Stretch Your Hips
- Wind Down for a Better Bedtime
As for Time to Run, it's a similar concept to Time to Walk, except each "episode" is focused on a notable or iconic location. Each episode has coaching tips from the likes of Emily Fayette, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, Sam Sanchez, Scott Carvin, and a new trainer, Cory Wharton-Malcolm. Each episode also comes with a curated playlist that fits the run's intensity, location, and coaching. For example, the Miami Beach playlist "features Latin music inspired by the vibrant sights and sounds of the city".
Time to Run will launch with three episodes; London, coached by Cory Wharton-Malcolm; Brooklyn, coached by Emily Fayette; and Miami Beach, coached by Sam Sanchez. A new episode will be released every week on Mondays.
Time to Walk's third season has also been announced and will feature some of the following.
- Bernice A. King, advocate, minister, and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
- Hasan Minhaj, the comedian, writer, and producer known for his work on “The Daily Show” and his award-winning series “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.”
- Chris Meloni, the actor best known for his television role on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
- Ayọ Tometi, the human rights advocate, strategist, and writer known for her role as a co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
- Chelsea Handler, known for her standup comedy, former host of “The Chelsea Handler Show,” and the author of six best-selling books.
- Sugar Ray Leonard, former professional boxer, Olympic gold medalist, and Hall of Famer.
Finally, the Fitness Plus Artist Spotlight series will now feature new workout music featuring songs from Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams, Shakira, and the Beatles. There's an entire workout playlist from each artist. Every Monday for four weeks, new workouts featuring music by each of these artists will appear in the service across different modalities. Workout types include Cycling, Dance, HIIT, Strength, Treadmill, and Yoga, across music genres such as Chill Vibes, Everything Rock, Hip-Hop/R&B, Latin Grooves, and Upbeat Anthems.