I just got Apple Fitness+! Now what?

10 min readFeb 10, 2022

A lot of people get trials for Apple Fitness+ (sometimes abbreviated as AF+) and they are filled with questions about how to start. The beauty and terror of Apple Fitness+ is that it is fairly open ended. There are some collections that you can follow, but for the most part you’re free to choose your path!

This post serves to answer questions that many people new to AF+ have. If you have additional questions, please leave me a comment!

Is Apple Fitness+ right for me?

I would say that most people can find a part of Apple Fitness+ that works well for them. It is created for people who are just getting into exercise or have general fitness goals. The videos are meant to be played in a straight line and not reversed to get more reps of a certain exercise in.

If you are looking for certain exercises to focus on getting towering traps or defined calves, you may not enjoy the Strength sections of Apple Fitness+ since they have generic Total Body, Upper Body, and Lower Body categories. You may, however, find that a generic core exercise, the cooldowns, or either Time to Walk or Time to Run helpful for your goals.

Apple Fitness+ is like taking a class at a gym where everyone is performing the same (or similar modified) moves. The coaches pick the music, which may not always be your jam, but to be honest the music fades into the background of your controlled breathing and the coach’s instructions.

If you have found yourself in possession of a free trial for Apple Fitness+, I would say that you should definitely give it a shot to see what works for you! There are categories that you can do without equipment:

Yoga — You can use a towel as a mat
Meditation — Your mind is part of your body and mental health is important!
HIIT — I wouldn’t recommend a towel as a mat here since there is a lot of motion, but a rug or carpeted area will do to cushion any jumps
Core — Towel or carpeted area would work here
Dance — You shouldn’t need a towel or carpeted area here since you’ll be on your feet with limited jumping
Mindful cooldowns — Towel or carpeted area would work okay here too!
Time to Walk and Time to Run — You just need access to the outside!

Why are there multiple coaches? And why do they smile so much!?

For most categories there are 3 coaches, though for equipment heavy categories such as Cycling, Treadmill, and Rowing there are typically only two. Below I’ll outline what the roles for the 3 coaches are, for the categories that only have two coaches, the second coach will serve either the Support or Modification role.

Time to Walk and Time to Run are different since they are not coaching you to walk or run a certain way, but to give you fitness or general life inspriation.

Primary Coach — This is the coach who is leading the class. Their job is to demonstrate and describe each part of the class to you, either how to do a certain move or when you’re about to go up a big hill on the treadmill. The Primary Coach is who the camera primarily focuses on. They will also refer to any other coaches if the other coaches will be showcasing a different way to do the move.
Modification Coach — Any time there is a modification to a move to make it more accessible, the Modification Coach will demonstrate the move. The Primary Coach will let you know when there is a modification available so that you can follow the Modification Coach if needed.
Secondary Coach — Since the Primary Coach needs to keep talking to you throughout the class, they may defer a modification to make the moves more difficult to the Secondary Coach. If the Primary Coach is so out of breath that they can’t give you instructions anymore, then the whole point of the class is lost!
Additionally, if the Primary Coach needs to do a modification, they might preform a more accessible modification while the Secondary Coach shows the standard move. If there are no modifications to make the moves more difficult, the Secondary Coach is a second reference to what the Primary Coach is doing.

Now, why do they smile so much?

They exude positive energy to help motivate people! You may be like me and not have that same positive energy and you work out with a straight face, go “into the zone” when you’re hitting your edge just listening for the coach to finally tell you that you can stop. But we are not the only kinds of people in the world and a lot of people respond well to the high energy of the coaches!

Honestly, even though I don’t normally respond to their energy, it can be helpful sometimes when they make a joke or say, “Left, whoops, I mean right hand” just so you know that they are, in fact, human. If the smiling bothers you, take out your contacts, remove your glasses, or stand a little further away so that their faces are more blurry.

How can I find out what equipment the coaches are using?

Apple actually provides a link to all of the equipment that their team uses! Apple Fitness+ Equipment

While I don’t personally own any of the equipment listed on that page, I have heard great things about the mat that they use!

My left or their left?

When the coach says to step forward with your left leg, you should step forward with your left leg. The coaches use a method call “mirroring” where they will tell you to move your left leg, but actually move their right leg so when you’re watching them you move the same side of your body that you see them moving.

It’s called mirroring because you can imagine that you are looking at yourself in a mirror. When you move your left arm, your reflection moves the arm on the same side.

This is why you’ll hear coaches saying “your left” because they are moving their right, but want you to move your left. They will also opt to say “your front” or “your back” when applicable to make it a little less confusing.

All of this to say, move whichever side the coach says to move. Pretend you’re looking into a mirror when you watch them move and try to emulate them.

How can I filter the workouts?

You will need to be on iOS/iPad 15 or newer in order to see the newest workout filters. If you are on an earlier version of iOS/iPadOS, you will only be able to filter by Trainer, Time, and Music. iOS/iPadOS 15 introduced additional filters such as Flow Style in Yoga and Body Focus in Strength.

Access the Fitness+ app on your device
Select a category (HIIT, Yoga, Treadmill, etc)
Click Filter
Choose your filters
Click Done

Note that if you are outside of the US, you may have trouble filtering by Music. Due to copyright laws, not all music used in the classes is available outside of the US so you may have fewer results than someone in the US.

I typically don’t recommend filtering by music anyway. I am not a fan of a lot of popular artists these days, but I don’t mind the popular music choices in some of the classes. The music fades away into the background when you’re focusing on the coach, so even if a Bieber song comes up, you have no idea that it’s there!

Can I favorite workouts that I really like?

Yes! This is a great feature when you want to track improvement or want to be able to come back to something familiar. There are some Strength workouts that I like to come back to regularly to see if I can burn more calories than the time I did it before. There are also some Yoga classes I have favorited for when my back starts acting up or I have had a difficult day and need to unwind.

Access the Fitness+ app on your device
Select a category (HIIT, Yoga, Treadmill, etc)
Select the workout that you would like to favorite
Click + ADD

To access your favorited workouts:

Access the Fitness+ app on your device
On the main page, scroll to the very bottom to My Library
Click Show All

Which workouts will best help me lose weight?

The short answer is: Whichever ones will get you moving!

Cardio is great for burning calories, however strength training is good for building muscles so that you burn more calories when at rest. But don’t forget to stretch in between to stay flexible!

If your goal is to lose weight be aware that Apple Fitness+ alone may not be enough. Diet is critical to weight loss as well. Personally, I didn’t see any significant weightloss when using Apple Fitness+ until I started dieting again (Keto for me).

I’m having trouble seeing the features everyone is talking about. Help!

Are you seeing people talk about features or workout categories that you’re not able to see? Make sure your devices are fully up to date. Apple releases updates to Fitness+ through its standard OS releases.

How to update your iPhone or iPad

How to update your Watch

How do I choose my starting dumbbell weight?

This isn’t an easy question to answer, it’s mostly trial and error. I recommend starting on the lighter side with dumbbells to make sure you can keep good form and then increasing the weight as you feel comfortable.

When the trainers say, “I’m using 20 pound dumbbells,” that means they are holding 20 pounds in each hand, not 10 pounds each to add up to 20. Remember that the coaches have been training for years, do not expect to be able to lift their weight if you’re just starting out!

Here are some example exercises you can try to help you choose weights:

Light dumbbells: You should be able to do reverse flys with your light dumbbells while keeping good form with your arms almost completely extended. If you have a significant bend in your elbows, you may want to lower your weight. If you can’t lower the weight of the dumbbells, keep the bend in your arm and work on decreasing the bend in your elbow.
Medium dumbbells: A common exercise with medium dumbbells in an overhead press. If you feel like you don’t have control over the dumbbells as you press them up quickly, then the weight may be too heavy. If you can’t lower the weight of the dumbbell, focus on slower, more controlled reps.
Heavy dumbbells: Heavy dumbbells should work your legs a bit as you do dumbbell squats. You should feel it in your legs after a few reps like you’re lifting a heavy box over and over. Again, make sure that you can keep good form with the weight. If you’re struggling on form and can’t lower the weight of the dumbbell, focus on slower, less deep reps until you can build up to the weight.

How do I start?

Now that many of your questions have been answered, it’s time to answer the biggest one: How do I start?

If you are not used to working out, I would recommend starting out with 3–5 workouts a week. Do what feels good for you. Maybe the first week you can only do three 20 minutes workouts, but the second week you go for one 30 minute workout and two 20 minute workouts. Make sure you have some variety in your workouts even if it’s mostly HIIT then one Yoga or one Time to Walk session. Variety is key to weightloss.

Below are some example plans that I have created and used for myself. Feel free to try them out or change them up to suit your needs! I don’t have a cycle, treadmill, or rower, so I do not have those included in my plans below.

I have also started an Apple Fitness+ Follow Along series where I do reviews of the classes I do each week! If you’re interested, you can find out more information here: Apple Fitness+ Follow Along Series

Let’s Get Moving

Monday — Energetic Flow Yoga
Tuesday — Rest
Wednesday — Total Body Strength
Thursday — Rest
Friday — HIIT
Saturday — Rest
Sunday — Rest

Fabulous Five

Monday — Energetic Flow Yoga
Tuesday —Total Body Strength
Wednesday —Slow Flow Yoga
Thursday — HIIT
Friday — Slow Flow Yoga
Saturday — Rest
Sunday — Rest

Everyday I’m Hustlin’

Monday — Total Body Strength
Tuesday — Slow Flow Yoga
Wednesday — Lower Body Strength
Thursday — Slow Flow Yoga
Friday — Upper Body Strength
Saturday — HIIT
Sunday — Energetic Flow Yoga

Don’t be afraid to modify your plan once you set one for yourself! Sometimes instead of HIIT I’ll take a walk with my dogs or do some core workouts. If I’m feeling energized on Tuesday after my Total Body Strength, I’ll throw in an Energetic Flow instead of a Slow Flow for Yoga.

Make Apple Fitness+ work for you and your body!

Please leave a comment if you have any questions!

Disclaimers

I have no affiliation with Apple. I am not a health coach, all responses above are from my personal experiences and research. Please talk to your doctor if you feel unwell doing any exercises, Apple Fitness+ or not.