Those who know me will confirm my pre-COVID workouts consisted of laps around the mall or walks to the latest bubble tea shops. But I’m currently on a 52-day exercise streak—including Christmas and my birthday. What sparked the change? It might be my goal-oriented personality—or just plain stubbornness, combined with my first Apple Watch and a recent purchase of a used treadmill.
It took me two months, by following online running videos, to gradually build my stamina from a brisk walk to a jog and then to a run that lasted for 20 minutes. Even though I was closing some or all of my watch’s three rings on most days—in Apple speak, closing a move ring means I reached my activity goals for the day—it was dull listening to the same instructor on repeat.
I was about to throw in my runners when I discovered Apple Fitness+ and signed up for a free one-month trial. (Note: You need an Apple Watch, synched to your iPhone, in order to use the Fitness+ app.)
With the app, I could access hundreds of Apple Fitness+ workouts, including HIIT, yoga, core, strength, cycling, rowing, dance, mindful cooldowns and—my favourite!—treadmill. (For the record, the team of trainers is diverse and inclusive, and everyone is upbeat and highly motivating.)
For my first running workout, I chose an instructor—Sam—a time frame (30 minutes), and an 'everything rock' playlist, then I propped my iPad on the console of my treadmill. The workout began with Sam introducing her two teammates—one who would demonstrate a modification for walkers and another who would run. With high energy, Sam guided me through a progressive hill and speed workout, ending in an all-out finish. I finished the workout exhausted, but supercharged to try another class. The best part? All my metrics (including heart rate and calories burned) showed up on my iPad screen in real time, so I didn’t have to glance at my Apple Watch while running.
The Apple Fitness+ pageAs a creative director, I appreciated how polished and well filmed Apple Fitness+ videos are compared to other treadmill workout videos I've tried; also, the trainers personally curate the playlists for their workouts. Fitness+—which draws its songs from Apple Music—offers nine different music genres, ranging from chill vibes, to hip-hop/R&B to pure dance and my all-time favourite, throwback hits.
Fitness+ offers different workout lengths, from 10 minutes to 45 minutes. This allowed me to stack workouts and build endurance depending on my energy level that day. Fitness+ uploads two to three new videos per workout category every Monday, but after three solid weeks of running every day, I finished all 30 treadmill workouts (as of February) before they uploaded new ones...YASS!
Most treadmill videos, including Fitness+, do not suggest numeric running speeds,; instead, they focus on effort and “feeling.” Here are some good cues from the treadmill trainers on how you should ‘feel’ when you hear the following running jargons:
I love sharing my positive experience with the Fitness+ treadmill app. Here are some tips that have worked well for me.
After three months of test driving Fitness+, I signed up for the year (which cost $99). I no longer fear 45-minute runs on the treadmill, I enjoy the hill intervals, my base pace has jumped to 8 km/h and my all-out speed is between 10 km/h to 12 km/h. In other words: quite a feat for a fitness newbie who couldn’t even run on the treadmill for more than five minutes five months ago. My next personal challenge? To test out my legs in the real world this summer.
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