Not a fan of high intensity interval training or excessive movement? Prefer a walk to get the blood pumping? You can now do that by listening to some big names over Apple’s Fitness program.
For many, walking is a more enjoyable way to get their fitness on, and it’s certainly one that we can share with others. For Apple, it’s one of those things that might just make its Apple Fitness+ program a little more enjoyable, so it’s adding it to the assortment of things you can do.
A little different from the focus of Apple Fitness+ being something you can follow on a TV, iPad, or iPhone, the new featured dubbed “Time to Walk” is basically an attempt at getting you to walk with a friend of sorts over the phone, though in your own time anywhere. You don’t need a device in front of you to do the walk like you do with the other Fitness+ apps, and merely just need an Apple Watch — which is the prerequisite for Apple Fitness+ in general — plus a pair of wireless earphones.
How this works is that you walk… anywhere. You could walk in the spot, walk around the house, or do what we suspect Apple is more or less implying with a walk to somewhere else, be it around your neighbourhood or somewhere you find familiar. Walking with Apple Fitness+’s “Time to Walk” will have you take the time for a 25 minute walk, and will guide you through that walk with one of four special guests, with them talking you through motivation, listening to their stories, and running music behind it.
In many ways, “Time to Walk” sounds more like a four-part wellness podcast — something Spotify started experimenting with last year — but with special guests to get you walking, but one specifically made for Apple Fitness, listening to the words by music artists Dolly Parton and Shawn Mendes, Emmy Award winning actress Uzo Aduba, and basketball player Draymond Green.
“Even throughout this challenging period of time, one activity that has remained available to many is walking,” said Jay Blahnik, Senior Director of Fitness Technologies at Apple.
“With Time to Walk, we’re bringing weekly original content to Apple Watch in Fitness+ that includes some of the most diverse, fascinating, and celebrated guests offering inspiration and entertainment to help our users keep moving through the power of walking.”
Apple says new episodes of “Time to Walk” will appear once a week until the end of April, essentially making it like a podcast, though one specifically focused on the Apple Watch. As such, the episodes will be downloaded directly to an Apple Watch, though they can also be heard on the iPhone, as well.
And just in case walking needs to be replaced by using a wheelchair, Apple has made its Apple Fitness+ walking feature a little more accessible by renaming it “Time to Push”, and turning it into an outdoor wheelchair walking workout.
For Apple Fitness+ subscribers or people who subscribe to the Apple One Premier plan with Fitness+ included, the feature is walking into place now.
