Apple Fitness Plus is adding audio running workouts – The Verge

After launching Fitness Plus in December 2020, Apple has continuously added new features, including audio walks with celebrities and new workout programs for pregnant and older users. Today, it’s announcing a few more additions, with the standout being audio running experiences dubbed Time to Run.

According to Apple’s press release, Time to Run can help users “become more consistent and better runners,” and each session focuses on a popular running route in a specific location. The sessions will be led by Fitness Plus trainers Emily Fayette, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, Sam Sanchez, and Scott Carvin — they all also coach the service’s treadmill workouts. Apple will also be adding another running coach, Cory Wharton-Malcolm. Each episode will also feature playlists to match the intensity of the run and chosen location.

Time to Run is set to debut on January 10th, with new episodes arriving every Monday. The series will launch with three episodes and locales: London, Brooklyn, and Miami Beach. Users will also be shown photos on the Apple Watch of “notable sights” along the route in each city. Apple says the episodes can be played both on outdoor and indoor runs. It’ll also be available for wheelchair users as Time to Run or Push.

From the description, it sounds very similar to Time to Walk, which are roughly 25–40 minutes walks narrated by a celebrity guest and their curated mini-playlist. Audio or coached runs aren’t unique to Fitness Plus — you’ll also find them in other workout apps, including Aaptiv, Runtastic, Runkeeper, and Peloton. We’ll have to check out a workout for ourselves to see how Time to Run stacks up, though if it’s anything like Time to Walk, it’ll be more about an inclusive experience than hardcore intervals or sprints.

The service is also adding curated workouts and meditations called Collections. The idea is to pick out a few selections from Fitness Plus’s library of 2,000 studio workouts and guided meditation that focus on a specific plan over a period of several days or weeks. There will be six Collections at launch: 30-Day Core Challenge, Improve Your Posture with Pilates, Perfect Your Yoga Balance Poses, Run Your First 5K, Wind Down for a Better Bedtime, and Strengthen Your Back, Stretch Your Hips. This is a neat addition, as one of the more annoying things about Fitness Plus since its launch has been limited filtering options. While you can search workouts by trainer, music genre, and time, you have to read each workout description to learn more about what each session is tailored toward.

Time to Run and Collections aren’t the only new updates, however. Time to Walk is also getting a third season, with guests like Rebel Wilson, Bernice A. King, Hasan Minhaj, Chris Meloni, Ayo Tometi, Chelsea Handler, and Sugar Ray Leonard. Apple’s Artist Spotlight series, which features entire workouts set to a single musician, will add Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams, Shakira, and The Beatles.