Apple’s Fitness+ Adds Workouts for Pregnant People and Older Adults

Starting April 19, Apple is adding new workouts to its Fitness+ on-demand workout service aimed at pregnant people and older adults, as well as more options for beginners. The service is also expanding its stable of trainers.

In a press release, Apple said it’s adding 10 prenatal workouts in the strength, core, and mindful cooldown categories. The workouts themselves will be 10 minutes each and are meant to “accommodate any stage of pregnancy.” Like with other workouts, modification tips will also be included. This series will also be hosted by trainer Betina Gozo, who is currently pregnant, and includes trainers Emily Fayette and Anja Garcia, who are also new moms.

Also new are workouts for older adults. These workouts span strength, yoga, HIIT, and dance. Like the prenatal workouts, these will be 10 minutes long and feature modifications that may include chairs or walls for support. They’ll also have an emphasis on body weight or light dumbbells, as opposed to the medium or heavy dumbbells that are featured in some of the other workouts.

Most of the workouts in Fitness+ are beginner friendly, and the workouts for beginners section is not new. That was there at launch. However, there are much fewer workouts in this category so it’s nice to see that Apple is expanding options here.

Another interesting tidbit: Apple notes that yoga and HIIT are two of the most popular Fitness+ categories, which is why it’s adding new trainers for both these workout types. The newest addition is Jonelle Lewis, who will lead both yoga and mindful cooldown workouts. Meanwhile, rowing instructor Anja Garcia will also add HIIT workouts to her rotation, on top of featuring in workouts for pregnancy.

Inclusivity was a major strength when Fitness+ launched. The trainers were all racially and physically diverse, and the service also incorporated American Sign Language into each workout. Another plus was the service thoughtfully made sure to highlight modifications for those just starting out or perhaps coming back from injuries. However, there were notable omissions when compared to rival workout apps. In our review, we specifically pointed out the lack of options for pregnant people and for the elderly. For the latter, it seemed like a missed opportunity given that the Apple Watch is a good device for older people thanks to its advanced health features and fall detection.

So far, Apple’s shown it’s listening quite closely to feedback with regard to its Fitness+ service. Besides today’s announcement, another issue some users had at launch was that you couldn’t cast workouts to a smart TV. However, the developer betas for iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 included hints that Apple is adding the ability to cast Fitness+ to any AirPlay-compatible TV. You love to see it.