Apple unveils new Strava integration and more for Fitness Plus

Just in time to help you hit those fitness goals you made for yourself this year, Apple is introducing several new updates to its Fitness Plus service. These updates are bringing a bevy of new content as well as new integration with Strava to Apple devices.

In a blog post, the Cupertino firm announced it is boosting Fitness Plus’ offerings with a variety of new experiences. Specifically, these experiences touch on the yoga, strength training, and meditation programs.

For those looking to improve their flexibility, the company is adding a feature called Yoga Peak Poses. This is a yoga retreat-style workshop that aims to help hone your skills and pull off challenging poses like Dancer, Twisted Hand to Big Toe, and Crow. “For each pose, there is a 10-minute prep flow to warm users up for the corresponding 10-minute practice session.”

If you’re more interested in building your strength, Fitness Plus is getting a new three-week strength program called Three Perfect Weeks of Strength. This is a guided program that contains a dozen 30-minute workouts that target every major muscle group. You’ll go through Progressive Overload in the first week, Time Under Tension in the second week, and Dynamic Power during the final week. Apple explains that this program is designed to be repeatable, allowing you to go through it again with heavier weights. On top of that, Apple is also introducing a Strength, Endurance, and Agility for Pickleball program. This program features professional pickleball champion Catherine Parenteau and mix of workouts inspired by her training regimen.

On the meditation side, the service is getting a Introduction to Breath Meditation program. This program contains five different breathing techniques that take up 10 minutes of your time. Additionally, Breath is being added as a meditation theme within Fitness Plus, bringing the total to 12.

Meanwhile, new and existing members of the popular fitness app Strava will have something new to share. Users will now be able to share their Fitness Plus workouts to Strava, which will show details like the episode image, episode number, music genre, trainer name, and metrics. You’ll also be able to share your workout with the community. And Apple says it’s offering Strava subscribers up to three months of Fitness Plus at no cost.

There were also a few other interesting tidbits that were announced such as a new selection of Apple’s celebrity-led Time to Walk audio stories, a new workout takeover from guest trainer Alex Wong, and new workout playlists. These playlists feature Janet Jackson (January 13), Coldplay (January 20), Bruno Mars (January 27), and Kendrick Lamar (February 3).