Get the Most out Apple Fitness+ with the Right Exercise Equipment and Accessories
Our top Apple Fitness+ Accessory and Exercise Equipment Recommendations
The ONE thing we found out about Fitness+ to take your workouts further and get the most out of them is that you will want some equipment or accessories to use. The right items can make a huge difference. See the selection of weights, smart phone/ tablet holders, exercise bikes, rowers and treadmills, hear rate monitor to use with Apple Fitness+.
Overview of Apple Fitness+
Apple Fitness+ is a Guided Fitness platform offered across all Apple devices. For a very reasonable monthly fee (under $10), the Apple Fitness+ app makes it so simple to get in a quick workout anywhere from 5 to 50 minutes long. You can follow along using any smart device including, an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or any device with the Apple TV app.
What makes Fitness+ so worthwhile is the depth and variety in both types of workouts and trainers to select, with over 25 new workouts and guided meditations added each week. Fitness Plus removes the guesswork of deciding what you should try or do next by suggesting similar activities to those you have done while also offering up something new you might love to try.
Apple Watch Pulls it Altogether
Even though it is not required to have one, what so elegantly pulls it all together is the Apple Watch. Apple Fitness+ was designed with Apple Watch in mind.
As soon as you open any workout on your iPhone, tablet, or the big screen, it immediately shows up on the Apple Watch ready to go. When you touch the start icon on the watch face, your watch begins updating all your activity history to your Apple Health feed - So all your stats can be found in one place. Throughout sessions, your heart rate, elapsed time, and calories burned, are always visible.
Connect Apple Watch to any Exercise Equipment
Not only is It is motivating to see your heart rate racing along with other stats on the big screen, but it can also help you train better. You normally would not drive a vehicle without a speedometer, why train without a heartrate monitor?
To turn your Apple Watch into a Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor. Use the Echo iPhone app review to see how easy it is to connect your Apple Watch and receive heart rate data on your Peloton, iFIT, Zwift, Precor, Life Fitness, Nautilus, Echelon, NordicTrack®, Bladez, SOLE, Wahoo app, and Schwinn bike.
The Many Workout Types of Fitness Plus
Apple Fitness+ offers walking workouts to dance classes with Pilates and Taiichi recently added. Fitness+ organizes workouts into categories (high-intensity interval training, yoga, core, strength, treadmill, cycling, rowing, dance, and mindful cooldown) to help you target the right exercise experience.
Quality Content
Apple Fitness+ training content is professionally produced. Their training videos are filmed in a specially designed studio gym with excellent camera angles so you can see exactly how the trainer is moving. Workouts offer upbeat music and super-personable trainers, some of which were lured over from iFit and Peloton.
Highlights of Apple Fitness+
■ Seamless integration with the Apple Watch and Apple Health Feed
■ Fantastic value for the monthly price of $9.99 or $79 for the year
■ Wide Diversity of Elite, likable trainers
■ Wide Variety of workout types
■ New content added weekly
■ Easily travels with you across many devices
Also, you might want to consider Apple One Premier, which gives you Music, AppleTV+, Arcade, iCloud+ with 2TB of storage, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+ all for 6 individuals priced at $29.95 per month. A hard to beat deal from Apple.
Top Recommended Exercise
Equipment and Accessories
Satechi R1 Aluminum Tablet Stand Multi-Angle Foldable
Sleek & Stable Design - Hands-free display holds your tablet with a solid aluminum construction with rubber pads grip to prevent sliding or scratching.
Adjusts To a Perfect Angle - whether you are watching your fitness+, using FaceTime, or just checking your emails. The R1 Stand easily adjusts between Portrait, Landscape, or Flat orientation, with a 270-degree mount and base hinge.
Folds & Collapses - portable design can easily fit in a briefcase or backpack. Small enough to take the R1 Stand on the go or simply store away when not in use.
Modern Colors - choose between Silver, Gold, Space Gray, Rose Gold, and Black.
Adjustable Tablet Stand, by Lamicall
This second tablet holder option by Lamicall gets Five Stars on Amazon and is extremely popular to use when on-the-mat cross-training moves and other floor exercises.
Dumbbell Hand Weights rubber encased hex by Amazon Basics
Many of the workout use weights, so if you don’t want to use a milk or water jug, purchase some inexpensive dumbbells. We recommend these found on Amazon. There are also 10, 15, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50-pound weight options.
If you’re looking for a more sophisticated compact option se the Nordictrack Speed Dumbbell weights, Select-A-Weight Dumbbells option quickly adjustable 10 to 55 lbs.
SPIN CLASS
Schwinn IC4 Indoor Cycling Bike
One of the cool things about Fitness+ is that it has amazing spinning and biking trainers, but you need a bike to get the most out of the workout. The following Schwinn option is really good value and a very durable choice for a spin bike. Just select the bike workout on your watch to get started. Read the Full IC4 Bike Review.
MYN PRO NOTE: The Bowflex C6 Bike is identical to the IC4 – same bike from the same parent company, Nautilus (who owns both Schwinn and Bowflex, different brands). Check the price of both get the best deal before purchasing. They are both excellent options for basic cardio or using connected apps like Peloton Digital, or Zwift.
GET THE BEST DEAL with
Amazon Prime or at Schwinn Online
Best IC4 Spin Bike Features:
■ Magnetic resistance with 100 micro-adjustable resistance levels
■ Dual-sided pedals (SPD® clips | Toe Cages)
■ Smooth, magnetic resistance
■ Full color backlit LCD display
■ Nice holder for tablet or phone
■ Slim, comfortable Bluetooth® LE (BLE) heart rate armband
■ 3 lb. dumbbells with easy-reach holders
■ USB charging port
■ Durable and Stable
ROWING
Life Fitness Row HX Trainer
Apple Fitness+ has very cool rowing workouts in a studio setting, with excellent trainers, but you need an indoor rower to participate. Here is a great Apple Fitness+ Rower to consider. The Life fitness Row Fitness HX Trainer. This water-rower will not tie you into any dedicated rowing content subscription, but offers a quality low-impact, full-body workout you can use with Apple Fitness+. You can purchase at Amazon with Prime Delivery or find other great Life Fitness exercise products from Treadmills, bikes, rowers and accessories at the Life Fitness Amazon Store or at Life Fitness. Rowers Purchased at Life Fitness get a free ROW HX phone holder. For a less Expensive option Checkout the Concept2 RowERG below which has a greater weight capacity up to 500 lbs.
ROWER HIGHLIGHTS:
Rowers purchased at Amazon get Prime Delivery
Rowers Purchased at Life Fitness can get a free ROW HX phone holder
Consistent resistance providing a smooth and natural feel for each stroke.
No need to add/remove water to adjust resistance levels.
LCD console allows you to connect to your Row HX Trainer via Bluetooth and track your progress with your favorite fitness apps.
Compatible with Polar H7 and H10 heart rate monitors.
Quickly stores upright to save space and is easy to move.
Easy to make adjustments to accommodate rowers of all sizes.
Max User weight of 330 lbs. Want support for greater weight see Concept2 Row Erg below.
Concept2 RowErg
If you prefer to just-row as the pros do, the dependable performance of the Concept2 RowErg has made this Gold-Standard rower the best-selling rowing machine worldwide for over 40 years and is a solid choice for Apple Fitness+ studio rowing. You can use your iPhone or a tablet, perfect for Apple Fitness+, and you still can see your stats separately on a small built-in color LED PM - Performance Monitor display included with the rower.
There is a concept2 device holder fits everything from small smartphones to large tablets, such as the iPad Pro and is simple to adjust. You can then select from a variety of other apps as well, similar to Apple Fitness+ studio rowing classes.
Shop the Concept2 RowErg at Concept2 or
Shop the Concept2 Amazon Store (if available)
The Concept 2 RowErg rowing machine is extremely durable and will support user weights of up to 500 lbs. Designed to fit most users: 14-inch seat height, adjustable footrests, and an ergonomic handle. These reliable rowers are intended to last for years, made from Stainless Steel and Aluminum. If available, you can shop for Concept2 rowers at Amazon with Prime delivery.
RUNNING
NordicTrack T Series T 6.5 S Treadmill
Best Entry Level Treadmill under $1000
Apple Fitness+ has running and walking workouts which you can take with you on your Smartphone and get outside. But if you prefer the indoors environment to run, you’ll need a treadmill. Here are some of our recommended best value treadmills under $1,000 to choose from, that will last and offer features. The Nordictrack T 6.5 Si Treadmill is a step-up with the best deal currently, only available at AMAZON. You can comfortably place your iPad or any smart device on the console, and when not in use fold-up the running deck to save space or have it out of the way. Read Full review on both Nordictrack T 6.5 S and T 6.5 Si treadmills.
EXP Series Treadmills 2024
An alternative is NordicTrack’s EXP-Series treadmills. The more recent EXP 10i and the EXP 7i treadmills — perfect for walkers and runners supporting an up-hill incline workout of up to 12%. The EXP 10i even has a negative -3% decline downhill running, a feature typically reserved for more expensive treads.
The EXP 10i treadmill is almost exactly the same as the EXP 7i but comes with a 10-inch touchscreen vs. 7 inches, and a 2.75 CHP motor vs. a 2.6 CHP motor on the EXP 7i model — See image above. While the later Nordictrack EXP 14i has a 14-inch touch screen. Follow this link to read our full review on the EXP Series Treadmills.
If you are looking for more features, durability, and power, we would suggest checking the bestselling Nordictrack Commercial 1750 treadmill, a great all-around treadmill option for longer runs and power walkers. Read our Review on the latest Commercial 1750 vs. 2450 treadmill.
But as a reminder the older entry level T 6.5 Si treadmill is still available at Amazon under $1,000, while inventory lasts. Select from a 5-inch display or the 10-inch touchscreen display up to a 14-inch HD touchscreen.
YOGA
Apple Fitness+ yoga classes are good and the instructors amazing. A yoga block will make it a lot easier and of course you need a decent mat. We like the Manduka brand of yoga mats. Choose from these recommended best sellers at Amazon.