Apple Fitness+ Just Added Workouts That Cater To Mothers
In April 2021, four months after the introduction of Apple Fitness+ — touted to be the first fitness service built around Apple Watch, the company expanded the program to include workouts geared toward expectant mothers. The program aimed to help women have an active lifestyle during pregnancy. It contained ten pregnancy-focused exercises across Strength, Core, and Mindful Cooldown — each lasting 10 minutes. Most of the workouts that were part of the program focused on preparing the body for pregnancy. A year later, Apple is expanding the scope of that program to cater to mothers who recently had a baby, CNET reports.
Apple's pregnancy-focused program now includes a new series titled "Get Back to Fitness After Having a Baby." It contains seven workouts designed for mothers in the postpartum period – all of them across the same categories as before – Strength, Core, and Mindful Cooldown. As with the pre-pregnancy workout series, each workout in the new regimen lasts just 10 minutes.
What's included in Apple Fitness+'s postpartum workout series?
Apart from upper-body, lower-body, and total-body strength workouts, Apple Fitness+'s postpartum program includes workouts that help mothers build their ab and back strength. Many of the exercises are designed to strengthen the pelvic muscles that relax during childbirth. Apple says the workout has been designed to help mothers feel more comfortable irrespective of the type of delivery.
The program first focuses on a Core workout designed to create a foundation for the other exercises that follow it. Then, as you progress, it shifts attention to workouts that use one light (or medium-sized) dumbbell or just your bodyweight. While users can follow these post-pregnancy workout regimens on their own, Apple confirms that it could be combined with other workouts within the Fitness+ library.
Apple claims that the new workouts can help mothers feel stronger and more energetic and help them take on the demands of parenthood. However, the company does recommend checking with your doctor before starting the program.
Apple offers a one-month free trial for Apple Fitness+ service in over 20 countries. After that, customers can pay $9.99 a month for Apple Fitness+ alone. The other option is to get the service for $29.95 a month along with the Apple One Premier Plan, which also includes subscriptions to other services, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+. Apple also bundles 2TB iCloud storage with this plan that can be shared with up to six family members.