Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch.

The key announcements include:

• New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January.
• “Quit Quitting” Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an Apple Watch badge in the app.
• New multiweek programs: From January 5, the “Make Your Fitness Comeback program” will be available for Strength, HIIT, and Yoga. Each week builds on the previous one to help users progress.
• Fitness+ Artist Spotlight returns: New workouts featuring music from KAROL G and, from February 5, Bad Bunny.
• New Time to Walk episodes: Starting January 19, new episodes feature actor and producer Penn Badgley, Spice Girls member, singer, songwriter, and TV personality Mel B, and actor Michelle Monaghan.

Apple added that many people abandon New Year’s fitness resolutions by the second Friday of January, known as “Quitter’s Day,” but Apple Watch users appear far more likely to stay on track. An analysis of four years of data from around 100,000 participants in the Apple Heart and Movement Study found that, after a seasonal dip in activity during November and December, average daily exercise minutes rise sharply in January and continue increasing into spring.

More than 60% of users boosted their exercise by over 10% in the first two weeks of January compared with December levels. Nearly 80% of those users maintained the increase through the rest of January, and 90% of that group sustained higher activity levels through February and March. The findings are based on participants who consistently wore an Apple Watch and shared Activity data as part of the long-running study conducted with major U.S. health institutions.