Apple Fitness+ rings in new year with kickboxing, Beyoncé and more

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Maybe it's time to get out some frustrations via the new Kickboxing workouts.
Maybe it's time to get out some frustrations via the new Kickboxing workouts.
Photo: Apple

For those still a little hungover from New Year’s Eve, Apple Fitness+ said Thursday it will roll out new offerings starting Monday to help perk you up — or help you sleep, if need be.

The fresh items on offer include a Kickboxing workout type, a sleep theme for meditations, a Beyoncé Artist Spotlight, new Time to Walk guests and three new trainers.

Apple Fitness+ adds kickboxing workout, Beyoncé Artist Spotlight and more

The service said it will launch Kickboxing, a new set of 10-, 20- and 30-minute total-body cardio workouts, and other new features on Monday (January 9).

“No matter where people are on their health and well-being journey, Fitness+ makes it easy to get started and stay motivated with workouts and meditations that are welcoming to all,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies.

“Whether people want to boost their cardio with the newest workout type, Kickboxing; move to Beyoncé’s latest hits; or wind down before bed with a meditation, there really is something for everyone to take care of their body and mind in the new year,” he added.

New sleep Meditation theme

Along with kickboxing but more on the other end of the activity spectrum, a new Sleep meditation theme will bring the total number of themes in the Meditation library to 10.

“Introduction to Meditations for Sleep” should help you wind down before you drift off.

Here’s Apple’s description:

The program consists of four 20-minute meditations that conclude with five minutes of relaxing music. The meditations — which can be done in any order at any time, each using different techniques to help users slow down and rest — include “Quiet Your Mind,” “Relax Your Body,” “Appreciate Your Day,” and “Visualize Rest.”

Beyoncé Artist Spotlight

Beyonce Artist Spotlight
Ready to move? So is Beyonce.
Photo: Apple

The new Beyoncé Artist Spotlight will feature her music in new workouts, including tunes from her new album, Renaissance.

New Time to Walk guests

And Time to Walk for iPhone and Apple Watch steps up to its fifth season with new guests:

  • Golden Globe-nominated actor Jamie Lee Curtis
  • Late-night talk show host Amber Ruffin
  • Olympic champion figure skater Nathan Chen
  • German actor Nina Hoss

2 new Fitness+ Collections

Fitness+ will launch two new Collections — “6 Weeks to Restart Your Fitness” and “Level Up Your Core Training.”

In addition, three new trainers join the team.

New trainers

Two Fitness+ trainers, one of them new to Fitness+, will lead the Kickboxing workouts:

  • Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, who users may know from Treadmill, HIIT, and Time to Run workouts, trained in muay thai and professionally competed in Thailand.
  • And muay thai fighter Nez Dally joins the Fitness+ trainer team to lead Kickboxing workouts. She became the first woman to compete in Thailand wearing a hijab.

And two more new trainers join the Fitness+ trainer team in January: Brian Cochrane (HIIT) and Jenn Lau (Strength).

  • Cochrane, a former indie band singer from Scotland, grew up playing a variety of sports, making his HIIT training a versatile practice.
  • Lau co-founded a gym in her hometown of Toronto. She is just as passionate about inclusivity as she is about helping people stay active in her Strength workouts.

You can read many more details about the new offerings in the Apple Fitness+ press release.

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