One of the healthiest things you can do for your physical and emotional self is to get up and go for a walk [1]. And the fact that you can do it anywhere for free makes it more likely to happen. But if you need a little inspiration to get in the habit of daily walks, Apple Fitness+ [2] just launched an audio program called Time to Walk [3] to encourage Apple Watch users to walk more and reap its healthy benefits.
In order to enjoy Time to Walk, you need Air Pods (or other bluetooth headphones) and an Apple Watch Series 3 or later paired with an iPhone 6s or later, or iPhone SE, and it must have watchOS 7.2 and iOS 14.3. A subscription to Fitness+ costs £10 per month or £80 per year. Keep reading to learn about this exciting new experience you can have while walking.
What Is Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk?
Time to Walk [5] through Apple Fitness+ is a unique audio walking experience using the Fitness app on the Apple Watch. Think of them as mini podcasts, but on a whole new level because they include a short music playlist as well as photos, which you can see pop up on your watch that are perfectly timed to illustrate a moment the guest shares in their story. This cool feature really helps the stories come to life.
Each episode, which ranges in time from 25 to 40 minutes, features an influential, interesting person walking and talking to you, the listener. They share two to three thoughtful, meaningful, and emotional personal stories and a few photos. Then at the end, they share three of their favourite songs with a little blurb explaining why they chose the song, and what it means to them when they hear it. Time to Walk feels like an intimate listening experience that's not just for fitness, but also for happiness and mental health.
What Is the Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk Experience Like?
Apple sent me an Apple Watch SE [6] to test it out, and the first episode I listened to was from Uzo Aduba, known as Crazy Eyes on the hit series Orange Is the New Black [7]. Right from the beginning, this felt like a very personal experience because she's just casually walking with her dog, Mr. Fenway Bark, in a park in Brooklyn, NY. I could hear the sounds of kids playing, faint barking, and squeaky toys in the background, and it just felt like it was her and I walking together.
The episodes aren't scripted, and there's no interviewer, so you get to hear the two to three personal stories the person chooses to share. During each story, you'll get a double tap from your watch, and a photo will pop up that has to do with the story the person is telling or it will be a picture of where they're walking.
In this story, Aduba explained how at the very moment she felt defeated and decided to give up her acting career, she got a call from her agent that she landed the part of Crazy Eyes. Seeing the visual photo brought about a deeper understanding of her story that complemented the audio in a unique way that you can't get from just listening to something like a podcast or audiobook. I absolutely got lost in her story, and loved how I was inspired to walk for an hour without any effort because it felt so easy and enjoyable to just walk together and listen.
Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk Tracks Your Workout
Another cool feature of Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk is that as soon as you choose the episode, a walking workout automatically begins. For Apple Watch users in a wheelchair, Time to Walk becomes Time to Push and automatically starts an Outdoor Wheelchair Walk Pace workout.
I love that you can glance at your watch and see your stats, including time, heart rate, and distance (I was walking on my treadmill desk, so that's why you can't see my pace). At the end of the workout, it gives you a workout summary; it's just nice to get credit toward your move goal without having to think about it.