“What is the secret to being in shape?”
I’ve written about fitness and wellness, and have worked as a fitness instructor for the better part of a decade, so I’ve been asked many variations of this question over the years. And although it seems simple, there are many ways to answer it.
So I put this age-old question to the experts: several members of the Apple Fitness+ team whom I recently had the pleasure of meeting at the state-of-the-art Fitness+ studio in Santa Monica, California.
So, according to the Fitness+ team… what is the secret to fitness? Unsurprisingly, there is no mystical answer.
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“The first thing I think about is consistency and community,” he says. molly foxwho teaches yoga and core classes at Fitness+ and, with over four decades of experience, is the longest serving member of the coaching team.
“Finding a place like Fitness+ that you can relate to and feel a part of is really important,” says the 67-year-old. “And then do it consistently over time, and find something that you either love or don’t hate.”
HIIT Trainer (High Intensity Interval Training) kim ng seconds that point, encouraging you to find a way to move your body that is fun.
“[Exercise] it can’t be a punishment,” says Ngo (who, by the way, has an absolutely charming London accent that actually adds a sense of fun to his Fitness+ classes).
“If it’s a punishment, you’ll go a couple of times and then say, ‘I’m done.’ [If it’s] something that makes you happy, you’ll end up going back to it again and again and you’ll find yourself being consistent.
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Fitness+ also includes meditation sessions of different lengths (from five minutes to 20) and instructor Christian HowardThe secret of can be described as self-awareness.
“For meditation, it’s really getting to know yourself, really understanding what you can take at what times,” he says. “So if it’s five minutes, if it’s three minutes, just make sure you fully introduce yourself.”
Health myth experts wish they would go away
Howard, who also leads beginner meditation classes at Fitness+, adds that the biggest myth in meditation is that “your mind must be empty.”
“Your mind, it’s going to do what it’s going to do… it’s full of thoughts,” he says, adding that understanding this is “key” to meditation. “Recognizing that it’s going to continue. It’s a beautiful thing.”
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When I ask the rest of the coaching team what their biggest fitness myths are, Ngo shares that he wants “people to stop thinking they have to have everything under control.”
She explains that you don’t have to figure out your diet, your routine, or the right people to help you before you start trying to get fit, you just need to get started.
“That would be something that I would encourage more people to do: just start,” she says. To note, her HIIT classes on Fitness+ are as short as 10 minutes. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
The myth that Fox wants to dispel is the misconception that once you achieve whatever fitness goal you set for yourself, you will suddenly be happy and life will be perfect.
Instead of looking only at an ultimate fitness goal, he recommends enjoying the fitness process.
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“The process is where it is,” she enthuses. “Enjoy the day, the jumps, the race… so it doesn’t become a nuisance, [it] it becomes part of what you do every day.”
Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies (who also worked as a fitness instructor), says his fitness myth is the misconception that a workout only counts if it’s long and sweaty.
“I think the fitness industry still makes you feel like you’re not quite in the loop if you haven’t turned out fully in the right clothes, the right amount of sweat, and the right amount of time,” he says.
Fitness+ counters this impression by encouraging its users to “accept any time [they] have” to exercise or meditate, in short or longer classes.
“The fact that we put as much love into a 10-minute workout as we do into a 45-minute workout is a testament that this coaching team truly believes if that’s it.” [the time] you have, it’s great,” says Blahnik.
Exercise for mental health, not just physical health
The entire team of trainers, not just meditation instructor Howard, is passionate about the positive effects of fitness and exercise on mental health.
“There’s so much emerging science coming out about mind-body interaction and how necessary it is for us to be able to understand both at the same time,” says Howard.
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“What I know is that moving changes your mood,” Fox says, adding that exercising with other people improves mental health in part because just being with other people improves mental health.
“Science says that community is one of the keys to longevity and a happy life,” he adds.
Ngo is encouraged by the many, many stories of people who started exercising to change the way their bodies looked, but continued to exercise because they changed their mindset.
“What’s amazing is some of the messages we get from our users who started their journey for those reasons, but then they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, now it’s got some stress relief, it’s helped my mental health a lot.'” . she says.
“Or, ‘I feel less alone,’ ‘I feel like I have a friend,'” adds Blahnik.
“I literally got a message today from someone who is on lockdown in Shanghai saying he did the Fitness+ workouts and it helped her,” shares Ngo. “She felt so alone doing it, but now she feels stronger.”
Watch the Coach series 5 fitness questions to hear more experts share their secrets to health and fitness.
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