Unlock Your Best Workout: How Apple Fitness' Custom Plans Revolutionized My Exercise Routine

I have a confession to make: I’m not good at sticking to a workout routine. Despite loving activities like running, high-intensity interval training, and strength training, committing to them is a challenge. The exhilaration during and after workouts is undeniable, but waking up early to exercise before work? That's where I stumble.

This challenge has been ongoing for a while. Each night, I aim to wake up early and hit the gym, but more often than not, I hit the snooze button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max and drift back to sleep. This pattern of setting goals and failing to meet them has become a frustrating cycle.

Last week, things changed dramatically. I woke up on time, went to the gym, and completed a variety of workouts, including treadmill runs, core exercises, and strength training routines. The secret? The Custom Plans feature in the Apple Fitness app. This tool helped me establish a consistent workout schedule that I could stick to.

Apple introduced Custom Plans to its Fitness app with iOS 17, allowing users to create personalized workout schedules. You can select the days you want to exercise, the duration of each session, the length of the overall plan, and even the types of activities you prefer. For those who like details, you can choose specific trainers and your favorite workout music.

One of my biggest hurdles in maintaining a workout routine was not knowing what exercises to do each day. The extensive library of workouts in Apple Fitness+ was overwhelming, leading to indecision and ultimately skipping workouts. Custom Plans streamlined this process by providing a predefined schedule, eliminating the stress of choosing the right workout each day.

With Custom Plans, my morning routine became much smoother. I simply get dressed, prepare my water bottle, and head to the gym. The app presents a list of workouts for the day and a weekly overview, so I know exactly what to do without wasting time deciding. The variety, from upper-body strength training to treadmill and core workouts, keeps my sessions exciting and effective.

While I'm only two weeks into the five-week plan I created, I'm already loving the experience. The structured approach provided by Custom Plans has made a significant difference in my ability to stick with my workouts. The real test will be maintaining this consistency in the long term, but so far, the results are promising.