How to get started with Apple’s new Fitness Plus workout Time to Walk

Last week, Apple released a new feature for subscribers to its Fitness Plus service, and it’s available right now. Time to Walk features various celebrities, including Dolly Parton and Draymond Green, telling stories as they themselves are on a walk, and includes a few songs to listen to as you go for a stroll around the block. 

You can think of Time to Walk as short podcast episodes available directly on your Apple Watch, designed to inspire you to get moving, ranging from 25 to 45 minutes.

Below I’ll guide you through everything you need to know about Time to Walk, including what Apple gear is required, as well as how to sync episodes and start workouts.

What you’ll need

• The latest version of iOS (14.3 and up) and WatchOS (7.2 and up) on your Apple devices.

You’ll need an iPhone that’s synced with your Apple Watch ($399 at Apple) too. A Fitness Plus subscription is $10 (£10, AU$15) a month, or $80 (£80, AU$120) a year. It can be shared through Apple’s Family Sharing feature and is included with the Apple One Premier plan that gets you 2TB of iCloud Drive storage, Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and Apple News Plus for $30 (£30, AU$40) a month. 

If you’ve already set up your AirPods ($129 at Amazon) with another Apple device, they’ll automatically be available on your Apple Watch. To pair regular Bluetooth headphones with your Watch, put your headphones in pairing mode, then on your Watch go to Settings > Bluetooth and then tap the name of your headphones and follow the prompts. 

How to start a Time to Walk workout

When you’re ready to start a walk, open the Workout app on your Apple Watch. At the top of the workouts will be a Time to Walk session that’s been synced with your watch (more on how to sync them below). You can tap on the tile to launch the workout right away, or if you tap the small icon near the top-right corner, you’ll find a list of all the sessions currently available — even those that haven’t been downloaded to your watch. 

Select any of the cards to launch that workout right away, or tap on the i icon to view length, details and the list of songs that you’ll listen to throughout the session. 

If there’s a small cloud icon on the card, that means it hasn’t been synced with your watch and instead you’ll need either a cellular plan on your watch (should you want to leave your iPhone ($599 at Apple) behind) or to bring your iPhone with you so it can stream the workout. 

During each episode, you will periodically feel gentle taps on your wrist that let you know a photo related to whatever the speaker is talking about is available to look at. Shawn Mendes, for example, talks about performing with Justin Bieber during his episode, which prompts you to look at a photo of the two celebrities sitting together. Later in the episode, he talks about walking on a beach, and a photo of him on that beach is shown. 

Download Time to Walk episodes to your Apple Watch

With a Fitness Plus subscription, new Time to Walk sessions should automatically sync with your Apple Watch while it’s on the charger and your iPhone is nearby. Or you can manually install them by opening the Fitness app on your iPhone and selecting the Time to Walk tile. 

For each episode you’ll see a brief description, its length and which songs are included. Tap the Add button to download that episode to your watch; just make sure to place your watch on a charger when syncing shows. Wait a few minutes for the session to sync, then put your watch back on your wrist. 

New sessions are added every Monday

Apple says it will add new episodes every Monday through April, and you’ll be able to go back and listen to previous episodes at any time. 

There are currently four different episodes available: Dolly Parton, Draymond Green, Shawn Mendes and Uzo Aduba. The company hasn’t announced who else will share their perambulatory stories.

Not sure if Fitness Plus is worth the monthly fee? Read our Fitness Plus review to give you more insight into the subscription service. Then get to know some key Apple Watch features, and find out about some hidden features in iOS 14.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.