I just earned the award for participating in the International Women’s Day Challenge by completing an Apple Fitness+ dance workout. I have a 35 week Apple Fitness+ weekly workout streak, and I thought it might be helpful to share how I, as a legally blind person, am able to follow along and participate in workouts.
The Apple Watch has been immensely helpful to me on my fitness journey, but you do not need one to get started. If you have an iPhone, you can try Apple Fitness+. The watch does allow you to track your activity more accurately and monitor things like your step count and heart rate, but it’s no longer a requirement to use the service.
Apple Fitness+ does cost money, but it’s cheaper than a gym membership, you don’t have to leave your home to use it, and it’s actually accessible.
There are other services you can try if the content doesn’t appeal to you, but what Apple Fitness+ has that other services do not is a strong commitment to accessibility. Not only is the app itself accessible, but the classes are also accessible. I’ve tried Dance, High Intensity Interval Training, Yoga, and more. My favorites are dance and yoga, so those are the workouts I do most often. Nothing seems to be off limits to me because of my visual impairment.
Today, I did a dance workout. Here are the things that help me follow along.
- Audio Hints: With VoiceOver on, all Fitness+ workouts have audio hints. They are minimal so as to not distract from the workout, but they are very helpful. Any visual information not spoken aloud by the trainer is announced with text-to-speech. You can also enable these hints without using VoiceOver.
- I do the same workouts over and over again. I save my favorite workouts to my library so I can easily access them. I have quite the collection, and I regularly try new workouts, so I don’t get bored. The repetition makes it easier to follow along.
- I choose workouts based on the trainers and what they say during workouts. Ben is my favorite dance trainer, because he is constantly verbalizing the moves. This means the audio hints are less frequent, and I can follow along with ease.
- I choose 30 minute dance workouts where you’re learning a longer routine. My blindness means it takes longer for me to understand the moves. I don’t always understand a move before the trainer is moving on to the next one. With the longer routines, I have more chances to get it before the final song. With the shorter routines or if the routines change in every song, I find myself frustrated at my lack of ability to fully participate. My brain is working over time to put everything together, and I’m not able to catch up before they’re moving on to something else.
- I have a 65 inch TV and not a lot of room, so I’m dancing right in front of the TV. I’m able to easily see and follow along with the larger movements. I use the vision I do have to confirm I’m doing the right steps at the right time during the routine.
- I have fun with it. No one is watching me, so I just enjoy myself and modify movements as needed. Apple Fitness+ trainers actively encourage this, and it is so appreciated.
I am so grateful for accessible mainstream technology and companies like Apple that care about accessibility. These devices have changed my life for the better in so many ways, and continue to level the playing field for people with disabilities every single day.
Thank you for reading. I hope this has been helpful! 💙