Apple wants you to get exercising in frosty February

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, Apple has decided that it wants to focus on heart health in February with its new Heart Month Activity Challenge that will encourage people to do half-hour’s worth of exercise on February 14 by offering a special award. To accompany the challenge, Apple will also be highlighting relevant products and services to do with heart health across Apple Fitness+, the App Store, the Apple TV app, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books.

Commenting on the initiative, Apple’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, said:

“We’re strong believers at Apple that if you can empower people with information about their health, you can change the trajectory of their well-being. Keeping your heart healthy requires a holistic approach — something we’ve focused on since the first generation of Apple Watch with the inclusion of activity and workout apps, in addition to heart rate. Today, people of all ages can use our products and services to learn more about staying healthy, work toward their personal goals, and have a lot of fun along the way.”

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s still a bit chilly in February, so if you don’t fancy going out for a run that’s totally understandable. Luckily, you can do any type of exercise to earn the award so you could find something to do around the house or if you have a gym membership then you could jump on a treadmill. You only need to exercise on February 14 to get the award.

To further motivate you, Apple will be highlighting heart-related content on its services. Apple Books will have a collection of books in a new Heart Health Month section, Apple Podcasts will feature episodes to do with health and well-being, and Apple TV will feature movies and shows to do with heart disease, heart science, and healthy living.

Finally, you can download the Apple Research to learn more about the Apple Heart and Movement Study, some preliminary findings from that report found that most people meet their activity goals by walking, cycling, and running. It also found that people over 65 were more likely to meet the recommended 150 minutes of activity per week.