Remember those health and fitness resolutions you made at the start of this year, even before you had any inkling that just about every plan you had for 2020 would get derailed by a global pandemic? If your fitness plan has gone awry and you're almost giving up, keep this in mind: If there’s anything we’ve learnt this year, it’s that we should not take our health for granted. Here's how to get back on track and make good on those #selfcare and #selfimprovement promises you made to yourself.

Still deciding if you should splash your cash on the iPhone 12 or the recently launched Apple Watch Series 6? If you’re intent on keeping to your fitness and wellness resolutions, you may want to take a chance on the Apple watch.

It tracks your daily activities, reminds you to take constant breathers throughout the day, and now, even reminds you to wash your hands and measures your blood oxygen levels, and then some. With arm candy like the Apple Watch Series 6, do we even need human personal trainers or mothers to remind us to wash our hands anymore? After taking it for a whirl ourselves, we’re happy to inform you that while you should still keep that personal trainer around (or your mum, for that matter), the watch does help you better understand your lifestyle and how to achieve those goals, especially in these pandemic times.

To wit, the new function on the Series 6 watch: the blood oxygen sensor and app, which uses infrared lights to measure your blood oxygen levels, an indicator of how well oxygenated blood is being delivered throughout the body. While it won’t tell you if you’ve got Covid-19 or not, low blood oxygen levels could be an indicator of respiratory and cardiac issues, and research is underway to see how this data can help in early detection of Covid-19. Pro tip: To take a reading, it’s best to sit down and rest your arm on, say, a table for accurate readings.

Also particularly useful during these times is the handwashing detection function, available on all Apple watches on watchOS7. It dutifully reminds you to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and even helps count you down (so you can daydream about what to have for lunch instead of mentally singing the birthday song). ECG readings, sleep monitoring, and even the number of mindful minutes you dedicate to yourself a day are recorded, so you can keep track of your health and wellness at a glance. Then there are the good ol’ activity rings on the Apple watch that will help spur you on and keep you on track with those fitness goals.

Prices for the Apple Watch Series 6 start at $599. Available at Apple stores and at www.apple.com/sg.
Photos: Apple

Dim the lights and get ready to burn a few hundred calories on the dancefloor. Nope, clubs aren’t reopening just yet. But there’s now a way for you to feel like you’re partying like we’re in pre-Covid days, minus the hangover (and calories).

Zouk has partnered with rhythm cycling studio, Absolute Cycle, to hold spin classes at its main room’s sprawling dancefloor. What you can expect: high intensity spin classes in a vast space and with party lights and thumping tunes to boot. The Absolute Cycle x Zouk classes will run every day of the week, with about 12 classes per day. Each class can accommodate up to 50 pax — fab news if you’ve been wanting to try a class at the popular spin studio (classes are almost always fully booked out at its three outlets).

Prices start from $49. Book at https://zoukclub.com/fitness/.
Photos: Zouk