Fitness Geek
I never took my health seriously until I got cancer back in 2007. After successfully completing my treatment, I took a keen interest in fitness and now it’s an integral part of my day: I develop Reps & Sets, a weight-lifting app for iPhone and Apple Watch; I write about fitness for tech news website Cult of Mac; I’m a CYQ Level 3 qualified Personal Trainer; I’ve written a Fitness Handbook; and I’ve been known to run the occasional marathon.

My fitness writing
How to use Mobility Metrics in iOS 14 [Cult of Mac]
For many of us, walking is something we take for granted. But not everyone is so fortunate. More than 10% of Americans experience some kind of mobility difficulty. Some rely on wheelchairs, while others are able to walk, but not easily. Walking difficulties can occur...
How to make your New Year’s resolutions stick with Apple Fitness+ [Cult of Mac]
Apple Fitness+ makes it easier than ever to get in shape. So you should have no problem smashing your New Year’s resolution. Right? Wrong. The sad fact is, despite the best of intentions, most New Year’s resolutions fail. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I know...
Apple Fitness+ review: First impressions from a fitness fanatic [Cult of Mac]
Apple Fitness+ only came online yesterday, but I’ve already logged 10 workouts with it. I let Cupertino’s new subscription service put me through my paces, so I could put it through its paces to bring you this review. I’m a qualified personal trainer and a fitness...
Cardio Fitness: What Apple’s new health metric means and how you can use it [Cult of Mac]
Apple’s VO2 max metric measures the performance of your heart and lungs when you push yourself to the limit. Up until now, though, it’s only been useful to serious fitness fanatics. No wonder Apple buried it in the Health app, where most users never found it. But...
How to optimize your swimming stroke with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
Apple Watch is a great swimming companion, offering highly accurate length counts, pace measurements and stroke recognition. But the benefits to swimmers don’t stop there. You’ll find plenty more useful swim stats in the Fitness app on your iPhone. Strokes Per...
Meet the super-fit team behind Apple Fitness+ [Cult of Mac]
Over the past 12 months, Apple quietly assembled an elite team of fitness trainers from around the world. Bound to secrecy, they’ve been moving across the country to start new lives in Los Angeles, without even being able to tell their friends exactly what they’re up...
Survival of the fittest: Can Apple Fitness+ crush the competition? [Cult of Mac]
Apple Fitness+ will enter a crowded market when the service launches later this year. Established players like Peloton and Adidas already have a significant head start. But Apple is in great shape to give them a run for their money. Fitness+ is a logical next step for...
Discover the secrets of the Apple Watch Workout app [Cult of Mac]
At first glance, the Apple Watch Workout app seems pretty simple. You just tap the start button and get all sweaty. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. A lot more. You can customize its layout in hundreds of different ways, changing the text size, position,...
How to get back in shape after lockdown with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
If you’ve let your fitness slide during the lockdown, you’re not alone. The Activity app’s constant nagging to close your rings is not very helpful when all the gyms are closed and you’re stuck at home. Skipping workouts for a few months is understandable under the...
HealthKit needs a health check at WWDC [Cult of Mac]
As a fitness writer and app developer, there’s just one thing I’m hoping to see at WWDC next week: a major upgrade to HealthKit. Don’t get me wrong. I think Apple’s health-tracking framework is great, but there’s so much more it could do. Moving HealthKit to iCloud...
20 Apple Watch home workouts you can do during lockdown [Cult of Mac]
Apple Watch supports a huge selection of workout types, but most of the popular ones, like running and swimming, you probably can’t do right now thanks to the coronavirus lockdown. Fortunately, if you delve a little deeper, you’ll find plenty of Apple Watch home...
How to get six-pack abs at home with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
Your fitness doesn’t need to suffer just because you’re stuck indoors during the coronavirus quarantine. In fact, now is the ideal time to start working on your six-pack. The lockdown won’t last forever. If you put in the work now, you’ll be looking like a ripped...
How to do an effective home workout with no gym equipment
If you're stuck indoors during the quarantine, check out this video for my strength training home workout tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqDS13t79nQ
Stay in shape while you’re stuck indoors with Apple TV fitness apps [Cult of Mac]
You don’t need to go to the gym for a great workout. If you’re stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak, you can still work on your summer beach bod. If you’re itching to exercise indoors, you can get started — and maximize your gains — using Apple TV fitness...
How to fix Apple Watch duplicate workouts [Cult of Mac]
The Health app on your iPhone acts as a central repository for all your workout data. Not just activity from your Apple Watch, but from third-party apps, too. That’s great, because it gives you the freedom to use any workout app you want, safe in the knowledge that it...
Why you shouldn’t skip leg day (and how Apple Watch can help) [Cult of Mac]
Bodybuilders have given us more than their fair share of memes. Who can forget “sun’s out guns out” or “do you even lift, bro?” and one of the all-time weightlifting classics, “Don’t skip leg day.” But unless you’re a dedicated gym rat, you might be wondering what...
Why your Apple Watch credits you with fewer calories than you expect [Cult of Mac]
While most workout gadgets estimate all the calories you burn during the day, Apple Watch does something different. It uses a metric called Active Calories, which is always lower than Total Calories. And that’s actually a good thing. Here’s why.
Strava finally adds support for Apple’s Workout app. But there’s a big but… [Cult of Mac]
Strava is a brilliant app for sharing your workouts and analyzing your fitness activity. But its Apple Watch app is not so great. That’s why I prefer to use Apple’s built-in Workout app and then view my data afterward on the Strava website. The trouble is, up until...
Get your Apple Watch and Strava in sync again with this essential app [Cult of Mac]
Before iOS 13, if you wanted to sync Apple Watch workout data with Strava, you had an excellent option: a brilliant third-party fitness app called HealthFit. Unfortunately, Apple’s strict new rules in iOS 13 broke the app’s syncing functionality, leaving Apple...
Why you should check your Apple Watch Activity Trends right now [Cult of Mac]
Apple Watch has always tracked your daily physical activity with its three iconic Activity rings. That’s great if you just want to focus on hitting your daily goals. But what if you want to see your progress over time? iOS 13 solves this with Activity Trends, an...
How to nail your fitness New Year’s resolution with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
With the holidays behind us and a new decade just getting started, New Year’s resolution season is officially here. If you want to make amends for your seasonal overindulgence and get in shape for the Twenties, here’s our essential guide to nailing your New Year’s...
How to set an Apple Watch Move goal that’s right for you [Cult of Mac]
The Apple Watch Activity app sets us three daily goals, for standing, exercise and movement. The first two are the same for everyone: Stand for a minute during at least 12 hours of the day, and do at least 30 minutes of exercise. But the Move goal is different. For...
Why Apple’s Thanksgiving Day Challenge could change your life [Cult of Mac]
Apple is sending us mixed messages this Thanksgiving. On the one hand, it’s encouraging Apple Watch owners to get active with the Thanksgiving Day Challenge 2019. But on the other hand, it’s serving up new episodes of Apple TV+ shows a day early, so we can collapse...
How to edit Apple Watch workouts [Cult of Mac]
When you finish logging a workout with Apple Watch, you can gloat over all your hard work in the Activity app on your iPhone. This provides all kinds of useful charts, maps and trends to show you how you’re doing. But what if you logged that workout by accident? Or if...
How to use running cadence on Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
The Apple Watch running cadence setting arrived in watchOS 5, but if you didn’t notice, you’re not alone. It tends to get buried in the myriad stats Cupertino provides for runners. Plus, there’s a lot of confusion about what it actually means and whether it’s useful....
Why sports apparel brands are giving up on fitness apps [Cult of Mac]
Remember when every sports apparel brand needed an app to be cool? Ten years ago, the Nike+Apple partnership was in its ascendency, while Under Armour and Adidas were splurging millions acquiring fitness apps like MyFitnessPal and Runtastic. Back then, brand owners...
Review: Form’s AR swim goggles blow Apple Watch out of the water [Cult of Mac]
Fitness tech startup Form launches its first product today: augmented reality swimming goggles. You might think AR sounds like a bit of a gimmick for swimmers. I certainly did. My Apple Watch already does a pretty good job of logging my swimming workouts, so I didn’t...
iOS 13 wish list: Giving health & fitness a workout [Cult of Mac]
WWDC is less than a week away and there are already plenty of rumors doing the rounds on what new features Apple has in store for iOS and watchOS. Dark mode, a refreshed Reminders app and a new Find My app all look set to make an appearance. But will Apple also be...
How to build muscle with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
If you diligently close your Activity Rings every day in the hope of getting ripped like The Rock, you are going about it all the wrong way. Apple’s Activity app focuses on cardio conditioning and burning calories. Which is great for losing weight, but irrelevant if...
Get in shape for your beach vacay with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac]
Summer is almost upon us.* If you’ve been training hard all winter to look awesome in a Speedo on the beach, then you can totally skip this post. Still here? That’s cool. Because in this post we’ll look at five awesome ways your Apple Watch can help give your body a...