Apple Fitness+ has a Burn Bar feature that's meant to help you stay on top of your workout routines and introduces a bit of healthy competition into the mix. While this might motivate some people, the good news is that if you don't like competing, you can always disable the Burn Bar. Here's everything you need to know about this feature how to turn it on and off.

What Is the Burn Bar in Apple Fitness+?

You've probably heard a few Apple Fitness+ trainers talk about the Burn Bar while you're working out. The Burn Bar helps you compare your performance to that of others who have done the same exercise.

Based on a series of calculations the Burn Bar will show your position compared to other Apple Fitness+ users. The Burn Bar is meant to give you a bit of extra motivation whenever you see you're falling behind.

How Does the Apple Fitness+ Burn Bar Work?

The Burn Bar uses different factors to determine your progress, including your heart rate, weight, and the number of calories you're burning. It's worth noting that if your heart rate isn't showing during your workout, or if you're not using an Apple Watch, the Burn Bar won't work properly.

The Burn Bar will only compare your progress with other users who have the same weight you do to make it fair. This means you'll only be compared to people with similar physical characteristics, so you won't be discouraged or find it too easy.

Apple Fitness+ Burn Bar iPad

Then, based on the calories you've burned, the Burn Bar will show your position compared to the rest of the "Pack." There are a total of four different positions you can be in. Behind the Pack, In the Pack, Middle of the Pack, Front of the Pack, and Ahead of the Pack. The harder you work out, and the more calories you burn, the better the chance to be ahead of the pack.

The results on the Burn Bar are based on the previous two minutes of the workout. After your workout is complete, the Burn Bar will show your final position based on the average of your effort compared to others who have done the same session. It's also worth mentioning that no one will be able to know who you are or any other type of information based on your Burn Bar results. That information stays private.

Which Workouts Use the Burn Bar?

As you've probably seen for yourself, not every Apple Fitness+ training session uses the Burn Bar. Instead, this feature is only available in a selected group of workout routines that are considered more demanding:

  • High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  • Treadmill
  • Cycling
  • Rowing workouts

How to Enable or Disable the Burn Bar in Apple Fitness+ on iPhone and iPad

Apple Fitness+ Workout

There's no doubt that the Burn Bar introduces some friendly competition, which can help push you to stay ahead of the pack. With that said, it's not for everyone. If you just want to focus on yourself instead of competing with "the pack," that's perfectly fine.

You can easily disable the Burn Bar, so you won't have to deal with it during every workout. Just follow these steps:

  1. Open the Fitness app.
  2. Tap on the Fitness+ tab.
  3. Choose the workout you want to do. Remember that you need to choose a workout from the HIIT, Treadmill, Cycling, or Rowing sections.
  4. Tap on Let's Go to start your workout.
  5. Tap the Metrics button located in the bottom left corner of your screen (the rectangle icon with a square and a circle inside it).
  6. Toggle Burn Bar off.
  7. Tap Done when you finish.
Disable Burn Bar Apple Fitness+

And that's it—you won't see the Burn Bar during your workouts ever again. You can focus on your own goals and use Apple Fitness+ Collections without any pressure from the competition. If you want to re-enable it, just repeat the same steps.

Get Ahead of the Pack

Remember, the Apple Fitness+ Burn Bar is meant to push you forward with friendly competition, but you can always disable it when you don't feel like comparing your performance to others. And if you feel like Apple Fitness+ isn't for you anymore, you can always try one of the alternative fitness services.