How many times have you looked in the mirror and decided
that it was time for you to get back in shape? How many Sunday nights have you
said to yourself that starting Monday, you are going to get back in the gym and
get your sexy back? And then by the following Wednesday, your workout plan and
motivation to get back in shape is a distant memory. And then you start using
the typical excuses that working professionals employ when they put working out
on the back burner: “I had to work late”…“I have to get home and make dinner”…“I
have to attend a networking event”…“it’s Friday and I’ve had a rough
week”…“a client invited me to a happy hour”…blah, blah, blah! Does any of this
sound familiar?
As many of you may know, I am always on the lookout for
new smart phone apps that make my life easier…or those that are a fun
distraction from what I’m really supposed to being doing…whatever! In my never-ending search, I happen to come
across the GymPact app for the iPhone. GymPact is the perfect app for those of
us who constantly promise ourselves that we are going to work out regularly…starting
Monday of course!
Here how GymPact works: every Sunday, you decide how many
days you intend to work out during the upcoming week (Monday through Sunday)
and you make a pact (at least one day). During the week, you use the GymPact
app to “check in” to your gym when you arrive and “check out” when you are done
working out. If you choose to work out outdoors (i.e. running or cycling), you
can use the RunKeeper app to record your work out…which will then sync to
GymPact. If you successfully hit the gym for the amount of days you pledged to
go, then GymPact will pay you. You read that right….GymPact will PAY YOU for successfully
completing your pact. Nice, right?! Now on the other hand, if you fail to
complete your pact for the week, you have to pay GymPact at least $5 per missed
work out (you decide how much you pay per missed work out). That’s about it…really
simple!
Before anyone gets excited, let me be clear that GymPact
is not going to make you rich...it is merely a way to "incentivize your workout." Last week, I made a pact to work out at least 5
days during the week. When I successfully completed my pact, I was paid $3.10…nothing
earth-shattering, but knowing that I would be penalized for not completing my
pact is an excellent motivator! I don’t know about any of you, but I am highly
skilled in the art of talking myself out of going to the gym after a long day
at work. Since starting with GymPact 4 weeks ago, however, I have successfully
completely my pact 3 times (no judgment about that 4th week please!).
And since GymPact only requires you to be at the gym for at least 30 minutes
per check in, I really have no excuse as to why I can’t make it to the gym.
In sum, I really
enjoy using GymPact as a motivational tool to get off my butt and work out…and
everyone can use a little motivation, right? The one drawback is that the
GymPact app is currently available only for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, so
Android users are going to have to wait. But for those of you with Apple
devices, check out the GymPact app on the iTunes store.
To learn more about GymPact, check out the website.
So, given my review of this app, would you try
it? Let me know!
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