“Put your money where your mouth is,” usually ups the ante of any situation. Sometimes a beat has the power of motivation and creates enthusiasm from possibly receiving a cash reward. GymPact is an application that takes the excitement of beating and applies to exercise. This application is based on a behavioral economic theory from Harvard University and had a 90 percent success rate in their trial in Boston. There have already been over a million downloads of this app and they recently expanded the applications to work anywhere for any type of workout.
The way this app works is that you create a “pact” of how many days each week you are going to work out. Then you place a wager (of at least $5) that you agree to pay if you don’t workout. If you complete your pack, you can earn from 50 to 75 cents per workout. If you miss workouts, $5 for each workout you miss is charged to your credit card. After you make $10, you will be paid via Paypal. In order to track your workouts you check in at your local gym and exercise for at least 30 minutes. If you’re an outdoor runner, GymPact has a partnership with RunKeeper in order to apply your running to your fitness pact.
If your prefer to work out at home, there is a separate application that follows all the same principles of original GymPact except, instead of checking in, it uses the accelerometer in your iPhone to track your movements. GymPact Anywhere is only for iPhones, but the original GymPact can be used on Android phones and tablets and iOS phones, tablets, iPods, and iPads.
One of the drawback of this application is technical problems. In both that app store and the Google play store, there were dozens of complaints about the application checking users out during their workout while they were still at the gym. Also some users explained that the payouts are only high during the holiday season, and that most of the year they only receive 25 to 35 cents per workout. The GymPact Anywhere app doesn’t exist for Android yet, which means android users can’t use the app for at home workouts. Another aspect that users complained about is that it’s hard to check into office gyms or to create a check in for new gyms and fitness studios.
Pros:
– App itself is free
– Monetary rewards for completing your goals
– Allows you to set your wagers
– Wagers can be turned off in case of emergency/sickness/etc
Cons:
– Technical issues reported
– Costs money if you miss your goals
– GymPact Anywhere (separate app as explained above) not available for Android
If you think money is a good motivator for you to work out, check GymPact and see if it can help you achieve your fitness goals. You can download GymPact for iPhone in the Apple iTunes store or for Android in the Google Play store.
Images via the Apple iTunes store.
This is a great idea in theory but I bet a lot of people will end up cheating in order to not pay. For me, seeing results is a big enough draw to make it to the gym!
Totally agree with Whitney! I have seen this app before and I have been tempted to download it – as I work out EVERY SINGLE DAY – but I know people would definitely CHEAT and just say they worked out even when they didn’t. Also, I work out in my apartment gym. Doesn’t this app require you to work out at a GYM GYM ? That’s not very fair, only another reason why I did not give in to downloading this app.