Better health for the long haul, a slimmer waistline and more energy not enough to get you motivated for the gym?
For those of you tech-savvy 20-somethings with iPhones, enter Gym-Pact, an app that keeps tabs your workouts. It rewards you for hitting the treadmill or punishes you when you choose to watch a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” marathon instead.
Think of the app as an allowance. You do your chores, i.e. workout, and you get some cash in return. If you don’t go to the gym, you get docked at least $5 for each day you skip — unless you get a note signed by a doctor. (If you think of going to the gym as a chore, there are several classes offered at local gyms that make it much more enjoyable to work out. You can find information about many local athletic clubs here.)
But joining the gym is only half the battle — probably less.
If you are like many 20-somethings I know, you bought a gym membership last year and used it only sparingly in the course of 365 days. If you planned to exercise 4 days per week for 52 weeks (208 possible gym sessions) and you went only 5 times, Gym-Pact would have taken $1,015 from your account and split it up among those who stuck with their gym plans. That’s not exactly chump change.
My workout schedule is pretty much the same year round, I try to go to the gym at least 4 times each week, but I’m pretty easily sidetracked when something better comes up.
Friends want to hit up happy hour? Unless I’m already en route to the gym, I can usually be persuaded. Things might be different if I had to pay someone (plus my regular gym dues) to skip that spinning class. On average, I probably am talked away from one of my scheduled workouts every other week — about 20 missed sessions per year. With the app, that’s about $100 gone from my account, which could definitely be better allocated to student loan payments and the like.
Other apps and websites for tracking and sticking with your New Year’s resolutions — weight-loss-related or otherwise — include the following: Goals on Track, 43 things, Health Month, StickK and Beeminder, among many others.
What do you think? Would an app that paid you — or docked cash from your account — for sticking with your resolution help you achieve your goal? Do you already use an app or website to help track progress you have made with your health, finances, etc.? How do you plan to stick with your resolution?
