I am a little behind on the whole new years resolution/exercise bandwagon. Mostly because I have exercised regularly so I did not feel like I *needed* to make a resolution. However, now that I am home more with the Kiddo it is harder to get in a good workout so I have been trying to think of ways to encourage/strongarm myself into getting off the couch (which, if you have or have had an infant you know how difficult that can be!).
I want to have a goal to work towards. I “thing” to do, but I don’t yet know what that is, so in the mean time I have jumped headlong into two apps to keep me motivated even when Im not feeling it so much. The first app is GymPact. This app allows you to make a pact to workout a certain number of times a week (I have made a 3 day a week pact) and you check in using your smart phone at your gym. If you work out for 3o minutes at the gym you have satisfied your pact and all is well. Here the kicker, if you do not keep your pact, they charge you a fee. The fee is dependent on how much you put on the line. So, for example,if you say you will work out four days a week and will put$5.00 on the line for each workout and you only do two workouts that week, GymPact will charge you $1o.00 for the two you missed. That $10.00 is then put into a pot and dispersed to the folks who did keep their pact. So, it is both a carrot and a stick, and I like that. What I do not like about it is that you cannot count home gyms. If you have the latest iPhone there is a GymPact Anywhere which will allow you to (as it says) workout anywhere using the accelerometer in the phone, but no such luck for Android users like me. Happily, GymPact can connect with Runkeeper and once you connect those two apps you can count walking and running towards your pact so long as you are walking/running for at least 30 minutes.
This has been my first week with GymPact and thanks to the Runkeeper app I was not only able to exceed my pact (I got in 5 workouts in the week, not just the 3 I agreed to), but I am super jazzed to be able to track my progress with my walking. I am challenging myself through Runkeeper to walk 100 miles in the next six months, which is kind of a low bar but its a starting point.
Do you use apps for your fitness goals? If so, what are you using? How do you like it?
Yoga Pants & Wine 
I have not used an app for fitness goals. Rather, I have participated in “challenges” at work – work out so many minutes, and you can earn prizes, etc. (however, they normally only run these challenges in the summer, and the one last year kind of died out.) Of course, these are strictly on the honor system. Good luck!
Thanks, Alana. We did a similar thing at my office a few back, I loved it. 🙂
I’ve never heard of GymPact! It sounds like a great idea, though. I use RunKeeper and enjoy the built-in motivation to beat my own times and distances. Good luck with your goal!
Thanks! Although I am really new to Runkeeper, like the emails they send telling me that I have a new personal best. Thanks for the well wishes!
Gym Pact sounds like a great idea. I’m nomadic so don’t have a permanent base. I find that I have to be creative with excercise as I am unable to join a gym or attend regular classes. I use the map my run app to record my routes and timings. Tracking my progress helps keep me motivated. Good luck with your pact. I’m sure you have the strength to succeed.
I don’t work out at a gym, but I stay in shape by dancing with my kids at home .. Just Dance for the WII or just baring the tunes and dancing around. Also cleaning house and being active. 🙂
Great idea, and so in tune with current events. The new friends–the phone and the app. I well remember the time when toddlers, full of wants and needs, kept you anchored to the chair. How wonderful that you’ve responded to the challenge. (I won’t call it the siren’s call. haha)
LOL, thank you Francene!