GymPact; one year on
120 workouts. 52 weeks. 2 misses. A lot of excuses invalidated. GymPact is certainly a vital part of my personal suite of enforcers.
GymPact is a service based around a smartphone app (iPhone or Android). You set yourself a challenge to work out a certain number of times per week and put your own money on the line. As long as you prove you've worked out you get a small reward - but miss a session and you're fined.
The app allows you to report your activity either by proving you are at the gym using your phone's Sat-Nav tool, by timing a run by locking into your RunKeeper app or by using the phone's sensors to ensure you are moving for more than half an hour within a 90min period.
Just like other enforcers, the system only works if you want it to. There's no commitment beyond the week - you can always cancel - and the mechanism relies on trust to a certain extent.
It is of course open to scamming, but that's hardly a real issue. It's possible to go to the gym and do nothing but drink at the café. However, this is quite a bit of work just to earn 43 cents.
The system's real value is in giving you a benchmark against which you can measure your excuses. Feeling a little poorly? A mate's invited you to the pub? Well, great - are they more important to you than the $10 you've staked to say you'd go to the gym 3 times this week?
I've used GymPact for a full year now. For me, its value is in keeping me thinking in a longer timeframe. My most dangerous points are when I go to the gym early in the week; I somehow fool myself into thinking this gives me a free pass to skip any further exercise throughout the week. GymPact doesn't forget. To me, this is what makes it so powerful - it nudges me to make the right choices.
If you fancy giving it a go, sign up through this link and you'll instantly win $5 - which you'll forfeit if you don't meet your first targets!
Download here:
