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RunKeeper and GymPact want you to get paid for tracking your fitness
Staying motivated to achieve your fitness goals is always difficult. But would you be motivated if someone actually decided to pay you for sticking to those fitness goals? That's the idea behind GymPact, which today announced a partnership with RunKeeper to link the latter company's fitness tracking app to its pay-for-workouts motivational service. The idea behind GymPact is simple. You make a "pact" each week basically setting a monetary amount you'll pay if you don't make your exercise goals. For example, your pact may be to pay $25 if you don't work out five days this week for at least 30 minutes. If you've made or exceeded your goal at the end of the week, you get paid by the money of those who didn't meet their goals. If you decide to sit around and watch TV every night instead of working out, you are out $25. How does RunKeeper come into this? There's now a way to link your RunKeeper account with GymPact. If you already use the RunKeeper (free) app to track your physical activity, then you can click on the new RunKeeper button in the free GymPact app to link the two accounts. RunKeeper activities that count towards your GymPact include any runs, walks or bike rides that are tracked by RunKeeper's GPS and include a minimum of 1/2 mile distance and 30 minutes of activity with a pace above 2 miles per hour. GymPact is a unique way of staying motivated to keep active, and the integration with the very popular RunKeeper app makes a lot of sense.
GymPact for iPhone pays you to hit the gym
If you need motivation to get to the gym when you find your desire to stick to your resolutions waning, GymPact is offering a financial incentive to actually get you to go. The free app works when you commit to go to the gym and then set a monetary amount for each day. You must go at least one day a week, and you have to set at least a $5 penalty for missing a day of exercise. If you meet your goal, GymPact will give you a cash reward, minus a 3 percent cut for GymPact, culled from that ever-growing pot of those who floundered and decided to watch "Man vs. Food Nation" rather than hit the gym. Pacts are made on a weekly basis, so you're not locked into them like you are into a gym contract. And don't try sitting on your couch pretending you're at the gym either. The app's GPS integration will quickly confirm that you're not there. GymPact only applies to valid fitness centers, so your corner of the living room or office gym won't count. GymPact is available now, though some people are reporting issues signing up through the recently released app. If you don't want to put your money on the line but do want ideas on getting in shape for the new year, check out our suggested apps for sticking to New Year's resolutions. [via TechCrunch]
Gympact iPhone app offers cash rewards to gym-goers, penalizes inattendance
We know, it's the new year and you just made a resolution to start going to the gym regularly... for the fifth year in a row. But you really mean it this time, don't you? There's an intriguing way to make sure you stay motivated throughout 2012 -- the almighty dollar. And we're not just talking gym memberships, either, though you'll probably need one: an iPhone app called GymPact offers cash rewards if you honor your weekly fitness commitment and makes you cough up some of our own hard-earned money if you slack off. Here's how it works: you first make a pact on how many days you'll go to the gym each week (minimum of one day per week) and how much you'll fork out if you miss, with the minimum penalty set at five bucks for each day you miss. If you have to pay, that money gets taken out of your credit card and goes straight into a community pot, which then gets divided up and doled out to everyone who honored their weekly commitment. How does the app know when you've stayed true to your vow? It's easy enough: you have to check-in to the gym using the app and stay for at least 30 minutes in order for your visit to count. The negative motivation seems to be working so far: according to GymPact, the startup saw a success rate of 90 percent in its six-month Boston-area trial. Unfortunately, iOS is the only platform the program is currently available on, but the company says it's working on an HTML5 web app that would allow check-ins from any smartphone. Now, if only there was an app to keep us from going to the Drive-Thru immediately after we leave the gym...
