Photo Credit: JMR_Photography/Creative Commons
“Never miss another workout.” This slogan for a new smartphone app is easier said than done. But with the app, GymPact, you may have a shot at accomplishing this feat.
Missing your workout could hurt you in more ways than one, because with this app, skipping the gym won’t only hurt your health, but also your wallet.
The advantage: the app actually pays you to go to the gym.
The catch? It takes a minimum of five dollars out of your bank account every time you miss a day at the gym.
How does it work?
You can upload the app for free, then you enter the amount you want the app to take out of your bank account for every day you say you will go to the gym and don’t (with a minimum of five dollars). Then, you enter your bank account information.
Each week, you tell the app which days you will go to the gym. The more days you go, the more money you earn. You receive money from other members of the app who do not go to the gym on their scheduled days. You must workout for a minimum of 30 minutes, and if you really need a week to rest or if you’re injured, you can have a doctor email the app to excuse you.
When you get to the gym, you log in. The app uses a gym locator to tell if you are really at the gym or not. It also uses a partner app to track you if you decide to run outside instead of going to the gym.
Photo credit: Wikimedia commons
Losing money if you don’t go the gym and getting paid to go? Sounds like a pretty good motivator and easy way to make money.
Laura Marvin, a junior communication and criminology and criminal justice major, has other worries besides making time to go to the gym.
“I think it is dangerous giving out your bank account information,” Marvin says. “Who knows, someone can hack this app and get your personal information.”
And for those who are skeptical, a study this year found that monetary incentives really do make people lose more weight.
The Mayo Clinic reports a study that was presented this year at the American College of Cardiology’s Scientific Session that found money motivates people to lose weight. The study had two groups: a monetary incentive group and a non-incentive group. All participants were weighed monthly, but the participants in the incentive group received $20 per month if they reached their goal weight. The average weight loss for the group that used money as an incentive was about 9 pounds. For the group that had no monetary incentive, the average weight loss was only about 2 pounds.
If losing weight at the gym is your goal, and you have one hour a day to devote to the gym, GymPact may be the motivational push you need.