If you have a gym membership, there’s a good chance you’re just throwing your money away. It’s not because gyms are bad places. It’s because you’re a lazy slob who signed up and now has about a thousand excuses why you shouldn’t go. If you’re as unmotivated as I am about pumping iron, GymPact’s monetary reward and punishment system could get you out off that couch.
The service works like this. You set days for the next week that you want to go to the gym. This is your “Pact.” Now if you decide that watching the BSG marathon is more important than working on your glutes, you’re penalised and the app takes your money. You get to decide how much money you lose ($5 min per session) if you don’t get off your keister. If you do make your weekly Pact, you’re rewarded with cash paid out of a pool funded by all the lazy people who wanted to see Starbuck in a tank top.
The service has over 40,000 gyms in its database and you can add you own gym if it’s not already there. Users check in with the iPhone app and start their workout. Now if you’re already throwing money away on a gym membership, I’m not sure how motivated $US5 dollars per missed session is going to make you. You could just drive by the gym, check in, and head on down to the local ice cream shop. But if you’re going to do all that, you might as well just hop on the treadmill. [GymPact via Slate]