It may sound materialistic and shallow, but the fact of life is that, 'money' is one of the biggest motivator for human beings. Two young Harvard students, Yifan Zhang and Geoff Oberhofer learnt this from a 'Behavioral Economics' class and founded a very effective app for workouts called GymPact.

If you tell people that lack of exercise makes you unhealthy, they will probably nod in agreement and forget about it, but if you tell them that lack of exercise makes you lose money...you'll probably see them hitting the gym everyday. And if you tell them that exercising will pay you as well, you'll see them running to the gym.

GymPact's concept is based on this idea."Behavioral economics show that if you tie cash incentives to things that are concrete and easy to achieve like getting to the gym, it’s very effective,” said Yifan Zhang. Further adding “People don’t like losing money and it’s one of the strongest motivators, much more than winning money.”

GymPact has over 40,000 gyms in their database, that covers about 70% gyms in the US. Every week, you commit to a workout schedule/pact, (one day workout for 30 minutes is the minimum requirement), you choose how much penalty you will pay for not following this pact (minimum $5 for each missed visit) and if you manage to stick to the routine, you will be awarded with winning money.

Every time when someone strictly follows the routine, some one some where gets too lazy to step out. So, from the penalties paid by these slackers, a pool is created by GymPact which is used to award the ones who manage to make it to the Gym as per their commitment. The more you visit the Gym, the more money you earn.

































Here's how it works:

• Download GymPact to your iPhone.

• Choose the number of days in a week you want to commit to visiting the Gym.

• Choose the amount that you are willing pay if you miss a visit. (Minimum $5).

• When you visit your Gym, check-in to GymPact app from your iPhone and the GPS will track your location. It will also keep a close watch on the amount of time you spend in the Gym, so if you step out before 30 minutes, your workout session will not be counted.

• Every time you fail to go the gym, money will automatically be deducted from the credit card listed by you while signing up with GymPact.

• Every week, when you manage to stick to the pact, you will receive from the pool money through your PayPal account.

Have a look at this demo video:




Of course there will be instances when you genuinely can't make it to the Gym. Suppose, your week is filled with late nights at work, or perhaps social commitments, you can always change your next week's pact before midnight, Sunday. In case you fall sick, you will have to produce a 'sick note' from your doctor or your employer to avoid paying the penalty.

I think this idea works for those who need more than mere motivation to go to the gym, people like me who need to be penalized monetarily for not inculcating healthy habits like working out. What do you think? Share your views in the comments section below.


www.gym-pact.com

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