Wow Skip A Workout and Pay $$

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♥_Ellybean_♥
♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Thought this article was quite interesting.. What a way to motivate yourself to go to the gym ????

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201103/skip-gym-and-get-lighter-wallet


Sometimes it’s just plain hard to motivate yourself to get to the gym. There are so many reasons to stay away: sleep, work, friends, weather, traffic … did we mention sleep? And the incentive for working out is long-term, while the reasons for avoiding the treadmill are very tangible.
But what if missing a workout hit you where it really hurts – in the wallet?


Gym-Pact is similar to a site like Groupon in that it offers customers (currently in the Boston area only) deals and discounts on yoga studios and fitness centers. That’s nothing new. But if the customer misses a workout, he or she pays a fine (referred to as a “motivational fee”). The system uses a text-message-based password system, so that the customer has to check in via text in order to get credit for going.

When signing up, you make a commitment to attend one of Gym-Pact’s fitness centers for a certain number of days per week (with a minimum of one day a week). You agree on a weekly schedule, and if you miss a session…you pay $10. Ouch. So basically, one of two things can happen: 1) You can fulfill your commitment, take pleasure in the discounted membership, and bask in the glory of attaining your fitness goals; or 2) You’re pretty much made to feel like a complete and utter slacker. And a slacker with a lighter wallet, at that.

If you think Gym-Pact is draconian and mean-spirited, just look across the pond to the system it’s modeled after. A gym chain in Denmark offers free membership, so long as you show up at least once a week. Fail to show and you are charged full price for that month. Yikes.

But is financial motivation an effective-enough way to get people off the couch and into the gym? Sure seems like it. Because if there’s one thing that’s more unattractive than a soft body, it’s an empty bank account.

Replies

  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
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    Thats an AWESOME idea! I like!
  • mgreen10
    mgreen10 Posts: 229 Member
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    Love this. it would keep me going!
  • alliecore
    alliecore Posts: 446 Member
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    bump
    Just headed out the door, but i want to come back and read this later. great concept!
  • ltlmsmrysnshine
    ltlmsmrysnshine Posts: 9
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    I think it's great!
  • herbalgirl011
    herbalgirl011 Posts: 21
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    Thats so crazy when I was driving today I was wishing that there was some place like that where I live. I had never heard of it before so I figured I was just thinking crazy. I love that Idea. Its great motivation.
  • boku70
    boku70 Posts: 80
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    I wonder how many people would stick with that long-term. I paid for a gym membership for many years without going. This is true, I suspect, of quite a few people.

    The net result was the same: I was spending a bunch of money on something, on a continuing basis, without getting any benefit for myself. The difference between that and GymPact seems basically to be phrasing. That is, they're "fining" you. I suspect many people are willing to be fined for bad behavior in the short term, but that penance gets real old real fast.

    (In my case, I continued to pay because I had a sweet lifetime rate locked in. Now that I go regularly, after all these years, I'm glad I kept paying. Otherwise, I would have gotten sick of paying what amounted to a fine...)
  • boku70
    boku70 Posts: 80
    Options
    I wonder how many people would stick with that long-term. I paid for a gym membership for many years without going. This is true, I suspect, of quite a few people.

    The net result was the same: I was spending a bunch of money on something, on a continuing basis, without getting any benefit for myself. The difference between that and GymPact seems basically to be phrasing. That is, they're "fining" you. I suspect many people are willing to be fined for bad behavior in the short term, but that penance gets real old real fast.

    (In my case, I continued to pay because I had a sweet lifetime rate locked in. Now that I go regularly, after all these years, I'm glad I kept paying. Otherwise, I would have gotten sick of paying what amounted to a fine...)

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