Since then, moving on to training for long distance races has really been the golden ticket for me and has kept my motivation level high. Now that it is cold out and I am a wimp when it comes to running outdoors in the freezing cold temps, I have been hitting up the gym pretty regularly. I've always had a gym membership, but sometimes I would go weeks without visiting the gym because I would either run outdoors or do a workout at home.
It's been nice going to the gym and I have realized again what a great deal I have. I pay $32/month to go to any of the five gyms in our area, which includes a wide variety of group fitness (my favorite!) including Zumba, Body Pump, yoga and spinning. Plus, two of my close friends are instructors. The fact that I have been ignoring this great advantage is just silly.
My friend, Manon mentioned this great app she has been using to keep her accountable to her gym trips, called GymPact. To join this club, you commit yourself to going to the gym a certain number of times (I chose 3) and if you don't go - you pay! The user sets the amount that would have to be paid out and I chose $10. So, basically, I have $30 on the line each week (and they have my debit card info, so it is not like I can just "forget about it") and since I am living a lifestyle where I cannot allow that to happen, I am now motivated by the thought of "losing" money if I do not work out. Win/win, right?!
Next comes in my favorite component.... If you complete your gym pact, you get a payout from all the people that did NOT complete their gym pact! Nice, right? I mean, if you're already working out regularly, WHY NOT get paid for it?? It is not a lot of money, but hey, money is money!
The great thing about Gympact is, it also connects with Runkeeper, so you can still run or bike outdoors and have it count towards your weekly total! This week for example, it is supposed to be really nice out so I will probably only make it the gym once or twice, but all my runs will count towards my gym pact and I will not have to pay for missing a trip to the gym.
I have only been using Gympact a week, but I can see this being a great motivator for me and lots of other people, too! If you decide to join, use my referral code, frontAmber and you will immediately get $5 to start off with it!
Have you heard of Gympact before? What keeps you motivated to keep up with your workouts?
Phil was talking about doing this. I did not know you could use outdoor runs so I would be more apt to consider doing it, but haven't jumped on board just yet. Plus I wasn't sure if using my condo gym counts either? So I would have to look into it. I think it's a great motivator, though, as no one wants to lose money!
ReplyDeleteI registered for a 10 mile race yesterday so am 'back on the grid' as I am back to following a Hal Higdon training plan. It was nice taking almost 3 months off from really training for something, but it feels good to be back at it. It was in the 30s here yesterday so I headed outdoors and got in an awesome 5 miler!
I have never heard of that but seems like an interesting concept. Good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a membership at a gym here, but I use my apartment gym regularly. Do you know if there is a way to find out if that would count before I provide them my credit card information? It's not really letting me do so. =/
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I don't actually have a gym membership, but I run several times a week and use RunKeeper. Sweet!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this but it does sound interesting. Good luck! I know you can do it!
ReplyDeleteI will have to check this out. Sounds interesting & I am already committing to working out at least 3 times this week.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of Earndit? You get points for working out & with those points you can redeem them for discounts or free things. Here's my referral link if you want to join. It's free to use & you just need to link it to runkeeper or 4square or the different apps available. http://earnd.it/Uai5qw