Getting Paid to Work Out

“Never miss another workout. Commit to exercise. Check-in at the gym, track outdoor workouts via RunKeeper, or workout at work or home with GymPact Anywhere .Earn cash for meeting your goal, paid for by non-exercisers!”

What’s this, then?

Ah, a new APP which was created by two recent Harvard grads, which is based on the premise that the “sting of losing money for missing a visit and the promise of collecting money for going is enough to keep you on the treadmill.”

Using technology that we’re all familiar with these days, such as checking in at the gym on your smart phone (or not, and then you’ll pay!) and then receiving cash deposited into your PayPal account, which comes from money withdrawn from others in the program who opted not to work out that day, the principle came from one of the founders after taking a course in behavioral economics.

Interesting.

I find it sad that so many people find working out to be so cumbersome, such a chore and so far from being remotely enjoyable that they’ve got to try to seek financial gain from it.  

I suppose, though, that there’s always the chance that during one of these paid workouts, they may stumble upon some form of exercise that they actually enjoy and then (gasp) decide they’ll do it because they actually have fun and find they’ve got more energy (no, way!) and are shedding some extra pounds (seriously?).

Could happen…