Go to the Gym 4x a Week & Win $$$!
Written by TJ O’Brien
We are getting close to the holidays and a time that everyone wants to “stay on track” with their nutrition and fitness – Invictus is here to help! We found this really cool accountability app that we want to try out with Invicti from around the world in a series of challenges. Our first challenge will be simple: Workout 4x per week for 1 month. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Download SPAR! On the app store. Apologies, the app is currently only available for iPhone, but plans are in the works for an Android version.
2. Join our challenge. “Invictus workout 4x week”. This competition is FREE (unless you miss a check-in then it’s $10 per miss) and is open to members of our local gyms AND our online community. The more the merrier!
3. Check in each time you go to the gym. Just a simple post or pre shot of the board or you warming up or in your post-WOD glory. We trust you won’t just show up, film a check in and head out…
4. Win $$$! Participants with the least number of misses in the month of October will split the pot.
But what if you have a 3x a week membership?
You can upgrade your membership to “unlimited”! Maybe you’ve been wanting to add one semi-private session a week to work on those gymnastics skills…Or, your fourth workout can be one outside of the gym. Let’s see what you’re up to! Yoga, running, spin, swimming, or a living-room-metcon would all be viable options. This applies for those with an unlimited membership as well.
But what if you are not a member of our local gyms?
You can (and should) still participate! Just post your check-ins from wherever you workout. What a great way to get our local and virtual communities together for a fun event!
What exactly is this SPAR! thing?
SPAR! Is an app that works by first inviting your friends to a challenge. This could be virtually anything but for context, some of the favorites I’ve seen include things like; “pick up trash,” “do 100 push-ups a day,” “meditate 15 minutes a day” and “drink 100 oz water per day.” Next, you set a monetary penalty for missing the challenge. Most challenges penalize participants five to ten dollars for each miss. To complete your challenge you “check in” by video through the app. If the challenge can be completed within the one-minute video window, one would film themselves doing the challenge, but would otherwise give a recap or some proof of completion. At the end of the challenge, the members of the group with the fewest misses split the money accumulated in the pot from the members who missed their check-ins. It’s that simple!
I can tell you from personal experience that the combination of loss aversion, competition, and social accountability provided by the app provides a very effective habit building platform. There were days when I forgot to do my push-up challenge until I was getting into bed. That $10 penalty plus the thought that I wouldn’t win any money at the end of the challenge was enough to crawl out from under the covers and knock out a set. Additionally, there is a chat for all the members of the group so that you can communicate with all the people in your challenge. You can ask questions of the challenge creator and voice any problems you have directly to a SPAR! administrator.
Let’s SPAR! Hop on the app store, download the app and join our challenge! It all starts October 1st!
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