Healthcare Technology Featured Article

January 10, 2013

Gym Shamer Motivates Users to Work Out Through Social Media Shame


With the winter months upon us, sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to get to the gym and exercise. Whether it’s after a long hard day at work, or trying to get out of a warm bed to make the cold trek to the gym, motivation can be hard to find during the dark and frigid winter months. But, what if you could be shamed into getting your workout in? The latest fitness app, Gym Shamer, sets out to do exactly that.

Gym Shamer is the latest app to try and motivate you to work out and get in shape, but goes about it in an unconventional way. The company’s tag line reads “Get in shape or get shamed,” and they will shame you over several social media platforms for all your friends and family to see. 

The app works by connecting to the users Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook accounts then having the user set how many times during the week they would like to go to the gym. Once the goals are set and the accounts are linked, if you miss even one gym session, Gym Shamer will automatically post a message to your Facebook and Twitter accounts on your behalf. The message will read as follows:

“I failed at going to the gym X times this week. Ouch! via @GymShamer.”

Gym Shamer is similar to another app launched last year called Gym Pact. Instead of motivating you through shame, Gym Pact motivates you by giving your money away if you fail to work out. It may seem a little forward that the app gives your money away, but there is a method to the madness.

At the beginning of the week, like Gym Shamer, users set a goal of how many times they would like to make it to the gym. Users then wager a certain amount of money, minimum of five dollars, and for every gym session they miss that week, that amount of money is taken from the card that is on file.

At the end of the week, all of the money taken from users gets divided up and given back to the users who stuck to their goals and made it to the gym. So if you’re a motivated person, Gym Pact can turn out to be an investment, maybe not very lucrative, but an investment nonetheless.

With the rise of health risks and obesity continuing to grow around the world, these new apps can be fun and creative ways to keep us motivated and get ourselves into better shape.

 




Edited by Brooke Neuman
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