I’ve been working out at the gym regularly for about 6 months now. Before the weather turned cold I loved to run around my neighborhood. I would normally try to run around 3 miles. The problem I’ve always had with my running is my endurance and speed (or lack of on both). I would always run for a few minutes and have to walk a little bit. And I’ve never been able to get my average time under 12 minutes per mile. My neighborhood has lots of hills that tend to really slow me down and make me have to take frequent breaks and walk the hills.
The past few months since it’s been too cold for me to run around my neighborhood I’ve been hitting up the treadmill at the gym. On the treadmill I’ve been able to average around 10 minutes 30 seconds to 11 minutes per mile. But this is with me running the treadmill at a zero incline so I’ve never really been sure if I’m really improving my running…until this past week.
Last week we had a beautiful day and the weather got up past 50 degrees so I decided to take a run around the neighborhood before I picked my daughter up from school. I was able to run the ENTIRE time!! I couldn’t believe it! There were times I wanted to take a break, but I just kept going. And my average time was 11 minutes and 4 seconds per mile! That means I’ve been able to shave a whole minute off of my average. I’m so thankful I haven’t let myself slack off this winter!
There are some awesome motivational apps out there and some that aren’t so great. I’m about to give you a warning about one of the apps that I’ve been really disappointed with so you will know to steer clear of it. I just cancelled my account with Gympact and I’ll tell you why. At first glance Gympact sounds like an awesome app if you go to the gym on a regular basis like I do. Gympact pays you a small amount if you check in at the gym with their app for 30 minutes. Sounds great, right? It would be great if it actually worked. The app is glitchy at best. The first week I had no problems with it. Checked in at the gym no problem earned my little $1.68 from working out and eating veggies. Not too bad. Well this past week I decided really quick to cancel my account. The first issue I had was the day I ran around my neighborhood. There are a couple of running apps that are supposed to sync up with Gympact. If you have the running app running and have checked in with Gympact you are supposed to get credit for your run within 24 hours. I never got credit for my run. I reported the issue and never got a response from anyone with Gympact. Strike one.
Strike two happened the next day when I actually went to the gym. I opened my app to check in at the gym and my gym wasn’t listed in my check in options as it normally is. Another gym was listed that’s not even in the vicinity. I tried to check in with that gym and of course it didn’t work because I wasn’t anywhere near that gym. So I didn’t get credit for my work out that day. Strike two.
The next strike happened yesterday when I went to check in at the gym again. I had the same problem as before having the wrong gym listed in my check in options. I didn’t even attempt to check in and just went on with my workout. About 10 minutes into my work out I decided to check again and it was magically working and I was able to check in.
So what’s the big deal about not getting credit for your work out? Well if you aren’t able to work out for the amount of days that you said you would work out they charge you $5 per day that you missed. So basically I told the app that I would work out 5 days last week. I got credit for 3 of those days, but the 2 days that the app wasn’t working cost me $10. That’s right, folks. I had to pay $10 for their broken app.
So my advice is to stay far, far away from this app. They are charging people like crazy for their technology that doesn’t work.
I have been at the gym for about 4 months.. so far there is a big benefit for me.. i am in much less pain.
In that situation, I’d cancel it too. When you count on it to log your workouts and it doesn’t, it’s not worth it!
Oh my gosh – that is horrible about those apps. They do sound promising at first glance, but thank you for sharing that they are not all they are cracked up to be!
Good for you for running though – that is awesome!
Wow, I would be upset, too. That’s crazy how they charged you for their problem. Good job on shaving time off your mile, though!
Congrats for keeping up your workouts and maintaining your fitness level! I’m horrible at that. I start up and can complete a program, but can’t manage to keep it as a ritual! It sucks about the app! I guess what they say that if its sounds too good to be true it is!
Congrats on shaving the time off the mile running and being able to keep it up! I’ve never been good at running and can walk a mile in the same time I run it… mainly because I have to stop and try and breathe when I am running and that slows me down of course.
Thanks for the heads up on that app btw! I will make sure not to bother purchasing it.
You are very good in keeping up with your workout!!! I would cancel that app too if they were not paying for what they promise , not worth it
I love to hear people’s success stories with working out. Not the buff personal trainer stories, but those like yours (and mine), where we keep plugging away at it only to realize one day we have made some progress. Yay! Keep at it. Sorry to hear about Gympact. It’s terrible to feel ripped off.
Well, not the best way to learn a lesson, very expensive I must say. Jeepers! Always have to be looking at how we can be had…
Awesome job doing it on your own. I know if I was in that situation, I would blow it off and never workout if I didn’t have the gym.
Oh no! But hope it doesn’t keep you from moving forward with your goals! Good for you for even trying it!
Congratulations! That is fantastic! It’s an amazing feeling when we see how we are getting closer to our goals!
Whew, that is CRAZY. My phone doesn’t work at my gym for some reason, so I can’t use workout apps when I’m there. 🙁
I say move on and keep up with the amazing work of getting out and getting fit! Feeling good about yourself should be reward enough!
Wow, that’s too bad the app didn’t work out. What a waste, glad you have given us all fair warning!
I think it’s just a horrible app in general; you shouldn’t have to rely on an app to work out. That just makes no sense to me, just make a schedule and find time; it’s pretty easy. 🙂
Hi, I didn’t know there were applications that pay/charged you for keeping or not to your workout. That was great information for me. Now I know what to avoid when I look at them. I am about to (soon 😉 ) to start with a daily plan for fitness. Thank you again.
Ugh, I would be upset too. DOnt let it get you off track, keep up the good work!!!!
That app seems intense for me. I can’t imagine being charged for not working out but maybe that is my issue! 🙂 It sounds like it wasn’t worth it though. Thanks for sharing!
I would totally cancel too. That’s just not right!
I would be hollering about the app too. That is crazy.