I became a spin instructor a few years ago. My original motivation for teaching was my desire to share my love for spin with others. And, as a music lover, I couldn't help but want to make my own playlists. But I've found an added benefit to teaching -- I cannot skip my workout. People not only count on me to be there to teach them, but it's also become an source of income. What could be better motivation than getting paid to workout? What about having to pay someone if you didn't make it to your planned gym session?
Harvard grad Yifan Zhang recently developed a new program in Boston called gym pacts. The premise of this program is that if you don't workout on your planned days, you are charged more for your membership. This program was initially kicked off by offering free memberships, but you had to commit to working out 4 days per week. For every week that you don't make it to the gym four times, you are charged $25. In theory this sounds like it would be good motivation. Who wants to pay money for not finding an hour, four times per week, to do something good for yourself? In general, people respond positively to financial incentives, so on the surface it seems like this program would lead to an increased number of people making it to the gym.
However, when I thought about it further, I realized that a plan like this could backfire pretty quickly. As someone who makes it to the gym regularly, but maybe needs that extra little motivation every so often, this is a dream plan for me. I could pretty much guarantee myself a free gym membership. But what about those people who have never made it to the gym four times in one week- the ones that this is probably designed for? I wouldn't sign up for a plan like this if I were them. It's too risky. For example, one of the gyms that is part of the plan is Planet Fitness. They regularly have specials offering a full year membership for $99. If you don't sign up for that plan, you can usually get a plan for around $10 per month plus some small upfront fees. Say you sign up for the gym pact at Planet Fitness and within a month you miss one day that you are required to go; you've now spent more than an actual monthly membership. I realize the point is to make sure you get there, but when you have a plan like this, the gyms are certainly hoping that at least a few people will miss their required days. Otherwise they won't get paid.
I like the idea behind this program - finding financial ways to motivate people to get to the gym. But I think the business model should be revisited. Perhaps a model that gives you a certain % of future months memberships if you make gym a certain number of days per month. Or if you want to make it more of a punishment model, the fees have to be smaller than the monthly cost of joining that gym. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for gym pacts in Boston. I'm interested to see if it gains traction.
