O’ Physical Fitness, Thy Doth be the Bane of the Noble Nerd

Physical fitness is undeniably important, especially in the world of modern convenience we live in. The merits of health such as longer life, less instances of sickness, and increased energy alone make should be able to convince everyone to spend an hour a day engaging in that dreaded activity known as “getting fit.” So why do we see so few intelligent people making certain to keep physical fitness at the top of their list of responsibilities?

Physical fitness is undeniably important, especially in the world of modern convenience we live in. The merits of health such as longer life, less instances of sickness, and increased energy alone make should be able to convince everyone to spend an hour a day engaging in that dreaded activity known as “getting fit.” So why do we see so few intelligent people making certain to keep physical fitness at the top of their list of responsibilities?

Fitocracy believes that they have the solution. Fitocracy is a website that offers to track your workout regiments for you, integrating social networking through connections such as Facebook and groups similar to guilds in popular MMO’s like World of Warcraft. As you complete tasks you earn experience, gaining bonus experience for completing “quests” such as performing a specific workout 3 times in a week. Through this simple mathematical formula, entertaining quests, and achievement based structure Fitocracy has done what personal trainers have never been able to do. Fitocracy gives you instant, track-able, and measurable results. 

Working out becomes a game, with leveling up and completing quest lines serving as a fun, addictive, and competitive approach to personal health. The social networking aspect puts you in direct contact, and if you choose, competition, with others you know using Fitocracy. This drives both you and your friends towards increased performance and frequency of workouts as each party attempts to level up faster than their competition. This added aspect of video game culture is just the addition to real world fitness that many nerds and die hard gamers have been looking for.

Fitocracy is a growing system, currently in beta, with much promise. Though the experience Fitocracy doles out may not lead to instant results in real life, it does give you that extra incentive to make it a priority to hit the gym. That extra drive to reach the next level or keep up with your friends as they progress though exercise quests can make all the difference in the world.