Pact App

I thought that I would do an in-depth app review about an app that I have mentioned a couple times in the past because I know that there are a lot of people trying to live healthier. This app is called “Pact” and you can make a small amount of money each week if you do health activities that you promise to do. The downside is that if you don’t do them the penalty is a lot higher than the money you make. The average reward for a week if you participate in all three pacts is between $1.75 and $2.25 the penalty per item missed is $5.00. You can see how it might be possible to lose a lot of money on this. I have made an average of about $2.00 a week for over a year.

Here is a look at the app’s menu. It has a nice “Tutorial” area that explains how “Pact” works and how you record your activities. There are three pacts: exercise, food logging, and veggie. Each pact has certain rules / limitations. For instance, with the exercise pact you have to do 30 minutes of activity. The exercise can be tracked with step counting, motion tracking, or gym check-in. You can only count exercise once a day. So this means you cannot make up for a missed day by going to the gym twice on another day or doing an hour of activity.

For "food logging pact" you have to use a partner app. The one that I use is “My Fitness Pal” and like the exercise pact there are certain rules and limitations. You have to log all your food the day you ate it also known as “the pact day”, there must be three “meals”, and you have a minimum of 1200 calories and a maximum of 1450 for it to be a successfully logged day.

The “veggie pact” is the easiest and the name is deceiving. You can eat or drink fruit or vegetables. You need to take a picture that gives evidence that you are consuming it and that it is a full serving of fruit or vegetable. Users take a picture and the community of Pact users determines whether they feel it fits the definition of fruit or vegetable. In my opinion they are very lenient because I have seen fruit juice, smoothies, and a handful of dried fruit counted.

Each “pact” has a different reward value. If you participate, at the end of the week they send you a “rundown” with a record of what you completed and how much money you earned or owe. If you want to retrieve your rewards you can request a preloaded debit card or you can connect your PayPal account (which is what I did). The minimum amount that can be transferred depends on which you method of payment you choose. I believe it is $20 for the card and $10 for PayPal. The way I think about it is that “Pact” helps me pay my monthly gym membership fee. The app is available for Android https://goo.gl/FzK9gi and iPhone https://goo.gl/olXIC7

Exercise instruction and tracking: more apps that help you lose weight (or just be healthier)

These apps are intended to help you get more out of your workouts, help you do quick but effective exercising,and track your exercise.

JeFit (Free. iOS and Android) While there are many apps that focus on cycling or running this app focuses on weight lifting. It will give you all kinds of plans for killer abs, bulking up, wider back, and much more. You can specifically chose a body part and it will give you weight lifting exercises to do with a timer and rest periods. It tracks your progress and you can take a picture to do side-by-side comparisons. There are 1300 exercises with small how-to graphics. There is a community of users that can answer questions, inspire, and motivate. You can create custom exercises and log your workouts. The step-by-step directions when you first start to use the app are helpful. There are ads at the bottom of the screen but they are not obtrusive. The user interface is typical and the layout average.

7M Workout by Johnson & Johnson (Free. iOS and Android) This app has a clean modern platform with an easy to use interface. The functions are intuitive and the options and features are given small how to instructions for the user. The app connects to the Apple Health app for iOS users, recording exercises and importing your personal details so that you do not have to enter information like age, height, sex, and weight. Each workout announces the exercise and shows you how to do it. Smart workout asks questions to create the best workout to meet your needs. You can view the videos to learn exercises at anytime. There are 23 workout plans to choose from, the smart workout feature, or you can create your own custom workout. You can learn set workout reminders, adjust audio prompts, and allow it to post to Twitter. All of the exercises are body weight exercises.

Nike Training Club (Free. IOS and Android) Much like the 7 Minute workout app this exercise app focuses on Pilates / body weight exercises but also includes weight lifting. The user can choose what their goal is: get lean, toning, strength, or specific parts of the body. The app has a beautiful user interface that is very intuitive. There are no ads and no premium in-app purchases. You can add friends, create your own exercises, and track progress. It syncs data from Nike's running app. With countless exercises for users of all levels and motivations this app is useful for a wide audience.