The Serial Challenge for Gym Haters

Serial.  An award winning non-fiction murder mystery podcast. It tells a gripping true story over a series of episodes. You cannot stop listening.

If you haven’t heard it yet, then I have an idea. Start listening to it.
…..But only while you’re at the gym.

This idea occurred to me while listening to another podcast. It’s an episode of Freakonomics called “When willpower isn’t enough.” On this episode, guest Katherine Milkman talked about the concept of “Temptation Bundling.” Milkman is an assistant professor Wharton School at Penn. She has done some interesting research on motivation and choices.

Ok, so maybe Temptation Bundling is obvious. But it works. You can make terrible stuff slightly less terrible by bundling it with good stuff. It’s something many of us do without even noticing.

This challenge is basically just that. But it has the additional benefit of being concrete. So you can make a commitment to simply just do it.

The Challenge

If you don’t go to the gym because you simply hate going, then this is for you.

Don’t worry about what you do at the gym. Lift weights, do cardio, whatever. Who honestly cares?

You are more than welcome to go easy on yourself. The point is just to get moving. 

Here’s the challenge:

1. Download the “Serial” Podcast
2. Pick at least two specific days to go to the gym per week
3. Spend at least one hour at the gym per visit, listening to the podcast
4. You are NOT allowed to listen to the Podcast unless you’re at the gym
5. The challenge is over once you finish the first season.

If, after the challenge, you still hate the gym, then no bid deal. Your challenge is complete, and you did some good for your body.

If, on the other hand, you learn to love the gym, then YAY. Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of activation energy to get started. You’ll just have to try it and see 🙂

If you do this challenge, OR if you have another idea for a good podcast that might work, let me know.

Happy Gyming.

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