Fitness for Every Body
Fitness Challenges with Friends
Challenge a friend to go head-to-head in a Activity Battle, using our unique effort-based goals.
Why Most Fitness Challenges Suck for Someone Involved
Friendly step or fitness challenges can be a fantastic way to keep each-other accountable and motivated! BUT, they're often demoralizing for some, and boring for others. Here's why:
The Strava Nightmare:
You head out for a long weekend walk, then all of a sudden, your friend uploads their 100-mile bike ride, whether you're competing on steps / distance / calories burned, the challenge is over before it's really begun. You can't win, and they don't need the motivation.
The Step-Challenge Disaster:
You setup a fun step challenge with some friends from work, to try and stay a bit more active. You go out for a walk at lunch time, quite happy with the 5k steps you've logged already, then Sarah from marketing (a not-so-secret marathon runner) logs in 25,000 steps by the end of Monday, and by Tuesday you're basically out of the running.
The Varied Friends Hypothesis:
The reality is, even if you friends all like to stay active, they often have quite different fitness levels, and engage in different types of exercise. A casual walker, a regular runner, a Crossfit enthusiast, and a yoga master... you're going to struggle to setup a fun and fair challenge you can all participate in together.
Here's the thing: Traditional fitness challenges only work if everyone's at the same fitness level, and doing similar sports / exercise. Spoiler alert: they rarely are, and it really limits who you can play with.
The result? The fit get fitter (and smugger), the beginners quit (and feel worse), and nobody has fun except that one overachiever who was going to exercise anyway.
So, How do Motion's Weekly Battles Work?
Activity Points Goals
Motion uses a unique "activity points" system to set personalized goals for each user. This system crunches all your activity data into one simple numeric score, converting your steps, calories, mindful minutes, cycling distance, heart-rate etc. and translates them all into one score.
This means, no matter what sports or exercise you do, our score system will translate it into a "common currency", so you can compare and compete with friends doing completely different types of activity.
Effort-Based Goals
Everyone on Motion, gets a personal weekly goal, calibrated to their unique activity level, based on their own historic activity data. Then, any challenges are based on how well you each complete your own goal.
We call this "effort-based goals", because everyone is working at their own goal, at their own level, the winner is the person who puts in the most effort that week, not the person who logs the most activity.
Let's Break It Down
You, Mike, and Sarah from the office want to setup a challenge, and all sign up to Motion. Motion pulls in your historic activity data from your phone / smart watch / tracking apps, and calibrates all your goals:
Motion Calibrated Goals Sarah (the not-so-secret marathon runner): Averages 20,000 steps / day normally
→ Motion goal: 2,000 activity points / week You: Average 8,000 steps / day on a normal week
→ Motion goal: 800 activity points / week Mike (office gym bro): Averages 5,000 steps / day + 4 strength training sessions
→ Motion goal: 1,300 activity points / week
Your challenge kicks off on Monday, and you all get at it to try and hit your goals... The week ends, and we have a look at the challenge results:
End-of-week results Sarah: Tracked 126,000 steps this week (that's ~18,000 steps/day)
→ Motion goal: 1,800 / 2,000 activity points = ~90% goal You: Push yourself and log 70,000 steps (10,000 steps/day)
→ Motion goal: 1,000 / 800 activity points = 125% goal Mike: Manages 7,000 steps/day, but only 2 strength training sessions this week
→ Motion goal: 1,100 / 1,300 activity points = ~85% goal
The final result: You win the challenge!
Even though Sarah logged the most physical activity, that was actually less that she normally does, so was a low week for her, whereas you really pushed yourself and managed to do considerably more than you normally do, so your relative "effort" was higher, and you come out on top!.
Why Motion's Activity Battles Work So Well
Compete on effort, not absolute ability
Compare and compete fairly based on how much effort you actually put in each week. Now you can compete with your grandma, your kids, or your olympian neighbor, and everyone has a chance to win!
Play with anyone, tracking any kind of activity
Due to our inclusive and proprietary activity points system, you can play with all your friends, no matter what sport / exercises they prefer.
Challenge chat for motivation or trash talk
In Motion, every activiy battle and challenge has a private challenge chat, so you can motivate each other to keep going, keep each other accountable and on track, or trash talk each other, depending on your own fitness love-language.
On-going battle series keep you motivated for longer
Win three activity battles before your opponent does, and you'll unlock a much coveted Battle Series Trophy, an eternal monument to your victories! Watch your series wins tot-up over time.
Earn rewards and unlock prizes
Winning battles unlocks badges and awards, and also wins ⚡️ prizes! You can exchange your jolts in the in-app store for different accessories and boosts for your fitness pet.
Find even more people to play with in our active community
If you're still struggling to find the perfect fitness accountability partner, join our active community on Discord, and you can find even more friends to help your along on your fitness journey.
Frequently asked questions
If you have anything else you want to ask, reach out to us.
How is this different from Strava or Fitbit challenges?
Unlike other apps that compare raw numbers (where fittest always wins), Motion compares percentage of personal goals achieved. A beginner at 102% beats an athlete at 98%. This uses our effort-based goal system to ensure fairness.
Can I battle multiple people at once?
Yes! You can be in multiple battles simultaneously - each battle is one-on-one, but you can create as many as you like each week! Everyone has their own goal, so they're all fair and fun!
What happens if someone doesn't have a fitness tracker?
No problem! Motion works with just your phone's built-in step counter. Everyone from Apple Watch Ultra users to basic Android phone users can battle together.
What if I'm way less fit than my friends?
Celebrate, and the whole world celebrates with you! You'll earn bonus points and rewards for exceeding your goal. But here's the key: because our special goals AI always looks at a 12-week window, your goal won't jump up after 1 active week, it adjusts slowly taking account of any blips.
What if I'm sick or injured?
That's the whole point! Your goals are tailored to YOU. If you normally do 3,000 steps and your friend does 15,000, you both need to hit 100% to tie. You might even win if you push to 105% while they cruise at 95%.
Is there a prize for winning?
You mean, beyond eternal glory, and ultimate bragging rights? Winners unlock special awards, badges, and prizes in the app. As well as battle series trophies, as a lasting testament to your victories!
Your Fitness Journey Starts Here
Download Motion free and discover why this is the fitness app you'll actually keep using. Your future self (and your Motmot) will thank you.
