Exercise and the Internet

Researchers are now officially recognizing the positive impact online services can have on exercise habits. CNN recently featured an article about a study done on the effectiveness of online exercise programs. The researchers involved in the study concluded that online programs increased physical activity of its participants, and stated that further studies should be done to explore the relationship between the internet and exercise. The article also mentioned that there are 147 million American adults online, of which roughly 80 million are under-active. We are very excited to learn about this study.

The study focuses on tracking and email feedback, but we believe that for an online service, exercise tracking is just the tip of the iceberg in utilizing the Internet for sports and fitness. At introPLAY, each workout means something more since it scores introPOINTS in introLEAGUES. And as we build out our services, our Players will be able to view the workouts and statistics in innovative ways.

The First 36 Hours

We are surprised and excited by all the Players who joined introPLAY in the past 36 hours since the beta launch! We have received an overwhelming amount of feedback and support from everyone! That’s good stuff.

Here’s some news on things to come in the near future, addressing much of our initial feedback:

• Create and compete in public introLEAGUES to meet other Players on the site
• View Players’ workouts, share workouts and more overall interaction with everyone
• Find Players who do the same activities
• See more summary statistics of data entered in the Workout Summary

If you have any suggestions, comments, feedback, please post a comment, send us an email, use the “Contact Us” form on the site, send smoke signals, anything! We want to hear from you.

The Official introPLAY Launch!

We are very excited to announce the official launch of the introPLAY beta! On behalf of the entire introPLAY team, I would like to welcome you to the newest and most exciting sports and fitness community! Jump over to www.introplay.com to become a Player today!

We think the best way to experience introPLAY is to get right into an introLEAGUE. An introLEAGUE is an competitive exercise league where you score points each time you exercise and record your workout on introPLAY. For the first time ever, there is a fantasy sports-like league for your actual sports and exercise activities. All you have to do is click on “Start an introLEAGUE Now!” in the Locker Room. You can set the parameters of your season, invite friends and then get the competition going! Read through the introLEAGUE Rulebook for more info.

And keep your Workout Journal on introPLAY. You can record your workouts in 89 sports and activities. Over time, you will be able to enter as much (or as little) detail as you would like for each activity. For the first time, you will be able to track every rep at the gym, every point scored, every putt and every mile–all in one place. Then analyze your stats in ways that have never been done before: look at your historical data, delve into one particular activity or see how you compare to the introPLAY community.

So this is just the beginning! In the spirit of being “beta” we ask our earliest Players to be our most patient and helpful. If you see a problem, please contact us and let us know! We want introPLAY to be the best experience for sports and fitness enthusiasts… period! And we cannot do that without our community!

So join now and enjoy introPLAY!

introPLAY’s Roots

A few people have asked how I came up with the idea behind introPLAY–group-based activities that encourage competition and camaraderie in sports, fitness and exercise.introPLAY emerged from exercise competitions I used to have with five good friends back in college. We split up into two teams–Chicken Wing and Dark Meat. And the competition was simple. Each time one of us went to the gym, we scored a point. Back then only going to the gym counted, I kept score on a spreadsheet and our scores were updated once a week in an email. But there was no doubt that it worked! It motivated each of us to get to the gym more, not just to get in shape, but to out do each other and win the competition.Of course, we have come a long way from that original competition. Now, you can track in great detail all of your exercise habits in any of 90 sports and activities. The exercise competitions, called introLEAGUES, uses a real-time, proprietary scoring system that calibrates point values across those 90 activities. And you will be able to interact with the introPLAY community to share your knowledge of sports and fitness and learn from others.I still get those original five friends in our own introLEAGUES. We’ve graduated and we’re spread out around the country, but we still have a great time competing in our introLEAGUES!