Urban Fitness Junkies Perform Feats of Strength at SocialWorkout.com

SocialWorkout.com has launched the Feats of Summer Challenge, a "mind-body" fitness challenge that is one part social networking and one part Marines Physical Fitness Test. Members must complete 20 "rigorously subjective mind-body feats" by Labor Day, and blog their experience at the site. Prizes are on offer from a collection of leading NYC fitness brands, including Crunch, Vitacoco, Fierce Yoga, Siggi's Skyr, and others. Users cultishly addicted, creating "FoS Bingo Cards", and even meeting to practice….

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 25, 2009

Urban fitness junkies have a new mission, thanks to web site SocialWorkout.com: They're out to complete 20 "mind-body" feats by Labor Day, and to blog their achievements. Social Workout, a Web 2.0 cross between Gawker and Chowhound for the urban fitness crowd, traffics in the world of "extreme wellness." The site created the Feats of Summer Challenge to inspire its readers to exercise regularly, eat well, and feel better. "It's just like summer camp, but with adults, in the city, and online," said company founder Oliver Ryan. "Our users are always looking for inspiration and accountability, and establishing these "feats" for them to achieve -- and a way to publicly record the achievements -- seemed a fun way to motivate them."

This is the third challenge run by Social Workout, which launched in March and has attracted a crowd of loyal readers and bloggers. In addition to solo gym rats and yogis, Ryan says whole offices have gotten in on the action as collectives. "One reader wrote in that she had created a 'Feats of Summer Bingo Cards' which all of her office mates were now using -- much like a fantasy sports league. They cross off feats as they achieve them. We're all for it."

Online challenges are not new to Ryan, who launched ApartmentTherapy.com with his brother in 2004. That site now draws millions of readers each month, and runs a regular diet of design-related challenges, notably the annual "Small, Cool Apartment Contest."

In just three months, Social Workout readers have logged nearly ten thousand workouts, and they compete not just on the quality of their workouts, but also the quality of their blogging. "We ran the first ever 'literary fitness challenge,'" says Ryan, who notes the site appeals to yogis, dancers, and serious weight lifters alike. "We're a fitness site for the blog set. An urban, DIY, web version of The Biggest Loser. Or something like that."

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