This Bracelet Won't Let You Skip the Gym

Have you skipped your workout one too many times recently? Tired of sinking into the couch for a Netflix session, complete with ice cream, when you promised yourself you'd get to Pilates class at least once this week? Who am I kidding, of course you're not sick of Netflix and ice cream. But exercise is important too, which is why there's now a bracelet that literally shocks you into hitting the gym.

Called Pavlok, the bracelet is advertised as "a personal coach on your wrist," but I think it sounds more like a prop from the 50 Shades of Grey movie. Unlike existing fitness-based wearable technology like FitBit, the Pavlok bracelet seeks to not only track your exercise habits, but to change them (using electricity, let's please not forget that part). You can also use this, um, incentive based system to form other good habits. Want to wake up an hour earlier? The Pavlok app shocks you when you try to hit the snooze button.

If you're not into periodic electric shocks, Pavlok comes with the option to punish you monetarily. The app will also humiliate you by posting "I didn't make it to the gym today, SHOCK ME." On your Facebook wall. So, there's that.

Look, getting to the gym can be really hard unless you're one of those people who posts photos of kale juice on Instagram and lives in Lululemon yoga pants because "every moment can be a yoga moment" and you never know when you can squeeze in a quick sun salutation (or twenty). But do we need to resort to physical and psychological torture to make us get off the couch? If so, we have some work to do as a society.

However, if you need your own accessory equivalent of Christian Grey to encourage better fitness, by all means pre-order Pavlok now. They only cost $149.99. Meanwhile, I'll be sticking to my own preferred method of fitspo — looking at pictures of Gisele Bundchen's abs on the Internet.

Image: Pavlok