Office space competition has taken on a whole new meaning courtesy of a new fitness tracking design ushered in by FitRankings founder Patrick Hitchins and his colleagues earlier this year.
Frustrated about the back-and-forth disputes between their friends and colleagues centering around the age old debate in any water cooler conversation regarding fitness levels, Hitchins and his team have found a way to settle that conflict. The answer is FitRankings.
“We wanted to create a platform where, regardless of your fitness interest, you could connect up one time and compare apples to apples with your coworkers or your friends to see who is more fit,” said Hitchins. “On top of that, we wanted to be able to say who’s company is more fit.”
Utilizing real-time data recorded on smartphone fitness applications, FitRankings converts these statistics into MET-minutes which can then be used by coworkers or friends to compare and crown the true fitness king or queen.
The first part of this equation, that being MET – short for the metabolic equivalent of a task – refers to the standardized amount of energy that is expended when completing a specific task, whether that be running, cycling, or swimming to name a few. The minutes portion of the MET-minutes design refers to the duration of time that an individual performs a physical activity. MET-minutes are thus calculated by multiplying the MET value of the activity by the time spent performing the activity.
To provide an example, taking a dog for a walk, which has an MET equivalent of 3.0, for 30 minutes yields 90 MET-minutes. Compare that to running a mile at an eight minute per mile pace, which has an MET equivalent of 11.5. Scampering down the sidewalk or around the track for 30 minutes yields 345 MET-minutes.
Although employees may not be working diligently behind a computer screen while they break a sweat on the treadmill or out on the trail tallying MET-minutes, Hitchins is convinced that fit employees lead to overall success for both the individual and the company in the end.
“The reality is, if you’re a fit person and you spend the time and energy to stay fit, you are more productive and you are saving that company money on health insurance,” he said.
To date, 14 companies in the Austin area have signed on to implement FitRanking’s mission and adopt their premium software to track their employee’s’ fitness practices. The fledgling company does not offer tangible incentives to those willing to try out the company’s idea. Hitchins believes in the power of motivation instead to get people involved and help his brand grow.
“We offer the greatest reward that there is,” he said. “That’s just bragging rights and eternal glory.”
To put those high performers in the spotlight and offer motivation to the ones that may be a step behind, FitRankings keeps an up-to-date rankings of individual and company performance on its website for the world to view.
“We believe work is a sport,” Hitchins said. “That’s how we operate. Work is a sport whether you’re the CEO or you’re the intern. You’ve got to be fit to perform in today’s job market.”