Break Pal – Review & Giveaway – 5 Winners

***This giveaway is now closed.***

Break Pal is a program designed to help busy, office-bound workers sneak a workout into their packed schedule. Part fitness software, part social networking site, Break Pal members download a program that pops up periodically, reminding the user to workout. It then takes them to a series of special YouTube videos that guide them through quick 3 minute workouts. Users can also make friends with other members on the site in an effort to stay focused.

Want to work out more, but have no time and can’t afford the gym? 5 lucky Contest Corner readers will receive lifetime Break Pal memberships!

My take:

I was a bit skeptical of Break Pal, because I didn’t think it would motivate me. I was afraid that I would just ignore the pop-ups telling me to work out, just like I ignore the voice in my head that tells me to work out. I was also concerned that it might be too obtrusive – I’m very focused when I’m working, and if my concentration gets broken I get very frustrated. So I was very surprised when Break Pal turned out to be such a useful tool for me!

When my first workout prompt came up, I selected a “Chair Tai’ Chi” exercise. The short video shows instructor Liz Weaver in a business suit, showing you how to do the exercise while remaining seated at your office chair – no special workout clothes are required for these low-impact routines. Because the videos are short and to the point, they fit in pretty seamlessly with my schedule; which is saying something, because with my hectic life I am always proclaiming, “I don’t have time for that!!”. But these videos are between one and four minutes long, so it took the same amount of time as getting up for a cup of coffee might. And the alerts are fairly unobtrusive, so if I was engrossed in a project it was easy to close.

My biggest fear was not having enough discipline to follow through, but that actually wasn’t an issue because the Yoga and Chi Kung exercises feel so good! I actually looked forward to the breaks and was happy to take them. This is one of my favorites:

As a freelance journalist, I spend all day working at a computer, and I really feel it. My body gets so stiff and uncomfortable at times, and I know it slows me down. Just doing these exercises for a short time, I could feel a difference and noticed my muscles loosening up – and that’s a big deal. I thought Break Pal would be too gimmicky to work, but I fully intend to use this regularly now that I’ve tried it – I think it will help me relieve tension and feel better throughout the day.

The only thing I would like to see is perhaps a new widget design for Break Pal, with more customizable options. I think it would also be helpful if perhaps there was a more detailed FAQ for newbies on how to use it – I’m still figuring out how some of the features on the site work. But overall, I was really surprised and impressed that such a simple idea could have such a profound effect.

Want to be my worktout buddy on Breakpal? Click here to add me!

Win it!

FIVE lucky Contest Corner readers will win full Break Pal memberships with no expiration! Memberships are normally $9.95 per month, so what an awesome prize!

Here’s how to enter:

1. For your first entry, visit Break Pal and let me know why you’d like to have a membership.
This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment, so that I may notify you in the event that you are the lucky winner!

Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:

2. Write a post on your blog linking to this giveaway. Then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet!
4. Subscribe to my blog updates by entering your email into the “Subscribe” box in the sidebar. Then come back and leave me the email you subscribed with!
5. Become a follower of my blog by clicking the “Follow” button in my sidebar! Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment!
6. Post my button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:

<a href="http://contest-corner.blogspot.com"><img decoding="async" src="http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/supercoupongirl/contest_corner_border.gif" border="0" /></a>

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway ends on April 29th at 11:59 PM, PST. Winners will be chosen the following day via Random.org. Winners have 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to worldwide entrants.