Tech Fridays: Who knows just what you might discover once you…take the leap!

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Today I am introducing a new series…Tech Fridays. On Tech  Fridays I will be presenting a health & fitness gadget, app, website, or equipment that can change your life!

The first guest of this series? James Dickerson, founder of Leap, an iphone app that motivates people to take up challenges that push their limits…Seriously…

Who knows just what you might discover once you…take the leap?!

Oh and to use this app you need to take pics…

Pics or it didn’t happen!

Create a challenge - Invite friends to join - Score - Win!

Enter James.

What does Leap do? On what platforms is it available?

Leap is an app for group challenges that motivate and encourage people to improve their lives. If you have a goal, you can join a challenge on Leap with other people who want to achieve it.

For example, if you wanted to stay motivated to eat a healthy breakfast each day of the week, join a challenge on Leap, snap a picture of your meal and get feedback, help, and support from the community. We have a really early version that we’ve been using for feedback and research available on the app store, you can get the link from our homepage at leapfor.it 

How did you come up with the idea?

Two things inspired us to work on Leap.

1. One, we were working on Wellthy, which was a game for corporate wellness meant to get employees more engaged in a healthy lifestyle. We learned that they wanted to do challenges with friends around their personal goals instead of competing with their coworkers – so this feedback was big.
2. The next thing is that our team was doing a Paleo diet challenge, and we were snapping photos of our meals to prove what we ate to each other. This turned into the basic idea for Leap.

Why do people love it?

Our hardcore users love Leap because when you have a goal it’s awesome to join a group of people who are just as passionate about achieving it as you are. It’s more fun and more motivating than going it on your own.

It’s also a really simple app to use – it’s not about counting calories or tracking every workout, it’s centered around simple behavior change, and just using a photo to prove what you did.

What are your “Leap” plans in the next 3 months (e.g., new features, etc)?

Right now we’re working on making some huge improvements on the app – we’re introducing a “high-five” feature to help with encouragement, we’re making challenges more public on the app, and introducing some more game-like features to keep people engaged. In a couple months it’s going to look like a whole new app!

How can people find out more about “Leap” (e.g., download info, website, etc)?

Check out our website to get a link to try out an early version of Leap – leapfor.it, and visit our blog at blog.leapfor.it  to get my tips on motivation, self-improvement, and health.

Maria’s Comments…

Not sure how to use Leap?

Let me steal some ideas from the Leap website…

• Work It Out: Sometimes you need extra motivation to hit the gym – pics or it didn’t happen.
• Breakfast Champion: Show me what you ate, remember, it’s the most important meal of the day!

And now let me add mine…

• Bike to work: Ditch the car and opt for biking. Pics or it didn’t happen.
• Errands walker: Walk on foot to the post office, the dry cleaners, or the nearby convenience store. Get rewarded by leap AND increase your longevity. What a catch 22!
• Employee pushups: Do pushups at work. Your friends will die to see your pics all neatly dressed in office clothes doing pushups! But you will get to see theirs as well!

I’m so ready to take the leap. If you have an iphone, then I’d love to hear about your challenges and maybe see a few of your pics?