Social 'Networkout': How Social Media Motivates You to Exercise

Jan. 19, 2011— -- I am the mayor of my elliptical machine. No really, I am the actual mayor of my elliptical machine. I check into the social media site Foursquare every morning as I hit the living room where the machine resides next to my couch and sometimes again in the evening if I'm doubling up on my workouts.

Foursquare is a social media app you download onto your mobile phone for the purpose of sharing your location with your friends. As soon as you reach your destination, you "check in" and post comments about the place for others to read; for every check-in you earn points to unlock "badges" and eventually accumulate enough to earn free stuff from business sponsors.

The title of "mayor" is bestowed when you check in at a spot more times than anyone else. Then you are mayor until someone else checks in more often and overthrows you.

I've never had political aspirations but I campaigned hard for this honor. I start my workout most days before the sun comes up and sweat it out for exactly 63 minutes. Also, that I have zero competition has helped a lot.

My husband wouldn't be caught dead on the elliptical and thinks Foursquare is some kind of balanced eating plan. The one to watch is my 5-year-old. When she gets tired of playing "Angry Birds," she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

To the uninitiated, being the Foursquare mayor of a living room gym sounds like a silly waste of time. Perhaps it is. But for someone as compulsive as I am (note the 63 minutes and the doubling up of workouts referenced above), it has actually become part of what motivates me to lace up my sneakers every morning.

To me, this meaningless, uncontested title is as close to an Olympic medal as I'll ever get. And I now get credit for my continued dedication to burning calories and preserving muscle tone.

If anyone understands this, it's Erin Alderette, the longtime mayor of the Chelsea Piers Sports Center in New York. She began her term back in 2009 after joining Foursquare on a whim and, a few brief challenges from other gym members notwithstanding, she has held onto the post ever since.

One person she briefly battled for the title was Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist who provided much of the original funding for Foursquare.