There are a group of people in my industry (mostly in my own office and some in partner organizations) and, in an effort to stay fit, we started “Club 15″. It’s a simple concept: every month you want your goal to be at least 15 workouts. We have a mid-month check in on the 15th, and submit our final numbers on the last day of the month. Then, in the first couple days of the next month a spreadsheet is emailed and we get to see who hit the mark, and who didn’t. The spreadsheet gets updated every month with new numbers but you can also look back and track your progress.

I have to say, it’s pretty damn motivating. Please? I’m competitive. I don’t want to not hit the mark! But it’s also nice at the halfway check in point – people encourage you and light a fire under your ass if you can’t yourself.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it works for me – and I’d like to start a Blogger Club 15. The only requirements to join are you actually want to do it and you have access to a computer to submit your numbers (and if you’re reading this, you obviously do have access).

Things that don’t matter:

What gender you are. Male, female, either/or and in transition, I don’t care. This isn’t a GIRLS ONLY! WAH! club. If you want in, we want you.

Where you live. Ahhh the beauty of the internets! As long as you can send me your numbers, I don’t care if you live two blocks from me or two continents from me.

If you’re actually a blogger. I’m just calling it the “Blogger Edition” since I’m posting it ON MY BLOG. I should call it the “Emailer Edition” since that’s all you need to be able to do.

What your workouts consist of/what your fitness level is*. I don’t care if you join the club and have never worked out a day in your life and want to use the club as a way to START! Or if you already have a fitness routine mapped out and just like a way to keep track. The point ISN’T to be on the same level as anyone else in the club. Working out/training is so personal. I don’t want to know the specifics of what you did, just your numbers. The point IS to get into a routine that works for YOU, set goals and try to stick to it.

If you hit the mark every month. Obviously the GOAL is to hit 15, but sometimes you have an off week or an off month. It happens to all of us. Seriously — I work out and blog/twitter about it a lot (which I use for further motivation). But even I don’t always hit the mark. And I am not ashamed to admit it. Maybe it was mid winter blues or just being SO busy, but in February you know how many times I worked out? EIGHT. EIGHT TIMES. IN THE WHOLE MONTH. Meanwhile it’s the 6th of March and I already hit 5 workouts. Like I said work outs and training and schedules are so personal, it happens sometimes. My personal goal for this month is to hit 20 workouts. We’ll see … haha. But don’t let a slow month get you down – looking back at numbers will only motivate you MORE.

*That being said It doesn’t matter WHAT your fitness level is, but you do have to log an actual WORK OUT. And what constitutes a work out? I’m stealing this from my other Club 15 because I think it’s good guidelines:

What constitutes a “work out”? This is always the controversial question. Does walking around the mall for two hours shopping count? NO! Does walking around the Charles River at a good pace count? YES! Use your best judgment: is your heart rate up? Did you work up a sweat? Did you challenge yourself? These are the questions to keep in mind.

So, who’s in? I’m going to use March as the “trial” month. You can say you want to join and see if it works for you. I’ll do a spreadsheet and keep track, but if at the end of the month you decide it’s not for you – let me know, and I’ll take you off.

If you want in visit the new site: Club15 Online.

Let’s do this.