Passage wants to turn your workouts into journeys

We love our health and fitness here at CHS but let’s face it, sometimes staring at a wall whilst on the running machine or trying to read a book on the cross trainer at the gym can be pretty boring.

Well, with the launch of a new app recently, there may be an answer.

Passage, a free download for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iOS AppStore, launched this week aiming to turn your workouts into journeys. Using Apple’s built-in accelerometers as a pedometer to track your steps whenever the app is open and running, those steps are then turned into a virtual display of a new location. This is shown on the screen in a 360 degree view. To start with, the app starts out with a course through Paris and more locations can be unlocked the more you use it.

As the user virtually moves through the city, the app displays Instagram photos from their virtual location, tourist facts, and “hidden gem” restaurants, as well as allowing users to see their virtual location on a Google map and displaying the local time and weather.

“Instead of staring at a book while you’re on your elliptical or stairclimber, what we have is an opportunity to turn your fitness into a journey, wherever you want to go,” said CEO of Aetnas, Mark Bertolini. “It engages the consumer in thinking about places they want to go, sets goals, and allows them to make the journey personal and complete, bringing the world to them.”

Passage has been developed by Aetna, a health care benefits company serving approximately 37.3 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. The app requires you to sign on to Aetna’s CarePass portal, a fitness hub initiative that has been a big part of Aetna’s strategy recently.

We happen to think this is pretty damn cool. Any app that lets you battle the boredom of the gym can be useful. However, If you’re a gym bunny then this probably isn’t for you. If you’re someone who forces themselves to hit the weights before or after work, then this could be the ideal solution to burn some time as well a calories. We particularly like the gamification element which encourages users to use the app more to unlock more locations. Great idea and from what we’ve seen it’s a good execution.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.