From 23 November to 1 December, competing gyms using the Motosumo group fitness app will have their calories converted into real-life trees planted by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Trees are pretty remarkable. And some scientists believe they could be a major weapon in the fight against global warming. Not only do they absorb CO2 and pump out oxygen, they also provide habitats for wildlife, minimize the effects of flooding, and combat soil erosion. And with forests around the world disappearing at an alarming rate, it’s more important than ever to start reversing the damage.
The #TeamTrees initiative was started by MrBeast, a YouTuber famous for ridiculous challenges and random cash giveaways. For months, fans spammed him with requests to plant 20 million trees. Not one to back down from a dare, he posted a video in October, launching #TeamTrees. The plan: to plant one tree for every dollar raised, with a goal of planting 20 million by the end of 2019. To get the job done, he teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation, an organization that, since 1972, has helped to plant and distribute over 250 million trees. News of the stunt quickly went viral, thanks, in part, to high-profile donations by Elon Musk and Shopify CEO, Tobi Lütke.
With just a few weeks left before the deadline, Motosumo has come up with a novel way to contribute to the cause, with a worldwide competition called #TrainForTrees.
How does it work?
Motosumo uses the sensors in smartphones to provide fitness data, including the number of calories burned during a workout. The competition works on a simple principle. A tree gets planted for every 2,000kcals burned using the Motosumo app. That’s the same number of kcals as a 14” cheese pizza or a few slices of cake.
“Motosumo currently has thousands of active users all over the world,” says co-founder Allan Steen Olesen. “Together, they burn an average of 4 million calories and pedal 210,000km per week. We’ve set ourselves a maximum pledge of 3,000 trees. So we’re confident we’ll meet the challenge. It’s also a great opportunity to test out our new leaderboard.”
At the end of each workout, users will get a link to the #TrainForTrees leaderboard, where they’ll be able to see how many trees their gym has planted and how they stack up against the competition. For the first time, hundreds of gyms and thousands of users from around the world will be connected to compete for a good cause.
Motosumo is big in the indoor cycling world, but can also be hooked up to any Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitor for all other group fitness activities. So, every ride, run, sprint, burpee, and jumping jack counts! All gyms with an active subscription will be able to participate in the event.
All other gyms are welcome to sign up, join the competition, and enjoy a free week of Motosumo here.