Could doing this help you actually stick to a workout routine?

Americans aren’t getting the exercise they need to stay healthy, despite studies showing the vast benefits of getting that exercise (and problems if you don’t).

The answer for some could be making exercise a bit more fun and competitive.

Researchers at the University of Iowa recently created and studied the use of a web-based game called MapTrek, which uses a smartphone and Fitbit. The game grouped participants together, asking them to compete against one another in weekly walking challenges. MapTrek also sent text messages each day to remind them to wear their Fitbit and offer encouragement.

For the study, 146 participants who reported sitting at least 75 percent of their workday were divided into two groups. Both groups were given Fitbits, but only one was given access to MapTrek.

According to the results of the 10-week study, published in June, putting in the competitive aspect made a difference. Immediately upon starting the competition, those who used the game averaged more than 2,000 additional steps per day and completed 11 more active minutes – or minutes in which they took 100 steps – per day than their counterparts. That translates to almost a mile of extra walking each day.

Unfortunately, the success did not last. The participants who used the game eventually regressed back to their pre-study fitness levels.

Megan Simmons, an exercise physiologist at the Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Health and Wellness Center in Downers Grove, Ill., says the success, as well as the backslide, shows how motivation and healthy competition can drive a person to achieve their goals.

“A lot of my clients train with me for the motivation,” she says. “It can be boring to work out alone, and we can get into a mundane routine which stunts our ability to reach our fitness goals. When we have trainers or group exercise instructors setting goals for us and challenging us each class, we are more able to achieve our fitness goals and be held accountable for attending classes or sessions.”

The study also emphasizes the impact setting achievable, measurable goals can have on your well-being, she says. Simmons suggests goals that can be achieved in a single day or week, whether it is counting steps or attending three exercise classes weekly.

“I find that long-term goals are great, but tend to overwhelm and distress the client,” she says. “Clients want to see results immediately and reach their goals quickly. I’ve found setting small, short-term goals are the best way to motivate clients.”

The game serves as a social tool, just like classes, working with a trainer or having a workout buddy, Simmons says. You may not speak to your step counter, but constantly checking in and seeing where each person is can push you to reach your goals – just like working out in a group.

Ultimately, workout success often comes down to finding ways to stoke your internal motivations to put in the time and effort. Simmons says the game was able to do that for the participants, and workout buddies and measurable successes and trainers, teachers and partners do that for one another.

“I think this study showed that if we are held accountable by an outside source, we are much more likely to stay committed and eventually achieve the goal,” she says.