A pushup app blocker on the honor system
I needed a way to cap my own phone use, so I downloaded one of the many “do pushups to unlock your apps” apps. I loved it! The only thing I didn't like was setting my phone up so the camera could watch me do the pushups. That got old fast, and it was kinda embarrassing when people saw me doing pushups at a gas station.
So I built HonorFit. Same idea, but on the honor system. The apps you pick stay locked until you do some reps, and you just log them yourself. No camera, no rep counter, nothing checking up on you.
Camera vs. honor system
There are two kinds of exercise app blockers, and they make different trade-offs:
| Camera rep counting | Honor system | |
|---|---|---|
| Before every unlock | Prop the phone up, find the angle, step into frame | Do the reps, spin the wheel, done |
| Can you cheat? | Hard | Easy, if you want to |
| In public | You're filming yourself doing pushups | Nobody knows |
| Missed reps | Bad angle or dim light can drop a rep | Every rep you did counts |
| Camera permission | Required | Never asked for |
| Best for | People who know they'd fudge the number | People who mostly need a speed bump |
“Won't I just cheat?”
That's the first thing everybody asks, and it's a fair question. Here's how it's gone for me.
When I want Instagram, the urge is right then. If the price is ten pushups, I either do them or I don't. And by the time I'm done, half the time I don't even want the app anymore. Typing in fake reps feels kinda silly when the only person you'd be fooling is you, so I just haven't.
That's not everybody, though. If you already know you'd tap in fake reps by day three, get a camera one. Here's a roundup of them, including Pushscroll, which counts with the camera. No hard feelings!
How to keep yourself honest
- Start cheap. If ten pushups feels like too much, you'll be tempted to fudge it. Make the price small enough that doing it is easier than lying about it.
- Use squats when the floor isn't an option. At work, on a bus, in a parking lot. You can do squats pretty much anywhere.
- Block one or two apps, not everything. Pick the one your screen time report says eats your day.
- Let the cap do its job. The free version banks at most 20 minutes, so one burst of motivation can't buy you a whole evening of scrolling.
- Notice when you start lying. If you catch yourself logging reps you didn't do, the price is set wrong. Lower it rather than quitting.
How HonorFit works
You pick the apps to block. They stay locked until you log reps on a wheel: pushups, situps, pull-ups or squats. By default one pushup is worth one minute. Your time goes into one balance that only counts down while a blocked app is actually open, and when it runs out, they lock again. There's no account, no AI and no analytics, and nothing leaves your phone. On iPhone, the blocking goes through Apple's Screen Time, and Apple doesn't even tell HonorFit which apps you picked.
If you want the longer version of why I skipped the camera entirely, I wrote it up in An app blocker without a camera, and without AI.
HonorFit Blocker is a free pushup app blocker for iPhone and Android. Honor system, no camera, nothing leaves your phone. It's not for everyone, but maybe it's for you!
FAQ
What is an honor system pushup blocker?
It's an app blocker that locks apps like Instagram or TikTok until you do some exercise, but instead of filming you to count your reps, it trusts you. You do the pushups, log the number yourself, and earn screen time.
Is there a pushup app blocker that doesn't use the camera?
Yes. HonorFit runs on the honor system, so it never asks for camera access. You log pushups, situps, pull-ups or squats on a rep wheel. It's free on iPhone and Android.
Can't you just cheat it?
You can. But the only person you'd be fooling is the one who installed it to do more pushups. If you know you'd cheat, a camera-based app like Pushscroll is a better fit, and that's fine.
Which is better, camera rep counting or the honor system?
Camera counting stops cheating, but you have to prop the phone up and stay in frame every time, which is a hassle and awkward in public. The honor system takes seconds and works anywhere, but it only works if you're honest with yourself.