This Guy Turned Letterboxd Into a Training Log. He Might Be on to Something.

I’m not much of a treadmill person. I’ll use one when the weather gives me no other respectable option, but I get bored fast, and the dreaded treadmill-watch pace disagreement always messes with my head.Add a phone screen, and I’m basically one bad step away from that Taylor Swift Apple ad where she falls off the treadmill. That would be me, and then I would never be allowed back at Crunch Fitness again.Robert Franco, however, may have found a way in.Franco recently posted a screenshot of his Letterboxd list to his X account, writing that he’d “turned letterboxd into a fitness tracker.” The list is titled “baby bobby franco goes to the gym,” and in the description, he explains that he’s getting married in less than a year and trying to get in shape before the wedding photos. His current strategy is to watch an entire movie on his phone, likely a “bozo mode classic,” while doing high-elevation walking on the treadmill.So far, the list has two entries. During Striking Distance, he logged 4.6 miles, 1,100 calories burned, and 2,600 vertical feet. During Mississippi Grind, he went 5 miles, burned 1,200 calories, and climbed 3,160 vertical feet.Franco said the idea was inspired by another Letterboxd list called “Movies I’ve watched chunks of without sound on the elliptical machine at the gym,” but he’s decided to push the concept further by watching the films in their entirety, logging the stats as his “review,” and making the treadmill accountable to cinema.People online seemed to get it immediately. One person replied, “this is genius,” while another said, “I do this! I also watch TV that way. It’s great.” One person even flipped the idea around, Missy Elliott-style, writing, “you’re my exact opposite, ive been using strava as my letterboxd.”Screenshot Via XIf Franco keeps this going, the next phase is obviously much longer movies. A little Titanic, a little The Godfather Part II, maybe The Lord of the Rings if the wedding cut is getting serious. As a Marvel person, I’d have to put Avengers: Endgame on the list, too. You can bet I’d risk it all at an irresponsibly high number if I’m mid-climb right as Captain America roars “Avengers… assemble.”One small etiquette note: If this is happening at a crowded gym, just make sure you keep an eye on the people waiting for machines. Wedding prep is important, but nobody else needs to be trapped in your cardio cinematic universe, my guy.Sean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. He’s a former hip hop dancer who likes long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. You can find his previous work at Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.