Gym in China Offers a Porsche for Losing 110 Pounds in Three Months
A gym in Binzhou, a city in China’s Shandong province, announced a weight-loss challenge with a dramatic payoff. Lose 50 kilograms, about 110 pounds, in three months, and win an amazing prize! Entry into the program requires a registration fee of 10K yuan, roughly $1.4K. That fee covers meals and shared accommodations during the program.
The gym confirmed the challenge is active and capped at 30 participants. Early reports suggest fewer than 10 people signed up at launch. Promotional material kept the rules simple, but left major gaps around training structure, daily calorie intake, and medical oversight. However, the lack of detail only fueled curiosity.
The reward is a 2020 Porsche Panamera owned by the gym’s founder, but it is not a new vehicle. Even so, used Panamera models of that year often sell for more than $45K in the United States, depending on mileage and trim. Participants pay upfront, commit fully, and chase a result that would normally take years under supervised care. The math works only if someone succeeds.
The Numbers Do Not Favor the Body
Dropping 110 pounds in 90 days averages more than 1.2 pounds per day. Medical guidance paints a very different picture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mayo Clinic both recommend a steady pace of about one to two pounds per week for sustainable weight loss.
Doctors cited in Chinese media warned that rapid weight reduction at this scale often strips muscle before fat. That imbalance can disrupt hormones, weaken organs, and trigger complications such as gallstones and nutrient deficiencies. Surgeons and metabolic specialists also flagged dehydration, fatigue, and cardiovascular strain as realistic risks. This challenge pushes far past what most bodies can adapt to safely.
Why Extreme Fitness Stunts Keep Working
Despite the warnings, these campaigns thrive online. High-value rewards create instant attention. Cars, cash, and status symbols turn personal health into a spectacle. For gyms, the math favors exposure. Even if nobody wins, the challenge drives global headlines, local sign-ups, and months of visibility.
The upfront fee also reframes the challenge as a transaction rather than a gamble. Participants receive food and housing in exchange for commitment. That framing makes the offer feel structured, even when the physical goal remains extreme. Public reactions have split along familiar lines. Some praise the discipline required. Others see a marketing play designed to trend before it ever delivers.
The Thin Line Between Motivation and Risk
Image via Getty Images/Antonio_Diaz
Weight-loss incentives are not new. Cash bonuses, free memberships, and competitions show up everywhere. What sets this challenge apart is the compression of time and scale. 50 kilograms in three months pushes the body into survival mode.
Health professionals stress that meaningful change relies on habits that last longer than a countdown clock. Rapid results often reverse once strict control ends, and muscle loss lowers metabolism, making long-term maintenance harder. That reality clashes with the image of a luxury car waiting at the finish line. The challenge taps into the belief that life-changing rewards justify extreme effort. The question is not about motivation, but about the cost and who pays it when the timer runs out.