Two Saturday’s ago I woke up and was not in the mood for my normal Saturday workout routine…spin class and strength training circuit. Earlier in the week I had read a post by aSweatLife listing all of the gyms in the city that offer free fitness classes. Chicago readers I highly suggest you check out the post!

At first I had planned to go to GoCycle because I thought it would be similar to my Full Psycle class I enjoyed so much. Unfortunately there free class offer is only valid on Fridays so I will keep that for another day.

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My next choice was Sproing Sport, which is located on Wells in Old Town. I walk by this gym everyday on my way home from the gym and am sooo curious what the workout entails. I mean when you see a machine like this…wouldn’t you wonder what the heck it is?

Sproing Trainer

(Source)

After doing a little research on their site I thought this would be a perfect workout for me. Especially because I am just bouncing back from a running injury, and the Sproing allows you to simulate running but on softer surface. Thus not pounding your joints as much as a treadmill or road.

Sproing offers first time guests a week pass for free. They only offer one type of class – HIIT – but each class is different based on instructor and exercises. I was able to attend three during my week, one on the weekend and 2 6 a.m. classes during the week, and not one was the same.

Recently I have really liked the concept of HIIT classes. You are able to get a great workout in in 30 minutes. This is entirely new concept to me after marathon training. I am used to workouts being hours on end and I think my mind is still brainwashed with that. I am slowly adapting to the idea that it doesn’t necessarily matter how long the workout is, but how much energy, effort, and intensity you put into it.

Class ScheduleSigning up for the class was painless, similar to most gyms signup portals. All you do is select the class you are interested in online and then reserve your spot. None of the classes I attended were full but it is still recommended to sign up beforehand. It was just my instructor and me in my Monday morning class! When you sign-in for your class you have the option to wear a heart rate monitor that will show your heart rate, zone, and calories burned up on a screen in the studio.

As I said before no class was the same, but the structure was. Each class is 45 minutes that consists of a 10 minute warm-up, 30 minute HIIT workout, and a 5 minute cool down.

WARM-UP

During the warm-up the instructor goes through all of the exercises you will be doing during the workout. This is the time to get used to the machine and adjust the ropes and softness/firmness of the pillow top bottom.

HIIT WORKOUT

Each class had 8 to 10 circuits. Each circuit had 3 to 4 exercises and was completed 3 to 4 times. Each exercise was done for 20 seconds with a 10 second break in between. Each instructor emphasized that you needed to work/earn those 10 seconds. 20 seconds sounds like a short time but there were points that those 20 seconds felt like minutes.

Some exercises done on the Sproing Machine:

  • Pushups
  • Rows
  • Forward Sprint
  • Backward Sprint
  • Squats / Jump Squats /Plie Squats
  • Forward/Backward/ Side Lunges
  • Tricep Curl

COOL DOWN

Did active stretching exercises and cooled down with a light jog. In one of my classes we ended with a 5 minute Ab workout.

Still confused what Sproing exactly is? I know it is kind of hard to visualize but luckily Sproing has a lot of great videos on their site showing exercises done on the machine and the benefit for runners. The quote below came from one of their videos and is what pushed me to try the workout. Any workout that will allow me to get that runners high with less risk of injury I am interested in.

Spproing

I loved all of the classes I took at Sproing and would like to continue going to a few classes a month. Unfortunately right now this is not an expense I can incur but definitely will keep it in the back of my mind. If you are interested in membership the packages Sproing offers are below and you can sign up here.

Sproing Sport class package

 

Sadly their is only one Sproing studio, but hopefully with its growing popularity more will open up across the country. Chicago Readers: Next time you are looking to spice up your workout routine I highly suggest you take a class at Sproing.

QUESTIONS

  • Most unique workout/workout class you have ever done?
    I think Sproing takes the cake for me
  • What new workout do you want to try? 
  • How long do you workout?
    On any given day I would say mine range from 45 minute to an hour and a half