Jimmy Norval tries a new treadmill workout that promises results
There are countless fitness classes around to help us embrace cardiovascular exercise. From trampoline cardio to underwater cycling, fitness gurus everywhere are desperately trying to tap into the need for people to embrace and develop a love for fitness. In this age of endless technological advances and scientific study, running on a treadmill may come across as a very mundane activity to partake in.
Enter Precision Running, the new treadmill-based group fitness class available at Equinox. Created by David Siik, successful FORD model and Grand Valley State University graduate in Biomedical Science and Chemistry, the workout is intense interval running but minimising the risk of injury. The runner from Northern Michigan has achieved this by developing his own structured treadmill workout that he calls “Balanced Interval Training Experience” (or B.I.T.E) that can be utilised by runners of all abilities to help run right, hurt less and burn more. And wow, you certainly will do that.
There is one thing to expect from Precision Running; as your speed and distance levels increase, your incline percentage will decrease (you start at 6%). Other than that, Siik will vary each class to ensure that you’re kept guessing. Decreasing the gradient on a treadmill as you run along sounds reasonably friendly, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Need for speed
During my experience of the class, we started off selecting a speed that we felt most comfortable running at while having our incline level at 6% (we were warned profusely not to overdo our starting speed in an act of ‘male bravado’ as we would regret it later). That was followed by a recovery walk/slow jog at 0% incline. After the recovery time elapsed, we were asked to run at a rate that was 20% more than our starting speed but with a 5% incline and recover again – this was called ‘speed interval 1’. These patterns of increasing speed, decreasing incline and recovery continued at each of the four speed intervals: 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%.
One full circuit of these intervals took 20 minutes to complete; we did two and a half circuits taking our running time to 50 minutes. 10 minutes of abdominal exercises and stretching took our time to the full one-hour, and a very satisfactory one at that.
What was really interesting about the class was the fact that there was no music involved at all. So often runners pound the pavement to the rhythm of The Prodigy or Avicii, but with Siik there was never a moment’s silence. I hadn’t even noticed till the warm down at the very end of the session that we had no music.
It’s a very mathematical and precise approach to running, hence the name ‘Precision Running’. This could have been expected due to David Siik relentlessly studying the science behind running and fitness for over three years. His results shown in this class are astounding and it was transform your thinking behind running on a treadmill.
Precision Running is the perfect blend of burning calories quickly but not pushing yourself over the limit. As Siik mentioned: “if you push the boundaries too far something is bound to give.” You will be pushed hard to go further, but it will not be over the edge. Get yourself along to an Equinox Precision Running class, whatever level of runner you are. I guarantee you will not regret it.
