Nike Chicago is calling all fitness freaks to push themselves to the limit for an intense week of two-a-days, also known as NTC Week. To kick the week off, Nike gave a sneak peak of its new NTC space at 673 N. Michigan and put together a workout that brought the baddest ladies in the room to their fitness knees. We re-grounded ourselves in our fitness goals for 2014, pinning those goals to the new space’s magnetic wall for everyone to see. My goal: 5 pull-ups in a row by the end of February.

We went through a 40-minute HIIT workout led by two of my favorite Chicago trainers Liu Gross and Betina Gozo, who can be found at Shred 415 and CrossTown Fitness respectively.

Our trainers weren’t happy until everyone was panting and drenched in sweat. This intense workout split the participants into two groups that alternated between a jump rope workout and resistance. My favorite and most portable  torture device prop is the jump rope – this NTC workout is going to serve as the inspiration for an upcoming workout at home. Watch for that.

The thing that makes me love NTC is that the brains behind the brand love competition as much as I do: The top eight Nike+ Fuel point-earners at the workout scored an invite to a top-secret event.

I ran into one of my favorite healthy blogger buddies in Chicago, Lenka of HealthyFitGoddess.com. Post-event – after taking a sweaty, group-selfie, Lenka and I toasted to our tough workout and our top spots in the Nike+ Fuel point competition – I barely squeezed by, but a win’s a win.

At the end of my first day of two-a-days, my Fuel points were the highest I’ve ever seen. Two-a-days are no joke.

Want to play along at home? Commit to kicking your fitness up a notch this week! What will you do to get your fitness into gear?