Gym: River North Gym, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste 951
Class focus: HIITWall focuses on getting your heart rate up while strengthening and toning. Each session focuses on either spiking your metabolism or increasing your strength.
Cost per small group training session: $18/session for members
The Fab Fit take:
River North Gym is a hidden gem, nestled away in the Merchandise Mart on the 9th floor. It’s the perfect corporate gym for anyone working in the gigantic office building that is Merchandise Mart and a great option for anyone in River North.
With the recent launch of its high-intensity small group training class, HIITWall, River North Gym is helping you to get your workout in more efficiently and with constant variety.
This all takes place in the gym’s HIITWall studio, which is equipped with everything you need to do workouts involving TRX, weights, kettlebells, battleropes and more.
Depending on when you come to training, the focus is split two ways. HIIT Metabolic training focus on spiking your metabolism and HIIT Strength works on fatiguing your muscles and making your stronger from head to toe.
When I tried HIITWall, I jumped into the HIIT Strength class. For 45 minutes, my eight classmates and I worked through circuits with exercises ranging from planks, lunges, TRX pushups and a crazy variation of a squat using the HIITWall’s ladder. After a warm-up, we powered through two circuits of three exercise four times, working for 40 seconds and resting for 20 seconds. Here’s what that looked like:
We worked in groups for the duration of the 45 minutes, but for most of the workout the groups just moved together through the circuits. As the workout went on, the groups encouraged each other and worked to push each other a littler harder. I’ve always loved working out in a group, but the social support is increasingly important as I crave community in my workouts. HIITWall fosters that community. Whether you’re into the community thing or not, being a part of a larger group or a supportive community helps exercisers to adhere to their workout programs. It’s Science.
My favorite part of the workout was the partner circuit that we did to close out the class. With a partner, we alternated between 30 seconds of burpees or fast feet using the HiitWall ladder three times. I loved that final metabolic spike and getting to workout with someone who loves high-fives as much as I do.
If you’re interested in giving HIITWall a try, take advantage of River North Gym’s 3-day guest pass.
