This High Tech Gym Equipment Will Take Your Workout Next Level
Updated: Sep. 04, 2018
How does a personal training session using Technogym’s equipment compare to your regular workout? Find out what a yogi and a spin enthusiast thought.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Technogym, their main goal as a wellness company is to make fitness an integral part of your everyday lifestyle, easily and effortlessly. From the right gym equipment, to a custom training program, to their Mobile Fitness Tracking App, they are looking to create the very best user experience possible. And being that Technogym is used in over 100 countries around the world, can you really blame us for wanting to give their gym equipment a try?
In August, Technogym partnered up with Brent Bishop, a national on-air fitness expert and celebrity trainer to give the crew at Best Health a one-on-one interval training session (at the breathtaking gym facility in Hotel X Toronto) using some of the brands notorious high-tech gym equipment. (Here are 5 questions you need to ask your trainer before you sign your life away.)
The gist of the gym equipment, according to Technogym
Skillmill: “A non-motorized product that is activated only with the force of the user. It’s not just a treadmill. If the user wants to increase the speed, they must move towards the front platform. The opposite movement by moving to the rear will decelerate speed.”
Skillrow: “The first fully connected indoor rowing equipment that trains both cardio and power at athlete’s level, thanks to its sport-specific design, exclusive technology and performance-oriented workouts.”
And now, our thoughts:
The yogi
This year, I’ve been swapping my traditional gym routine for yoga classes, so I was a bit apprehensive going into this personal training sesh. Our trainer, Brent Bishop, put us to work with a warm up that felt like a climb: doing agility-based track exercises on Hotel X’s tennis court (think: high knees and butt kicks).
We continued our warm up on Technogym’s Skillmill, a machine that looks like a regular treadmill at first glance, but is actually moved manually (ie. your own effort) and has an upward curve. I was shocked at how much more challenging it was than a regular treadmill — I never truly appreciated all the work that motor was doing until now. We then tried out one of its unique features: push and pull exercises. Brent had us crank up the resistance and push on it’s handles like a sled for 15-second intervals. It made for a surprisingly intense exercise that left me soaked in sweat within a minute.
Moving on to the cable station, we did two resistance exercise circuits of cable trunk rotations, TRX body weight lifts, weighted squats and battle ropes. We had a break between each set, to do a short core circuit.
We finished off our full-body workout with a quick stretch and a feeling that we’d done some real work, which was confirmed by how sore I was the next day. — Courtney-Reilly Larke, assistant editor
The spin enthusiast
Before this workout, I had never actually had a personal training session. Yes, it may have something to do with not having extra spending moolah but truthfully, I really love the high-energy that comes along with being a part of an in-studio class, like SpinCo. So when we met up with our trainer, Brent Bishop, I was a little hesitant about how I’d stay motivated throughout the session. Odd… I know. But little did I know, at that very moment, I’d end up absolutely loving it.
After doing a warm up on Hotel X’s tennis court to get our heart pumping and muscles moving, we hoped straight on Technogym’s Skillmill. I’m used to a regular treadmill that is motorized and not one that has a concave platform that curves upward and is powered by your own leg strength. Completing intervals that played with resistance (involving running and using its dual handlebar feature to sled push), my legs were left feeling as if I had just run some serious kilometres. Then we moved on to the Skillrow, a machine designed to mimic the feel as if you’re actually rowing on water. And not that I’ve had much experience rowing, in general, I did find the machine to be very straight forward and comfortable to use. Due to its resistance dial, which ranges from low to medium to high, I loved how easy it was to adjust my power and get out of my comfort zone to really push my strength.
Finally, we ended the session with an exercise circuit that seriously challenged my upper body strength. In the end I came to one conclusion: “This gym equipment just kicked my butt.”
And although I felt as though my body was dragging though every machine and exercise on Brent’s agenda that day, I never felt like quitting and it was all due to his positive spirit and constant encouragement. — Alyssa Ball, assistant digital editor
