Superstar Gym’s Fitwalker Off-Grid Treadmill Class

Back in September a brand-new gym called Superstar Gym arrived in New York City’s super trendy Tribeca area. This sleek  new gym was launched by some incredibly fit Italians who wanted to bring a European sensibility to the American fitness scene. Co-founder Joe DiAngelo is a former swim champion with more than 20 medals under his belt, and his partner, Alejandro Ferrari, is a former Musclemania World Universe Champion. Whoa!

Gotta love a fit instructor, right?

I could go on and on about the Space Age-y workout machines that greet you as soon as you walk in, but I will save that for another day. Instead, today I want to focus on the Fitwalker class, which really grabbed my attention and is possibly one of only a few non-electric treadmill workouts in the U.S. right now.

Fitwalker is a treadmill that’s mechanical, but you have to use your body power to get it moving. Think about that — you have to keep the treadmill in motion all of the time. It’s an exhausting workout with hills and sprints, but boy! Do you ever work up a great sweat in a record amount of time.

Here is a clip from WABC-TV so you can see it in action:

The machines are safe for nearly all ages and abilities and provide an excellent cardio workout while not harming your joints. (Cardio and strength training combined? Score!)

Superstar Gym charges $30 per class, which takes place Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm,  and it’s limited to just 10 participants. If you’re lucky, you just might be able to work out along with a celebrity like actor Paul Bettany, who’s been known to take a class or two.

What do you think of treadmill workouts? Normally I just can’t deal with the cardio machines but the Fitwalker has me rethinking the whole idea. —Margo