Get off the treadmill — Sproing is latest in fitness technology
It’s been years since Greg Broussard ran like the wind.
Even after two knee surgeries, Broussard, 47, a senior director at Cargill, found he couldn’t run much any more. His knees weren’t what they used to be, so he traded basketball for golf at the urging of his doctor.
Then Broussard tried Sproing, a treadmill-like machine that offers a spongy surface for running and has resistance bands as well as a bungee belt to keep your body at a correct running position. Sproing Sport River Oaks, which opened late October, is the only Texas location for the Chicago-based fitness workout. “It was the first time I had run in 10 years,” Broussard said. “My body freaked out, and I only lasted 15 minutes, but I ran and I sprinted. I felt like an
athlete again.”
Broussard is one of the growing number of runners, athletes and fitness newbies who are discovering the benefits of running on the high-tech Sproing machine.
They say it feels a lot like running in water or in the sand with none of the pounding issues that often occur on traditional surfaces.
The 45-minute Sproing Sport class includes a 10-minute warm up, 30 minutes of high-intensity interval training — with 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off — then five minutes of stretching to cool down.
Sproing Fitness — the class and the machine — was by founded CEO Paul Toback, who also is the former president and CEO of Bally’s Total Fitness.
Toback loved participating in marathons, but, like Broussard, found running, whether on the ground or on the treadmill, increasingly troubling for his knees. His best runs were usually in the sand on the beach. So Toback began looking for something different than the traditional treadmill and became increasingly frustrated with the “sameness” of exercise equipment for running.
“I went to all the trade shows, and all the equipment was the same. There were different cup holders and amenities, but there was nothing new,” Toback said. “You can burn a lot of calories on a treadmill, but it still can be bad for you because it’s a plywood deck that you’re actually running on over and over.”
So he and his team began developing the Sproing machine, which Toback said is the first new running machine since the exercise treadmill was patented in the early 1900s.
“We reworked everything that we hate about the treadmill — a dangerous moving belt, hard wooden deck, the fact that you can only move forward and that it wasn’t real running because you’re landing on your heels.”
In Sproing Fitness classes, participants do lunges, jumps, sprints, squats and run forward, sideways and backward, along with a variety of challenging upper body exercises using resistance bands that are attached to the machine. The bungee waist belt also allows users to run at a slight angle, which Toback said puts the body in a better running position.
Sproing Sport River Oaks owner Wayne Davis, who also is a former competitive track athlete, heard about the workout during his knee rehabilitation in 2015 and went to Chicago to try it out. Davis said he hadn’t even been cleared to run by his physical therapist. But he did the workout — running and jumping — with no pain.
“I realized not only was it an amazing workout, but it was also great for my rehab,” Davis said. “The next day I went outside and tried to run, and it hurt, so I knew there was something to it.”
Davis said he’s getting more clients with hip issues and knee replacements, as well as those who are former athletes who haven’t been able to run because of injuries.
“The treadmills really have taught us the wrong way to run by landing heel-toe, which is one of the reasons you have so many injuries,” Davis said. “With this, you lean forward and it keeps you on the balls of your feet, which is a more natural way to run. All sprinters are taught this, but the average person doesn’t know how to run that way.”
Toback said Sproing has been life changing.
“I’m in my 50s. I’m stronger than I ever was in my 30s. I can run longer and have no knee issues.”
Tommy Atkins, 58, a geologist in the oil and gas industry, said he tried the Sproing workout to help with his arthritic knee and now does it several times a week. He previously used the elliptical machine at his gym for cardio, but never seemed to break the sweat he wanted. He sweats on the Sproing.
“I’m not a runner, but I can run the distance now in the class, and there’s no impact. It’s the next best thing to running. No, I think it’s the better than running.”