Treadmills, ellipticals, stairmasters…sound like your local gym? It sounds like mine. I am not private about my personal battle with gym training-I just struggle to find ways to make my gym workouts… entertaining (for lack of a better word). In my experience, unless I have someone there encouraging me to be better and work harder, I simply don’t. At the same time, I certainly don’t want to be belittled and shamed for “not pushing hard enough,” or pushing myself to the brink of passing out/throwing up….where’s the balance in that?

So when Shannon and I were offered the opportunity to check out Fitwall, one of Newport Beach’s newest, most innovative workout studios, we jumped at the chance.  Fitwall was named “One of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Fitness” alongside Nike, Reebok, and FitBit. Not sure what to expect, we walked into a room full of “walls” like these, that are reserved for each individual person, and it’s your own personal workout wall for the entire 40 minutes (trust me, you can do more on these walls than you would ever imagine!) Atop each wall is an iPad that utilizes proprietary software that tracks your heart rate during the high intensity intervals, as well as the rest periods. At the end of the workout, it displays your overall aerobic performance during the session in graph and numerical form, so that you can actually quantify your progress each time!

They operate on the mantra #YouGotThis (which speaks to their encouraging nature), since they keep their High Intensity Interval Training sessions to 40 minutes, encompassing cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and strength training. Something Shannon and I really enjoyed was the small class size (we had only 2 other people in our class on a Saturday morning), which meant that the coach-to-athlete radio was nice and low. When my lower back started tensing up, the coach noticed and modified the exercise for me….something I have never experienced before (prior experience was something along the lines of, “KEEP PUSHING!!!”)

It’s a truly awesome experience to actually be able to track your own aerobic activity, keeping you accountable AND engaged in a way that’s totally unique from other fitness studios.

At the end of each workout, you see a a graph like this (this is mine) that shows your aerobic activity throughout the entire 40 minutes. the peaks display the high intensity intervals, and the valleys are the rest periods…the more significant the difference between peaks and valleys, the “fitter” you are….Shannon kicked my butt on this! But how cool right?!

One of our favorite parts: The end (naturally) when we were offered a cool lavender towel which immediately calmed and cooled us down, and a shot of coconut water to rehydrate and replenish. It was the best possible way to end a crazy-intense workout, that added a touch of luxury to a sweat-filled 40 minutes.

We had such a great time, and the 40 minutes seriously flew by, because we were always moving, whether it was up and down the wall, on the ground, etc. However, there was never a point where we felt pressured or shamed…it was simply balanced. Which, if you haven’t notice, we’re quite fond of. We both felt sore almost immediately, since these movements are completely unique AND functional. And, one of my selling points: They vary the exercises every month…just enough time to get your muscles good at the exercises, but not so used to the exercises that they cease to be useful…so scientific! So, if you’re in the Newport Beach area, check it out! You may see us there since we’ll definitely be back!

{This post was sponsored by Fitwall. All opinions are our own.}