Group fitness has come a long ways since the days of partying off the pounds with Richard Simmons. The Twin Cities has seen a recent spike in health club offerings from Alchemy 365’s fusion workouts, to Pure Barre’s ballet-inspired movements, to ZeSa’s inventive stabilizing equipment. Now, a new studio has introduced a group fitness option for runners. Enter: Kristin Shane and Aaron Leventhal of Fly Feet Running.
Shane spent the last decade working at Target as a merchant, and as a professional trainer on the side. She shared her concept for Fly Feet when she met Aaron Leventhal, a player and strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Thunder for 12 years. The result of their partnership is a 20-person class that feeds its participants a hearty diet of treadmill running, kettlebell swings, push-ups, and more.
Fly Feet coaches start the hour-long sessions by taking an inventory of the specific needs of each person in class, creating a one-on-one training session. Next, participants are taught the exact movements for the workout—anything from how to properly perform a kettlebell swing to how to execute the perfect push-up, and they integrate these exercises seamlessly alongside running on a treadmill. From there, it’s an all out sweat fest before wrapping everything up with a cool down.
The routines change during each class, assuring every single muscle is worked. Leventhal explains that workouts could be short, but needing a lot of recovery time, or long, but requiring little recovery, and everything in between.
As a runner for more than 20 years, and veteran of 15 marathons, Shane has used this experience when creating workouts. “I learned the hard way that just logging miles won’t make you better. You have to incorporate sprints, hills, a lot of strength training, and mobility work—all the stuff runners don’t like to do,” Shane says. “You have to push yourself to see change, both in your body and in your performance.”
You will have a chance to try out the one-of-a-kind workouts when Fly Feet Running opens its doors for a soft launch and free classes the week of November 7. The grand opening with regularly scheduled classes will take place the following week on November 14.
Fly Feet Running
15 S. Fifth St. Ste 100, Minneapolis
flyfeetrunning.com
