High-tech Lombard fitness center caters to student athletes

It's easy to forget how many reps you did at the gym yesterday.

A new fitness center in Lombard aims to eliminate that problem.

“Our trainers don't have to remember, and our athletes don't have to remember, the exercises they're doing, the order they're doing them, the reps they're doing and the weight they're doing. That's all kept on our software,” said Rick Church, vice president of SAQStivity Pro Fitness.

Several tablets equipped with the one-of-a-kind software — which includes more than 500 age- and sport-specific programs — are just a few of the unique features at SAQStivity, at 123 Eisenhower Lane South.

A 13-year-old soccer player, a 15-year-old softball player and an 18-year-old basketball player can find programs on the software created specifically to fit their needs. There are also programs for more than 30 other sports, including archery, figure skating, rugby and water polo.

“The kids come in and they see that we have new technology and they're really excited about using it,” General Manager Kelly Stevens said, adding that the young athletes and their parents can remotely access all the information stored on the software. “They're so motivated and they just really enjoy it, which is awesome, as a trainer, to see.”

A group of four parents from Naperville and Glen Ellyn started the business earlier this year, after growing frustrated with the lack of consistency their children faced while training for school sports. The partners worked with a kinesiologist to develop fitness programs focused on building SAQS: speed, agility, quickness and strength.

Aside from providing consistency, the software helps track progressive overload, which involves the gradual increase of reps until the weight can be increased. Once the weight is increased, the number of reps drops back down and the athletes work to increase the reps again.

While the business caters to student athletes, it is open to people of all ages looking to improve their fitness. An open house for anyone curious to learn more about the gym will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Visitors can expect to see some gym staples when they walk through the doors, including dumbbells, kettlebells, dragging sleds and bands. But there are also two pieces of equipment that athletes would be hard-pressed to find anywhere nearby.

The D2, or Dynavision, is a large black box mounted on a wall with a square in the middle. Athletes focus on the square as small lights scattered across the box flicker on for a few seconds at a time. As they continue looking straight ahead at the square, the athletes quickly place their hand over the small lights, in an effort to improve their reaction time and peripheral vision.

Another wall contains FITLIGHT, a group of circular lights that are scattered at different heights. The athletes start behind a line a few feet away from the wall and then run up to each light as it is randomly turned on. Once they put their hand over a light, they run backward to get behind the line and do it again. The equipment helps build agility and is beneficial for a variety of sports, including volleyball and soccer, Church said.

Every athlete who comes to SAQStivity starts with a free assessment. To measure progress, they undergo three to four additional assessments during their program, which range from about $380 and $700 for about 19 to 39 sessions, before, during or after their sport's season.

“We believe it's really important for our athletes to be able to measure their results,” Church said. “They can see how they progressed from the very first day to the last day of their program. If we're not achieving results then we've got to change the program.”