Going to the gym doesn’t have to be a boring chore. Quite the opposite. In fact, this is reflected in the faces of the users who leave the “conditioned room” of the new Supera center –integrated within the new Vasco complex in Oviedo– after an intense revolutionary training session. And it is that Supera, through its motto “have fun training”, has become a pioneering sports space at the national level – only two centers in Spain have this service – in providing a type of activity that works through led panels and stimuli. Prama, as the practice is called, “is a type of cardiovascular exercise for all kinds of audiences that works like a game,” explains Elvira Pérez, the center’s managing director.
There is more to see the room; when you walk in you feel like Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon. The entire space is conditioned, both the walls and the floor, to be able to follow the instructions of the monitors who explain this innovative discipline.
The operation of Prama has its that. It is necessary to have a specialized room to carry out the activity, which is full of lights that react to touching and stepping. As the intervals begin, attendees must press where they see the light come on. For this reason, this type of activity combines functional training with the HIIT format –high intensity training–. Thanks to this tandem, those interested will improve their general fitness, speed, coordination, and cardiovascular capacity, while they will burn many calories in a very short time. In addition to working on the physical part, the user increases their cognitive capacity, which significantly improves their attention. It is an interesting, motivating activity, and above all “very fun”, explains María Antonia Rodríguez, from the center’s technical area.
The “pramas”, as Francisco José García, technical director of Supera, calls them, are divided into different types depending on their intensity: “Prama Flow”, which mixes pilates, yoga and mobility; “Prama Active”, recommended for people over 60 years of age, and focused on training mobility and flexibility; “Prama Kids and Family”, for the little ones; “Prama Athletic”, high intensity work; “Prama Energy”, focused on cardiovascular work; and “Prama Strong, which combines strength and cardio work. The most requested list is that of children, many accompanied by their relatives, many others not. “They work very well among the elderly, and among those who want to improve their cardio,” García specifies.
This gymnastics, “apart from improving the physique, greatly improves the mind, which is why it is highly recommended for people who suffer from stress. You improve balance, coordination, memory… There is a monitor with music that encourages you and all the data on time and breaks comes from the software itself”, explains Rodríguez as he shows the panels and interactive screens that cover the entire room.
The class has a technician, but he has an orientation role: he is dedicated to guiding you through the exercise that you are seeing on the televisions on the wall. In addition, the practitioners have a heart rate monitor that monitors their frequency and counts the repetitions and exercises they have performed, so that at the end of the session, “there is always a champion or champion,” says Rodríguez with a laugh. Elvira Pérez emphasizes remembering that “it works like a game in which people have a lot of fun.”
So much so, that since this activity is included in the services offered by the center for a monthly fee, the people who are registered in the other two stores that the franchise has in Oviedo -Otero and Azcárraga-, are beginning to go to the new multidisciplinary space. “Everyone is invited to try it. The site is spectacular, much larger than the other locations. In addition, the changing rooms are very spacious and we offer two hours of free parking a day. Nobody offers so much for so little”, explains Pérez.
At the end of one of the sessions, Irma Pérez and Borja Fernández, two interns, leave “exhausted, but wanting more.” “It is a super fun class, something different from other activities. From what we have been able to observe, it seems like a very modern and dynamic technique. Also, you end up making friends, we have met here”, they explain. Both encourage everyone to try the innovative activity to get fit and have fun.