Edge Strength & Conditioning

Whether training for a sport or a job in the competitive field of hand modeling, Mike Spagnola and his staff realize that the workout needs to mirror the actions being performed. One of the studio's primary focuses is helping athletes maintain their level of strength and flexibility—thus, also their resistance to injuries—during sports seasons, when many athletes taper off their conditioning routine. The studio's no-nonsense private facility greets members with cinder-brick walls spray painted with messages like “prepare, perform, prevail” and mounds of free weights that revel in confrontation. Whether slung onto dumbbells or piled onto weight sleds, students hoist, push, and pull their way through strengthening routines based around functional movements. Trainers also challenge their pupils with more unconventional exercises such as the 50-pound-chain push up and tractor-tire discus throw.