Get to steppin': New treadmill, strength training facility Treadfit coming to Frankfort.

FRANKFORT, IL — Many fitness centers were forced to close during the height of the pandemic last year, leading some people to get creative and find new inspiration for their workouts. Jennifer and Fran Zeiger, of Frankfort, took that inspiration to a higher level and decided now would be the perfect time to venture into business for themselves as franchisees of Treadfit, a fitness program that utilizes treadmills and strength training to get into shape.

Jennifer Zeiger and Fran Zeiger have been residents of Frankfort for the last 10 years. They have two daughters: Alayna, 12, a seventh-grader at Hickory Creek Middle School; and Sophia, 10, a fourth-grader at Chelsea Intermediate School.

“We thought this was a great opportunity for us to be more involved and give back a little to the community, as far as a fitness approach,” Jennifer Zeiger said.

“We just fell in love with this community. With our girls in the schools, I’ve volunteered coaching girls softball, and my wife has been a volunteer with the Girl Scouts, and we’ve ingrained ourselves in the community, and we thought there would be no better place for us to give it a go here with a small business in the community that we live in,” Fran Zeiger said.

Treadfit is an interval-based class using a treadmill and strength training designed to utilize the whole body. Jennifer Zeiger, who is also a certified instructor for Treadfit, described the workout as “high intensity,” but that shouldn’t scare those who are new to the workout.

“Every class is customized, it’s different,” she said. “You could be on the treadmill three times in one class with weight training in between, or you might be on two times. It all depends on how the class is set up. So, it really allows for some variety so no class is ever 100 percent the same.”

Treadfit will start by offering group training classes, but individualized personal training is expected at some point. The workouts are planned to last 50 minutes.

And, she added, people can go at their own pace.

“One of the things we always try to promote is that this workout is really for all fitness levels,” she said. “It is high intensity just based on the nature of its intervals. So, you’ll do intervals at a higher speed or a higher incline than you were doing before. But, it’s completely in the individual’s control.”

There are even plans to offer a walker’s class that will be at a slower pace than a typical class, with less intense strength training, as well, she said.

“We’re just there to motivate you and push yourself, motivate you to do the best you can do. But you are ultimately in control of that speed and intensity,” she said.

The Zeigers said their interest in the exercise business stems from their life-long love of fitness.

“We both are fairly active. We grew up playing sports. We worked out on and off in our adult lives,” Jennifer Zeiger said.

Fran Zeiger said he grew up with Jenny Harkins, the founder of Treadfit and owner of the business’ Beverly location. Treadfit also has a location in Palos Heights.

The Zeigers started going to those classes in Beverly and said they thought it would be good to bring Treadfit to Frankfort. The business venture is the first for the couple.

“Jen and I have always wanted to own our own business, and as we explored more about Treadfit and our passion for health and wellness and exercise and just staying active, we thought this was kind of a neat opportunity to pursue,” said Fran Zeiger, who works in a law firm in Chicago. “And as we spoke to [Harkins] more and more, we became much more interested and decided to pull the trigger.”

While the pandemic has not gone away, Jennifer Zeiger said that it helped inspire the couple to become Treadfit franchisees, and that, perhaps now more than ever, a safe place for fitness is what is needed for others, too.

“To be honest, when COVID hit is when I decided to focus more on fitness myself,” Jennifer Zeiger said. “... I took it very seriously and it kind of gave us that additional push that we wanted to say, ‘You know what? I think fitness is where we should look to start our own business.' So, I took that opportunity during COVID to focus on my nutrition and my working out, and so I’m hoping that through whatever is ahead of us with COVID that other people feel the same way. It’s one thing you can control no matter the circumstances.

"And, as a business owner, we will do what we need to do in order to keep everyone safe. There are protocols involved as far as splitting up the class: Half are on a treadmill, half are on the floor in order to keep people distanced.”

While COVID-19 regulations are in effect, classes will be limited to no more than 13 people at a time, Jennifer Zeiger said. Class schedules will be available on Treadfit’s website or via an app on mobile devices, she said.

“It’s first come, first serve. So, you book your class, and once it’s full, it’s full, and you can go on a waitlist.”

Treadfit will be located at 9975 W. Lincoln Highway.

Bookings for classes are expected to open in the middle of October, and Treadfit is scheduled to open its doors Nov. 1, Fran Zeiger said. Treadfit’s website — treadfitfrankfort.com — is expected to be fully running in the coming weeks, he said, so people interested in classes should continue to check back there.

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