Trainer to the champs: Why this gym is the go-to spot for some of Peoria's top athletes

Torq Fitness & Performance isn’t just another workout place.

The 8,000-square-foot facility at 109 Harvey Court in East Peoria is the culmination of Kyle Piraino’s life work. The objective of Torq is to increase the power, strength, speed, agility and durability for anyone setting foot in the facility.

These are all things Piraino instills in his clients, ranging from 10-year-old beginners to professional athletes. The trainer's roster includes state championship basketball teams and multiple Peoria Journal Star players of the year. Basketball is his primary sport, but he has trained athletes in multiple fields.

“This is not just a weightlifting gym,” Piraino said. “We’re doing things to try to improve range of motion, to try to improve movement quality to try to prevent injuries and improve performance."

PEORIA GYMS: The best personal trainers in Peoria as voted on by readers

The owner and founder named his business after a term commonly found within training — torque. “That name signifies what we train, which is movement to improve athleticism,” he said, noting the decision to "chop the ‘ue’ off the end of the word."

Piraino, who graduated from Western Illinois with a Master of Science in kinesiology, interned at Bradley in 2016 after completing an internship with the University of Michigan Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning. This was followed by a strength and conditioning fellowship with the Michigan men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Taking a look inside Torq

Inside Torq is a 74-foot by 50-foot basketball court, turf for speed drills and weight equipment. But what makes Torq standout out from other training spots is the presence of a Proteus Motion, a rotational movement arm for training in basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and golf. This $25,000 piece of equipment, "looks like something out of 2050," according to Piraino, and is the only one in downstate Illinois.

“It’s an arm that has resistance in all planes of motion,” he said.

Among the equipment's unique features are video analysis of acceleration using the Universal Speed Rating and use of Hawkin Force Plates, which measure jump performance and are often used by college-level strength and conditioning programs.

“I utilize these technologies to make sure that the things that we’re training are accurate to their needs," Piriano said, "so we’re not wasting any time when they’re here because their time is precious."

The road to Peoria

Piraino is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The University of Illinois graduate came to the Peoria area when his mother’s job with Ameren transferred the family to central Illinois.

After acting as an EastSide Centre sports performance coach with Al Nimmo for two stints covering almost six years, Piraino ventured out on his own, opening a small space in Morton just weeks before the 2020 pandemic hit. His services are still in high demand; May will mark two years in his current space.

“You get talented kids,” Piraino said. “You push them. You put them through some high-level training and kind of just watch the results. It’s been a pretty cool seven-to-eight-year span for me.”

Piraino’s near-decade run has included training the Morton girls basketball team for six years, resulting in multiple Class 3A state championships, a state runner-up and a third-place finish.

'I became just a better athlete'

Katie Krupa was a member of those Morton squads, starting in three state finals. The Harvard University sophomore says she had no prior experience in weight training before coming to Piraino.

“I just tried it out,” said Krupa, who is coming off a season where she averaged 11.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in starting all 28 games for the Crimson. “… He took me under his wing and my game accelerated immensely because of that. … I became just a better athlete in general like greater endurance, stronger, able to keep up with players at a higher level than I was at.”

'The Base Peoria': Why 3 Peoria fitness facilities expanded and united

Krupa says her biggest transformation came between her sophomore and junior high school seasons, while getting workouts from Piraino during the pandemic. The 2022 Journal Star girls basketball player of the year spent five to six days a week at Torq, honing her game, gaining confidence and transforming physically in areas like vertical leap. She still uses several of the workouts basics Piraino taught her.

“He taught me the fundamentals of training and weightlifting, and that’s something I’ll never take for granted," Krupsa said. "… He provided me with a base layer of strength and athleticism going into the next level, so I wasn’t too far behind the other athletes.”

In fact, Krupa isn’t the only former Morton JS player of the year under Piraino. There have been four other Potter girls hooper POYs including Chandler Ryan (2015), Brandi Bisping (2016, 2017), Tenley Dowell (2019) and Lindsey Dullard (2020) along with Peoria Notre Dame senior Mya Wardle (2024).

Three former baseball players of the year have also trained at Torq: Trent Johnson (Metamora, 2013), Jarrod Watkins (PND, 2014) and Ethan Skender (Metamora, 2015).

'I felt stronger'

Morton College finished fifth at the NJCAA Division II women’s basketball national tournament this past weekend. Dunlap graduate Sophia Remmel was especially key to that 33-4 season, earning all-Region 4 honors, while averaging 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Remmel has been training at Torq under the careful eyes of Piraino since her sophomore season in high school.

“I don’t know if it was a like placebo effect,” she said, “or whatever you want to say but I felt stronger probably within six weeks. I was jumping higher.”

Remmel wasn’t seeing any results as her former trainer had her lifting heavy weights. She even noticed that she was doing the same exercises as the football and baseball players. Workouts tailored to her as a basketball player are one thing that sets Piraino apart. Prior to her senior campaign, the 5-foot-6 guard increased her workouts, going four days a week.

“He fits to what you need,” Remmel said, letting him know she wanted to get faster and become more agile. “Kyle makes everything super unique. … I always felt like I was tended to. I wasn’t just another athlete he was trying to make money off of.”

PEORIA BASKETBALL: Every story from Peoria Notre Dame's run to the girls state championship

Championship training

This past season, Piraino also linked up with the Peoria Notre Dame girls basketball team thanks to Irish assistant coach Ryan Julius, who trains basketball players at Torq and "has been a huge part in helping Piraino’s business grow."

Piraino was with PND every step of the way on their run to the program’s first state title. He was even called over to hold the postseason hardware and pose with the team following each of the regional, sectional, supersectional and state title victories.

“It never gets old,” he said of watching teams he trains have on-the-court success. “… It is always cool. It’s always an experience to go to Redbird (Arena) and kind of see each team unfold as year goes on. “

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria gyms: Torq Fitness & Performance trains IHSA champs, top players