On a typically muggy summer afternoon in Western Pennsylvania, Brady Yevins trudged from his car through a Bridgeville parking lot carrying his ice hockey equipment bag.

Inside the bag, of course, was a pair of ice skates, a pair not unlike any other that a hockey player would use. Once he entered Athletic Element, a new sports training center that opened earlier this month, Yevins sat down, took off his shoes and laced up his skates.

Almost a century before him, legions marveled in awe at the then-revolutionary new technology of artificial indoor refrigeration.

Once perfected -- allowing for year-round indoor ice rinks -- it rendered forever Yevins' 2008 routine of finding a way to use his ice skates on an 80-degree day to something not at all out of the ordinary for countless hockey players and figure skaters.

But what makes this particular routine by Yevins different is the fact that he never stepped onto a sheet of ice for his workout. Yevins, a Chartiers-Houston High School graduate and Washington & Jefferson College student who has been a top amateur hockey player in the area the past decade, got his skating training in, all right. But for all the sports performance equipment Athletic Element has, there is no rink -- and no ice -- to be found.

What the facility does have, though, is a piece of equipment that can't be found elsewhere in the northeastern United States -- an indoor, iceless skating treadmill.

"It's a phenomenal machine," Athletic Element managing owner David Sampson said. "It took 10 years of research and development to develop this technology, and we're fortunate enough to get one to Pittsburgh."

The treadmill is called the "Blade" and is manufactured by Woodway, a company Sampson calls "the Cadillac of treadmills." The Blade is the centerpiece of the new training company started by Sampson and sports performance director Chad Williams.

Though there are several such pieces of equipment in Canada and a handful in the Upper Midwest, Athletic Element brought the first Blade to this part of the country and has an exclusivity agreement with Woodway to have the only Blade in the Pittsburgh area.

Although Sampson acknowledged there are a handful of other skating treadmills on the market, Woodway claims this is the world's largest and fastest.

The skating surface is almost 7 feet long and 8 feet wide, with adjustable speeds available up to 20 mph.

The treadmill, which cost in excess of $100,000 and can boast up to 15 horsepower, can also provide an incline of up to 35 degrees or a slight decline and can even go backward.

Cameras are in place in front and on the side, so skaters can view their profile -- saved to a hard drive of a computer that is hooked up to the machine, so DVDs can be studied and skaters can monitor their progress.

Areas of emphasis can include being technically sound, or increasing speed, acceleration or power.

"What we look for is technique," Sampson said. "Maybe stride length, maybe how much wasted energy you're showing, looking to see if you're bringing your feet across."

The surface is composed of 87 separate polyethylene flaps that only need to be replaced about once every three years. It needs to be sprayed daily with a special liquid compound to provide the necessary slickness.

In front of the treadmill is a 4-foot-by-8-foot synthetic ice surface, where athletes can use a real stick and puck to mimic skating while carrying the puck. There also is a handrail so that the focus is on the skating.

Adjustable harnesses hang from the frame above and act as a safety feature in case the skating gets too intense, too quickly (the machine is also equipped with an emergency stop button). Up to four skaters can use it simultaneously.

Skaters can use the equipment for $100 for a 30 minute private session or $100 for an hour two-person session. Ideally, the surface is large enough that teams or groups of four use the Blade for $50 per person per session over a six-week period. Skaters as young as 11 are permitted to use it.

The Blade is the centerpiece of Athletic Element, surely the attention-grabber that figures to attract people interested in training. But dry-land training is more prevalent there, and Sampson is trying to reach out to athletes of other sports.

"We do the Blade, which is a strong component of what we're trying to do, but obviously the strength and conditioning side is a huge part of what we do," Sampson said. "That part helps us recruit athletes, but we're not trying to give people the idea this place is hockey-specific.

"We do lacrosse, basketball football, baseball ..."

Sampson, a former sports massage therapist for the Penguins, said he has been in touch with the Penguins about team members training there. But even if there are no formal organized team workouts, the facility expects some Penguins players to use it on their own.

Among the other unusual equipment at Athletic Element is the Vertimax, which utilizes resistance training. Also, Pro-Trainer software provides freeze frame and slow-motion analysis of athletic technique.

"The Blade is a gem, and I love it and it is an anchor and will draw in huge amounts of hockey players," Williams said. "But I think what you'll find is that once they come in, there's plenty of solid training for basketball, baseball, football and lacrosse over here."

Sampson and Williams are joined by sports performance trainer Adam Blumen. Former Bethel Park hockey standout Steve Preite, former Upper St. Clair hockey standout Jonathan Lohman and Yevins also serve as hockey trainers.

Just as the Blade's most fundamental objective is to display maximum efficiency out of each skating stride, a training program should be developed with maximizing efficiency out of each movement -- be it sport-specific down to position-specific.

"Any training scenario you bring to the table, we got it," Williams said.