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Loving the Legs

February 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment (Edit)

While most people do not really enjoy working out their legs, I feel just the opposite; for me, legs and shoulders day is something I really look forward to. Since I tend to workout once per day, this means I get to hit the legs twice per week (not including cardio or spin classes). I have always found that working out and growing the legs are key to me reaching my ultimate fitness goals. Think of the fish tank scenario. If you want the fish to grow, you need to give it room by providing it a larger swimming area. Similarly, if you want your body’s muscles to grow, you cannot forget to workout the largest muscles in your body, your legs! I love pushing my legs to the limits, and they tend to be pretty strong, but this did not happen overnight. So, do yourself a favor or two and don’t skip your leg workout days. Show them some love and attention; you will thank yourself later!

1,183lbs for 8 strong reps:

1,363lbs for 6 solid reps:

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Killing the Legs!

February 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment (Edit)

Well, I finally stepped it up and decided to max out the (angled) linear leg press machine that is at the newly opened LA Fitness in Kennesaw, GA.  Certainly, this was only my first attempt, and there many more steps to take in order to reach my fitness goals. Last evening, I took this killer 1 hour spin class, and I pushed it to my limits; of course, today is heavy legs and shoulders day, and I had planned to step it up and make my first attempt at leg pressing 1,543lbs. Here is how I did:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKI5-ppcYEk

Of course, I am a perfectionist, and that means that I am rarely ever fully satisfied with my performance, and this is still the case here. I will rest my legs and refuel my body, but I do feel that I need to go about 5 degrees deeper. Also, it would be great if my chest was filling out quicker, so I could take it to the next level without having to use my crossed arms as guards to ensure that I am not going past 90 degrees (and hence risk injuring my knees). I continue to march forward, but I am always open to comments, recommendations, and everything in between. Of course, I will also be switching up the positioning of my feet in the near future to attack different areas of my legs, but we have to crawl before we can walk, and I am determined to run! Well, I have to run and get back to the gym for some abs before hitting the hot tub, but I appreciate all of your support!

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Kennesaw-Barrett LA Fitness – First Impressions

February 4, 2011 By 1 Comment (Edit)

Since moving into Kennesaw, Georgia, last May, I have been a loyal LA Fitness member, and I continue to be today. During this time, I have enjoyed the gym location that I frequented on a near-daily basis, but I noticed that a new LA Fitness location on Barrett Pkwy popped up close to my house (about the same distance away as the one I go to but in a different direction), so I figured that I would give it a go for my strength training workout from yesterday afternoon! While I will be going back and checking out more, I wanted to take a moment to tell you what my first impressions were!

Tile throughout and in the locker room (Positive)

Unlike the older location I frequent more often, the locker room floors are all tile. I find that this is beneficial in two different ways. First, it allows the staff to more easily clean and maintain the locker section whereas carpet tends to be more work for the staff at the older locations. Second, it allows the members to be better informed about the cleanliness of the locker rooms; visual confirmation goes a long way!

Medium Size (Neutral)

I must say that I am more accustomed to having the bulk of the cardio equipment on the second level deck with the weights and machines sectioned off below! So, it is a bit of a squeeze, but it still feels relatively spacious!

Equipment & Weights (Mostly Positive)

The equipment is obviously brand new, and that goes a long way. The plates are 12-sided, so I can even stand them up on the floors next to me if I need to give my arms a quick break. I will say that I have four minor concerns. First, the free weight area is a little frustrating. I love the dumbbell rack system, but the free weight benches are lower to the ground, making it extremely difficult for the average person to watch himself or herself lift the weights; I have been told this is especially difficult for the ladies. Second, the two duel pulley cable systems near the center of the weights area only show the weights in kilograms (twice) instead of both pounds and kilograms. Luckily, both of my smartphones that I use to type out my workouts come with a built-in calculator app! Also, it should be noted that LA Fitness is looking into this issue and will be resolving it soon! Third, the weights are all 12-sided, so that means that the weight trees will need to be ignored since I am a bit OCD; when I walk to the tree, I will probably want to line up all of the weights just right, but that is just me! Speaking of OCD, I still wish a gym would have colored weight plates to separate the different sections of the gym, but that is another discussion altogether! Last, I love a great leg workout, and my goal is to top 1,600lbs on the angled/linear leg press machines this year, but the capacity of their biggest machine is 1,543lbs, and I assume that the sled is not rated to allow for additional weight to be added! Again, however, this is not a deal breaker! I will say that the cardio equipment has their own individual screens that are built in for those cardio fanatics! Also, the spin room is three-tiered, an experience I look forward to checking out in the near future! [Read more...]

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