I’m so excited to announce that the brand spanking new LEP Fitness studio is now open!

It’s been around 6 months of planning, preparing and finally implementing! but all has gone well (except a few hiccups along the way!) and it’s now ready for action!

It feels amazing to have a brand new personal training facility, which is not only much bigger, but also contains some of the best equipment around! 

I’m excited but kind of emotional too (in a good way!) I remember when I started LEP Fitness (just over 6 years ago) and all I had was some old rusty Kettlebells a TRX, and some 3-5kg dumbbells! I had to walk to Endcliffe park every day (30 minutes) with 20kg on my back! 

Then I set up in Nether Edge where I trained clients outside again, and used a Gazebo for shelter lol! Until one day it blew away in the bushes (RIP Gazebo! gone but not forgotten! lol) 

Then 3 years ago I set up a studio in our first home, this time it had a roof! (which was great when it rained lol!) and it also had better equipment.

Fast forward to today and the next step is a brand new studio, and i’m so excited to get in there! 

Here’s a picture from the inside…

There’s tons of stuff in the new gym (and more stuff to come!) so far there’s a…

Rowing Machine

This piece of equipment is great for getting the heart racing, improving cardiovascular fitness and burning a whopping number of calories. 

Squat Rack

The most beneficial exercises will take place within this cage! Squats, deadlifts, pull ups, bench press, bent over rows, and bicep curls (even though you’re not supposed to curl in the squat rack! you can when it’s your own studio! lol!). All of these exercises will help clients build lean muscle, improve strength, enhance body shape and burn a shed load of calories!

Ski Machine 

I was torn between buying a treadmill and a ski machine! I opted for the Ski Machine because it works both the upper and lower body and is a great piece of equipment to use for interval training. 

Dumbbells 

You can literally work every muscle with a pair of dumbbells! In the new studio the weights go up to 50kg!. At the moment there is:

• 1-10kg dumbbells (going up in 1kg increments)
• 10-20kg dumbbells (going up in 2.5kg increments)
• 20-50kg dumbbells (going up in 5kg increments)

In total there are 20 pairs of Rogue Dumbbells!

Fitness Balls

Slam balls are great for core training and also for getting rid of stress – there’s nothing more therapeutic than slamming a ball into the ground! We will be using these whilst doing circuit training to build those abs ready for summer!

Battle Ropes

This excellent piece of kit is great for strengthening the forearms, biceps, and shoulders, as well as being another effective piece of cardio equipment. There tough, but fun and reward the body by burning fat and improving muscle definition! Worth the Battle (pardon the pun!)

Landmine

You may have seen these in gyms? A landmine allows you to fix a barbell into a set place so that you can perform landmine exercises like the T-bar row (great for the upper back) and exercises like landmine press (which is a great alternative to the dumbbell shoulder press, placing less stress on the shoulder joints!). You can also do exercises for the biceps, hamstrings, legs, and abs! 

Free Weights Bench 

Perfect for dumbbell presses, and incline DB rows to strengthen the upper body. There are literally hundreds of exercises you can do on a bench. 

Step Box

I bought this not to do Jayne Fonda workouts! lol! but to use for helping men and women build a stronger butt! a strong pair of glutes will allow you to squat more, and make your butt look better in jeans. We will be doing glute bridges on this piece of equipment to get clients ready for the squats in rack!

Boxing Gloves

Have an annoying boss? lol! Boxing is a great outlet for you to get rid of that built up stress. It’s a great way to improve fitness, remove negative energy and it will also work the shoulders, triceps and abs. Winner Winner! Anthony Joshua watch out. 

Resistance Bands 

LEP clients who’ve trained with me for a while will now all about resistance bands. I pretty much get every LEP member to pick some up because you can work all of your body and are very affordable! They are perfect for taking on holiday, and for those who travel a lot and can’t always rely on going to the gym. Check out this free 8-week resistance band training program. Here are some exercises you can do:

Squat Ramp 

Most people struggle to squat properly because they are inflexible and weak in certain areas, this makes squatting dangerous. 

The squat done correctly can be one of the most useful exercises, this is because it strengthens the legs, abs and back (pretty much everything) and also burns a whopping number of calories!. The squat ramp allows uses to go lower into a squat by elevating the heels and making the exercise more comfortable, taking away stress on the knees and lower back. 

Sandbag 

Elliott (LEP client!) I hope you are reading this, just a picture of this sandbag i’m sure will give you the shivers! lol! If you want to know how hard the sandbag workouts that I do are then just ask Elliott! This piece of equipment helped him lose 4 stone last year, whilst at the same time giving him nightmares! lol! – read his amazing story here

Here are 20 exercises you can do with a sandbag:

A BIG Thank you!

I just want to take a moment to thank you! Whether you are a current client, or a previous one, whether you are a friend, or family member, or somebody who reads my blogs.

I’ve been able to live out one of my dreams thanks to the support of a bunch of individuals and it means the world to me. Thank you one again 🙂 

The Future…

Who knows what’s next, an actual gym maybe? some extra staff? 

All I know for sure is that i’m enjoying the journey, have belief in myself and i’m super excited about what the future may hold…

Thanks for reading,

Nick 🙂