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Gaoshang Xiongshou
04-04-2010, 11:39 AM
Fitness Xpress

210 Doug Baker Blvd.
Birmingham, AL 35242

(205) 995-5505

Gaoshang Xiongshou
04-04-2010, 12:09 PM
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s48/Xiongshou/100_0863.jpg




Situated to one side of a shopping center alongside I-280, Fitness Xpress, while at first glance looks like a soldier in the current fitness chain takeover, is anything but that and is everything that a traveling bodybuilder or established resident bodybuilder of the area would want.



http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s48/Xiongshou/100_0856.jpg



If the above is not any indication of the possibilities that Fitness Xpress has for an iron junkie who wants to get his daily fix, then I do not know what is. Dumbbells up to 150lbs... none of this "We don't get them for insurance purposes..." or any other nonsense. People need to lift, and a rack that has a full run and then stops short at 75's is not the way to do it.

As far as I could tell, there were no bands, tubes, BOSU's, or anything else of that nature. Do not let the colors or the attractiveness fool you either. There is a walkway that clearly divides the cardio section and the weights, and of course, the side where the weights are is where the action really is. Plate loaded machines are kept separate from the fixed plane equipment so that when it is time to throw down, you do not have someone with their current issue of Men's Health/Shape/Vogue or whatever interrupting your stride. It is the perfect setup.


http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s48/Xiongshou/100_0855.jpg


http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s48/Xiongshou/100_0864.jpg


http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s48/Xiongshou/100_0859.jpg


http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s48/Xiongshou/100_0862.jpg



Currently, the home guy for several state and national level NPC bodybuilders, as well as a top ranked IFBB pro, the atmosphere is both friendly and serious at the same time. Unlike so many other places, no one there sits around and just looks or talks, and the sense of community and family there is infectious. Even an outsider like myself just passing through was made to feel like one of the everyday regulars within minutes. FX is owned by a competitive bodybuilder, Chris Carter, who is onsite almost daily, and is above and beyond hospitable and approachable, staying true to the cause of the real bodybuilding spirit; there is nothing fake coming from him at all.

Anyone visiting Birmingham, or passing through on the way to somewhere else... when it is time to train, this is the place to go to. I cannot stress this enough.