In America’s never-ending quest for fitness, most people overlook the fact that it takes good, old-fashioned hard work and dedication to drop those pounds and tighten those biceps. There are no shortcuts when it comes to a healthier lifestyle, and that’s something that Carle Place native Patrick Rice knows all too well.
Rice is the owner of Atlas Strength, a local storefront gym and personal training facility that first opened its doors in mid-February of 2015. Located at 588 Westbury Ave., Rice says that Atlas is the place to go if you’re serious about getting into tip-top shape.
“We’re geared to train anybody…athletes, power-lifters or just someone looking to drop a few pounds and feel better,” he said. “We’re focused more on resistance and strength training rather than just cardio, but we offer many different types of training methods so there’s something for everybody here.”
Rice has always had a competitive, athletic side. He’s been into sports since he was 10 years old and transitioning into weightlifting and fitness was only a natural progression from there, he said.
“When I was a kid I played hockey and basketball, and when I was in high school was captain of the football and basketball teams and ran track,” he said. “When I graduated, I had to make a decision whether to play football at college, and while I wanted to continue with school, I didn’t really want to play football anymore. However, I needed something—I’ve been a really competitive guy my whole life—so that’s how I got into weightlifting.”
Rice graduated from the State University of New York at Cortland with a degree in Exercise Science but, upon returning home, started working with his father in the construction field. It was paying the bills, he said, but it wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life.
Rice embarked on a personal training career at several local area gyms. However, he said that he quickly grew disillusioned with the fact that so many of these establishments that he was working at valued turning a quick buck over the health and welfare of their clients. Eventually, he said, it was time to strike out on his own.
“I had always wanted to open up my own place, so I saved up money for about a year and a half, went half-and-half with my dad on the investment, and opened up Atlas Strength here in Carle Place,” he said. “I don’t like how commercial gyms are run…it’s not a good place for people to train if they really want to get into shape. Most trainers are part-time kids who are looking for extra cash, and for the manager, it’s more about how much money they can make. They don’t really care about their clients.”
Atlas Strength packs a lot into a little; despite being located within a strip of unassuming retail storefronts, the ground floor features a full gym including free weights (with dumbbells that go from 5 pounds all the way up to a monstrous 140), specialized machines and all manner of innovative and unusual gadgets and devices, all geared towards giving Rice’s clients the best possible workout.
But in addition, Atlas also features a full-length outdoor courtyard where Rice conducts drills involving bodyweight and power-lifting exercises, as well as a finished basement area where Mixed Martial Arts and Yoga are taught by experienced, qualified instructors. To say that Atlas Strength offers the complete fitness experience, efficiently packed into an impressively small package, is an understatement to be sure.
Rice subscribes to a varied yet proven exercise philosophy involving a variety of exercises tailored to his client’s individual needs.
“It all depends on the client’s goals,” he said. “You’ve got to work hard…that’s the number one thing. And I’m really into technique, showing people how to do the exercises the right way to that they don’t get hurt. Something as simple as a squat is actually very technical…a lot goes into it. It’s all about safety.”
So far, Rice noted that response to Atlas Strength has been very favorable; he already has a long list of customers—mostly made up of neighborhood folks, in addition to some former clients from previous gyms he worked at—and said that he envisions a day where he can possibly move to a bigger, buffer location where he can really whip people into shape.
“It’s great, owning your own gym…really who wouldn’t want to own their own business?” he said. “Things have been getting very busy lately, and in the future I’d love to move to a bigger place, open a warehouse-sized gym somewhere. But for now, I really love owning and operating my own gym and I invite everyone to come on down and give it a try.”
To find out more, visit http://atlas-strength.com.
