Atlantis gym visit/ update

[Afo3]

A week ago I got stuck in Montreal on my way to Vancouver. I had just enough time to get to the Atlantis gym in Laval for about 90 minutes. Thought I'd share a few observations for anyone else interested in their equipment as I know there aren't that many gyms with a significant collection in the US.

Pendulum - there was a prototype of a new pendulum squat with adjustable foot plate angles (35 to 45 degree slope range based on quick measurements). It also has a wider foot plate (by about 1 foot) and, I think, the back pad might be an inch or two longer. It felt great, but I'm already a huge fan of the regular Atlantis Pendulum. If you are about to buy an Atlantis Pendulum, you might want to ask about this new model.

Dumbbell bench with pivots - I'd really been wanting to try these and they had all four models in the gym. The straight (E548) and incline (P538) versions were really good. The flat (P537) one seemed a bit less useful, its pretty hard to get DBs exactly back in the saddles sitting a bit behind your head. The Decline version (P539) is totally unusable at my height (5'7") as the monolift type arm swings away far enough behind your head that re-seating the DB in the saddle is very hard. I'd just stick to spotter hooks for the flat and decline but the straight/ incline benches were great, although they hog quite a bit of space for something that is a total luxury.

Vertical row (D433) - this piece is awesome. Definitely will purchase. I like it better than the startrac equivalent as you can wedge yourself into more angles (less hip hinge or more) than are supportable on the startrac.

Incline seated T-bar row (D125) - I really like the hand grips on this. Great angles. Pretty good piece but the drop off in tension in the short position is a bit extreme. Could fix with chains maybe but a selectorized version with a cam could be nice. Would definitely choose the TKstar BBZ over the Atlantis but both are very nice in their own ways.

Cable stacks - I don't think there was any doubt but they are definitely the leader in this space. Unbelievably smooth, tons of options, willing to customize (or so it seems from Kas' N1 gym). I mucked about with the incline row (D132), lat pulldown (D123?) and the unilateral low row (NM510) and was really surprised by them all when this is a category I generally view as a bit of a commodity. Wish they'd make some options similar to the King Strength Boos Lat machine and the Watson Animal Lat Pulldown but if you are building out a traditional gym cable stack, Atlantis is clearly the best product on the market.

Prototypes: I'll have to figure out how to post a link to some photos but there was a nice chest supported row/ fly bench and an interesting rhomboid row (selectorized) that isn't in their catalog. Also a curved multi-segment bench.

Incline calf (M318) raise - loved this piece. Again, a total luxury but very nice.

Seated calf press (PW319) - I'd always heard about this one, it really is special. Very different feeling, presumably from working the soleus due to seated position.

Biceps Isolators (B160 and B260) - I had high hopes for these but didn't think either was that great, especially considering size. Definitely no bisolator. Hoping the Panatta equivalent is better. That said, I had very limited time to mess around with these and it could be I simply didn't spend enough time to get the right positions.

Triceps Isolator (T208) - not good but I have grumpy elbows and like very few tricep machine.

Standing Leg Curl (C107) - I thought this was great but I specifically need an upright leg curl as I can't hip hinge well due to sciatica. For my height, this piece was great. It is also reasonably compact.

Assisted Glute Ham (PW322) - Much improved version of incline curl but I still couldn't quite figure out how to fully use it. I think the pad is supposed to flip around to have a flat option too, but I only could use it in GHD mode with the 'hump'. The foot pads are much better and had me a lot more locked in.

Hack squat - they only had the usual C412 model (which is amazing if you haven't used it) and strangely don't have a demo of the Hack Squat Pro (PW412). I did use the HSP at Exile in Baltimore and it is very good but the 412 hand grips are a bit better in my view.

Vertical Pec Fly (P356) - appealing in theory, not so attractive in reality. The arc radius just doesn't feel natural to me. I would assume that it would be even worse for a person with longer arms.


Short version is lots of good stuff, a few dogs. If you can make it to Montreal, totally worth a visit to this gym.

[Duplicitous]

Thanks for the write-up. I love Atlantis' stuff, but we don't see too much of it here.

[Afo3]

Here are some photos of page unusual/ prototype pieces mentioned. Couldn’t get photos to upload normally in the forum

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bwr4rfg6p...0n2thnNXa?dl=0

[BiGx5MurF]

Those MAG grip styled attachments looked cool.

[grumpytude]

Great stuff for sure. A home gym paradise. Would love to have just a few of those pieces...one can dream.
Good job on the info