We were lucky enough the other day to catch an interview with one of our new neighbors at Body of Work Total Fitness, a personal training facility owned and operated by Kenny Strickland NCSF-CPT, NASM-PES. Kenny has been at his location at 1724 Mandela Parkway for 9 months and is loving his neighbors and his neighborhood. We are thrilled to have a gym here in West Oakland, and Kenny was kind enough to take a break to talk and tell us about his journey.
KS: I have been training now close to a decade. My journey started as a trainer for 24 Hr Fitness, next I began training independently as a member of the BodyMechanix Co-op. After spending a few years honing my skills there I knew that it was time for me to open my own personal training facility. My areas of specialty are weight loss, weight management, toning & sculpting, functional training, strength & endurance, sports specific athletic training and injury rehab.
AS: Who are your primary clientele?
KS: My clientele range from overweight teens, teenage athletes, overweight adults, handicapped, weekend warriors, everyday people just looking to be challenged to be their best, to elderly adults looking to stay active.
AS: Why West Oakland?
KS: I came to West Oakland to open this facility because I wanted to go somewhere that I saw a need for facility where just about anyone regardless of age, physical condition, physical abilities with the desire to change there lives and be healthy could come and feel great about the gym, about the service and most importantly about the workout that they receive.
AS: What kind of workouts and training do you offer?
KS: The tools that I employ in my training are Cardio equipment such as treadmills and elliptical machines, free weights and multi-function machines for strength training. Resistance bands and TRX suspension trainers are for toning, sculpting as well as building strength yet they are low impact making it easy on the joints. Bosu balls, stability balls and medicine balls are for functional training and for the hardcore I employ a lot of Kettle bell work, heavy ropes, Bulgarian Bags as well as body weight exercises to get the job done. 
AS: How do you move people towards their personal fitness goals?
KS: I offer a free assessment to anyone that comes in and what I do in that free assessment is to measure your body fat, take your circumference measurements, weigh you, and then provide a free workout. In doing the measurements and going through a free workout, it’s like having a camera and taking a snapshot of where you are today. That way, not only I can see where you are today, but you are able to see where you are. We then sit and discuss their goals and how to get there. We will discuss everything from a workout plan to creating a diet that will help us achieve our goals.
AS: How can people find you?
KS: I offer training 7 days a week. Mon-Fri5am to 9pm, Saturdays, 8am-2pm and Sundays 8am-12noon. Please visit me on Facebook for pictures and videos of my training, on my website, or read my reviews on yelp.
AS: Thank You Kenny!