SMALL-GROUP STRENGTH · EAST AUSTIN · EST. 2019
GET STRONG.STAY STRONG.
Barbell training in groups capped at eight, programmed in 8-week blocks, with a CSCS coach watching every rep. You don't need motivation. You need a program — and eight people who notice when you skip.
5.0 stars · 264 Google reviews · No contracts · First week free
8
Max people per class. Ever.
500+
Members coached since 2019
5.0
Stars · 264 Google reviews
8-wk
Programmed blocks, not random workouts
01 — The programs
Pick your lane.
Six ways in, one philosophy underneath: a real program, a coach who knows your name, and weights that go up on purpose. Not sure which fits? Text us — that's literally coaching.
Small-Group Strength
The main event. Barbell strength training in a group capped at eight, programmed in 8-week blocks, with a coach watching every rep. Unlimited classes, no contracts.
$189/MO · UNLIMITED
02Foundations
Every new lifter starts here. Four weeks, twice a week, tiny groups: a movement screen, then barbell basics until squat, hinge, press, and pull are yours for life.
$249 · 4 WEEKS
031-on-1 Coaching
One coach, one athlete, one goal. Fully individual programming and a standing appointment that makes skipping basically impossible. The fast lane.
FROM $85/SESSION
04Nutrition Coaching
Habits, not meal-prep prison. A monthly plan built around food you already like, a weekly check-in, and zero powders sold to you at the front desk.
FROM $99/MO
05Semi-Private (2–4)
Bring your people. Two to four of you, one coach, individual programs run side by side. Splits the cost of private coaching without splitting the attention much.
FROM $45/PERSON
06Open Gym
Platforms, bumpers, chalk, and no wait for a rack. A member add-on for running your program solo — with a coach in the building if a lift needs eyes.
$79/MO ADD-ON
PRESS DAY · 5:30A CLASS · CAP 8, ATTENDANCE 8
02 — Why it works
Not a gym. A club with a program.
Eight means eight
The class cap isn't a marketing number — the booking system physically stops. A coach who can see every rep of every person is the entire product.
A program, not a workout
8-week blocks, written in advance, tested at both ends. You don't need motivation. You need a plan and eight people who notice when you skip.
CSCS coaches, all of them
The floor is run by Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists — the credential that D1 programs require, not a weekend PDF course.
No contracts, no hostages
Month-to-month, cancel by text. We'd rather earn March than lock you into it. Retention here runs on results and 5:30 a.m. friendships.
No mirrors, no egos
Nobody's filming, nobody's flexing, and the strongest person in the room is usually the humblest. Floor culture is enforced like the class cap.
Progressive overload, not progressive chaos
Weights go up a little, every week, on purpose. It's boring, it's proven, and it's why our members' before-and-afters span years, not Januarys.
03 — The board
This week. Every week.
Forty-plus coached classes a week, booked in the app, capped at eight. Find your slot, make it a habit, meet your seven new witnesses.
| TIME | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:30A | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | — |
| 6:30A | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | — |
| 7:30A | STRENGTH | FOUNDATIONS | STRENGTH | FOUNDATIONS | STRENGTH | — |
| 8:00A | — | — | — | — | — | STRENGTH |
| 9:00A | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | SATURDAY STRONG |
| 10:00A | — | — | — | — | — | OPEN GYM |
| 12:00P | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | — |
| 4:30P | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | OPEN GYM | — |
| 5:30P | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | STRENGTH | — |
| 6:30P | STRENGTH | FOUNDATIONS | STRENGTH | FOUNDATIONS | STRENGTH | — |
STRENGTH = Small-Group Strength (cap 8) · FOUNDATIONS = onboarding cohort (cap 4) · Semi-private and 1-on-1 run by appointment between classes. Sunday: closed. Rest day. We mean it.
04 — Week one to PR
How the free week turns into a deadlift.
01
Claim the week
Book online or text us — a real coach replies, not a funnel. We'll schedule your movement screen and your first class. No card required.
02
Get screened
Twenty minutes: we watch you move, hear your history, and pick your starting point. Beginners route to Foundations; lifters go straight to the group.
03
Run the block
Train 3–5 days a week on an 8-week program with your numbers on the board and a coach on every rep. The plan does the thinking. You do the lifting.
04
Test. Repeat. PR.
Week eight is testing week — playoff energy, chalk everywhere, PRs on the bell. Then a new block starts and the line keeps climbing.
COACH DRE · STILL RUNS HIS OWN BLOCKS · STILL NERVOUS ON TEST DAY
05 — The coach
Strength for people with day jobs.
Dre Coleman ran the 400 for a D1 program, which taught him two things: how much the human body responds to a well-written training block, and how badly most people are coached. After graduating he spent a decade on the strength side — first with college sprinters and jumpers, then in a physical therapy clinic watching regular adults rebuild after injuries that a little strength training would have prevented entirely.
So in 2019 he leased a warehouse bay on Springdale Road, bought six barbells and a squat rack off a closing CrossFit box, and capped every class at eight because that's the honest maximum one coach can truly watch. The first members were his neighbors: two teachers, a nurse, a line cook, and a retired postal worker named Gene who still holds the club's over-70 deadlift record and guards it with visible menace.
Meet the coaches06 — From the floor
Chalk, not filters.
07 — The receipts
5.0 stars. 264 reviews. Zero paid.
I'm a 4th-grade teacher and I was intimidated by every gym I'd ever walked into until this one. Did Foundations in March, joined the 5:30 a.m. class, and eighteen months later I deadlifted 225 while my class screamed like it was the playoffs. Dre tracks everything — he reminded me my squat was up 40 pounds from LAST summer when I got discouraged. Nobody's ever paid that kind of attention to my progress in anything.
Ran the Mueller loop for six years, collected the classic runner's knee, got told by three people to 'just do squats' and had no idea how. ESC actually taught me — movement screen first, then eight weeks of single-leg work and hinging. Knee's been quiet for a year and my half PR dropped by four minutes. The coaches understand runners don't want to bulk, they want to stop breaking. That's exactly what they program.
We're in our 50s and joined after Marcus's DEXA scan scared us both. Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30, same coach (hi Keisha!) for over a year now. Marcus's bone density scan actually improved at his recheck — his doctor asked what changed and wrote down the gym's name. We were worried we'd be the old people in a young gym. We are the old people, and we are minor celebrities.
08 — The territory
One club. Ten zip-code loyalties.
We're on Springdale Road in the 78702, and our members commute from every corner of the eastside and beyond — most of them against traffic, all of them smug about it.
Find your neighborhood and see who you'd be lifting next to.
09 — Fair questions
Asked constantly. Answered honestly.
How does the free week actually work?
You text or book online, we schedule a quick movement screen, and then you take unlimited classes for seven days. No card on file, no awkward cancellation call — at the end of the week you either join or you don't. About 8 in 10 join, which is why we can afford to be this relaxed about it.
I'm not in shape. Should I wait until I am?
This is the most common question we get and the answer is a loving no. Getting in shape is what the gym is for — showing up already fit is not a prerequisite, it's the outcome. Foundations exists specifically so beginners start with four weeks of patient, small-group instruction. Come as you are. Everyone did.
What does 'capped at 8' really mean? Are there exceptions?
It means the booking system stops at eight and no human can override it — not for friends, not for January. The cap is the product: it's the number where a coach can genuinely watch every rep of every person. If a class is full, the app shows the next open slot, and there are 40+ classes a week.
Do I have to sign a contract?
No. Everything is month-to-month, and you cancel with two taps in the app or one text — no exit interview, no retention specialist, no 'let me get my manager.' We'd rather earn next month than lock you into it. Members who leave for a while usually come back, partly because leaving was painless.
The first week is free. The excuses are on you.
Seven days, unlimited classes, a movement screen with a real coach, and not a single sales call. Worst case, you learn to deadlift.