Seattle Barbell Club

Fantastic experience: I trained here for 4 months during my sport's off season. I was looking to get stronger for the national championships and Derek sure delivered. While I own a home gym, learning Olympic weightlifting on my own proved to be problematic so I signed up for the Olympic weightlifting program. In the time I spent here I added 20 kilos to both my snatch and clean/jerk. Outside of weightlifting, this translates to more flexibility and more strength which means all the drills I do in my sport are now much easier, my gear feels lighter, and it's much harder to push me around the court. In addition to the excellent coaching, the community is also fun and supportive. I highly recommend Seattle Barbell Club to anyone looking to improve their weightlifting technique and/or make strength and performance gains.

Fantastic experience: Seattle Barbell Club is so good I feel conflicted about going on vacation. Derek is an extremely competent trainer, and has a great sense of how to structure programs for beginners as well as advanced lifters. Most sessions have somewhere between 8 and 12 people, but the way Derek goes about it, it often feels like you have a personal trainer for the price of a group training session. He is particularly good at injury rehab. An unexpected perk is the social aspect. Derek does a great job of keeping things light-hearted and fun. The regulars are super friendly and you will get to know everyone over time. When I started, I really only intended to try weightlifting out for a month as a novelty thing, but somehow I'm still here.

Fantastic experience: Derek and SBC have been very welcoming & supportive. From 2016-2018 I was at an Eastside-based Crossfit gym focusing on their barbell club programming (= Olympic Weightlifting + powerlifting). Good times were had, progress was made. When the 1 barbell coach left, the owner let our club fizzle and our community scattered. Tail end of 2018, I tried another local barbell specialty gym on the Eastside. I liked the main coach and was easing into the community. Then, the owner mistreated me so I only lasted 1.5 months. Early 2019 I jumped in with Derek's cozy gym at Strength University in South Bothell, later re-branded Seattle Barbell Club. I haven't looked back. The community has always been fun and supportive. People come and go (life, right?) but the vibe remains good. I continue to make gains in technique and strength. We have nearly as many women as men working out there and I chip in on spot-coaching also. Come ready to self-organize with the programming tools, and ready to be part of the community and positively contribute. The occasion risqué joke or expletive happens so that keeps it fun also.

Fantastic experience: Seattle Barbell club offers excellent coaching and personalized instruction in a safe and comfortable environment. I have learned a lot about weightlifting and continue to get stronger all while working out along side other friendly club members. I highly recommend Seattle Barbell Club!

Fantastic experience: Great place for weightlifting and powerlifting with personalized coaching. I am doing weightlifting and my technique has been improving a lot with Derek. I met also great people at this gym: there's a great community with good mindset.