LIFT for Women

Fantastic experience: Pros: Wildly effective workouts, friendly and supportive community Cons (?): You WILL change, inside and out tl;dr: Challenging workouts with an attentive coach and a supportive girl gang in a great space. |Workouts| - Jen puts a ton of work into the programming and is constantly upping her game with new certifications. This translates into the most effective programs. Her workouts prepare you for handling the big and little challenges in life. The workouts are all scalable, and Jen makes solid recommendations on modifications or how to adapt the moves if it’s not working for you. |Coach| - Jen walks her talk. She does these workouts herself (not at the same time—she watches us like a hawk). She takes part in weightlifting competitions. She’s eating the kale salad and not the plate of pasta too. She’s in it with us. She’s smart, great at explaining physical directions and cues, and places a huge priority on correct form, while still challenging what you think your limits are. Jen’s attention to detail is beyond anything I’ve ever seen at a gym—she truly cares that you are becoming stronger (safely!) and more confident, as well as getting your money’s worth. |Classmates| - Friendly, supportive, and fierce. Lots of gyms tout their “family vibe”. I don’t need another family—I need a community of strong women around me as peers. Wide range of interests, abilities, bodies, opinions, attitudes, life stages, careers. At an initial visit, this group can appear really intimidating—and yet they are some of the most accepting and non-judgmental people I’ve found. |Facility| - Plenty of safe parking at a central location. ALWAYS super clean. Enough well-maintained equipment for the whole class. Spacious with multiple big fans running during the summer. I don't know what sorcery they use, but it never smells like a gym in there. Cubbies for your stuff, filtered water, clean bathrooms. (I mean it—they keep this gym in such good shape all the time.) Very dog-friendly. Look, these are not "zoning out on the treadmill while you catch up on reality TV shows" workouts. You will sweat, you will curse, you will probably complain. But then you will love how strong you are and want more. It is not hyperbole for me to say that I have changed my entire life as a result of LIFT. All of the behaviors we are supposed to do for a long and healthy life (e.g. good nutrition, enough sleep, more water, lower stress)—Jen's programs at LIFT for Women are the foundation for that.

Fantastic experience: I've been training with Jen in the LIFT for Women program for nearly eight years, and it's been such a huge part of my life that I hardly know where to begin with a review. First: results. You will hit your goals. Jen is dedicated to helping you get where you're trying to go, and she has more knowledge about how to train women uniquely than any other coach in Austin. Second: family. This gym will become like an extended chosen family, and the ladies you meet and train with every day will have your back through relationships, jobs, kids... you name it. We have happy hours, pool parties, non-pool parties, and even an annual getaway to Mexico. LIFT for Women will welcome you in and make you feel like you've just met your best friends. Third: the workouts! If you want to break the mold and learn how to do sick strongman moves, come here. If you want to run on a treadmill or do a million burpees for time, look elsewhere. Every day here is FUN while also making me question my life choices as I bleed sweat and feel my muscles shaking on a deeply internal level. Lastly: amenities. They have a shower, cold brew on tap, merch, a corgi gang, and purple walls. I would never go anywhere else. And neither should you.

Fantastic experience: I love this gym and the Lift4Women program! I've been doing Lift for almost two years, and am amazed at Coach Jen and Coach Travis' consistency, knowledge, and care. This is a place where you can go in as an absolute beginner or with an injury as I did and start working out safely from Day 1, doing classic weightlifting as well as Strongman moves and conditioning. The coaches watch you like a hawk, and teach form every single time, valuing form and safety over increasing weight, though new PRs happen daily and always celebrated. I have made friends in this program- the folks at this gym are super down-to-earth. There are social gatherings, where kids, dogs, and families are all welcome, and some that are just for the ladies. I can't recommend this program enough! It has given me strength and confidence and an amazing community.

Fantastic experience: *Coaching:* The program established by LIFT owner, Jen Shaw, is spectacular and spectacularly unique. While most strength-training gyms have a one-size-fits-all approach to programming, physique ideals, and performance goals--LIFT offers a far more compelling experience. Jen gets to know her members, learns our individual abilities, needs, and barriers to success--and then within the context of a class size of 12, can magically make her programming feel like a personal training session. She meets you where you are without judgment or expectation--and then she makes you work. *Culture:* Just as Jen’s coaching feels personalized, the level of camaraderie within the membership feels personal too. It doesn’t matter if you have been to dozens of gyms or never set foot in one before--when you come to LIFT, members are welcoming, inspiring, encouraging, and help keep one another accountable. There isn’t an abundance of time to talk, and yet close bonds are built--a surprising but much-appreciated perk. So, come in, show up, sweat hard, laugh hard, results are inevitable.

Fantastic experience: This isn't a gym. This is a family. I spent a lifetime doing boring, arduous workouts on my own that I hated, or lifting weights at gyms with strangers I didn't want to be around, and it stunk. I started going to Lift classes seven years ago, and I have never looked back. It's a joy to drive to the gym every morning, and on the few days I'm too busy to manage it, I miss it so much. I can't recommend this program--or Travis County Strength--enough. Try it. You won't be sorry.