Lift ATX - Austin (TX)

5 /5 David: IYKYK. It’s the spot in Austin. Not your air-conditioned gold’s gym type experience. Half is outdoors, half is inside but *open-air* Love coming here to get my sweat on and get some vitamin D, and a tan simultaneously during my workout. (Shirts optional) Immediately improved my winter blues by getting to do this outside daily. I think this is its most unique quality of LiftATX. Fantastic pricing if you can get in at $50/mo. They also waived my initiation fee for military/first responder. Read about why the LiftATX community was started originally— on their website. Would much rather give my money to them than a corporation. Yes, it stays very busy due to the popularity of the place, especially at peak hours, but I’ve never been unable to find an open piece of equipment to complete my workout. If you don’t wanna use the outdoor equipment, then yeah it’s gonna be a lot harder to find an open spot so you may have to wait a few minutes for your turn.

4 /5 Leah Smith: Excellent vibes!!! Great selection of equipment with great music playing. Suitable for powerlifting, strong man and general fitness enthusiasts. You can spend a good few hours here! Staff are great and polite but paying upfront is key or bringing cash.

1 /5 Therese: The gym itself has expanded over the years but I’m not sure how. The owner comes off as friendly at first and uses that to try and manipulate his patrons, and can’t seem to take a hint when you don’t accept his advances. If you want to feel comfortable while working out, I would steer clear of this gym.

3 /5 Lance Morrison: I wanted to love this gym, and while I did enjoy working out there, the cons outweighed the pros. Be prepared to walk through the minefield of tripods, wash rust off your hands constantly, experience long wait times, and give up your structured routine (because you’re just waiting for whatever machine is available). Loved the vibe but this is definitely a gym for people who want to be seen. I would say it’s worth an occasional day pass for a fun workout in the open air where you can go shirtless, but not worth the membership.

4 /5 Scott: Coolest gym I have ever been to. They do it right, the fact that they let you be shirtless is very motivating, while also letting people workout without shoes outside but then clear rules to wear shoes inside. This gym operates at a high operational standard. The only reason it’s not a 5 stars is that their payment system and intake is frustratingly difficult, and the guy who I was trying to sign up with was condescending and had a poor customer facing attitude. Other that dude with the ponytail the staff are super chill.