South Austin Gym

When I relocated to South Austin almost 2 years ago, I was in search for a local gym that would be cheaper than the «Gold’s» and «LA Fitness» type. I firmly believe I stumbled upon the jackpot with South Austin Gym.
There is one thing to understand about this Gym… It’s a no non-​sense atmosphere! You come in, you put your work in, and then you go about the rest of your day. You aren’t going to find a ton of mirrors to look at yourself flexing or TV’s to watch so you can catch up on Duck Dynasty in between sets. The place is not going to blow you away with state-​of-​the-​art equipment, but that’s totally fine. They have everything you need for any type of workout. They offer a ton of classes for boxing, kick boxing, MMA, and etc… I usually stick to the weights and cardio but people seem to really enjoy the classes. From what I have gathered, the instructors are more than certified to teach these classes. Each staff member I have encountered is extremely polite and friendly. The place seems to be run on family values and embraces the South Austin neighborhood.
If you’re like me, and just want a place to throw around some weight while listening to some 90’s hip-​hop… Look no further, SAG is where it’s at. It may not be for everyone, but as an ex-Gold’s member I can’t see myself ever going back to corporate gyms.

South Austin Gym really is where you want to go for an amazing workout as well as learning a new skill-​set. Yes, they do have full gym with cardio equipment and weights, but they are geared toward Kickboxing, Brazilian Ju-​Jitsu, Boxing & MMA… I had specifically picked this gym for their kickboxing/​muay thai classes AND the fact you can go to as many classes as you like was also a perk. Although I had done kickboxing a little bit previously, I wanted to get back into it. So I started at South Austin Gym in January 2014 and I am so glad I did! I am an athletically inclined individual & enjoy pushing myself to see what I can achieve. The classes here will definitely make you work, but in a good way. The instructors are awesome and really want to help you learn the art. Not only is it a great stress reliever & confidence builder, it’s really is A LOT of fun AND you get an amazing workout! Yes, I said it a FUN WORKOUT. My technique and skill level has improved immensely due to the instruction I receive in class. I’ve recently added the Boxing class to my weekly regiment, not only for the additional workout but also to improve my overall ability.
Honestly, I think I am in the best shape of my life and I owe that to Randy & the coaches at SAG. :)
TIP: They have a KICKSTART introductory lesson that will teach you some of the basics of kickboxing & boxing so you are not flying blind in class.

Training with Randy is the toughest workout I have ever done. He will push you hard and changes up the workouts constantly. The staff has been very friendly and it has been easy to schedule training sessions to fit my needs.

1 year ago I decided to join South Austin Gym after realizing that I needed to make some changes in my life. Specifically, I had gotten out of shape (after about 1.5 years of not exercising), I was extremely stressed out from working very long hours, and I lacked any real hobbies/​interests outside of working and going to bars. I had never boxed or tried any sort of martial arts before, but I had always had an interest in it, despite never being very coordinated or athletic.
During my first class I felt awkward at first because, of course, I didn’t know the skills or routines, but everyone was very friendly and helpful. There were a spectrum of people ranging from others who had recently signed up, to experienced people, and they generally pair you up with a partner with similar experience level/​weight class/​gender. Also, my shirt was completely and utterly saturated in sweat when I left!
Over the course of 2 – 3 months I had slowly and steadily learned basic techniques, I lost at least 15 lbs (FYI, I did cut back on drinking substantially, so that definitely helped!), and I became much less stressed! The workouts are very intense, and it gave me a fun outlet take my angst out on.
I usually attend the noon classes, and have had several different instructors since signing up last year. All have been very helpful, dedicated, and friendly. The classes are generally between 5 – 15 people, so you get a lot of one-​on-​one attention. Generally a class begins with a quick (but not easy) warm-​up, line drills (essentially two people punch each other’s gloves), and then whatever the lesson plan is for the day.
Sparring is optional. They will teach you to do things like throwing punches at ½ speed, only body shots, etc., so that way you won’t have to worry about getting hurt. Once you’re more experienced and know techniques to defend yourself they will let you spar with people of your same experience level. This is my favorite part! For me, there’s nothing more exciting than boxing another person because you know that if you mess up you’re going to get hit! Everyone in the classes are very respectful and there are agreed upon rules such as only throwing punches lightly/​½ power (they can still hurt, but only for a few seconds… this is boxing after all), backing away if the other person gets too exhausted, only throwing shots to the body, etc. This is by far the most intense type of exercise/​sport that I have ever done.
Anyways, after a year of taking boxing classes at South Austin Gym, I honestly consider signing up to be one of the best decisions of my life. The 2 – 4 classes that I take per week are the funnest activity that I do regularly, it has made me so much more athletic (my legs and core are much much stronger!), and I’m much less stressed out than I used to be.

Good, basic, CHEAP gym. I don’t do the classes because I never know what my schedule will be. Folks seem to be happy with them, but I just wanted a place to do cardio when it is cold/​wet outside and some weights and machines. The price is the best I found anywhere and it does the job. Saw a review saying no stairmasters, and not sure if they are new, but I use them there (there are 3 of them). There isn’t a ton of equipment, but I’ve never seen this placed packed and never had to wait for a machine, ever. It is a no nonsense gym. Not a lot of mirrors, bells, or whistles, but it has what you need for less than anyone else, and they don’t bug you about adding on services or classes. Tough to beat. As a bonus, they actually play good music at a reasonable volume (my mp3 crapped out and I haven’t missed it) and the bathroom is clean and nice.

Okay. I don’t know WHERE that photo came from of that weight room, but that is most certainly not what is in the actual gym. I came across this gym through Groupon (I get what I paid for, eh? Kind of like the $ 1 burgers at Wendy’s that’s just one dollar to remind you of the shame).
It advertises stairmasters, ellipticals, treadmills, etc. There’s maybe… what… 9 treadmills? Facing the wall. What a view. Oh, and only 3 work. I’ve mentioned it to the front desk, but after two months, none were fixed. Some don’t turn on at all, some of them have televisions that don’t work (if your iPod dies and you don’t want to look at a wall), and some aren’t accurate. For example, I set the treadmill to 6.5 and was barely jogging. The settings aren’t calibrated. AND THERE ARE NO STAIRMASTERS! My butt cried. It literally cried.
The weight room is decent at first. It seemed to be a pretty legit gym, somewhere I could go without having to fight for a bench and to not get judgmental looks from females seeing another female lift heavy weights (it’s annoying, girls, stop it). They’re old, but hell. They’re weights, who cares? They don’t have too much to offer as far as equipment is concerned, but at first… looked like enough for me. Fast forward a month, and the floor started separating like a post-​bar fight on sixth street when the cops show up. It’s a bunch of black mats pushed together that are clearly no longer on good terms with one another, because some of them are so far apart and others are over the other. Excellent for carrying heavy weights and, well, tripping on. I didn’t know the membership came with a free hand-​eye coordination course. I’ve always wanted to work on my balance.
Oh, and there will always been at least weight machine (or more) that is broken. Seriously. They, too, are old and not maintained any longer.
No one wipes up after themselves, and the front desk never enforces it. I’ve even seen some front desk people work out (which is totally cool) on shift, but not wipe the equipment after (which is totally not cool).
I gave it a novel because it’s a gym worth checking out if you’re into kickboxing/​boxing/​muy thai. I personally never took a class, but they look legit as hell.
I DO NOT recommend this gym for anyone looking for weights and cardio – your basic fitness. I’d recommend somewhere else, like 24Hour Fitness, because it’s still affordable, it’s 24 hours, and literally has everything you need (can you tell where I got my new membership?). And will fix their broken equipment.
This gym doesn’t seem to care much for regular gym goers, but moreso their kickboxing/​fighting/​boxing/​badasspeopleIwishIwere goers instead.

This is a review regarding their billing process. If you get caught up in reoccurring payments you have to write your cancellation request to a 3^rd party payment processing company out of Colorado. I’d called the gym to cancel initially who never informed me of that. Next, ASF, who never informed me either. Here I am 6 months and $ 600 later writing my cancellation thanks to the assistance of Allison. Seems like a scam to squeeze every penny out of you they can. Great gym though.

Never have I ever had to deal with a business that absolutely is totally unfair in their practices. These people are rude and indifferent and just want you money. The gym is not very clean and the trainers are not professional.
I saw the gym name and told my granddaughter about it to go look at it and see if it is something she could benefit from and enjoy.
She signed up and I paid over $ 230 for a year’s membership. She has finished school and only attended 2 months and is now moving away from Austin for her new job. I assumed that the gym would reimburse me for the fees unearned and they refused to do anything until my granddaughter showed them proof of moving out of Austin. First of all, she is going to live with a relative for awhile and I am going to keep her mail at my house. I will see her every month or so and give it to her. She has no bills and the only mail she gets are advertisements. WOW! those jerks would not agree to reimbursing me my money. I am in my 70s and retired. I do not have a reason to let them keep my money (over $ 100). I could use it for my bills.
Rude, indifferent and heartless. Do NOT go to this gym thinking they care anything about making you fit and certainly will not listen to any reasonable claim for reimbursement.
Not only was the gym unclean, they really were worthless on what they claimed to accomplish on the mats and kick boxing etc.
Very poor business practices.

This place is a ran by a scam artist, they don’t go by their contract. I moved out of state and they refused to break my contract and sent a bogus bill of $ 400 to collections.
I filed a dispute and they couldn’t prove I owed them any money!!!
Beware!
Also they deleted my previous review, and several other reviews from others that have experienced the same exact kind of BS!!!

Just so everyone knows this review isn’t coming from a meathead. I do workout a lot (5+ times a week) but I am 6’1 and only weight about 160. 160 After gaining weight for about 2 months lol. So you get the idea. I’m just a normal guy with some pretty standard fitness goals. I have the basic membership here.
Amazing Gym. Amazing Price, Amazing People. Seriously, this gym could not get any better for me. There is a basic membership which gets you weight training for a year, it’s dirt cheap. For a little more money they will teach you how to fight. Not just nonsense, but if you are in a dark alley alone fight. I have seen them train EVERYONE, big huge MMA lookin guys to tiny women just wanting self defense. All the staff I have had interactions with have been friendly and polite and most importantly, not in your face, I got 1 sales pitch… when I asked for it. and never again. I go in to this gym probably 4 – 5 times a week every week and I am never bothered by anyone, not people on the weight floor, not the people in kick boxing or muy thai etc. It’s great. In contrast to this, I have ALWAYS been given a friendly answer to any question I had to staff or someone on the weight floor, about a lift or diet, everyone is always willing to help. I would recommend this gym for men, women and children. The guy who runs the children’s boxing workouts is stern but GREAT! I have seen him coaching kids probably 10+ times now and his main concern is always safety.

I love this gym.
This is the place if you want to learn how to fight. I only do the free weights, which is also the best by far for another reason, but the classes for kickboxing and mma are rediculous. They give members by far the best teaching and workouts. As a spectator, I watch the participants get pushed to the limits and leave the gym in a pile of sweat. Most gyms just let you punch a bag, do some pushups and call it a workout. If I didn’t have an ankle injury, I would join them.
Thank god for the MMA classes, because the free weights are also AWESOME. The weights are mostly basic, but everything you would ever need. BUT, the best part is the fact that the fighting is such a big draw. It takes everyone away from the weights and allows me to just do my workout.
It is for:
Those who like to workout hard and go home.
It is NOT for:
Those who like to chat and check out chicks while they work out.
I highly recommend this gym for anyone serious about getting in good shape!

I lucked upon this gym by noticing it wasn’t a Goodwill anymore. With my face pressed to the glass I look through and saw people working out, and boxing and kicking… I was excited and intimidated all in the same body. It took me walking in the doors 5 times and one talk with Instructor Randy before he and I convinced me that I wanted to be stronger, fit and kick butt. He said «let me hold you accountable; you will get better.»
Seven months later, I could do push ups, I could plank, I could run without wanting to pass out. I loved the stress release of punching a bag. I loved sparring & learning techniques with all the talented instructors. No doubt I have been kicked, punched and put on my bum many times but not without learning how to not let it happen again… so easily. It was awesome. And the best part. without really paying attention just enjoying class and friends, I lost 20 in the process and it hasn’t returned. That was and has been the 2^nd most important lesson from instructor Randy… Have a «Kai» best Japanese translation– Practice getting 1% better each day. Those 1% really do add up.

I initially started the kickboxing class to get into shape. I enjoed the class so much i started taking the boxing class aswell. The instructors are skilled and knowledgeable. I’ve learned something new in every class so far. The staff are polite and worked with me when i needed to adjust my payment plan. What’s not to like?! If your looking for a fun, affordable, and challenging workout i definitely recomend the kickboxing program.