FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WE'VE GOT ANSWERS
What is personalized fitness?

Personalized fitness is a new model of fitness that engages the client through multiple areas of support - fitness, nutrition, and behaviors. This is not personal training and it’s not group classes. Clients work one-on-one with a coach who develops a long-term fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle program based on their individual goals and a comprehensive assessment. The client is then responsible for completing their training and sharing results with their coach.

For our clients in Austin, we offer onsite coaching hours. From 6:00am - 9:00am and 4:30pm - 7:30pm Monday - Friday and 8:00am - 12:00pm on Saturdays, one of our professional coaches is on the floor to answer questions, provide feedback, and ensure a safe, fun environment for clients.

Do you do personal training? Group classes?

We do not.

No matter how hard a coach tries to personalize a workout within a group setting, it simply cannot be done. Most attempts are scaling and modifying workouts to make what works well for one suitable for the next. This is a lower-order approach relative to creating an intelligent training plan that is based upon an individual's needs. Additionally, personal training can become very expensive and still doesn’t provide opportunities to address the nutritional and behavioral aspects of a client’s life that impact their goals and progress.

I've never worked out before. Will this be a good fit more me?

We generally find that people with some experience working out, whether it’s group classes or running or anything else, are more successful with this model and have an easier time adapting to it. However, if you’re committed to the process and are comfortable working out independently, you’ll do great!

What experience and certifications do the coaches have?

All of our coaches have completed the OPEX CCP. OPEX CCP develops both knowledge and practical implementation, teaching coaches a comprehensive system including physical assessment, functional exercise program design, and lifestyle coaching. Additionally, our coaches have a variety of strength and conditioning and nutrition certifications including CSCS and Precision Nutrition. Additionally, all of our coaches have 5+ years of coaching experience.

You can read about each of our coaches here.

How much is the membership and what does it include?
  • Onsite training begins $569/month and includes: all of your workouts, nutritional prescriptions, lifestyle recommendations, unlimited use of the facility including our sauna and cold tub for recovery, additional Central Health interventions and monthly consults with your coach.
  • Remote coaching begins at $399/month and includes: all of the above, with 4 drop-ins per month to the facility in Austin, TX instead of unlimited use.
This is more expensive than most other gyms; why?

Simply put, you’re getting a premium service that’s above and beyond what you’ll find at other gyms. You’re getting guidance with fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle changes all in one place, tailored to you.

Our professional coaches get to know you through a comprehensive assessment before they write a single workout. All of the training you’ll receive is individual to you and based on your goals, schedule, and capabilities. The programming is designed to be fluid and get you closer to your goals no matter the circumstances; going on vacation? Your coach will program a travel workout for you. Overwhelmed at work? Your coach will suggest some lifestyle changes to support lowering your overall stress.

Read more about what current clients say about Central Athlete here.

I heard that weight lifting can be dangerous. Is that true?

Anything can be dangerous if done incorrectly. However, Central Athlete puts a huge emphasis on quality over intensity - this means that we ensure all clients move properly before adding external loading. Additionally, our professional coaches design your program with the mindset of “do no harm,” meaning we are never going to prescribe an exercise or load that puts you in danger. The initial assessment plays a big part in this - your coach analyzes exactly where you’re at in your fitness in terms of movement, strength, and work capacity. They then design your program around your current abilities and goals with respect to exercise selection, intensity, and volume to ensure that not only you are performing the correct, most safe exercise for you, but the exercises specifically that you need to be working on. We also offer on-site coaching hours where there is a coach on the floor watching every client and ensuring a safe and positive environment for our community.

If everyone is doing their own workout, what's the community like?

Great question! One client says, “Walking into the gym on any given day, you find a super supportive community full of people of a wide range of abilities, all cheering each other on.” Another has compared it to Cheers, the place where everybody knows your name.

The facility is more than a space for training and recovery. It is the opportunity to connect with a community of others who in some way, shape or form, strive for progress in their lives. Whether that means keeping up with their two-year-old, PRing their back squat or losing some unwanted fat mass, we’re in this together. The energy of constant improvement is what connects each of us and you can feel it when you walk into the gym.

What Covid Precautions are in Place?

First of all, though the gym is open we do respect everyone's right to make a choice for themselves on where and when they want to workout. We've offered remote coaching for over 5 years and are still working with clients all over the world, including those who live in Austin but don't feel comfortable coming into the gym just yet. Our coaches can work with you wherever you are and with whatever equipment you have access to as long as you're committed to your health!

With regards to cleaning, everyone is expected to wipe down their equipment after each use and all coaches wipe down equipment at the end of their shift. Cleaners come once/week to clean the entire gym, including bathrooms. A disinfecting company comes once/month to test our surfaces and disinfect them. We've never had a reading in their "danger" zone and can provide certificates upon request.

Additionally, we have a hydroxyl generator and UV light sanitization which adds another layer of safety to our clients and staff.

Do you have showers or changing rooms?

There are showers in Building 1. Just ask a coach how to get there!