Ambassador’s Corner: East Austin Athletic Club

Whether you’ve been in Austin for a month, a year or are an OG Austinite, you know that East Austin has become a hot spot for amazing restaurants, coffee shops and some of the best gyms in the city.

Today’s spotlight is all about East Austin Athletic Club, which is a gym that focuses on cultivating community through measurable fitness experiences. The club was launched three years ago by co-owners Tony Ramos and Brendon Fellows, both of who have extensive knowledge in the fitness industry and come from sports backgrounds.

This month’s Ambassador’s Corner is supporting OSD, a nonprofit that helps veterans, active military and their family members to thrive. By working with members of the community, OSD creates and nurtures an environment with the goal to improve our local communities and assist veterans as they transition into civilian life.

Every donation makes a difference in the lives of our military community and their families. Thank you for your generosity as we continue to bring awareness and help those in need.

Sydney’s Chosen Nonprofit: OSD

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First things first, let’s talk about the kinds of classes they offer and the actual experience! All their workouts are innovative and fun and are customized to focus on specific fitness goals. All of the coaches combined have over 25 years of experience in many different aspects of fitness like CrossFit, Bootcamp, yoga, powerlifting and more! The workouts are designed to focus on building a strong foundation to support long-term fitness goals while pushing you to achieve results and, of course, build confidence in and out of the club.

Being that they have such a wide range of knowledge in the fitness industry, their classes reflect that by providing a few different format styles:

Ascend combines strength and conditioning to give you a well-rounded experience while pushing the boundaries of weightlifting and cardiovascular endurance. The goal is to increase your fundamental skills of strength, speed, power, endurance and balance to help you move well and feel good.

Barbell Strength is built for anyone looking to further their skills using a barbell while, of course, strengthening their lifts.

Ignite is the EAAC version of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) that emphasizes cardio to get your blood pumping using circuits and short bursts of intervals. Ambassador Tip: Highly recommend this class for beginners!

Physique is a more traditional strength training workout designed to build strong muscles and correct any imbalances.

The club also offers gentle flow yoga, kickboxing and boxing classes!

Beyond the amazing offerings they have for their members on the fitness side of things, EAAC also puts a strong emphasis on community. The entire team is so friendly and loves giving back to the Austin community and its own members. Building life stories and friendships pre- and post-workout are huge. They’ve hosted events in the past like pub runs, corn hole tournaments, giant potlucks and happy hours at the local bars.

Make sure to keep an eye on their social media @eastaustinathleticclub for upcoming events! Every Saturday at 9 a.m., they host a free community workout that’s open to the public, so make sure to bring a friend! More information can be found on their website.

I had the chance to try a few classes by EAAC, the Ignite and Ascend formats, and honestly loved them both. Not only did I feel welcomed by the coaches but the whole staff and other members in the class were extremely generous in making sure the new girl didn’t feel left out. The photos in this article were taken from the Ignite class, which is my cup of tea since I’m a big fan of HIIT-style training and use it when programming my weekly/monthly workouts.

This specific workout just so happened to be right after the CrossFit 2022 opening, and if you tuned in or saw some posts on social media, you know about the 22.2 opening workout *insert upside-down smiley face*.

Let me also preface by saying I’ve been rocking bodyweight home workouts in my garage for the past two years so any form of weight training will make me sore as heck and push my limits. The class started with working on a powerlifting style move, moved to the overhead barbell squat and finished with the 22.2 opener workout, which was a ladder circuit of barbell deadlifts with burpees… I DID NOT STUTTER! Needless to say, I got my tush handed to me and ended the workout lying on the floor.

Whether you’re a beginner or fitness veteran, know that East Austin Athletic Club keeps form and functionality at top of your mind. They aren’t going to send you off to do a more complex movement if you don’t feel like you’re ready for it and will keep an eye on you to make sure you feel strong and comfortable each step of the way as you build your strength and cardiovascular endurance.

Lastly, if you’re not already hooked, your first two classes at the club are free! I’ll be heading back soon to give the other class formats a go and hope to see you there.