This guest blog article is by Michal Ann Morrison.
Pure Austin Fitness has been a leading figure in the Austin fitness industry since 1999. Their most recent contribution to keeping Austin athletes and fitness junkies at the top of their game is Rail Training, a fitness program that focuses on sports performance-inspired training.
You’ll find Rail Training at 410 Speed Shop, new home to Pure Austin and Rogue Running.
Rail Training is unique in that it combines the concepts of a personal trainer and a group fitness class. Walking into the refurbished auto shop, you get the attention of a personal trainer without the heavy financial cost, with the monthly membership costing less than two average personal training sessions. Greg Cook, Director of Training, currently leads all the Rail Training classes, and said he intends to keep the ratio of coaches to members small so that everyone gets individualized attention as they participate.
When I visited, I could tell he meant it! Greg was professional yet approachable, focusing on each member’s form and giving personalized instructions and encouragement. Because the class held between 12-15 people per trainer, Greg was able to take the time to hear my personal fitness goals, limitations, and questions. It was also easy to get to know others and build camaraderie because there wasn’t an overwhelming number of people. As someone who has experienced both personal training and group fitness classes, it felt like Rail Training was the best of both worlds.
With Austin being inundated with gyms and fitness studios, it was important to me to hear what sets Rail Training apart. The philosophy behind Rail Training is a fresh one: don’t just do exercises and reps for the sake of getting good at performing in the gym. Do the exercises and stretches strategically, so that you can run faster, jump higher, maintain balance and move well. Those skills are transferable to whatever sport or activity you enjoy outside the gym. They protect you from injury and further a wide variety of athletic performance.
Whereas some forms of exercise today focus on competition, Rail Training helps you improve crucial functions so you can improve your game elsewhere. Many fans of this approach are former collegiate athletes who miss the performance-based training, and others are those who simply want to work hard without necessarily worrying about the amount of weight they can bench. Exercises focus instead on speed, explosiveness, and power.
Rail Training is located at 410 Speed Shop, at 410 Pressler near W 5th Street. On Mondays and Thursdays, classes are focused on lower body strength, Tuesday and Friday on upper body strength, and Wednesday on anaerobic endurance and metabolic training. Monday through Friday, classes are offered at 6:15 AM, 12 PM and 5:15 PM.
For more information, you can check out PureAustinSpeedShop.com, or email Greg at gr***@pu********.com for a free pass!
Michal Ann recently finished a graduate program at Dallas Theological Seminary, where she earned a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies. Now, when she’s not traveling around the Mediterranean for research, she’s working on the publication of her first children’s book. Her favorite things to do include kayaking, hiking the Greenbelt with her rescue pup Lady, and searching for the best coffee places in town.
@theAustinot asks:
What is your favorite Austin gym?
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