If you’ve never worked out a day in your life, you’re kind of our favorite person to train!

Maybe you tried a gym once and stood in the corner pretending to stretch until you could leave. Or hopped on a treadmill, walked for a few minutes, and called it good. Maybe you don’t even know what half the equipment does (same, honestly, before I started training). Maybe you’re just tired of feeling like everyone else got some secret manual on how to work out and you missed the orientation.

You didn’t miss anything. Nobody hands out a manual. That’s what we’re here for.

At Uplift, “beginner” isn’t a box you check before you graduate to the “real” training. It’s who we built this studio for. You’ll work with a coach who explains things instead of assuming you already know them, in a private space with nobody watching you figure out a deadlift for the first time. It’s just you and your coach going at your pace.

What “beginner” actually means here

Honestly, it means a lot of things, and all of them are welcome:

1. You have never worked out, ever. Not even a little. You’ve never touched a barbell and the idea of a squat rack makes your stomach drop a bit.
2. You used to work out and stopped years ago, and starting again feels like starting from zero, because it kind of does.
3. You do cardio, or yoga, or Pilates, but you’ve never strength trained and don’t know where to begin with weights.
4. You’ve been to a gym or a class before but never actually learned anything, so you’re going through the motions instead of building real strength.

If any of those sound like you, this page is for you!

The stuff you might be worried about (let’s just talk about it)

“I don’t know any of the equipment.” That’s okay, that’s what we’re here for! Your first session is getting you familiar with being in a gym. Your coach will walk you through what things are, how they work, and why we’re using them for your body and your goals, not just tossing you in with everyone else.

“What if I have an injury or a health thing going on?” Tell us. We’re not doctors, but we work with plenty of people managing injuries, chronic conditions, or just an old ache that flares up sometimes. We build around what your body can do right now, not what a workout plan says you should be able to do.

“I always quit.” Same, on a lot of things (my Duolingo streak has died more times than I can count). What usually makes people actually stick with this is that someone’s expecting them and the plan is built around their actual life, not a generic 12 week program they downloaded and abandoned by week 3.

“I’m scared I’ll get hurt.” This is the whole reason a coach is standing next to you. We teach form first, load second. You’re not getting handed a barbell and a nod of encouragement. We’ll hold your hand throughout.

What your first session actually looks like

Our 1/1’s and our Small Groups have their first sessions different, but the coaching is exactly the same.

1/1 first Session:

1. We talk. Goals, movement history, injuries, what you’re nervous about, what you’re hoping changes. We want to get to know you, pick your brain, and see how we can best help you.
2. We move through the basics together. Your coach takes you through our movement assessment that gets your body moving and feeling good. We’ll see how to best coach you and where to start so we can build you the program that’s best for you.
3. We build your actual program from there. Nothing generic. What we learned about you in steps 1 and 2 becomes your plan going forward.

Small Group clients start out with a 15 minute intake call with one of our coaches. We go over all of your goals, injuries, movement experience, and more, then we give all of that information to your coach for your first session.

Small Group First Session:

1. We move. We’ll take you through a “base workout” that goes over our foundational movements (like squats, hinges, pushes, pulls) to see how you move, how to best teach you, and see where we should start when programming for you.
2. We build your program. We’ll use what we learned in your first session and intake to build you a program just for you. Next time you come in, you’ll be learning things that might be same same but different, and then you’ll keep building upon those things.

Our goal is that you leave your first session feeling more comfortable and confident in your choice than when you first came in.

You’ll never train alone in a crowd

Every session, whether it’s 1-on-1 or small group (three people max), everyone in that room has their own program. So even in a group, your coach knows exactly what you’re working on and why. It’s not a class. Nobody’s yelling “10 more!” at a room full of strangers doing the same thing. Read more about how 1-on-1 and small group personal training works here.

What people who started exactly where you are have said

“I’ve been avoiding strength training for years and finally crept into Uplift… I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed my warmup before.” — Nikki T.

“I started training here nearly a year ago being an absolute beginner. I love the very inclusive environment.” — Rachel K.

“I can do things now with my body that I never thought was possible for me and feeling strong gives me a confidence I have never had before.” — Haley C

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to start training?

Can’t wait to meet you <3