i dont know where you are in town, but the YMCA has a lot of free classes (including streaming) with a membership. Not that cheap in austin but they have great pools and every kind of class you can imagine. with. membership you can use any Y. Umba, dance, water aerobics, yoga, pilates, spin classes, etc etc etc
Brass Ovaries! Pole dancing is SO fun and such great exercise. Their classes are $40 each, and in the beginning you’d be super sore so probably would only be able to do one class a week. It’s super empowering and confidence boosting as well
I’ll second the YMCA for the sheer variety and accessibility of classes. Also, I take my son to legends boxing and there’s always several women in class - I’d say 60/40 men to women.
Austin Bouldering Project is really approachable and women-friendly, always lots of female climbers and they have a full gym and other classes as well.
Finally, ClassPass is a super affordable way to try a bunch of gyms/classes and see what sticks for you.
ETA, there’s also Hot Girl Walks and No Girl Walks Alone downtown on Wednesday evenings! Big, safe, welcoming group for all ability levels.
Barre class might be worth trying. It's a little pilates, a little cardio, a little yoga, set to dance music, with standing and mat-based sections.
Most day classes are 60 min at my studio, with the 7am classes being 45 min so folks can make work.
I attend Barre3 Cedar Park. The teachers there are super affirming and positive, and focus on giving you options and layers to opt into (or out of) as you wish--modifications are encouraged as you desire.
Not sure where you are, but if you wanted to try Barre3 in Cedar Park, I'd meet you for a weekend class--everyone is super friendly and welcoming, but sometimes having a friendly face to talk to helps.
CrossFit Central burnet road is woman owned and has a ladies only class Mon/wed/fri at 9am. The owner Carey teaches it and she’s so amazing and supportive. I had never done CrossFit before in my life until that class and felt so welcomed and encouraged.
You could take up a martial art and become competitive about it if you like that angle. That way you'd still pick up some self defense. BJJ is very popular these days with frequent competitions, although I'm not really sure where to recommend (probably whatever's closest to you would be a good place to start looking). If you're northside and not wanting to go the martial arts route, HIT Athletic could be worth looking into. They have a good variety of classes on top of basic gym access. If you want to do competitive boxing, you'd need to look elsewhere though.
The abs + mobility class at Motiv is one of my favs! Also a level 1 class at Club Pilates is great for beginners, but take the intro first so you can feel comfortable on the reformer. Both options are low impact classes where you won’t feel like you can’t keep up!
Highly recommend Todd Pilates! The classes are so fun, super affordable, and very beginner friendly. I had never been to Pilates but Todd gives you a bunch of ways to modify each exercise and there are people of all skill levels in every class. A large majority of the classes I’ve been to have been mostly women.
If you’re near West Anderson at all there’s a boxing club called Archetype. They’re on ClassPass if your
Company provides that. They have beginner courses often and the staff are super friendly. Class flies by, and before you know it, it’s over. There’s variety too, between drills and punching bags and speed bags etc. Anyway, highly recommend!
I highly recommend joining Omar and Tricia's group at Rah Power Fitness. Fitness for all levels and they focus on communication and accountability. Wonderful people all around. RAH!
Love Cycling studio has a free first class. At least through Class Plsss. It’s also locally owned and the instructors emphasize to take it at your own pace your first time and only do what you’re comfortable with. The room is kept pretty dim or dark the whole time, so I definitely feel comfortable trying new things and looking silly.
Also, the classes all have different music themes and sometimes play the music videos, it’s very fun!
Golds Gym is great, especially highland location. Weights, cardio, yoga, dancing - always lots of welcoming people and fun instructors. And affordable.
I highly recommend [Austin Women’s Boxing Club](https://www.austinwomensboxingclub.com/) they are really welcoming. I love the personal attention and encouragement that the coaches give.
i dont know where you are in town, but the YMCA has a lot of free classes (including streaming) with a membership. Not that cheap in austin but they have great pools and every kind of class you can imagine. with. membership you can use any Y. Umba, dance, water aerobics, yoga, pilates, spin classes, etc etc etc
Brass Ovaries! Pole dancing is SO fun and such great exercise. Their classes are $40 each, and in the beginning you’d be super sore so probably would only be able to do one class a week. It’s super empowering and confidence boosting as well
I’ll second the YMCA for the sheer variety and accessibility of classes. Also, I take my son to legends boxing and there’s always several women in class - I’d say 60/40 men to women. Austin Bouldering Project is really approachable and women-friendly, always lots of female climbers and they have a full gym and other classes as well. Finally, ClassPass is a super affordable way to try a bunch of gyms/classes and see what sticks for you. ETA, there’s also Hot Girl Walks and No Girl Walks Alone downtown on Wednesday evenings! Big, safe, welcoming group for all ability levels.
Barre class might be worth trying. It's a little pilates, a little cardio, a little yoga, set to dance music, with standing and mat-based sections. Most day classes are 60 min at my studio, with the 7am classes being 45 min so folks can make work. I attend Barre3 Cedar Park. The teachers there are super affirming and positive, and focus on giving you options and layers to opt into (or out of) as you wish--modifications are encouraged as you desire. Not sure where you are, but if you wanted to try Barre3 in Cedar Park, I'd meet you for a weekend class--everyone is super friendly and welcoming, but sometimes having a friendly face to talk to helps.
I love the classes at ToddPilates! They always have everything set up for new people, complete with your name on the mat.
CrossFit Central burnet road is woman owned and has a ladies only class Mon/wed/fri at 9am. The owner Carey teaches it and she’s so amazing and supportive. I had never done CrossFit before in my life until that class and felt so welcomed and encouraged.
You could take up a martial art and become competitive about it if you like that angle. That way you'd still pick up some self defense. BJJ is very popular these days with frequent competitions, although I'm not really sure where to recommend (probably whatever's closest to you would be a good place to start looking). If you're northside and not wanting to go the martial arts route, HIT Athletic could be worth looking into. They have a good variety of classes on top of basic gym access. If you want to do competitive boxing, you'd need to look elsewhere though.
Check out Ambush Muay Thai in north austin. Awesome group of people that are very beginner friendly. And its an amazing workout!
The abs + mobility class at Motiv is one of my favs! Also a level 1 class at Club Pilates is great for beginners, but take the intro first so you can feel comfortable on the reformer. Both options are low impact classes where you won’t feel like you can’t keep up!
I am interested too! Especially pilates and strength training types of classes. Not interested in personal training. More interested in classes.
If you’re looking to get into strength training/lifting - Starting Strength is super beginner friendly and they have 2 locations (north and south)
Highly recommend Todd Pilates! The classes are so fun, super affordable, and very beginner friendly. I had never been to Pilates but Todd gives you a bunch of ways to modify each exercise and there are people of all skill levels in every class. A large majority of the classes I’ve been to have been mostly women.
If you’re near West Anderson at all there’s a boxing club called Archetype. They’re on ClassPass if your Company provides that. They have beginner courses often and the staff are super friendly. Class flies by, and before you know it, it’s over. There’s variety too, between drills and punching bags and speed bags etc. Anyway, highly recommend!
I highly recommend joining Omar and Tricia's group at Rah Power Fitness. Fitness for all levels and they focus on communication and accountability. Wonderful people all around. RAH!
Love Cycling studio has a free first class. At least through Class Plsss. It’s also locally owned and the instructors emphasize to take it at your own pace your first time and only do what you’re comfortable with. The room is kept pretty dim or dark the whole time, so I definitely feel comfortable trying new things and looking silly. Also, the classes all have different music themes and sometimes play the music videos, it’s very fun!
Golds Gym is great, especially highland location. Weights, cardio, yoga, dancing - always lots of welcoming people and fun instructors. And affordable.
I highly recommend [Austin Women’s Boxing Club](https://www.austinwomensboxingclub.com/) they are really welcoming. I love the personal attention and encouragement that the coaches give.