SWEAT440 Fitness Highland — Attraction in Austin

UPDATED (DEC 2024) Updated review to 5 stars. Over the past few months, this location has hired back some of the original trainers and their new trainers are really getting into the swing of things. They've also just reopened the mid-morning hours, which helps a lot with convenience. The new trainers I've been working with have been very mindful and helpful about navigating my injury and finding substitutions when needed. To the gym owners, thank you for taking the feedback of the community to heart :)

ORIGINAL (OCT 2024 - 1 STAR) I’ve been an unlimited member of this gym for over a year, having started back when Candace was running things. I would train in the mornings several times a week and my classes were almost always taught by Angie, Kenneth, or Candace, and occasionally David. I loved every single one of these coaches immensely. They were what kept me coming back. I say this in the past tense, because within the past year the management of this gym has changed and every single one of these coaches has left.

The reasons I loved Sweat 440 so much were the trainers and the feeling of community that the gym had. I knew most of the people who came to workout in my time slot and I knew all of the coaches. What was most important to me however, was that the coaches all knew me. I have a previous injury that can flare up very easily if I don’t have perfect form, and every single one of these coaches would go above and beyond to constantly micro-adjust my form, make sure I was doing preventative stretching and exercises, and even come up with exercise substitutes ahead of my class if they knew there were exercises that would aggravate my injury.

At one point I went too hard during one of the gym challenges and aggravated my injury. I had to take a few months off to recover. When I tried to come back I guess the management had already changed, because Sweat 440 cut the exact hours that I used to always come in (10-11am). This was the only reliable time I could make it to the gym every day. Because of this, it took me a few MORE months to be able to rework my schedule to be able to come back regularly. This is particularly annoying, as most of the marketing for Sweat 440 is around convenience. This change was anything but convenient, and it’s now a hassle for me to make it to the gym every single time.

The biggest issue though, is that the new management of this gym has done SOMETHING that’s caused every single one of their dedicated, loved, and qualified coaches to leave. The coaches are literally the heart of this business. If I just wanted a HIIT workout I could pay $10 a month for Apple Fitness and use my free apartment gym that has most of the same equipment. What made Sweat 440 worth it to me was the coaches and the individual attention that allowed me to work out effectively with minimal risk of injuring myself again. Kenneth was the last remaining coach that I knew and trusted, and as of last week he has also left because of the new management. Since Kenneth leaving, every time I’ve gone I’ve been basically ignored by the on duty coach and have had to try and correct my own form and come up with substitute exercises on the fly just to be able to complete a class. It hasn’t been going well, to say the least. The most common state of Sweat 440 that I’ve experienced now seems to be not having a single coach on the floor while people are exercising. If I were just starting at this gym today, I would not continue my membership.

This gym no longer feels like a community to me. It also no longer feels like an effective, safe, and supervised form of working out. It’s no longer a place I recommend to any of my friends either. The quality of coaching has decreased just as drastically as the prices have increased. I'll give this place a few more months to adjust to the growing pains of employee turnover, but if things continue in this direction I'll be considering canceling my membership to either go it alone or find somewhere else where I can trust that I'll be supervised during...

I love the appeal of the variety of class times and exercises offered every single day. The lunch time slots are fantastic, and being able to fit in a class as late as 7pm is just too good to pass up for those of us who are not 6am'ers.

When the exercise isn't something I want to do or my body can handle, it's easy to modify and you can also ask one of the coaches what exercise would be good to substitute. The coaches are friendly and offer good feedback on technique, and generally look like they love their job. Also, I really love the playlists during the workouts. Perfect for elder millennials.

My only complaints are that:

1. Sometimes station 1's TV doesn't work for days straight on one side of the station (with 2 exercises), which is a bit annoying when technique is important to prevent injury. 2) It's frustrating when the cleaning wipes are gone, and there aren't enough cleaning towels to wipe down the station. 3) Upper body days leave out chest exercises too frequently, according to my partner who has been going for 6 months.

Definitely take advantage of the first week being free, to decide if it's...

I love this place so much! I’ve been a member since 2023; went for the free class and immediately signed up for a year. The studio is clean, the workouts are fantastic, and the staff is amazing. I also like that classes start every 10 min, which is extremely convenient for people’s schedules. While there was some management changes two months ago that caused a couple issues, once Tommy started as the studio coach the issues were taken care of. He personally reached out to make sure my concerns were addressed, and is nothing but kind, friendly, and motivated to have Sweat440 be the best it can be. I am thankful we have Tommy!

I genuinely love this studio, and cannot imagine my life without it. I always leave the studio feeling a little stronger than when I went in. Also want to give a shout out to Coach Kenneth and Coach Sandy. Kenneth is the glue to this Sweat440 community, always making us laugh, adding weight, and being an amazing coach. Coach Sandy is top-tier operations coach! She ensures the studio has the premium vibes with how clean, organized, and structured...