Atomic Athlete — Local services in Austin

I walked into this business one Saturday afternoon late February around 1:00pm I was not greeted and stood at the entrance for a good 10 minutes, there was a man who was I believe teaching a class. He could have acknowledged me but chose not to.

I went in and stood closer to him at which point he finally spoke to me. He told me his name was Raul because I asked him, I also verified that he worked there. He wasn't friendly, rather stern and did not ask me my name. He told me that there was a woman, I believe he said her name was Kara & she "deals with new people".

This man said "deals with new people" with a sigh and a scowl. I thought oh boy! Real friendly & professional but I went through with it anyway. I strongly believe that business that are open to the general public ought to have minimum standards on how to greet and inform the general public, who's business they seek A script of sorts.

Raul told me to go into an office like area and said Kara was there and to speak with her. I went in, Kara I think came out of the rest room, gave me a weary and appraising look, no introductions no helpfulness. I asked about classes she looked at me up and down and said that I would first "have to" do olyimpic lifting classes. How did she know I wasn't familiar nor experienced with that? I also introduced myself to her and put out my hand, she just stared at me coldly with a grim set to her mouth, unsmiling. She niether shook my hand nor said the normal business like ...hi, my name is Kara. Gulp!. Her final words were to look at the website and the whatever I needed to know was there.

Wow. So I did go on the website and to my suprise right there on their website there is language that is not very flattering that is used to describe the public. Shocking. But then again not really given the lack of professionalism and coldness with which I was greeted (barely) and interacted with.

One final note, when I walked into the office and met this woman who "deals with new people" I smiled told her my name and offered my hand. She did not take it.

That is all I need to know about this place. My search for a gym that is closer to home continues, I would never join a place that hires people as rude and unprofessional as the 2 Atomic Athlete instructors I dealt with. All I needed to know about this place was amply demonstrated to me by how Raul and Kara treated me. And any business that has a word that rhymes with "glassbowl" when describing a customer on their webpage speaks to the culture and vibe the owners want. I knew that service and professionalism is very much indeed lacking in Austin, but these folks with their insults on their website and the staff that lack basic communication skills and good manners really take the cake. Definately the rudest people I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with in Austin.

Ps. May 08 2014 - I have written to the owners twice in February and April since my unhappy experience and they haven't bothered to...

I started training at Atomic in August. I soon realized my idea of working out until then was just adorable! Aw your heart is beating? How cute.

I had heard people saying the phrase "Harder to Kill" a lot, and saw it adorned on t-shirts and bumper stickers galore, but never really considered how that applied to my life.

All I knew about harder was "I'm 30 minutes into a Viper HIIT session and it's getting harder to keep going"

But that changed this weekend. The philosophy became way more personal.

I drove out to Lost Maples State Park to enjoy some fall foliage. I was expecting a flat, serene park with the occasional pretty fall- colored tree, but what was waiting for me was far different. It was a five mile trek uphill/downhill through a thick forest of trees. On top of that, visibility was at near 0, with constant drizzling rain and it was cold. Add to that, copious amounts of mud, and it was not the traditional hike of my mountain lover self.

At one point, the trail turned into a straight mile and a half steep incline of huge rocks. A sign warned of what lied ahead. As I began my ascent, I approached a family of about 5 adults and 5 kids. I overheard one little girl say in agony, "I'm gonna die today. I'm gonna die today from a mountain. How much further? This sucks." To which her relative replied, "You can't die from a mountain. Maybe from being out of shape though."

I couldn't help but giggle to myself when I heard that. I instantly thought of the guys at Atomic and bounded faster up the rocks past the family.

This was fun, I thought. This feels like what I have spent months training for. Agility, strength, mental focus, speed, stamina, all of it came together as I bounded up the slippery rocks towards the peak of the mountain.

That mountain may have wanted me to get it, but Atomic made me harder to kill!

Thanks guys!! You rock!! (no pun...

I honestly love it here. Jake and Tod are the real deal. The programing is tippy top notch. Cool, welcoming, social vibe for athletes trying to level up. This place delivers in spades.

Full disclosure: This gym probably is not for you if it is your first time ever working out. I am a kickboxer and distance runner, and it probably took me at least 6 months to not feel like I was on the struggle bus compared to the rest of the crowd. There were guys 20+ older than me running circles around where I was starting at; with that said, everyone was super cool and helpful as I learned the ropes, and it's been nothing short of a great experience.

With all of this said, nothing I have done before ever got me in as good of shape as I have been via Atomic Athlete. I love how they have 5-6 classes a day, so if I miss the 10:45 class it's not like I am out of luck for the rest of the day as have multiple options to catch it later. Additonally, the way they curate the classes is awesome - they email the weekly programming ahead of time, so let's say Monday is chest day, I can bank on my legs being fresh the next day and plan for a long run Tuesday morning. Or if I want to go hard at kickboxing one day- I can see the next day at Atomic is a recovery day, so I can work around that. So really what I am saying is that this is an ideal situation for someone who does other sports or cross trains.

Overall, if you are an athlete who is looking to get stronger, faster and harder to kill, this is the answer. Going 2-3 times a week is all it really took for me, some folks might go more, and I would not suggest this for someone going much less than that. It's a great value, awesome product and worth while membership for folks who are trying to level up in ways they could not do on their...