AMP GYM — Local services in Saint Augustine

Most days I felt like the rusty old tin man with chronic pain and stiffness, Master Personal Trainer Matt Nigut helped me change that…

For longer than I care to admit (40+yrs) I’ve been working out, played organized sports, and participated in every kind of exercise class from yoga to CrossFit, and even personal training in boxing, swimming and fitness, all the while working a physically demanding job as a firefighter. I beat my body down pretty good, but manage to keep moving, albeit with a fair amount of chronic pain and increasing stiffness. I fell into a routine of exercises and stretches that I liked or felt good, but at the same time did not help my pain and stiffness. I was seeing a chiropractor, massage therapist, and at times a physical therapist. While they all helped me deal with the pain, I was unable to break the cycle. I decided to get a personal trainer and my research/search began, I didn’t want someone to hand me standard printout of a workout and shout out words of encouragement. I wanted someone to evaluate my strengths/weaknesses, my muscle imbalances and tightness that were at the root of this pain and stiffness. I wanted someone to create a program tailored to my messed up body that would unlock my strength and flexibility…I found that person, Master Personal Trainer Matt Nigut at Amp Hardcore Gym. Matt first did a compressive evaluation of my strength and movement, and then put together a customized program of mobility exercises and foundational strength training that broke apart my locked up muscles and joints, and created muscle balance. I’m now able to do exercises that I would have avoided due to pain, limited range of motion, and weakness (squats, pull-ups, benchpress…). My posture has improved, not to mention the chronic pain has decreased to almost nonexistent. Through Matt’s careful and knowledgeable assessment, guidance, re-evaluation and yes, shouting words of encouragement, I was able to make tremendous gains. I would highly recommend Matt. And Matt, thank you for the knowledge, guidance and patience you have shared with me…much...

My wife and I visited from out of town and we fell in love with this place. It’s just raw. You can come in this gym, put your head down and just get to lifting weights. You can walk in and set up shop to do a standard workout, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, strongman training, cardio, or CrossFit. There are two rules—clean up after yourself and put away your weights. Otherwise, do what you need to do to get your workout in. And I will also add that the music is on point. No PC easy-listening garbage—it’s hardcore music that makes you want to pick up a bunch of weights and throw them around (over and over again). However, what we liked most was there were no egos in this place. The staff could not have been a nicer and more chill group of people. When you talk with them, you get a sense that they are genuinely a great group of people that want the best for their clients. The folks running this hidden gem of a gym are genuinely excited about your workouts and goals; everyone introduced themselves and one of the trainers (Brent) talked to us for about a half hour and encouraged us to come to the next powerlifting meet. And the members were all cool and varied from legit powerlifters to folks wanting to stay in shape and improve their fitness levels. During the few hours I was there, I walked past a mom waiting to pick up here son after a workout, a professional looking fella getting in a lunchtime workout, a woman working through a circuit routine, a legit powerlifter working on his deadlift technique, and a seriously handsome fella visiting from out of town who ended up writing this review! Bottom line, whether you are stepping into a gym for the first time or a seasoned athlete, you will love the vibe and functionality of this place! If you’re training somewhere else, you’re missing out so if you’re shopping for gyms, you need to come check...

I have been going to this gym for about 2 years now and it’s great. First, if you are a USA student, it is right next to the campus and they offer a student discount. As of writing this, the school has closed its gym so AMP came through big time, especially it being 24 hours. The staff is all very friendly and welcoming. Someone is always vacuuming, cleaning, or doing maintenance during operating hours. The GM Matt is a great guy, friendly, and an encyclopedia of fitness knowledge while being humble, not pretentious, or overly preachy. Even though it’s “AMP Hardcore” (and there are some hardcore, extremely fit and strong people there) I have never had a negative interaction or felt intimidated by other gym goers. The gym itself is garage style, lots of fans and cleaning stations placed throughout the gym. There’s a separate building for martial arts and boxing and the main gym is more or less separated into a functional fitness section, powerlifting/strongman, and traditional bodybuilding section. There’s chalk, and it is up to your discretion whether you wear shirt or shoes, something I personally don’t take advantage of, but I have seen others occasionally do it. The equipment is something you have to just tour and see for yourself; they have a lot to work with and it won’t all fit in this review. The same with the classes. It has busier and not so busy hours like other gyms, but it’s never uncomfortably packed like the globo-gyms in the area which is a huge, huge plus for me. If you are new to the area, just like finding a church, I think you should try different ones to see which fits your needs and culture the best, but I would definitely not skip AMP and if anything start there. It’s not for everybody but it is...