Our story

Built to help you win

Serving Oshkosh since 2013, Ardent Fitness and Education has been the place where everyday people get strong, stay consistent, and surprise themselves. You bring the goal. We bring the guidance.

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Why we exist

Our mission

To make professional, individualized coaching the standard, not the luxury, and to prove that a gym can look after the whole person and treat coaching as a real profession at the same time. We believe strong is a skill anyone can build with the right plan and the right people beside them. We are building a place where busy people get the attention they would get from a private coach, the structure of a real system, and a team that is still here for them years later, and where the coaches who make that possible have careers worth staying for.

Real training. Better living. For our members and the people who coach them.

Coaching at Ardent Fitness and Education in Oshkosh

Your guide for the journey

We have walked this road with 1,158 members and counting

We understand how it feels to want change and not know where to start. That is exactly why Ardent Fitness and Education exists.

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The team in your corner

Coaches who care about your progress

Austin Phillips

Founder

Austin co-founded Ardent in 2012 after returning from his fourth military deployment, bringing with him a belief that training should provide structure, confidence, and a clear path forward. His coaching combines more than a decade of experience with evidence-informed approaches to strength, recovery, nutrition, and long-term health, all grounded in the philosophy behind The Ardent Way.

MBA
BS
Master's Candidate in Health & Wellness Management
Graduate Studies in Anthropology
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2)
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach (USAW L1)
HYROX Level 1 Performance Coach
Functional Bodybuilding
CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting
CrossFit Strongman
CrossFit Football
OPEX Assessment & Program Design
CPR/AED

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Austin co-founded Ardent in 2012 after returning from his fourth military deployment, bringing with him a belief that training should provide structure, confidence, and a clear path forward. His coaching combines more than a decade of experience with evidence-informed approaches to strength, recovery, nutrition, and long-term health, all grounded in the philosophy behind The Ardent Way.

Lexi Rule

Head Coach

Lexi first came to Ardent as a member wanting to learn Olympic weightlifting, and that experience ultimately changed the direction of her career. With a background in kinesiology and years of coaching experience, she believes strength and health should be accessible to everyone and focuses on meeting people where they are while helping them build confidence and capability.

BS in Kinesiology
Exercise & Fitness Emphasis
ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-EP-C)
ACSM Exercise is Medicine (EIM)
USA Weightlifting Level 1 (USAW L1)
Brand X Youth Coach
Healthy Steps Nutrition
CPR/AED

Read full bio

Lexi first came to Ardent as a member wanting to learn Olympic weightlifting, and that experience ultimately changed the direction of her career. With a background in kinesiology and years of coaching experience, she believes strength and health should be accessible to everyone and focuses on meeting people where they are while helping them build confidence and capability.

Dakota Treleven

Coach

Dakota brings a background in rehabilitation science, competitive athletics, and coaching to Ardent, including experience as a collegiate wrestler, HYROX and triathlon competitor, and K, 12 wrestling and football coach. His approach is shaped by both performance and service, with experience mentoring through the Boys & Girls Club and working as an EMT and firefighter.

HYROX Performance Coach
Rock Steady Boxing Coach
Certified EMT
Certified Firefighter

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Dakota brings a background in rehabilitation science, competitive athletics, and coaching to Ardent, including experience as a collegiate wrestler, HYROX and triathlon competitor, and K, 12 wrestling and football coach. His approach is shaped by both performance and service, with experience mentoring through the Boys & Girls Club and working as an EMT and firefighter.

Inside the gym

Where the work happens

Training at Ardent Fitness and Education at Ardent Fitness and Education in Oshkosh

Where this goes

What life looks like six months from now

You wake up before the alarm and you are not dreading the day. You pick up your kid without bracing. You walk into the gym and people know your name. The workout is still hard, but you are not scared of it anymore. That is what strong for life actually means, and it is closer than you think.

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Real members, real change

The wins that matter most

Rated 4.9 by 62 members on Google

★★★★★

Ardent is an amazing place! The coaches are incredible-knowledgeable, supportive, and always motivating. From day one, you feel welcomed and encouraged, no matter your fitness level.

Marcelo S.

★★★★★

Workouts classes are taught by pros who help you find the right weight and variation while providing guidance during the workout. One of my favorite things is that you just sign up and show up. The workout and all the gear is there for you, and it's a different workout every time so it doesn't feel repetitive. The coaches are great people and the community of people who go are very welcoming.

Jake T.

★★★★★

The Ardent Crew listens to your goals and helps you achieve them in a very personalized approach. They know when to challenge you in class, and when to encourage you to take it easy.

Megan K.

★★★★★

I've been going to this gym for several years now and it has helped me get into and stay in the kind of shape I've always wanted to be in.

Matt K.

★★★★★

I have tried many times to get strong on my own but never felt strong. While attending Ardent, I have seen results and continue to grow in strength and feel it too. It wasn't a quick fix but learning every step of the way how to grow my muscle with different work outs.

Lenny G.

Built to help you win

Our mission

We have walked this road with 1,158 members and counting

Coaches who care about your progress

Austin Phillips

Lexi Rule

Dakota Treleven

Where the work happens

What life looks like six months from now

The wins that matter most

Your strongest self starts with one step