Rig and racks
A Rogue Fitness rig and rack space support squats, presses, pulls, and strength work around the lifts.
Olympic weightlifting in the Phoenix area
Olympic weightlifting without the guesswork.
Atlas Barbell Club is a family-owned gym in Glendale serving athletes across the Phoenix area. Train with Atlas programming, work directly with a coach, or bring your own plan and use a space built around the snatch and clean and jerk.
Platform standard
Built around Olympic weightlifting.
Platforms, bars, open floor space, and the equipment used throughout a weightlifting session.
What we have
A room set up for Olympic weightlifting.
Atlas keeps the room stocked for Olympic lifting, strength work, and the accessories that carry over to better positions. The floor is organized around what weightlifters actually do: snatch, clean and jerk, squats, pulls, positional work, and accessory training.
Bars
Maintained Olympic bars from various brands, plus standard strength bars for squats, presses, and pulls.
Bamboo bar
A bamboo bar gives lifters a focused tool for shoulder stability, overhead positions, and movement quality.
Plates
Plates are available in both pounds and kilograms for Olympic lifting and strength work.
Blocks and boxes
Blocks and boxes support lifts from height, pulls, technical position work, and accessory training.
SquatMax belt squat
The SquatMax belt squat adds dedicated lower-body strength work to the training floor.
Strength tools
Benches, a GHD machine, and a single cable machine give lifters room for targeted strength work.
Leg extension machines
Leg extension machines provide targeted quad work to support strength development around the lifts.
Accessories
Bands, dumbbells, and kettlebells support warm-ups, accessory strength work, mobility work, and supplemental training.
What we offer
Five ways to train at Atlas.
Different athletes want different levels of structure. Atlas supports team programming, coaching, limited-spot individual programming, strength and conditioning, and independent open-gym training.
Team Programming
Follow the plan. Train with the room.
Atlas team programming provides a shared weekly structure built around Olympic lifting technique and strength development. Sessions can include the competition lifts, variations, squats, pulls, and accessory work depending on the phase of training.
It is an option for athletes who want their training planned for them while still having room for individual feedback and adjustments.
Start Team Programming Ask about joining the Atlas training track.
For competitive lifters
Programming can account for meet timelines, heavier training phases, attempt preparation, and individual feedback as competition approaches.
For developing lifters
A repeatable weekly structure gives newer lifters more opportunities to practice the competition lifts without having to piece together every session on their own.
Coaching
Coaching when you want a closer look at the lift.
Individual coaching is available for athletes who want more direct feedback on technique, positions, training decisions, or preparation for competition.
The amount of support can vary with the athlete. Some may need help learning the lifts, while others may want another set of eyes on specific technical or programming problems.
Ask About Coaching Tell us what you want help with.Technique
Review timing, bar path, footwork, turnover, and receiving positions.
Mobility and positions
Address range-of-motion limitations when they interfere with positions used in the lifts.
Programming guidance
Adjust training based on experience, schedule, current goals, and how the athlete is responding.
Competition preparation
Help athletes prepare for the practical demands of entering and navigating a weightlifting meet.
Individual Coaching + Programming
A limited number of spots. A plan built around you.
Coach Shen works with a limited number of spots for athletes who want individual coaching and programming built around their goals, schedule, experience, and current needs.
This option combines individualized programming, direct feedback, and ongoing adjustments as the athlete develops.
Ask About Individual Coaching Ask about limited-spot programming.Individualized plan
Training is organized around the athlete instead of forcing every lifter into the same track.
Direct feedback
Use coaching eyes on technique, positions, training decisions, and the next useful adjustment.
Limited spots
A small roster keeps the programming and coaching relationship focused.
Strength & Conditioning
No Oly? No Problem.
You do not have to train the snatch or clean and jerk to get strong at Atlas. Strength and conditioning is available for athletes who want a practical plan built around getting stronger, moving well, and building work capacity.
Sessions can center on squats, presses, pulls, carries, accessories, and conditioning work. It is a clear path for athletes who want the Atlas floor and coaching environment without making Olympic lifting the focus.
Ask About Strength Training Tell us what you want to get stronger for.Build a base
Train the big patterns and supporting work that make everyday strength more useful.
Condition with purpose
Add work capacity without turning every session into a random circuit.
Keep it practical
Use a training plan that fits your goals, schedule, experience, and preferred way to train.
Open Gym
Bring your plan. Use the room.
Open gym is for lifters who already have a program, work with an outside coach or online coach, or simply prefer to manage their own training. You can use the Atlas weightlifting floor without having to follow Atlas programming.
Open gym includes 24/7 monitored gym access, so members can train on a schedule that fits their lives while using the Atlas floor.
If you decide you want additional feedback, coaching can be arranged separately. The open-gym option itself is intentionally flexible.
Your Coach
Your Plan
Your Pace
24/7 Monitored Access
Your programming can still have a home at Atlas.
Open gym gives independent lifters access to a space centered on Olympic weightlifting while allowing them to keep the programming and coaching relationships they already use.
Meet Coach Shen
Coach Shen leads the day-to-day coaching approach at Atlas, with an emphasis on understanding the positions and movement demands of Olympic weightlifting rather than treating every lifter exactly the same.
COACH SHEN
Stronger togetherQualifications
- USAW L1: Olympic weightlifting certification.
- OPEX CCP: coaching principles, assessment, and program design.
- FISAF: pre and post natal, plus certified personal trainer.
- Biomechanics RTS LV1: movement mechanics and applied training analysis.
- Experience: coaching since 2021, fitness industry since 2018.
Coaching Philosophy
Mindful Movements Matter
Atlas coaching is centered on helping athletes understand what they are trying to do in each lift, why a position matters, and how to make technical work usable under load.
The goal is durable progress: better positions, clearer feedback, smarter training decisions, and movement that supports the athlete beyond one heavy attempt.
MEET COACH SHEN
How the approach shows up in training.
Technique and positions
Teach the position. Then teach the athlete to use it.
Coach Shen teaches the Olympic lifts by breaking down the positions, timing, and movement patterns that make up the full lift. Rather than relying on one cue for every athlete, she looks at where the lift is breaking down and chooses mobility work, technical drills, or strength work around that specific problem.
The goal is to give the athlete a position they understand and can reproduce as the lift gets faster and heavier.
Ankle range
Overhead stability
Front rack
Mobility
Create access to the position.
When mobility limits a position used in the snatch or clean and jerk, Coach Shen addresses that limitation as part of the training session. The goal is not flexibility for its own sake. It is giving the athlete access to a position they need to lift effectively.
Technique
Use drills to solve what she sees.
Technical variations are selected around the problem in front of her. That may mean working on bar path, pull timing, footwork, turnover, dip-drive rhythm, or the receiving position rather than adding drills without a specific reason.01 Position
Find the position the athlete needs. Mobility and setup work are used when the athlete cannot consistently access a position required by the lift.
02 Practice
Give the athlete opportunities to repeat it. Technical drills isolate parts of the movement so Coach Shen can reinforce the position, timing, or pattern being worked on.
03 Apply
Bring it back into the full lift. The change matters when the athlete can carry it into the snatch or clean and jerk as speed and load increase.Training approach
Why Atlas uses a Chinese-influenced approach.
Weightlifting systems can place very different emphasis on intensity, exercise selection, positions, and technical development. Atlas uses a Chinese-influenced approach. The comparisons below show how that approach differs from two other commonly discussed systems.
Bulgarian approach
Heavy, specific, and high intensity.
Bulgarian-style training is commonly associated with frequent exposure to heavy competition lifts, limited exercise variation, and high training intensity.
- Frequent heavy classical lifts.
- Relatively narrow exercise selection in its best-known forms.
- High recovery demands from repeated high-intensity exposure.
Compared with the approach used at Atlas, it places less emphasis on extensive accessory work and technical variation.
American approaches
More varied and periodized.
American weightlifting programs vary considerably, but many use planned training blocks, broader exercise selection, and changing levels of volume and intensity.
- Broader exercise selection.
- Planned changes in training volume and intensity.
- Programming can differ substantially between coaches and systems.
Compared with Atlas, American weightlifting is less defined by one technical methodology and can vary significantly from coach to coach.
Chinese-influenced approach
Technique, positions, mobility, and supporting strength.
Atlas follows a Chinese-influenced approach that gives substantial attention to technical positions, mobility, accessory strength work, and repetition of the movements that support the snatch and clean and jerk.
- Detailed technical work.
- Mobility when positions require it.
- Accessory work selected around weaknesses or technical needs.
- Positional and leg strength developed alongside the competition lifts.
Lifter perspectives
Questions about Atlas, answered by the people who train here.
Hear directly from Atlas lifters about Coach Shen, technical progress, and the room they return to train in.
Before working with coach Shen, I was struggling with technique and finding positions that actually worked for me. Some of the positions I was using just didn’t feel right and were causing discomfort in my joints. Since we started making changes, everything feels a lot more natural and I can train without constantly feeling beat up.
Before working with her, I had a tendency to think that more work was always better work. I’ve always been willing to train hard, but she has helped me understand that long-term progress also requires knowing when to adjust, recover, and address weaknesses before they become bigger problems. Having someone who can channel that drive in a productive direction has made me a much more well-rounded athlete.
I came in with a lot of issues from lifting. My shoulders, hips, lower back, knees, elbows—something was always hurting or aching after I trained. Within about a month of working with Shen, all of that was gone.
Honestly, it’s been changing my positions and not trying to force myself into a certain way of lifting. We’ve made adjustments based on how I move and what feels best for me. Some of the changes seemed small at first, but they’ve made a huge difference. My lifts feel smoother, stronger, and more comfortable.
She is insanely good at spotting technical problems. When I started, pretty much everything about my lifting needed work. My elbows were bending, my positions were inconsistent, and there were problems I didn’t even know I had.
Both have gotten a lot more consistent. I feel more comfortable in my positions and I understand the lifts better than I did before. I’m not fighting the movement as much anymore. The biggest thing for me is being able to train hard, make progress, and not have the joint pain I was dealing with before.
My snatch especially has improved so much. My positions feel way more solid now and I’m much more consistent.
She genuinely cares about developing the whole athlete and about longevity in the sport. Progress isn’t treated as simply adding kilos to the bar at any cost. There is a lot of thought behind technique, stability, strength, injury prevention, recovery, and what I need at that particular point in my training. I also really value how collaborative she is. I can tell her when something doesn’t feel right, when life is especially demanding, or when my body needs something different, and I know she will listen and adjust without losing sight of the bigger goals. That combination of knowledge, adaptability, and genuine care is really special.
I have no idea how she manages to watch everyone in the gym at once, but she does. She’ll be coaching somebody else and somehow still see your lift and immediately have something useful to tell you. You can tell she genuinely loves weightlifting and cares about making people better. She’s patient, persistent, supportive, funny, and she knows when to keep pushing you instead of letting you get frustrated and give up on something.
I like that the coaching is based on me and how I move. If something isn’t working, we change it instead of trying to force it. I’ve learned a lot of new positions and techniques that I probably never would have tried before, and they’ve made a big difference. I’m really happy with where my lifting is going and I actually feel good doing it.
She is incredibly good at meeting me where I am without losing sight of where I want to go. I’ve trained through injuries, demanding work schedules, periods of fatigue, and plenty of normal ups and downs, and she has always found a way to adapt my training rather than simply stopping it. She knows when I need to be challenged and when something needs to be modified, and I trust that those decisions are always being made with both my performance and my longevity in mind.
A big reason is that she actually pays attention to why something is happening instead of just telling you to stretch more or work around it. She programs real warmups and mobility work, tries different things when something isn’t clicking, and will change what you’re doing right there in the middle of a session if she sees an issue.
It’s a really good atmosphere. Everyone is there to work and get better, but we also have fun and support each other. You can have a tough training day and still leave feeling good about being there.
We all take the training seriously, but it’s also hilarious in there. We push each other, celebrate PRs, help load plates, share platforms, help somebody when they’re struggling, and then spend the time between sets making jokes and creating inside jokes that probably make no sense to anybody outside the gym.
I like being around other people who are working toward their own goals. Everyone pushes each other without making it overly competitive. When someone has a good lift, everyone gets excited for them, and that makes training a lot more enjoyable.
I wouldn’t even say beginners are just “welcome.” They’re encouraged. When I first started, everyone was talking to me, asking me questions, giving me tips, and helping me out. Nobody made me feel like I didn’t belong because I was still learning. You have people of every level training together—complete beginners, experienced lifters, and even national-level athletes. Nobody acts above anybody else.
It definitely makes me want to show up and train. When you enjoy the people you’re around and the environment you’re training in, being consistent becomes a lot easier. Even on days when I’m tired, once I get there I’m glad I came.
The people are a huge part of why I love the gym. It gets busy around 2 to 6, but honestly that’s probably my favorite time to train because everyone is there. Even when it’s crowded, people just share. We’re all there to get work done.
The equipment is great. The bars and platforms are awesome, it’s actually built around weightlifting, and the new belt squat is GREAT. Having 24/7 access is also a huge plus if you want to train outside the busy hours. What I like most is that basically anyone can walk in and have a place there. You can be brand new, have years of experience, or be competing at a very high level. It doesn’t matter.
I’m enjoying lifting again. I feel better, I’m learning new things, and I can see the improvements in my technique. Being able to train without my joints hurting has been huge for me. I’m excited to keep working on these new positions, get stronger, and see how far I can take it.
I actually look forward to going to the gym every day now. It’s kind of become my oasis. I get to lift, work hard, learn, laugh with everyone, and leave feeling better than when I walked in. If somebody asked me why they should work with Shen, I’d tell them she knows what she’s doing and she’ll get you where you need to be. You just have to trust her, be patient, and put the work in. This stuff doesn’t happen overnight, but I saw a pretty crazy difference in only a month.
Start training
Want to see if Atlas fits your training?
Tell us what you are looking for: Olympic weightlifting, strength and conditioning, team programming, individual coaching, open gym, or simply a first visit. We can help you figure out the most useful place to start.
Ask about trainingCoaching hours
Monday-Friday
1:00 PM - 6:15 PM
Team coaching
SaturdayBy appointment
SundayBy appointment
Family-owned gym
Atlas is a family-owned gym built around personal coaching, consistent training, and a room where athletes know the people behind the work.
Location map
17437 N 71st Dr Ste 103
Glendale, AZ 85308