Dub Fitness – Empowering Strong Women, One Workout At A Time

As a former staff sergeant in the US Army for seven years, Erica Webster knows the meaning of hard work. But her biggest challenge was finding a path outside of the structure of military life.

“I did not have a purpose when I exited the military. But there were two things I was good at: being a leader and physical fitness” Webster states.

After graduating under the G.I, Bill from West Chester University with a degree in Kinesiology, Webster became a personal trainer and leader of a weekend fitness group. Not long after, Coach E—as she’s more commonly known—took the next step and opened her own gym, Dub Fitness.

The origin of its name comes from Erica’s childhood, when her girlfriends affectionately called her E-Dub. Now, this nickname has manifested into a successful women-only gym, providing a safe a comfortable environment to improve oneself, inside and out.

“Women are special beings,” she said. “It’s really hard to be a woman in today’s world”

To her, the resilience and vulnerability of women are what inspired her to empower them to live a healthy and full life.

“I didn’t want to work with people with six-pack abs,” said Webster. “I knew I wanted to work with people who were flawed, like me.”

Now four years later, Dub Fitness in King of Prussia has become a safe space for women to work out, empower one another, and become a part of a family.

“If there is a member struggling and she has five pushups left to do, no one just stands there and watches. We get down next to her and do it together.” Webster states.

This familial connection also extends outside the gym. Members often attend the birthday parties of each other’s kids, and even indulge in “No Shower Happy Hours” post-workout just to chat. For most members who are also busy mothers, Dub Fitness is an escape from their loving yet chaotic lives at home.

“For the hour that you are in my studio, you don’t have kids, you don’t have to worry about laundry, or making sandwiches, or what the person next to you is thinking. You are in here to be you.” explains Coach E.

Dub Fitness differs from other gyms in the area in part due to Coach E’s personalized touch. Each work out is customized to best serve each client based on their needs, goals, age, size, and physical ability.

To better understand each of her clients, Webster writes an After Action Review (AAR) following each workout, documenting the client’s accomplishments and struggles to better adapt each workout.

“The workouts are tailored to you.” she says, “I tell my clients, it’s like getting a wedding dress made, you want your perfect wedding dress. You tell them what you want to wear on your wedding day and they will tailor it to you. Dub Fitness is the same.”  

In addition to work out classes, Dub Fitness also offers seminars once a month to educate women on female empowerment and mental toughness. They recently held a seminar on female body image, reviewing social media, online bullying, and eating disorders.

“If I can help them to become strong women, to think on their own and be independent, they are going to naturally feel empowered” says Webster.

Outside of the gym, Webster loves helping veterans in the local area. She works with several organizations, including one that provides therapy dogs for veterans, Team Foster, founded by fellow Army Veteran, Nick Liermann. She also sits on the board of the Greater Philadelphia Veterans Network and participates in many panels, speaking about her journey from soldier to a successful business owner.

With four coaches on staff (two of which are previous clients), Dub Fitness offers over 20 classes during the day, at night, and on the weekends, creating a welcoming, friendly, and safe gym for women in Montgomery County.

As the business continues to grow, Webster hopes to move to a new, bigger location as well as possibly opening multiple Dub Fitness locations.

In closing, we asked Webster what makes DubFitness special to her, “I have never felt a sense of belonging as I did in the military, but this comes pretty damn close to it.”