Photo by Lexi Coon.
Allie Weingarten, center, cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the opening of her second True40 studio.
Do you want to get a good workout, but you don’t want to stick to one form of exercise? True40, which recently opened in Heights Village, might be what you are looking for.
In one 60-minute class, instructors will lead participants through a cardio warm-up, barre, TRX, weights and yoga.
“If you work one muscle group, you have to work the opposing muscle group,” said True40 owner and founder Allie Weingarten. “Our class is completely balanced.”
It’s all low-impact too, which helps create a more injury preventive and rehabilitation friendly, and overall welcoming, class, Weingarten said.
“Fitness is such an intimidating thing for women,” she said. “That was my goal, to do everything that honors your body … and to create a positive environment that’s very welcoming.”
Weingarten got her start in the fitness world after she graduated from Auburn with a degree in exercise science, and she first worked in corporate wellness and taught various exercise classes including pilates, barre and TRX.
“There’s pros and cons to all of them [the classes] that people said,” she said.
Some people liked the low-impact, but then there’s limited cardio. If cardio, which is inherently high-impact, is added, some people might not be able to participate.
“There’s not something that has the best pieces of all of it,” Weingarten said.
So she made something that does: True40.
Weingarten opened her first studio in Auburn, where her husband is attending the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and had great success. “I had the fitness side experience, and I figured now is the time to learn the business side,” she said. “It just kind of happened.”
But as some students who weren’t native to the Auburn area moved back to Birmingham, she said she got more and more phone calls asking for a similar fitness studio to continue what they worked on in True40.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, should I expand?’” she said. In the end, she chose to open in Vestavia, only a year after opening her studio in Auburn.
Much like her flagship studio, guests take part in 60-minute classes that incorporate barre, yoga, pilates, TRX and body weight exercises. Participants can adjust the movements to fit their needs too, so every person can complete the class and get a full workout.
“That was my one goal, to do everything that honors your body,” she said, which plays into the True40 mantra “Staying true to you.”
“I wanted it to be very warm and welcoming. And everybody can do it, all ages, all fitness abilities,” she said.
Her classes are even safe for pre- and postnatal exercise, and the studio has a childcare center for guests who are out with their kids.
“We really try hard to be a part of the community in Auburn, and so we’re going to try to carry over into Birmingham, too.” Weingarten said. “My heart is in it.”
To find out more about classes and pricing or sign up for a class, stop by their studio at 3168 Heights Village or go to true40studio.com. Classes are limited in size, so participants are asked to sign up in advance.
