True 40- A Great Workout!

I am the type of person who has to work out all of the time. It not only makes me feel good, but it keeps my weight under control. When I first moved to Auburn, I was into running/walking. As a matter of fact, I had started couch to 5k because the move got my exercise routine all out of whack! Also, when I first moved to Auburn, it rained, a lot.

With all of this rain, I had no way to workout. Sure, I had my Jillian Michaels videos and I could get those HIIT workouts off Pinterest and do those, but I needed more. I was beginning to look around for a gym to join, so that I would have a place to go on those cold, rainy days or just when I wanted something different, when I was on Instagram and an ad for True 40 popped up.

I was intrigued and so I clicked on it and read about the workout. It was a combination of low impact, TRX, pilates, yoga, and barre. I thought, “this sounds perfect!” I immediately signed up for my first class, which was free, and was ready to go.

When I first walked in, I was a little nervous. This was what is now termed “a boutique” gym. It was small and everyone seemed to know each other, but I was new to town and new no one. I was immediately greeted by Kristin Taylor, the manager. She was so friendly and put me at ease right away with her super sweet smile and inviting personality.

She began to show me around the gym and tell me what I needed to do. First off, your shoes come off. You either work out barefoot or in yoga socks. I am still not real big on the having something between my toes thing, so I go barefoot almost every time. They have a place for you to keep your purse, shoes, etc., so if you come in shoes, you are fine. Then, we have to set up our station. We get our TRX straps, a ball and our hand weights and bring them to our little area. The weights are different weights, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 pounds. You can get more than one weight if you want to switch it up during the workout. They have sweat towels for you, so you get one of them. You set up your station by your little place on the bar for the barre part of the workout. I got set up and was ready to go.

Now, I know that I had gotten off my routine due to the move, but I still felt I was in decent shape, so I was not worried at all. As a matter of fact, I thought this would be a breeze! The workout starts with a warmup/low impact workout. This is just enough to get you stretched and warmed up for the rest of the workout. I was good during this and thought I was going to do great.

Next comes the barre part of the workout. I had never done barre before and boy was I in for a surprise. Barre consists of doing these basic movements, but they are super small, 1 inch to be exact, and you hold that position almost the whole time. This is to create long and lean muscle. You want to get the “shakes”. This means that your muscles are reforming and that is a good thing! Have you ever heard of horse pose???  I can guarantee that once you do this pose, you will get the shakes and more! I had the shakes and then some during this workout. My legs felt like jelly!

Next is the combo part, this is usually a mix of the weights and the TRX straps. We do basic arm movements and add legs to them. This gets the heart rate back up. I thought I would die. I had to use 1 pound weights and felt like I was using 50 pound ones!

After doing this combo workout and a small stretch, we move on to working out our glutes. We do all kinds of different exercises for this area and you can just feel the muscles tightening. Then we move on to abs, which does incorporate a great deal of Pilates, including the dreaded plank.

Finally, we move on to yoga. This is the end of the workout. You have worked hard for almost a whole hour and now you get to stretch out and relax. I am about as flexible as a pencil, but I still like doing the stretching and just the relaxing at the end. When the workout is over, you put up your equipment, except for the mats, which are cleaned between classes and put up by the instructor.

I love this place. My muscles have never looked so good. They are long and lean and I love it! This place always puts me in a good mood and everyone here is so positive. I love all of the instructors! They each have a different personality, which makes the workouts fun. They have challenges all of the time that you can participate in and they recognize birthdays and other occasions such as this, just like a family. They sell the cutest workout clothes and even started selling Lululemon. They also have childcare available, so you can bring your kids and relax knowing they are in good hands.

(This picture is of Kristin Taylor, the manager and her precious daughter Charlotte, otherwise known as the True 40 mascot)

True 40 was started by this amazing woman named Allie Weingarten. She did research on different workouts and how they worked on the body and created this amazing concept. There is now a True 40 in Tuscaloosa and two in the Birmingham, Al area. The name True 40 comes from the Bible verse Isaiah 40:31 – “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” This verse alone gives me encouragement and the fact that it is tied to this fantastic gym, makes me love it even more.

If you have a chance to try this out, I suggest you run, not walk to do it. It is amazing and you will feel great and your body will definitely thank you.