Annie and Taylor, along with their children Maddie and Michael, have created a family atmosphere at their Hoover fitness facility.
The new may have rubbed off of resolutions, but for those serious about making healthy changes, Taylor and Annie May hope to help them on their fitness journeys.
The couple opened Fit People on South Shades Crest Road in August 2015. It was a realized decade-long dream for Taylor, who graduated from Auburn University with a degree in health and human performance.
Originally from Hoover, Taylor is a certified exercise physiologist and has spent the past 15 years developing corporate and community wellness programs.
Annie is a certified personal trainer and competed on the women’s cross-country team at Augusta State University. She’s been training individuals and group glasses for the past four years.
For this couple, fitness and healthy living are at the center of their everyday lives, and they wanted to share their passion with the community.
“We want to facilitate lifestyle changes. It’s not a quick-fix thing,” Annie says. “We really take a scientific approach to our training and keep our clients accountable.”
The couple sits down with each person who comes to Fit People to talk with them about their goals and fitness level. They test the client and use those results to place them in one of four houses based on categories like muscular strength, range of motion and body composition.
“We wanted to create an environment where people of all ages and levels could work out together and push each other — but still get the workout they need to reach their goals,” Annie says.
The name for the fitness facility comes from the idea that no matter how healthy someone is, they have a fit and unfit person inside of them.
“We want to strengthen that inner fit person,” Taylor says. “We provide the tools and accountability to strengthen that fit person. We teach them what their bodies can do.”
Classes are available from 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. People don’t have to come at a certain time or day and come anytime they are available.
“We want to change the culture one person at a time and spread out into the community,” Taylor says. “We have people for an hour a day, but we want to be able to reach people beyond that hour.”
From the training approach to the overall look of the facility, both Taylor and Annie say they wanted Fit People to be different.
“It’s a family affair,” Annie explains. “Our parents work out here and are involved.”
They wanted all types of people to be comfortable at the facility. There are at least two certified trainers per class, and they work with people of all ages — from 24 to 66.
“We wanted to make a place where my mom, who has never worked out a day in her life, can work out with me,” Taylor says. “It’s not intimidating. My mom came in, lost 30 pounds and changed her life.”
They mix up the exercise programs every day and seasonally, and everything is planned out depending on the different houses people are in. To keep people motivated, they show them their results after six weeks.
“Short-term goals have to be hit before long-term goals can be achieved,” Taylor says. “There are no easy fixes. You learn what your body is capable of doing.”
Fitness isn’t just for adults, however. Fit People also offer a Junior Program for children and teens. They work with them on sports conditioning, exercise and how to have a healthy lifestyle.
Fit People is located at 3435 South Shades Crest Road in Hoover, and there’s no initial enrollment or cancellation fee. Visit Unleashyourfit.com for more information and to see the class schedule.
