Lifelong passion for health fuels True Fitness

Ryder Hollis first found an interest in health and fitness at a young age.

“I have to give credit to my dad for getting me into this when I was a kid,” he said, mentioning he would read books about training and the human body and reach out to the authors later with more questions. “I would just pick their brain and just learn from them.”

He eventually went on to work for Susan Finley, owner of TrainSmarter, until he found it was time to branch out with his recently opened business, True Fitness.

Outfitted with equipment such as AstroTurf, kettlebells, rowing machines, suspension trainers, a SkiErg and a station Hollis calls “the rig,” he has prepared his gym to meet the needs of anyone.

“In this industry, we look at every piece of equipment as a tool,” he said. “Just like a chef has different knives … we have different tools in here to help us accomplish different goals.”

One of his main goals is to help clients improve their quality of life through fitness. While Hollis said True Fitness does work with small groups no larger than four people, he prefers to work individually with clients.

“Our main focus really and truly is private training,” he said. “We want to make sure the quality of movement and the quality of workout is high.” 

When the groups become larger, he said it’s harder to maintain the quality control that is more prevalent in smaller or one-on-one settings. He also said he works with athletes and has experience with track and field, basketball, volleyball, football, lacrosse and soccer.

Each of Hollis’ sessions start with a warmup, which serves as a way for him to prevent any potential injuries as well as help prepare clients, he said.

He then tailors the workout to focus on a main exercise for his client, followed by additional complementary exercises and a conditioning element. All of this is done to match the client’s individualized program and personal goals.

“Adults … sometimes [their goals] can just be how to use their body in a safe way, to, you know, just pick up their kids,” he said. “That’s just as important as a college athlete walking through my door that wants to run a faster 40-yard dash.”

After each session, Hollis said he takes the time to track and measure his clients’ performance and improvements, too.

“I have notebooks of just session after session. Literally hundreds of hours of data that just shows and supports that what we do, works,” he said. “That being said though, we do believe in having fun.”

In addition to what he described as “a positive and motivating training atmosphere,” Hollis has included a lounge space with Wi-Fi on the second floor of his gym, where clients and trainers can enjoy a snack, make a smoothie, sit back and relax. He said he is happy to be in the Mountain Brook community, too.

“I know it might sound cliché, but … it’s more like Mountain Brook chose me, instead of I chose Mountain Brook,” he said. “We’re just really excited to be in a community that cares so much about their fitness and their health.”

True Fitness operates on a daily schedule based on its client sessions and is at 2830 Culver Road, near Beverly Ruff Antiques. For more information, or to schedule a session, call 422-7168.