Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Allen.
Hi Beth, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been in the women’s fitness business for thirteen years. BASH Fitness was created for women by women to teach them how to work out and find joy through fitness. BASH is a vibe tribe of uplifting women who create a community in which they can lean into one another using fitness as a common thread to achieve all their goals in life.
Our mission: BASH Fitness strives to empower women through fitness. We aim to elevate women and help them become the best version of themselves with science-based, results-driven fitness.
I adore the state of Utah. I plan to relocate to Utah in three years. Currently, I visit Utah every season of the year. I love all things outdoors. Hiking in the Fall and Summer. Skiing in the Winter and Spring. I feel like Utah is the most versatile state for an outdoors girl like me, offering so many activities from kayaking, hiking, skiing, paddle boarding, biking, and more. There are so many opportunities to stay active.
Utah is a fitness professional’s dream home.
The story of how I began this business is not only spiritual but also inspirational. I believe that you can do anything; at any age. I was 37 and had just had my third (surprise) child. While pregnant, I gained a lot of weight and I can remember telling myself that I should have more empathy for overweight people because I now had walked in their shoes. I had always been petite at 5’1 and about 105 pounds. The summer after I had Gigi, I set out to lose weight and started to seriously exercise for the first time in my life. I began lifting weights and running. Needless to say, I lost weight and was hooked on fitness. I started running marathons as a result of my newfound love of running. Over the next four years, I would qualify for Boston and run it three times, New York twice, and Chicago Once.
During this marathon training, I went for a long run on a rainy, cold November day. I remember heading out and feeling so much joy and thinking, Gosh… I wish I could bottle up this feeling and share it with other women. That feeling was confidence, self-love, joy, and accomplishment all wrapped into my soul. And it was from fitness. On the backside of this story, I had prayed to God for years (probably ten years) to reveal a purpose to me for my life. I was a mom of three, who taught advertising and public relations at a college part-time and wasn’t feeling the sparks I wanted in my life. I needed a passion, a purpose, and a reason to exist beyond being a mom.
So on that fateful November morning, as I left the driveway, I said one more time to God… Hey God, please let me hear you today. Please share with me what my purpose in this life is. What can I do to be more than I am now? I started running down a long stretch and hit a hill and I thought about sharing this feeling with other women. The next thought was well why not? Why can’t you share your passion for fitness with other moms and women? The thoughts started flowing freely and it was as if God was revealing a film in my head where it just played out and was born in my thoughts for the next 8 miles.
By the time I wrapped around the town and was headed in on the last two miles, I passed a building that had a for sale sign. I heard the voice in my head say… And that is where you’ll do it. And I did. By the end of that run, I had developed my mission, my concept, and the name of the business, and found the location. We bought the building within the week and began renovations. The first BASH studio fittingly opened with so much joy on February 14, 2011.
We currently have three brick-in-mortar studios (two in Mississippi and one in Arkansas) with plans to franchise and grow the brand. BASH studios offer reformer pilates, barre, spinning, and group fitness classes all under one roof.
During covid, I created BASH on Demand and developed a Subscription website to reach more women across the country. We currently do have Utah-based women subscribing to BASH on Demand. The subscription website is BASHFITNESS.NET and has three monthly plans, ranging from $30-50/month. On-Demand offers Pilates, Barre, Sculpt, and Full Body Fit Hiits classes led by me for use on demand at home.
When my youngest child graduates from high school in three years, I plan to relocate to the Midway area and open my studio in that area of Utah. I currently visit the Park City/Midway area 4-5 times a year and I have plans to call it home in the future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The challenges in the fitness business are vast as you can imagine. The industry is huge and there is always a fad, quick-fix gimmick to losing weight waiting around the corner to trap women. There are also fad workouts… the latest new trend to workouts that wave shiny new “toys” or workouts in the faces of women who want to get fit fast. Diet pills and other types of quick fixes are challenging for a personal trainer as well. I preach to my clients and my audience that there is no quick fix and that working harder is not always working smarter. I also say that if you cannot sustain whatever diet, exercise program, or pills for the rest of your life then do not start it. It’s a much better return on your investment to invest in a long-term fitness lifestyle program where clean eating and sustainable workouts are the major components.
Many women have the mentality that they have to break their bodies down and beat their bodies hard to feel like they have accomplished something. It is very challenging to break that mindset and I have to prove to women that through a consistent clean diet and sustainable exercise like BASH offers, they will not only achieve results but also maintain those results for years. It’s a committed lifestyle that one “marries” for the rest of their lives. Women who participate in the BASH methods are happy, and fulfilled and get the results they work so hard for while enjoying their lives and keeping their bodies safe from injuries due to exercise.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Personal Women’s Fitness… Beth Allen, creator, and founder of BASH Fitness, LLC – a women’s fitness brand.
BASH Fitness is a boutique brand of women’s fitness opening in small communities to bring a sense of female community and health accountability to women across the nation. We are currently working on franchising the brand so that we can reach as many women as possible.
There is something magic about BASH…in the studio or on demand. All of our communities whether in person or on-demand bring an uplifting and positive energy that lights women up inside. We like to call it “getting BASHed”. If you’ve been BASHed then you know!
I have been training women in fitness for over thirteen years and have developed BASH methods that are science-based and get results. BASH brings an element of mindful movement and we teach you to be intentional in your movements and mindful of the muscles creating a unified effort in the mind and body that results in a better workout. There is also the added benefit of improving the spirit and mood-lifting through movement.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting.
I train and certify our BASH instructors. I always tell them to be authentic in their teaching and instruction. If they make a mistake then own it and declare it! Then hit reset and start over.
I teach them to lead with empathy and can put themselves in another person’s shoes. Always have humility in all you do. Be humble. In my opinion, a trainer who thinks they are above their clients or a “badass” is a turn-off.
Get on your client’s level. Be relatable. Be human. Show them that you have limitations in your workouts as well. When you instruct, the workout you are teaching is not for you. It is for the clients. Do not come to instruct a class and forget about the clients,
Be authentic in all you do. When you are honest and authentic . . . you will be successful and your light will shine bright. Put in the work. Do the time. Learn. your craft. Be patient. If you do these things, everything will fall into place.
Pricing:
- On-Demand Subscription: $30 to 50/month
- In studio: $15 to $25 /class
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bahfitness.net
- Instagram: @Beth_Allen_Bash_Fitness
- Facebook: BASH Fitness
- Other: Beth Bowen Allen (personal Facebook)
