Provision Studio grows in Homewood

Margaret Virden didn’t know what to expect when she opened her Pilates-focused fitness studio in Homewood in April 2018.

The Montgomery native and Mississippi State University graduate was new to the area and hoping for the best. Nearly two years later, she’s realized those hopes.

In January, Virden relocated Provision Studio across Central Avenue to a larger, remodeled space at 1665 28th. Ave. S. She plans to hold a grand opening Feb. 1 from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

“Not being from here, I’m very appreciative of people kind of taking me on and trusting me…” Virden said. “I think the business has grown really well and fast.”

Provision Studio offers a small group, low-impact exercise program intended to provide participants with an ideal balance of strength, flexibility and muscle for everyday life through its Pilates reformer and Accelerate cardio classes. Pilates reformer classes use machines that can make exercises easier or harder than when performed on a mat, Virden said.

“A lot of studios are usually cardio or strength training,” Virden said. “I wanted to have a place where you could come and get both of them, because most people need both to be optimally healthy.”

Virden said Pilates emphasizes functional movements, such as squats and lunges, that tone and lengthen the body. While many of her clients are women, she said men who give Pilates a try often become fierce advocates.

“Men usually head to CrossFit or things like that when they exercise and they don’t get a whole lot of small muscle attention, and they don’t stretch really,” Virden said. “So when they do come in and work those muscles that help strengthen the rest and then stretch, they just feel like a completely different person.”

Virden, 27, took a winding path to business ownership. She fell in love with Pilates during college but after graduation moved to Washington, D.C., where she served as executive assistant and scheduler for U.S. Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.). While living in Washington, Virden traveled to New York on the weekends to train at Pilates Academy International.

She is now a master instructor on all Pilates apparatuses and can train aspiring teachers, which she does at Provision.

“This studio’s also a teacher training studio,” she said, “so we can teach teachers as well.”

Virden moved back to Starkville after a few years in Washington and began working at the studio where she took classes in college. There, she and the studio owner created the Accelerate cardio class Provision offers. It incorporates treadmills, small trampolines and spring boards.

“We were just looking for a cardio class that would get your heart rate up, be a challenging class, while staying low impact and very safe,” Virden said. “A lot of people get injured when they do higher impact and high accelerated classes.”

Following her time in Starkville, Virden decided to relocate to Birmingham, where she has family, and open her own studio. She said she chose Homewood for its friendly business environment and walkability.

“I think Homewood was the spot for me,” she said.

Provision holds classes that are taught by Virden and other instructors Monday to Saturday. Class sizes range from seven to nine people, Virden said.

“That allows us to have individualized attention in class for us to make modifications, for us to adjust and correct as we go through class,” Virden said. “I just personally don’t like having a ton of people in class because I can’t keep up with that many people.”

Virden lets those interested try one class for free and a second at a discounted rate. Membership prices vary based on the duration of the membership and the number of classes attended per week.

To sign up for a class or find more information, visit provisionstudio.com or call 205-613-1378.