Biography

I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, but mainly grew up in the city of Moncton, New Brunswick. I graduated from Harrison Trimble High School in 1995 and continued on to the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, in a Bachelor of Science Program, where I graduated in 1998. After 3 years, I returned to Maritimes, and completed a Bachelor of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island and now am a full time high school math teacher in the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Canada.

I have been involved in athletics all my life. I climbed the walls as a child, so my mom put me in gymnastics. In junior high I had discovered cheerleading, and my gymnatic ability became an asset. I had participated in cheerleading throughout my elementary and high school educaton, and was recruited for cheerleading by the University of Western Ontario. So I became a Mustang – Go Stangs!

During my second year at Western, I remember the exact moment that I discovered fitness competitions. I was at the Toronto Sky dome, for a National cheerleading event and there it was – a fitness competition on television. I knew that this was something that I would pursue, but being a student and participating in a sport is difficult enough without adding another activity. So, I decided to wait until I was finished with cheerleading.

After I moved back to the Maritimes, I took a few moments off training and sport, and lived the normal university life. After a few undisciplind weeks, I had an overwhelming desire to be involved with sport again, and realized that now would be a great time to experience fitness.

I began to educate myself on fitness through the various fitness magazines that are out there, especially Oxygen. Very few people had a web site at this time, as the Internet was relatively new. But I managed to find out where a local competition was being held, trained and entered. My first show was the Miss Fitness New Brunswick. It was myself and one other girl who competed, but it set the stage for my future competitions.

I ended up winning the show, and to my surprise a gentleman by the name of Gary Bartlett was in the audience and wrote for Musclemag in this column called “Canadian Corner”. To my surprise, my very first show had a highlight in an international publication.

I thought this was pretty cool, and I continued to enter more competitions, gaining more exposure with each show.Highlights of my fitness career over the past 12 years include: Fitness Canada Champion, FAME Fitness Champion X3, Fitness America National Champion, and Ms. Fitness Canada Runner-up.

After the birth of my son in May of 2006, I felt that it was time to make a switch to the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation (CBBF). I was ready for the change, and consider it a lateral move to be able to continue to challenge myself and grow as an athlete.

In the last 4 years of my amateur career, I had placed top 3 at all CBBF Nationals events. I am the 2008 Arnold Amateur Fitness Champion, and won my IFBB Pro card at the inaugural fitness event held at the North American Championships in August of 2009, in Cleveland Ohio. I won my class and the overall.

Two weeks after winning my IFBB pro card, I went on to the Atlantic City Pro Fitness event. In my first Pro show, I am the last “new pro” to do all 4 rounds of competition. (45 sec, one piece, 2 min routine, and two piece)

In March of 2010, I was invited to participate in the prestigious Arnold Classic Fitness International. This was a huge event for me, and I am so proud that I was invited, and I only hope that I will be invited back next year. Not stopping there, I went on to the New York Pro and most recently the Orlando Europa Pro Fitness event. I placed 5th and 6th respectfully.

I am not only a competitor but also a huge fan of the girls as many of them are very good friends of mine. I hold a lot of respect for the other girls who continue to choose this form of competition.

I have various videos on my YouTube channel and I welcome you to visit the ‘multimedia‘ section.

I have been featured in Muscle & Fitness Hers, Oxygen, Musclemag, Ironman magazine, Inside Fitness, Max Sports Mag, Natural Muscle, and various other publications. I have participated in infomercials, radio interviews, calendars, television interviews, and booth work at the Arnold and Olympia events. At the Arnold I have worked for Musclemag, Dream Tan, Muscular Development, and Bodybuilding.com.

I am also the 2009 Bodybuilding.com/Ironman magazine Spokes model.

For years I did all my own training and diet, and costume and swimsuit design. In the past year I have enlisted the help of a few trainers. To be the best, you need to surround yourself with those that can take you to the next level physically and emotionally. I am currently trained by Erik Ledin of Lean Bodies Consulting, have and will continue to be attend Mike Davies fitness camps, and talk with Cathy Savage and Dan Brown for spiritual guidance.

My relationships with the numerous individuals are what is most important to me. I could never have achieved what I have without these many wonderful people who have entered my life. Even the smallest of words, make a difference.

I know my time is limited for competition and want to make the most of it for the next few years. I am laying the foundation now, for when I need to make another lateral move to helping other women achieve their dreams. I not only want to coach them, but teach them how to be able to balance both worlds – family life, and competition like and have a little fun in the meantime.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it” – Maya Angelou

Allison