Walking into the gym three years ago, Allison would have never thought something would have such a huge impact on her life. Three years ago at the age of 35, she decided it was to time for her to get in shape. Allison is an achondroplasia dwarf and up to this point surgery free. Losing weight for a little person does not come easy and takes a lot of time and patience. Diet is also the major key to achieving her goals. Learning new recipes and meal plans about food can be exciting. There are plenty of healthy tasty foods to eat if you want to get creative.
Allison’s original workout routine was pretty much all cardio. Allison didn’t quite know what else to do in a gym when she first joined. Doing just cardio exercises was not going to do the trick and she soon realized other exercises were needed to be incorporated for something to drastically change. Gyms can be very overwhelming for a person with dwarfism. The majority of the machines are built for the “average” size world and most little people give up without trying. Life changed when Allison met her Personal Trainer, Matt. Over the last 3 years Allison and Matt have figured out how to use the majority of the gym equipment, lift weights properly, and achieve the same outcome as any other average person could do. The workout routines rotate each day to focus on different areas of the body. These include lifting weights, circuit training, cardio and other core exercises. In additional to her dedicated 5 days of week workouts, Allison can be seen in the gym participating in weekly boot camp and yoga classes. It is common to see her giving advise to others in the gym on the proper form and “how to”. She has reached out to other people with dwarfism and hopes to be an inspiration to others.
Outside of her gym time, Allison is busy buying construction materials for a national home builder. Residing in Southern California with her husband Chris, they like to listen to live music, hang out with friends, and cook together. Allison grew up in Dallas Texas and is a Lifetime Member of Little People of America.
A few words from Allison’s Personal Trainer:
“When I first met Allison she seemed a little timid but very eager to learn and begin taking control of her physique. She was initially set up with a different trainer but unforeseen circumstances lead to her requesting to be scheduled with me. At first I was a little unsure about the success of a full-time training program with her, not only due to the obvious reason, but the limitations of use with my gym's equipment. I quickly learned that neither of those would remain valid concerns. In no time at all we began making tremendous progress, not only in her physical strength but also in her appearance. We have figured out multiple modifications to equipment in the gym to make them "dwarf friendly", and I have personally spent many hours thinking of new exercises to target areas of her body that would otherwise go untrained. (I.e. Posterior Deltoids, hamstrings and rhomboids/lats) Not to mention her personal records we continuously break. No other 38 year old female clients of mine can leg press 320lbs, squat 305lbs or bench 160lbs. I couldn't be any more proud of her and all she has accomplished. I have merely been the arrow, she's gone the direction on her own”- Matt C.
