The myth, the legend … the quiet assassin

Not normally one for a public display of emotion, Allison opened up when we asked her why she trained at BodybyBrando. Her motivations behind her goals and how she went by reaching new heights.

Allison admitted that her motivation to train heavily not only relies upon strengthening her body but her mental health. This year was rough for Allison with her mums passing in July, she committed herself to training. “Grief can be exhausting! There are still days when I find it impossible to drag myself out of bed”. The gym became a place for Allison to create habits for herself and help her find some happiness. In the hour where all anyone can think about is moving and getting onto the next part of the workout, Allison used this hour to focus on a different pain; one that she could control, “It’s not only a distraction but I am also addicted to the exercise”.

When Allison came to BBB she slid under our radars. Chugging along with the workouts silently and never complaining about how hard they may have been. It wasn’t until Coach Emma saw her banging new body after a workout that our coaches realised what they had not seen, the silent assassin that was Allison Ballie.

When Allison moved from Canberra last year, from a gym which held community as a top priority, she wanted to find similar. Trying THREE different gyms and even some PT sessions Allison still hadn’t found the right fit… that was until she came to BBB “I was unmotivated and wasn’t making any progress, training at BBB is fun and I feel like I’ve already made progress since being here”. Struggling with motivation and fear was Allison’s sticky point that kept her from taking the leap, from fracturing her fibula in February by trying to snatch. Olympic lifting became scary and a hate/love relationship with cardio; along with the feeling of getting puffed while walking up stairs and clothes not fitting was the push she needed to take leap into BBB.

While Allison had goals to get stronger she also had goals of reaching 17% BF. It was something she had always wanted and something that she once though unachievable.

BUT now Allison sits at 15.8% BF a huge difference to the goal she had. To say she smashed it out of the park is an understatement.

“I can wear booty shorts without feeling self-conscious, I feel lighter but also stronger”.

Allison’s determination to succeed in a time that only few of us know and a time that most people could not dream of, losing a mother would test anyone’s mental strength. I asked Allison what were the key things BBB did that helped her succeed and become stronger…”The September Shred was a good motivator” she responded. Which for a lot of our members was the start of a journey that has transformed how they look and how they treated their training and habits “Shred-tember encouraged me to get creative with food. Also, the workouts are consistently challenging and fun because they are never the same… I get bored easily” when I asked if there was anyone in particular who helped her journey Allison boasted “Coach Emma has been amazing with support and Jess Durrington pushes me to do more than what I would on my own”

 For Allison who pushed through the toughest year she has ever faced and met each adversary with strength and willingness to succeed goes on to push herself even harder. When questioned what her next step would be and her new goals she admitted that she was missing a whole group of muscles in her mid section mentioning that it was always a sore spot that kept letting her down, she later added “I’d really like to be able to do a ‘Skin the cat’, strict toes-to-bar and hold a hollow body comfortably”…

Allison now knows that she can set goals and succeed at them. As she is now equipped with the strength, motivation and determination to reach new heights and punch through that glass ceiling; and the coaches at BBB can’t wait to see how she does it.