Allison Moyer Speaks!

Christian Duque: Please let's start out with the basic question - full name, age, ht, contest wt/regular weight, and hometown/current city.

Allison Moyer:
FULL NAME: Allison Moyer
AGE: 27
HEIGHT: 5’6”1/2
CONTEST WEIGHT: 123
REGULAR WEIGHT: 127-128
HOMETOWN: Lancaster Pa


Christian Duque: Talk to us about growing up and what kind of sports/activities you were involved with?

Allison Moyer: I grew up very active as a child. I was raised in rural Pennsylvania on a small farm, so I was always outside playing when I was young. Both of my parents encouraged me to try my hand at a wide variety of sports including swimming, horseback riding, softball, field hockey, and soccer. I settled into a love of track and cross country and was actively involved in track, indoor track, and cross country all throughout high school. I continued to run cross country into my freshmen semester at college before leaving the team.



Christian Duque: When did you start training in the gym, and what/who inspired you?

Allison Moyer: I began training in the gym around the age of 18, after I stopped competing in cross country. Initially I was inspired by the figure athletes who forged the sport, like Jenny Lynn, who was always my favorite. Currently I love Erin Stern and Candice Keene, I think they both represent the figure ideal.


Christian Duque: Talk to us about your very first show, who helped you, and how you're approach has changed (if at all) to getting ready for contests today. Who currently helps you with your diet, training, tanning, and posing? Do you have an exclusive or top favorites as far suit designers go?

Allison Moyer: I competed in a small local NABBA show at the age of 20 for my first show. A local NPC nationally ranked bodybuilder gave me my first contest diet and let me tell you, it was an eye opener. Obviously as my physique has progressed and changed and my own knowledge of the sport has changed, my diet has changed as well. I neither train the same nor eat the same anymore, as I’ve been lifting actively for the better part of a decade, my training and nutrition needs to evolve as my physique does.

Currently I do my own training, my own contest prep, my own nutrition, etc. I always joke and call myself a one woman show, but I believe strongly in self reliance and love doing my own prep for a contest. I feel it allows me to use my instincts- I can easily change my training or nutrition on a daily, even hourly basis as my body requires.

I always use JanTana for my competition tan and I rely heavily on Gary Udit for my posing and presentation critiques. He is a PHENOMENAL posing coach and as both the head of the NPC in PA, a promoter, AND a judge he definitely has his finger on the pulse of what is being looked for regarding posing and presentation on stage. He is located in Pittsburgh PA and is well worth the travel, you can contact him for posing on his website, www.garyudit.com.

I always use Tamee Marie for my suits, her level of professionalism is unmatched in my opinion and her work is beautiful and reliable. Her website is: http://tameemarie.webs.com/

Christian Duque: What does your training split look like for the week? Are you one to switch up exercises and/or methods (free weights, machines, bands, etc) or do you stay fairly consistent throughout the year?

Allison Moyer: Training and nutrition are difficult for me to pinpoint when asked these questions, because they are variables. They have to change in order to produce change. I’m very “non conventional” athlete. I believe strongly that in order to look like an athlete you need to train as an athlete, so my training techniques and training style tend to be a bit “left of center” when it comes to what’s considered standard amongst figure athletes. I do not train with the typical “bodybuilding style” training split as is common. My training “split” will vary depending on what my current goals are and what changes I’m looking to spark in my physique. My training involves a variety of methods including CST (cardio strength training),plyometrics, track/sprint work and tabata, as well as more standard “weight” based workouts. I tend to rely a lot of bodyweight exercises, medicine balls, and free weights/bars. I use some machines but much more minimally.


Christian Duque: Talk to us about your nutrition. Are you one to avoid carbs or fats, or did you create a menu specifically for yourself? Could we get a sample menu for a regular day, and one for a contest prep day?

Allison Moyer: I highly discourage ANY diet that “avoids carbs or fats” as eliminating an entire macro nutrient group can have serious long term ramifications. Typically I eat a higher protein, moderate to higher fat, and moderate to lower carb diet.

I manipulate carbs, fats and proteins depending on where I’m at in my prep, how my body looks, and what it needs. I’m a very instinctive athlete, I will change what I eat daily depending on what I feel my body needs to both look and perform at its best.

The key is with nutrition is much more in depth then a simple matter of calories in versus calories out, or “eat carbs” or “don’t eat carbs”. You need to conume the right portions of carbs, fats and proteins within your body’s unique daily caloric limits. Within those caloric limits, the quality of carbs, fats, and proteins also comes into play. Asparagus versus brown rice, or an apple verus oatmeal. How much, what, and when is not an exact science for everyone, it varies greatly from individual to individual.

I’m a paleo/primal athlete so I’m grain free, dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, and legume free. I do not eat any processed foods, refined sugars, wheat or grain products, baked goods, beans or legumes, or dairy products. I rely on fruits, vegetables, healthy oils, nuts, seeds, and high quality protein sources for my food fuel.

This past prep I relied on the following carbohydrate sources: spinach, apple, romaine and butter lettuce, asparagus, zucchini, yam and mushroom. I consumed chicken, egg whites, Omega 3 eggs, salmon, ahi tuna, orange roughy, and cod as protein sources, and used MCT Oil, Coconut Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Flaxseed, Flaxseed Oil, Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Almond Butter, and Avocado as healthy fats.

I blog often about my nutrition and have recipes and in depth lists online at my blog: www.getfitiwithalli.com


Christian Duque: How much water do you normally drink throughout the day? How important is hydration to the competitive athlete training in the gym? And apart from water, what are some other beverages you might have throughout the day?

Allison Moyer: I drink anywhere from 2-2.5 gallons of fluid per day, the bulk of which comes from water. Hydration is extremely important for athletes, I cannot stress it enough, Water is the most important nutrient and has many important functions including regulating temperature, lubricating joints and transporting nutrients and waste throughout the body. If you’re an athlete, you lose much more fluid throughout the day due to exercise, in fact studies have found that athletes who lose as little as two percent of their body weight through sweating will suffer a drop in blood volume which causes the heart to work harder to circulate blood. This drop in blood volume can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, fatigue and heat exhaustion or heat stroke. So staying hydrated is incredibly important. The recommendations vary, but I usually tell my athletes/clients to monitor their hydration via their urine. A large amount of light colored, diluted urine probably means you are hydrated; dark colored, concentrated urine probably means you are dehydrated.

I personally drink about 12-16 ounces of caffeinated coffee per day, one Celcius energy drink, and aside from water, will drink lots of herbal teas and decaf hot coffee.


Christian Duque: What's a goal you have for 2012 - could be related to the stage or not. And what are you doing to be able to realize this?

Allison Moyer: One of my goals in 2012 is to continue to grow and expand my business. I’d love to open up my own personal training studio and engage in working more in person with my clients.

Christian Duque: I think what everyone is talking about right now is your stellar placing at the Arnold Amateur. Please give all your shoutouts here, talk to us about the prep (the training, the tanning, the posing, the hair & makeup, the traveling, the cardio). We want to know everything! :)

Allison Moyer: I am very very blessed to have received 2^nd place in my class at the Arnold. Of course I wanted to win my class and have a run at the overall, but I keep reminding myself that things happen in God’s time, not my own. I’ve received feedback from the judges and know what I need to improve upon moving forward. I will continue to work hard until I present a package the judges feel is worth of pro status. I truly love this sport, and I love competing- every aspect of each and every prep’s journey is incredible to me. I had a blast out in Ohio, the Arnold is an amazing experience and the Arnold Amateur is phenomenally run show, one which I love participating in. I’m already looking forward to stepping on stage again!


Christian Duque: What plans do you have for the rest of 2012? And where can your fans go to stay up to date with you?

Allison Moyer: Right now I’m uncertain as to my next show. It will either be Jr USAS in May, or Team Universe later on in the season. My fans can stay in touch with me through my facebook fanpage, my blog: www.getfitwithalli.com or my website, www.alli-fitness.com.