Fitness Competitor Alison Parent

Alison Parent

Alison Parent Date of Birth: 3/23/1979

Height: 5'1''

Weight: 120 (in-season), 134 (off-season)--we're working on reducing that

Measurements: 35/25/35

Hair and Eyes: brown

Marital Status: Engaged to my best friend--Seth, and mom to the best chocolate lab ever-- Bindi

Residence: 10 miles outside Boston, MA

Education: BS in Biology from Framingham State College

Occupation: Sales in the Fitness Industry

Favorite Cardio: Arc Trainer, or running outdoors

Least Favorite Cardio: Stationary Bike

Favorite Exercise: Deadlifts

Least Favorite Exercise: Anything Bi's

Best Body Part: I don't have one personally, but I probably get my most compliments on my booty

Worst Body Part: I have a tough time getting defined abs.

Favorite Diet Food: Any Fresh Fruit, especially watermelon and raspberries

Favorite Cheat Food: Margarita's and Pizza--not necessarily together

Favorite Thing about Fitness: Being Lean

Least Favorite Thing about Fitness: Definitely Dieting!!!!!!!!!

Until I was 18, I lived with my parents Cheryl and David and my brother Matthew in the small southeastern town of Somerset. I was always very active with sports. My mom started me in ballet at the age of 4. She thought it would be the perfect sport for her daughter who spent 90% of her day walking around on her tippy-toes. Once she enrolled me in ballet, she learned that I spent most of my ballet class doing cartwheels. So, after my first and only dance recital, she enrolled me in a gymnastics class at a small gymnastics school the next town over. After that, I never looked back. I spent the next 13 years participating in competitive gymnastics. A the age of 17 I was competing as a level 9 gymnast out of a gymnastics school in Swansea, MA called Paramount Gymnastics. My coaches Butch Senna, Cindi O'Blenis, and Toi Fortes were 3 of my most important influences in my athletic career.

Along with competing in the United States Gymnastics Federation, I was also a competitive gymnast at Somerset High School. During my junior and senior year I was team captain and went on to break numerous school records. At the end of my senior year in high school I injured my ACL in a USGF competition and was sidelined for the remainder of the competitive season. This was right before I was heading off to college at the University of New Hampshire. I anticipated competing for their team, but after this injury (and with the recommendation from my orthopedist), I decided to hang up my leotard for good.

I spent one semester in Durham, New Hampshire as nutrition major. I loved every minute of my time spent at UNH but unfortunately the student loans were going to be too much money, so I transferred to Framingham State College in Massachusetts. There, I was a nutrition major for an additional semester until I found my true calling; biology. I graduated from FSC in 2001 with a degree in Biology (concentration in medicine) and a minor in psychology. After graduating from college, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to medical school, graduate school, or the working world. To save myself some money until I was absolutely sure, I started working. I spent the first 6 months after I graduated as a contracted protein chemist. That job paved the way for me to expand my research opportunities. After my contract ended, I got a position at a teaching hospital as a research associate in the oncology department.

During that job I started training for my first fitness competition-- the Fitness Atlantic in New Haven, CT (2003).