Girl Talk: The Power Of Fitness - Part 2
Here it is: part II of my conversation with Allison Warrell. We discuss her involvement with the show Big & Little, the importance of fitness for little people, and who she looks up to. Thanks again Allison for taking the time to talk to me and continuing to show all of us that the human body truly has no limits.
JILLIAN: How did the show Big & Little happen?
ALLISON: Somebody sent the producers of Big & Little my Instagram. They, the producers, contacted me and said, “We have this idea. Would you be interested?” We met with them several times and it all fell into place. TLC selected two candidates that I did not know and that I would train. Upon meeting them I got to know who they were and found out what their individual problems and the issues we would work through. The whole process took nine months. It was tough because I was in California while they were in their respective cities. I flew out to each of them about five times to film. We hired a personal trainer for each of them who worked with me- I would send them workouts for them to do while I wasn’t there.
JILLIAN: If another LP came to you and said, “I’m looking to start my own fitness journey,” what advice do you give them? Where do you tell them to start?
ALLISON: I think that they need to find a local gym. If they want a personal trainer, test them all out and see who is most comfortable with them. Not every relationship between a client and a trainer is going to work out. Like I said before, I know it can be overwhelming which is why I try to show on my group page that you can do this.
A lot of people try to go all in at the beginning and I think that you really need to start slow. You have to get comfortable with moving. With my two clients on Big & Little, to start I told them, “All I want you to do is move. I don’t give a shit how fast you go. I don’t care what you do. I just need you to move.” Once they started moving and taking “I can’t” out of their vocabulary everything changed. It’s all about mindset. I think that mindset is key. You have to know your why, then the picture is painted. It is a never-ending journey that will constantly evolve.
JILLIAN: Do you feel that little people are represented in the fitness and wellness industries?
ALLISON: Yes and no. Obviously, I’ve become very known now. If I go to the Arnold Classic, people recognize me. I’ve put my name out there, I am in with some great companies and have great sponsorships with some top companies that are making big, big moves in the industry. It is nice to be a part of those groups and have the support from them, but there are not a ton of us in the bodybuilding world.
I know that Mikey Witous (@mikeyswoosh1) is working with CrossFit to have at CrossFit games to have an adaptive CrossFit division.
JILLIAN: After a year that was focused on health, how do you think the fitness and wellness industries can be more accessible and more inclusive towards little people?
ALLISON: I think the industries need to keep evolving. That’s another reason why I love to share tools that I use or things that I’ve found that work for me because I want to make sure that other LPs don’t get hurt when trying to modify and adapt the equipment for them to use.
JILLIAN: Who do you look up to?
ALLISON: My mother. She is very successful, she’s very healthy- she still plays golf and tennis in her mid-seventies. She raised her three kids right. She is amazing and I continue to get support and ask her for things, have her chime in on certain issues.
My sisters and I are very close. They’re successful, they have an awesome family, they’re very active. It’s funny because before I started this fitness journey ten years ago we would go on these girl trips and they would do all these hikes and I would not. Now, I’m the one saying we are going hiking and they look at me like, “Who are you?” Last week they were here for my birthday and we went hiking and had fun being outdoors as a team.
Outside of my family there are definitely several fitness people that I look up to. I don’t like the word motivate because I think I have to be the one to motivate myself. I would rather use the word inspire because inspiration is like a spark. Once you have that spark, you are the one who has to light the fire. I listen to a lot of podcasts, I watch a lot of people train to get ideas and make me get up and do my thing.
As time evolves and things start to get better the next step is continuing to raise awareness. My goal is to continue to bring that awareness out. That is why my instagram is all fitness.
JILLIAN: We talked about your fitness goals. What is your proudest fitness achievement? There can be more than one.
ALLISON: Probably my class A women’s physique trophy. So far.
JILLIAN: That’s awesome. Now for the final question: Are there any questions I have not asked that you want to answer?
ALLISON: I don’t think so. May I ask how old you are?
JILLIAN: 25. I’ll be 26 later this month.
ALLISON: Are you in LPA? How did you find me and H.E.L.P.? I know we did start following each other over the last five years or so, but how did that happen?
JILLIAN: I’m a lifetime member of LPA. I’ve been involved with it my whole life.
In 2017, when Lexi (@bitesizedsis) and Alyse Scaffidi (@bitesizedfitness) put on their first DreamWalk fashion show (@dreamwalkfashionshow), they said that they wanted to reach out to you but knew you were on the west coast. I don’t know how they found me but somehow they did. By that point I was probably a member of H.E.L.P. at that point and was definitely following you. I’m that person in the gym who doesn’t believe in limits but I still needed to figure out how to make things work for me and I remember seeing this one video you made where you were doing push-ups on kettlebells and I said to myself, “I need to do that. I need to be this crazy girl at the gym doing that. I need to follow her.” That was when I really realized that there is nothing we can’t do.
ALLISON: Are you still a Zumba instructor?
JILLIAN: Not anymore.
ALLISON: But you were?
JILLIAN: Yes. I got my Zumba certification in 2014 and, when I graduated college, I suspended my license. I do want to go back to teaching because I do miss that form of cardio.
ALLISON: That’s awesome.
JILLIAN: When you found your coach, did he have any trepidation with training a little person? Or was he just like let’s do it, let’s figure it out?
ALLISON: He was like let’s do it. His brain has thought of things that I never thought of so it’s good. We get along well. He is building a team and I have great teammates- we all support each other. It has been a good almost three year relationship.
JILLIAN: In regards to bodyweight and health, all the charts and standards that are out there are for average-sized people. For example, BMI is not an accurate measurement tool for LPs. They only take into account height and weight and ignore mitigating factors like dwarfism. How do you measure health? What indicators do you use? What are good indicators for little people to know what is healthy for them?
ALLISON: Hydrostatic testing in water is the truest way to get all the numbers we need to figure out how to stay in a caloric deficit. I also go by how I look and how I feel. I know where I look and feel my best. But, to get the truest numbers, people should get the water test. Once they do that then they will be able to set goals that work for them and their body.
JILLIAN: Amazing. I do try to ask one fun question to wrap things up. What is your final meal? No rules or limits apply.
ALLISON: I love chips and salsa. The big mint chocolate chip polar pie from Baskin Robbins is probably the ultimate. We always have it for my birthday, so I did have some this week. So it would be chips and salsa to start. If I got an ultimate cheat meal...I love a good steak. A burger and fries is also good. I’m not a diehard pizza fan anymore. I would say Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip polar pie is the best.
JILLIAN: That sounds so good. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I learned so much.
ALLISON: You’re welcome.
