Hey everybody!
I know you are all doing well! Today I am bringing back the "Getting to Know" feature. I have been following Alison for a couple years now, & I thought she'd be the perfect person to include.
Enjoy this Q&A!
Can you give a little background on yourself?
My name is Alison Jury, I’m 22 years old and was born in South Jersey, raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. I went to college at University of North Carolina Wilmington where I majored in Accounting and was in a sorority. I graduated in May 2019 and spent that last 8 competing in bodybuilding shows and traveling around the country. I’m a huge foodie and love to travel, the best way to experience a city and culture is to try the food. I’m inspired by constantly evolving and improving my mindset in life.
What inspired you to move to Austin?
After graduating from college and realizing I didn’t want to use my accounting degree, I moved back in with my parents to save money. I felt very stuck and unmotivated as my bodybuilding competition season came to an end and I no longer had a huge end goal I was working towards. I decided to take a few months to travel and experience parts of the country I have never seen before. I knew I wanted to move, but I didn’t know where. When I visited Austin for the first time, I fell in love and could see myself living there long term. Three months later, my friend Kelsey and I signed a lease and took the leap into moving. I realized that I am young, and if I didn’t take the risk now, I would continue to be unhappy with where I was at in my life. As soon as I moved, I felt this huge shift in my mood and my energy. I went from being lethargic and unmotivated to do anything, to going out and exploring on my own and actually enjoying my life again.
How did your fitness journey begin?
I was always involved in sports growing up, competitive dance, basketball, track & field, but when I went to college, I didn’t do anything active. Like most, I gained the freshman 15 and was unhappy with the way I looked. The summer after my freshman year of college, I moved to the Jersey Shore and worked in a surf shop. I lived alone and was extremely bored. I decided to join a gym and started working out every day. I researched training and nutrition constantly in my free time, and became completely obsessed with it. After about a year I discovered the world of competitive bodybuilding and decided it was something I wanted to try. I did my first bikini show in March 2018 and have done 4 regional shows, and 4 national shows in the last 2 years, winning the overall at a regional show and landing in the top 10 at a national show. After 2 years straight of prepping for shows, I have now switched my focus to finding a balance between enjoying life and still being fit and healthy.
Go to stores for athletic wear?
Less expensive: Target, TJ Maxx, Amazon
More expensive (but higher quality): Balance Athletica, Alphalete, Buff Bunny
Tips for people who would like to start a fitness journey but don’t know where to start?
Start by making small, sustainable changes to your lifestyle: drinking more water, incorporating any kind of movement into your day, learning how to make smart nutritional choices. Remember that the best way to go about things is slow and steady wins the race, be patient and results will come, don’t get frustrated if you hit a plateau. Research fitness programs on sites such as Bodybuilding.com, go into the gym with a plan so you aren’t just wandering around. If you’re intimidated by the gym, remember that everyone was a beginner at some point, and no one in the gym is paying attention to what you’re doing and/or judging you. Once I realized that no was staring at me in the gym, and I learned to be confident in my own skin, is when I really started to fall in love with the gym.
Where you can find Alison:
IG: @alisonjuryfit
Thank you so much for reading this post!
xo Megan