Allyson Neilson, Certified Fitness Trainer

Personal trainer Allyson Neilson, founder of Flexible Fitness Personal Training, approaches training holistically, assessing the choices and patterns of each client, and challenging both body and mind in order to achieve a lifestyle transformation that is tangible and sustainable.

Allyson Neilson is an ISSA (International Sports Science Association) certified fitness trainer with certifications in Breast Cancer Recovery Care, Core Conditioning, Boot Camp, and Drums Alive from DSWFitness.

She teaches the popular H.I.T. (High Interval Training) and H.I.T. Level II - Evolution classes at the Penobscot Bay YMCA, where she has worked as an instructor since 2005. Along with Holistic Lifestyle and Nutrition Counselor Kimberly Mahan, Allyson runs BodyQuest BootCamp - a rigorous, outdoor fitness program that combines fitness training and nutrition education. The newest edition to her business is her Body Blitz classes at High Mountain Hall and her senior fitness classes at a St. Thomas' Episcopal Church.

Allyson's interests in yoga, martial arts and kettlebell training, as well as her background as a social worker, influence all aspects of her training and client-trainer relationships. Allyson keeps her clients motivated by constantly changing up her workouts, often taking clients outside to train when the weather permits.

Her interest in fitness reaches back to her youth in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where she started working out on her own - using Nautilus machines, lifting weights and attending aerobics classes at a local gym. It was years later, after several life changes and a move to Maine, that her commitment to fitness deepened and translated into a desire to help other people transform their bodies and their lives.

Allyson recognizes that people do not believe they are as strong as they really are. She says her clients are willing to give up on themselves sooner than she is. Allyson says that many people don't like to step out of their comfort zone and become a little uncomfortable. It's hard and Allyson understands that but she is still going to encourage you to do just that.

"When I think back to just a few short years ago, my eating habits were unhealthy, my energy level was low, and my mind, body, spirit connection was lacking. I have come so far mentally, physically and emotionally. What's exciting to me is that I have farther to go. My journey towards healthy living is never-ending, and there is so much more I want to learn. I look forward to that process and to sharing what I have learned with my clients.

Someone once told me that her husband's favorite saying is "Suck it up, it's part of the game." This really stuck with me. Sometimes you just have to dig your heels in, suck it up and plow through those obstacles standing before you, even when you would rather bury yourself underneath the warm covers of your bed or drown your sorrows in a bucket of Ben & Jerry's. It's life, you get one shot, and I want to make the best of mine."