SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – There is little to no substitute for exercise. Avid gym-goers and stay-at-home trainees alike devote an average of 7-to-8 hours a week on fitness, according to MYprotein. There are those, however, who make physical fitness a top priority because of how much the training helps them in other aspects of life.
Allison Murray is a physical therapist at SUNY Upstate Medical University. As a part of her job, Murray deals with patients who are injured, diagnosed with a disease or sustain a deformity of some sort. She goes about helping these folks through physical methods such as exercise instead of surgery or the use of drugs.
Yet, Murray came across personal trainer Brandon Anderson at Blink Fitness who has since changed her life.
“The gym has kind of been my sanity,” Murray said. “And training with Brandon,” he pushes me to a different level.”
Murray’s workouts prior to training with Anderson were not giving her the results she wanted, but as she started to follow the game plan, Murray accomplished personal records (PRs) she had never come close to before.
“Brandon has pushed me to whole new PRs,” Murray said. “And pushed me well past my breaking point that I thought I would ever hit. Brandon had to hold the bench and have someone else come to take the video because I literally almost knocked the bench over (while performing a glute exercise known as hip thrusts.)”
Since the day Murray started her journey with Anderson, the two have seen one another far more than they expected, as Murray has kept her personal trainer busy.
“We started out with eight sessions,” Anderson said. “And it’s turned to close to 60 now. She’s knowledgeable about working out but I think with my background I can give her a little extra push, a little motivation, and get her to where she needs to be.”
Murray’s training regiment is quite unique even from that of a gym fanatic as she spends an insurmountable amount of time at the place she calls her “second home.”
“Truthfully, I spend three to four hours here a day,” Murray said. “And it drives my friends and family nuts because I don’t talk to anyone once I enter the door.”
The same friends and family see a huge difference in Murray on the days she trains compared to the ones she does not go to the gym.
“It helps me with my stress level,” Murray said. “I take everything out here, it doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life — it all comes out here so I don’t hurt someone outside.”
Training with Anderson has taken Murray’s physical fitness to a different level, and the gym is just the beginning.
“I notice a huge difference at work,” Murray said. “I work in rehab so I’m lifting patients all day. The strength aspect of Brandon’s training has really helped.”
But the part of consistent physical fitness that Murray appreciates the most is the mental side, which is what’s most important to her. She has never felt stronger mentally and physically in her life than she does right now.
“Even my friends and family can see a huge difference in me when I go the gym versus not or if I train versus (when) I don’t,” Murray said. “I’m just an overall happier person. Yes, I see changes in my weight but the biggest thing for me is the mental health aspect of it and being able to have that stress relief. I don’t know if I would have been able to achieve and become who I have without the gym or Brandon.”
Murray’s next goal is to achieve a six-pack while training with Anderson. She believes goal setting is an integral part of a workout program and once she has her eyes set on a mission, Murray strives to reach it — with a little push.
