Lauren Brooks Fitness

I want to make an announcement about our friend John Brookfield who will be setting a World Record. Those who don't know who he is, he is an extraordinarily strong guy, who is the founder of the battlingropes system. Check out his website for more info at Powerropes.com If you aren't training with ropes you should start! It's awesome. On Saturday November 1st in Fairmont North Carolina at 2:00 in the afternoon John Brookfield and Jon Bruney are going to set a World Record by pulling a semi-truck a distance of one mile plus using only their physical strength and mental discipline. John Brookfield and Jon Bruney have done this record on several occasions, however, this time they will be upping the weight load to over thirty thousand pounds and pushing themselves to the limit to pull the mile distance as fast as possible. Many are saying that this feat of strength and endurance may be the greatest physical accomplishment ever. Come out and witness this event and walk alon...

Hi Lauren, I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed the KB workshop led by you & Lisa. It was an awesome, motivating experience because it was really informative and fun. I really felt that you & Lisa were very professional and encouraging (I was amazed at both of your physical strength/power in your super lean bodies) by taking the time to address questions and concerns regarding correct form, KB info., etc. I left the workshop feeling great; I could now do KB exercises at home w/ proper form and know the modifications or alternative moves to bump up the intensity. I liked that you both generously shared your knowledge w/out criticizing other methods of exercising, and you didn't mind demonstrating moves/explaining technique repeatedly. Thank you for a truly awesome experience, it was worth every penny, and I have been telling everyone I know about it. :) I have been using your video, alternating the short and longer segments throughout the week, I love it! ...

Lisa and I had a wonderful time working with this group of lovely ladies. Everyone did so well and actually seemed to have fun at the same time. I look forward to doing more workshops in the future. Lots more photos to come. Workshop was 5 hours! The fact that I was 5 months pregnant didn't slow me down a bit. The energy from all the attendants and excitement kept me going. I could have kept going! I want to thank Calvin Sun, an amazing Crossfit trainer and athlete for being their to help and take awesome pictures. Thanks everyone and Lisa for a great weekend!

First let me start off saying my last pregnancy we did not find out the sex of the baby. It was a huge surprise when our baby girl was born, because everyone thought I was having a boy. The reason we decided to find out this time is for practical purposes. Such as, do we keep Lyla's clothes or give them away? What kind of room should we get ready for this baby? The free time I use to have just doesn't exist, more time is essential to get ready for this next one. Yesterday was Ben's birthday (my husband) and we went in for a morning ultrasound appointment. I am measuring exactly at 20 weeks and the baby is 11 ounces. I kindly asked the ultrasound technician not tell us the sex of the baby and please write it down for us. She said she wrote it down on back of the photo in the envelope. She told us, it's never 100% accurate. I wanted to find out later that evening for his birthday dinner. Just to make it that much more special. So to finally get to the point. We went...

People commonly ask me what I eat. How do you stay so lean? Well it all starts with a good breakfast in my opinion. Unfortunately our society has made us think that cereals found in a box are healthy for you. Then someone will say "But I eat shredded wheat and it's fortified with all of these vitamins and minerals." The truth about dry breakfast cereals is they are ALL overly processed. No matter if you get them in a health food store or at your local market, I would never recommend anyone dry breakfast cereal. Read the article below to see exactly why. There was also an interesting experiment done with rats that should be read as well. Here is a link to the article by Sally Fallon called " Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry ." Everyone should give this a read. Now what do I recommend for breakfast? Here are my top favorite suggestions for breakfast. My first one is my Power Smoothie that is filled with high quality protein (very minimall...

Under 20 minutes and felt perfect! 4 months pregnant and feeling good after this workout. Joint Mobility Warm Up Body Weight Back Lunges to a Kick. 15 reps per leg 2 Handed Kettlebell Swings 12kg's 20 reps One Arm Rows 12kg 10 reps per arm Kettlebell Push Ups 10 reps Light Ab work on Bosu 20 reps Repeated 3 times (took rests as needed) FInished up 20 Snatches 12kg's 2 sets Felt like just the right amount. Now I will have the added energy to get through my busy day. And even try and squeeze in a great walk later. Short workouts are ideal for pregnant women. Not too taxing but you can really push yourself enough for this short amount of time. Multiple workouts throughout the day are showing more increased energy rather than 1 long workout a day.

The lovely pregnancy side effects of constant peeing has hit me. Unfortunately this time I was not able to go back to sleep. It is now 3 a.m. I decided to get out of bed rather than laying there hoping to fall back asleep. Life is on fast forward at this time. So I am actually enjoying sitting here peacefully with everyone asleep. The days just seem to fly by. With a full load of work, being a mom, a wife, staying active, and keeping up with friends socially, doesn't leave much down time. I can't complain because I am having a rather easy pregnancy right now. With staying as busy as I am, I hardly notice it except for my belly. I'm just so amazed how fast my belly popped out this time. My body knew exactly what to do as soon as it realized I was pregnant. Last pregnancy my stomach was not this big. Jeans are definitely getting tighter, but I guess that's what happens when you have a baby in your tummy! Here is a bit of a recap from the last several weeks. W...

To check out this short article click on Kettlebell Inc Magazine . There are some great articles in this online magazine. Such as one from Mike Mahler discussing Kettlebells for MMA fighters and Coach Paule Steel talking about Kettlebells and Tennis. Just goes to show you that kettlebell training carries over in almost EVERY activity. No reason not to do it!

Here is a brand new Review from Liftkettlebells.com about " The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning with Kettlebells DVD." Jeff really breaks down this review nicely in to several sections. The review discusses the details of the DVD, what was liked about the DVD, and what could have been better. A very honest review from a person who has seen and produced many Kettlebell DVD's. Check out the review right here at liftkettlebells.com . For those who have seen the DVD leaving comments at the end of the review page right at this site would be most appreciated. Thank you everyone! I am excited to make more in the future!

Hi everyone. I know most of you were unable to see this since you are not in San Diego. Here is the link if you would like to see my 2 minutes of fame on TV. 8-) Lauren Brooks demonstrating kettlebells on NBC television 3 months pregnant.

As many of you know I design nutrition programs for people all over the country. I rarely get the privilege to design Vegan programs. My client Sandra, who lives in Wisconsin, is a dedicated vegan and very motivated to have a clean vegan program planned out for her. I did quite a bit of research and even had several vegan meals myself this week to see how it feels. I have to give people who are vegan tons of credit. It's hard enough to eat extremely healthy when you can eat animal products. But to take out eggs, chicken, fish, and dairy is much more of a challenge. Eggs, chicken and organic grass fed whey protein are huge staples of mine. But I will be thinking twice after testing the waters on the vegan side this week. Unfortunately many vegan eaters live off of soy and wheat products such as processed fake meats made of tofu, soy, wheat, gluten, and lots of sodium. So to have a healthy program as a vegan you can be quite limited to your food choices. My view of a health...

Lyla has developed so many amazing milestones in the last 3-5 months. She went from crawling to walking, she is now saying so many words and repeating us, and is just the cutest most affectionate little girl. It's so weird when I actually sit down and think about her how emotional I get. She means the absolute world to me and it's so hard for me to imagine that I can ever love any child as much as her. I almost feel bad for the baby inside me because I am so in love with Lyla. I have talked to several moms and I guess this is a common feeling. But once the next baby comes you fall in love all over again. Which is so hard to imagine for me because my heart is filled with my Lyla. 11 Weeks Pregnant and my Kettlebell Workout (will provide a picture soon) So all the morning sickness talk was not even morning sickness. It turns out I had Salmonella poisoning. The baby and I are fine but it was not a fun week. I lost over 8 pounds that week and was so depleted. I have now g...

Workoutmommy.com did an interview with me regarding kettlebells, fitness, nutrition, while being a mom. This is a wonderful site dedicated to inspiring moms to be fit and healthy. Just up my alley. If you are a mom or a husband, son, or daughter trying to encourage the woman you love to get moving check out this site. Click on this link to see it. One fit mommy and her kettlebell: Lauren Brooks

I'm excited to announce that my kettlebell/ exercise DVD is finally available.  This is the project I have been working on for so long.  Above is a video clip of the highlights.   This DVD Features 15 basic Kettlebell and Body Weight exercises deomonstrated step by step even for the complete beginner. Follow along Fat Blast Workout - Low to Medium Intensity. 12-14 minutes long and can be repeated twice if you are ready.  Follow along Sculpt and Conditioning Workout - Medium to High Intensity. 40 minutes of intensity Joint Mobility section for warm up and cool down. Designed to get you in tip top shape no matter what your fitness background is. Especially great for moms trying to shed that baby weight and get in better shape than before their pregnancy. DVD is over 80 minutes long of step by step instruction. Motivating music in the Follow Along workout sections and Joint Mobility section For more information you can go to my website at www.ontheedgefitness.com . I want to thank my ...

You wont want to miss this workshop. Lisa and Lauren have teamed up to design a special total body sculpting workshop just for women. Space is limited and this workshop may never be done again.  Spend just 5 hours with us and we will give you the tools and techniques you need to sculpt and tone your body in record time. This is a very unique workshop designed just for women by women. This workshop has never been done before and it may never be done again. To find out more details and what we will cover follow this link  here . Reserve your spot right now at http://www.ontheedgefitness.com /   In addition you will receive Lisa and Lauren's DVD at the workshop. For more info about Lisa's DVD you can check it out here More info about Lauren's DVD click here .

(This was written last Thursday) I have not been able to get yesterday’s occurrence out of my mind. Writing my thoughts and feelings down is such therapy for me. Whether I will post this or not at least I will get it on paper. At this moment in time I am sitting on a plane, on my way to the Level 2 RKC in Minnesota, without my daughter for the first time ever. Yesterday started off as a normal wonderful day. Ben and I have been waiting anxiously for our doctor's appointment that will allow us to see the first glimpse of the baby inside me. That’s right everybody I am pregnant again. Almost 7 weeks. I am normally one to wait and share the news until after the first trimester, but this story would not be the same if I left that part out. Anyone who has had kids will know that the first appointment is the most extensive. They do a full physical, then you have an ultrasound that can be a bit uncomfortable, and then you get lots of blood drawn for various tests. I had been throug...

First I want to thank everyone for such a great weekend. I had an awesome time meeting so many wonderful people. It's just so nice to get together with a group of people that love kettlebells as much as you do. I wish I took more pictures but unfortunately I was pretty sick for the most of the workshop. I some how managed to pull through and pass, but my face was a little green. More details of why I was vomiting and sick to my stomach for most of the trip to follow. Fawn was so nice to have a bbq at her house on Friday night. I got a chance to hang out with Tracy and RIf (such a great couple), Fawn and Aaron, Kettlebell Kate, Christine (my new friend from New Jersey), Taikei who came all the way from Japan, and some of Fawn's friends. Thanks again everyone for a great evening. Seeing Lyla after not seeing her for 4 days was the best feeling in the world. It's definitely nice to be back. But unfortunately I am still pretty sick and have been in bed most of the time....

I would like to share this with all the new and old mom's out there. Here is an article I wrote for www.liftkettlebells.com . Click this link to read it. Kettlebells for women with children Hope you all enjoy it!

Last week we went to Mammoth. Since it was late in the season we were able to get a fantastic deal on an amazing ski in ski out condo on the mountain side. This is the nicest accomodations I have ever had in Mammoth. We shared a 2 bed/2 bath condo with good friends of ours and their little 11 month old. This worked out so nicely because we took turns snowboarding and watching each other's kids. When we arrived I could not believe the beauty of this place. I have been to Mammoth about 10 times in my life and I never get tired of the surroundings. Anyone who has kids knows how stressful packing is. You have 5 times more stuff than you ever did in your life. Extra toys, bottles, portable crib, stroller, humidifier, diapers, etc.... Our 3 day trip looked like we were going away for a month. We packed the car up to it's maximum capacity. Good thing we drove because there was no way we could bring all of this stuff and fly somewhere. Anyway, I left in a frantic, because I had ...

So that last 2 days I have been making the most delicious fresh juice I have ever had. You would never believe that there is no added sugar. I was feeling really sluggish this past week, due to hormones, and all that fun women stuff. I wanted to start the day off with something a little different. My body doesn't always do well on caffeine, especially when I feel it needs it the most. I crash hard and I am left feeling worse. Here is the Carrot and Ginger Juice Recipe 6-7 Organic Carrots 2 Oranges (right from my back yard) 1 inch of Ginger ( I love ginger so I put in a little more) I peeled the oranges so the white part was still on. I also peeled the ginger as well. I also tried it without the oranges if you are worried about sugar content. It still tasted awesome!! And Voila! A beautiful looking juice that taste extraordinary. You can tell I'm excited. I don't get excited by too many things, but I felt great after drinking this first thing in the morni...

I know I haven't been blogging lately. Time just has not been on my side. With my projects I have underway, training clients, spending precious moments with my growing daughter, and keeping my husband out of the hospital I would say I have my hands full. So sitting down here at the computer is a luxury. I will try and recap as much as possible in the most condensed way. February started out very rocky. Ben had to be rushed to the hospital for his attack on his stomach. This was one of the worst episodes. He had to be wheeled in because he couldn't walk and was almost passing out from pain. The ER was very slow about everything as always and told him they would see him as soon as they could. 2 and half hours later, you would think he was almost dead, they finally got him the medication to give him relief. Then they sent him home several hours later because there is nothing more they can do. I also had to take care of Lyla in the ER while watching this nightmare happen. I th...

Here is yesterdays workout which I think of more of a practice. Warmed up with Joint Mobility 5 minutes and 2 minutes of Swings 12kg Did the following exercises 3 times. Pull Ups 3 , 4 , 3 Pistols 2 , 3, 1 per side Bent Press 12kg 3, 3 , 3 per side C & J 12kg 8, 8 , 6 per side Then I finished off with Snatches for 3 minutes with the 12kg total of 73 snatches. I don't usually train high reps so I was surprised how nice those 3 minutes felt. I paced myself at around 24 snatches a minute. I'm not training for any thing but I wanted to see how I would feel with that length of time. Maybe I'll try 4 minutes today. Morning weight is 108. Been eating 5-6 times a day. Here is what I ate yesterday. Not typical since it's a Saturday and I had time to have some lunch by the beach. Couple of people ask me from time to time if I am eating. I think I eat a good amount of food. I ha...

The answer is no! Money is really what drives the decisions of the FDA. It's such a shame because who do we trust if we can't trust the FDA? If you have not heard, the FDA feels that meat and milk are safe from CLONED animals. I am not a vegetarian by any means, but if this is hidden from the population, I will be forced to be a vegan. This problem could hurt our kids more than anything. Since this is the cheaper way, restaurants probably wont need to put this on the menu either. Another reason why you need to be even more careful with going out to eat. America is making it harder and harder for the population to eat clean, pure and healthy foods. If you click below you can sign a very fast petition to allow the consumers to know if the meat is cloned or not. This will effect everyone. Thank you in advanced for supporting the health of ourselves and children. http://cu.convio.net/labelclonedfood Does anyone else feel as strongly about this as I do?  Or could I be over...

I don't really know much about Exercise TV but some how I was nominated to be in the running for Top Trainer.  Believe it or not I am in 2nd place as of now.  It would be great to see a kettlebell trainer to be in first place.  I have never competed in anything before so just thought I would put it out there and ask you all who have benefited from my services or advice to take a minute and vote.  I thank you in advance for supporting your fellow kettlebell instructor.  Just click the picture above to vote! Thanks to all who have already voted!!!

I can't believe my baby is 1. This year flew by and I survived. For some reason I'm very emotional right now, which doesn't happen to me very often. As a nursing mom I have never spent one day away from her. I didn't think I would be this attached. I have watched her grow from this little infant to a baby that interacts with me and says things like "wow" and "hi". Watching her every move just amazes me. From seeing her feed herself the little pieces of food I put on her tray, to pulling herself up on anything she can find, and talking to her stuffed animals in the morning. It all melts my heart. I fell in love the second I met her. These pictures are really for me to look back on. Starting from the first day she was born. He's absolutely head over heels in love! Just born. I am in awe here. She's not even 2 hours old. 1 month old More pictures to come when I have more time. Of course Lyla is eating a Gluten free sugar fr...

This article came out this past June.  Not to scare any of you parents but it is good to be aware how much narcotics can influence breast milk.  This is a rare case, but a full term healthy baby actually died from the high concentrations of narcotics in the mothers breast milk.  She was just taking the prescribed dose of what the doctors gave her.  She ended up taking half of the dose 2 days later due to constipation.  Here is the article you can read for yourself. CODEINE LINKED TO BREASTFEEDING DANGER from National Review of Medicine Just wanted everyone to be aware! On a happier note my baby is turning 1 tomorrow! This year has been incredible. My workout yesterday Push Ups 30 seconds Body Weight Squats 30 seconds Swings 12kg 30 seconds Pull Ups 4 Pistol 1 / 1 Repeat 3 times Snatches 12 kg 2 min

I have now been through 2 C-sections since writing this blog post and thankfully I've recovered beautifully from both with the appropriate progressions. For those who are new and are just finding me. WELCOME! First let me say I did NOT want a C-section. I did everything in my power to avoid the first and even the second. I'm a kettlebell fitness strength and conditioning coach who relies on her body to share, teach, educate, and I was under the impression that having to give birth via C-section would and could destroy my body and career. Boy was I wrong! If you're feeing the same way, start by reading this article I wrote many years ago that still applies today! Many people have asked and here is part of my experience.  I don't claim to be a medical expert but not only have I successfully healed my C-section, my abdominals are no longer numb, and I've successfully helped others who've had multiple C-sections (even some 20 years ago) find their core aga...