Lauren Brooks Fitness

Water has actually changed my life.  Not just any water.  Friends and family who know me well, know that I am a pretty big skeptic.  Thanks to the way that I was raised, I have always been someone who needs substantial evidence in order to believe in something.  Through the years my thinking hasn’t changed that much.  Unless I see proof thru scientific studies, there is no way that I will believe just anything. When I was studying to be a Clinical Nutritionist, I really got a chance to learn how important it is for our bodies to maintain a balanced pH level.  Normally our blood is slightly alkaline and ranges between 7.35-7.45.  The Alkaline Diet Theory believes that a diet high in acidic foods promotes the loss of essential minerals, which can cause illness and disease.  During my program we were given pH strips and told to regularly test our saliva and urine.  As I incorporated more alkaline foods into my diet, my pH levels got higher....

For those who do not subscribe to my newsletters, I normally do not share coupon codes on my blog or facebook page.  However, I thought I'd let everyone in on the Mother's Day Sale we are having. Spend $25 and receive 15% off your entire purchase. This will not last long.  Click this link to give the greatest gift of fitness and health to the deserving moms out there! (or for yourself if you feel you deserve it!) 15% off Coupon Code: 1272392777 FITNESS SHOP     and NUTRITION SHOP

I often get asked by my friends and family, how do you do it Lauren?  "You never make any time for yourself.  You are either working or with your babies".   Finding time these days outside of my fitness career and family has been quite challenging.  Although I do my best to give as much quality time to my babies, I don't give much quality time to myself! But to be honest with you I enjoy what I do so much, that it's more fulfilling to me than getting my nails done or watching television.  I much rather be thinking about my next project or designing a fun workout for my classes.  I can't help it! This is just who I am.  On a side note, spending time with my friends more is something that I need to really work on.  It's just hard when most of my friends now have babies too and we have to work around nap schedules! Every day I get inundated with emails asking me for advice regarding fitness, nutrition, or questions about my DVD's.  On the ...

"Won't I get big bulky muscles if I use that heavy kettlebell?  I build muscle very easily, so I need to use lighter weights." If I got a dime for every time I heard the above, I would be a millionaire by now.  I feel like a broken record.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to convince women that they will see quicker results using heavier weights.  Scientific studies are proving that heavier weights with lower repetitions is what you need for the lean and sculpted look.  We have been trained to believe that lighter weights are for muscle tone and heavy weights are for the beefy body building look.   New York times came out with a great article that links to a few studies proving a higher percentage of fat loss when females participated in using heavier weights. Using 70-80% of your 1 rep max keeping the reps under 8 proved to be more effective than lighter weights at 40-50% with higher reps.  Using heavier weights will increase your streng...

I want to share an article I wrote for a Kettlebell Magazine in February of 2010.  Since my pregnancy in 2006 I have been a big advocate of using kettlebells during pregnancy. Not until my second pregnancy in 2008 did I film my first and only Pregnancy Kettlebell DVD, which really showed people that you can use a kettlebell when implemented properly throughout your pregnancy. I've also released Baby Bells 2 recently as well, which is available as a streaming version.  Shawn Mozen, owner of Agatsu, asked me to write this article, since training with kettlebells during pregnancy has become more and more accepted.  Women, their husbands, and other kettlebell instructors email me on a regular basis for advice on kettlebell training during pregnancy.  I truly enjoy discussing pre and postnatal fitness. With the research I have done along with my personal experience as well as working with many pregnant students over the years, both in person and online, it has become a...