Lauren Brooks Fitness

CONFESSION: Self worth is the basis of how you feel about yourself. It’s YOUR opinion of whether you think you’re worthy, a good or bad person. There was a time in my life I based my self worth on all of the wrong things. My mood was based on trivial things such as the weight on the scale; Was my skin clear enough? Was I strong enough? Pretty enough? Skinny enough? Smart enough? Nice enough? Successful enough?  These measures were in control of my self worth. It controlled my happiness and mood. It was a suffocating way to live. It was a very hard standard to live by. In fact it was downright draining. And for what? Why? None of that should ever be a barometer of the worth of a human being. I didn’t feel that way when I looked at friends or family. Why did I do this to myself? Luckily as I age I get wiser! Being a gym owner (both online and in person), working with lots of people, and in charge of 4 kids, you learn a few things along the way. 😉 Self worth is absolutely none of...

CONFESSION : Being a “strength coach/personal trainer/fitness teacher” whatever you’d call someone like me... and business owner, isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Here is my indoor office. In addition to teaching outside, I’m now an avid user of Final Cut Pro, which gives me the control 😜haha... to edit, fine tune and record voice overs for my projects. I’ve been staring at the computer on an off for too many hours to count this week. With a small surfing break in between! Yay for the beach...and kiddos being out of school! I admit, at times I want to punch a hole in the wall from my own OCD and perfectionism that I bring on myself. I also get very antsy and have a super difficult time being confined to one space. Yes, I choose this. It’s the price you pay for wanting to release impeccable content and material. It’s the price you pay to put yourself out there and hope people benefit and love it. Working hard, doesn’t mean you don’t love it, but you don’t have to love all of it. ...

CONFESSION #4 - I'm Not A Perfect Mom CONFESSION  #4  I’m not a perfect mom. I must admit, there’s been times where I throw my hands up with frustration and feel as if I’m just not cut out for the mother thing. Often wondering how other moms out there do it. Then there are times where I feel being a mom is the greatest gift on this universe. I’ve looked around at other moms, you know the ones that always look cool, calm and perfectly put together, running around solo with 6 kids. Anyone know those moms? We moms often put entirely too much pressure on ourselves. Have you ever noticed moms can be the most judgmental of other moms? We like to compare our lives and keep score. I often over hear conversations like this in “mom groups”. Wow it took her a long time to get the baby weight off? I haven’t seen her volunteer at school much. She’s on another work trip? Doesn’t she care about her kids? She’s at the gym again? Doesn’t she ever go to her kids perf...

CONFESSION #3 - CHOOSE KIND  Mean girls are real   I haven’t always loved females. This isn’t a bash session against women. But I need to get this off my chest. Before you begin the hate comments, hear me out... I’m a woman whose mission in life is to empower other women. But there’s a reason behind this. Mean girls are real! Have you ever encountered a mean girl before?   So here it goes... I was bullied as a kid. I was the new girl in a small town in Sugar Land (Texas), mourning over leaving my dad and friends in Los Angeles (California).  I was different. I spoke differently. I didn't have a Southern accent. My hair wasn’t like the other girls. It was thick, frizzy and hard to tame in the humid Houston climate. I was a scrawny little girl (smallest in the class) no muscle, no butt and awkwardly had large boobs (as I developed very early). When you’re in middle school and skinny, apparently you’re not “allowed” to have breasts. I was called all kinds ...

CONFESSION  #2  - Letting go of fear.  A lot can change in 10 years. The photo on the left is a 28 yr old girl who has a 9 month old baby. She is proud of herself for being skinny and lean. She’s skinnier at the age of 28, after her first baby, than she was in her college years. She watched everything she ate, kept a food journal and even avoided social situations to not be tempted by the wrong food and alcohol.  I was head over heels in love when I had my first baby. It was the greatest moment of my life. But then the darkness set in and I was terrified that if I couldn’t look a certain way, no one would want to hire me as their fitness coach. I told myself a story that if I didn’t have the “look” of a fitness model, I’d be portrayed as a less knowledgeable professional. I had the education, knowledge and success stories of my students kicking ass, but it wasn’t enough for me. My only self worth was if I could see my abs that day. I lived in fear.  Here...

CONFESSION #1 - REAL TALK The mind of a career woman, mother, girl and student.   I often find myself in this posture throughout the day. The face of seriousness and deep thought. Some may confuse this with me being sad, angry or downright unfriendly.  If you find me looking like this in a training session or just walking down the street, it’s really me living in my head and doing my absolute best to remember everything I need to get done. Trying so hard to stay focused. Trying so hard to be the best version of myself. Often trying so hard that I get lost in the shuffle of reality. Trying so hard I get tired of trying hard. In all honestly it leaves me feeling drained and utterly exhausted. Why do I do this to myself? I admit it takes a lot of work for me to get out of my over analytical thinking style. I have to force myself to take breaks from putting so much pressure on myself. We can be our own worst enemy. My goal is to work on creating space to let go...