Lauren Brooks Fitness

Here is the recipe for these delicious, healthy and easy to make pancakes.  These can be plain, banana, or any sort of fruit you would like.  You can also substitute the coconut water with regular water, almond or hemp milk.  If you are gluten free be sure to use certified gluten free Oatmeal.  This fed myself, husband, and toddler girls.   The almond flour is packed with protein, fiber, and good fats to keep you full.  We used a little bit of dark maple syrup to dip the pancakes in.  Since I posted this on Facebook, I've received quite a bit of positive feedback about these.  My family has definitely seen them several times since as well! Pumpkin Pancakes 1 cup    Organic Oatmeal  (Blend in my blendtec to a fine powder) 1 cup     Almond Flour       (certified Gluten Free) 3           Eggs  or  Chia seed gel to make it Vegan 1/3 cup  Pumpkin or an apple cut ...

It's been almost 11 weeks since my knee injury.  Since getting the MRI results of an ACL rupture, I decided to see a different Orthopedic doctor for a second opinion.  He just so happens to be an avid snowboarder, which is right up my alley.   In fact this Dr. works with mainly athletes from basketball players, rock climbers, martial artists, to skiers.  Just the person I needed for this. Today he tested the laxity in both of my knees for the second time with an Arthrometer.  Apparently the torn ACL does have a slightly higher degree in laxity, however, not a huge difference compared to the typical tear.  He attributes this to the kettlebell training I continued to do throughout the whole process. I showed him a few kettlebell exercises I was doing along with the full range of motion squats I've been working on.  He was impressed that I was able to do as much as I could and encouraged me to keep doing it.  We discussed how important it is for ...

This is for all of you who have been asking me about the cookies I made for my kids to celebrate Chloe's 18 month birthday and Lyla's first day at preschool.  I didn't have a whole lot of time to spend and I have an abundance of Almond flour and Agave that I wanted to use up.  So I looked through Elana Amsterdam's cookbook to find a simple cookie recipe.  This cookbook is called the "Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook" which can be found at Elana's Pantry website. She has wonderful gluten free recipes for the whole family. Lately there has been some controversy about the use of agave.  I am on the fence and may give it a rest once I finish my stash.  At the moment I am using Organic Raw Agave minimally. Elana has also been getting some feedback from people concerned with using Agave. So she came up with this recipe below to substitute the Agave.  I have never tried Yacon but I think I will look in to it and give it a try.  Here is the rec...

Continuing on...      August 4, 2010        JUST RECEIVED THE NEWS (I added this in the post below, but here it is for those who got confused on the date and who are still asking me what the prognosis is) Yesterday I had an MRI but left with no answers.  This morning I woke up feeling hopeful since the swelling in my knee was a little bit better.  I spent the morning playing with my 17 month old.  We played, then she watched me do some weighted pull ups, push ups, pistols on my right leg, seated presses, and seated rope waves.  Hey I am trying to make the best of it.  I was feeling pretty good. Okay so I have had quite a few emails from people so far with words of encouragement.  Thanks so much to all of you.  You guys are amazing.  Also many of you wise ones mentioned that if it's a meniscus tear it's a fast recovery.  If it's the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) which is the primary s...

It's a bit ironic how the last blog I posted, I wrote how thankful I am for having a pain free, mobile, and strong body.  Now I sit here a little sad because I can't say the same.  I can say that I am thankful to have the inner and outer strength I have. This past weekend I went through a vigorous 6 hour Krav Maga test.  It was serious, nerve-racking, with tons of adrenaline.  It was one of the harder mentally and physically challenging events in my life.  To make matters worse I over rotated on my knee doing a round house kick.  My front foot was suppose to pivot allowing my whole body to turn.  However, that's not how it happened.  My entire body, including my knee turned with great power to kick the pad, but my front foot stayed planted.  "Pop"is what I felt and heard.  My left knee was blown out and I came crashing down to the ground during the "serious" part of the testing phase.  I gave out a yell and laid on my back in disb...

Here is a video clip of me performing a Turkish Get Up with my little girl in the background.  My training focus has been slow strength in just a few exercises.  As I was increasing my pressing power past the 16kg (35lb), using the 44lb, I noticed my shoulders developing more than I liked.  I also began Krav Maga almost 5 months ago, which requires quite a bit of shoulder work with all the punching, which is more volume on my shoulders!  If I wasn't using them so frequently I could probably continue a strength pressing program with no problems.  I'm not trying to be superficial but I still like to look girlie from time to time.  I know most of you ladies are with me on this. Strong is cool, but looking like a girl is pretty cool as well.  ;-)  Therefore I've decided to back off on my super pressing goals and will be content with being able to double press 16kg's, which totals to over 70 pounds.  Over the last several months my weight fluctua...

Kettlebell Training Workshop with a touch of TRX (no prior experience needed) Come spend 3 great hours with Lauren Brooks, learning the best exercises, with a non-intimidating approach, that will help you turn your body into a powerful, fat burning machine.   This kettlebell workshop is designed for: - Athletes who want to take their training to a new level. Such as snowboarders, wakeboarders, surfers, runners, yogi's, and  martial artists . - Busy people who struggle to find the time for working out; such as moms, dads, and all working professionals who still want to feel and look amazing! - Anyone, including beginning exerciser, who wants to learn a  fun  and  efficient  way to  strengthen their entire body while burning fat at the same time . -  Personal Trainers  and  Group Fitness  coaches that want to safely add kett...