passion changes everything

So, Monday is the official opening day of VillaSport, the gym I recently started working at. For over a month we have been busy getting the brand new facility ready to open. We have hauled dumbbells and weight plates. We've moved large squat racks and motion cages. We have scrubbed walls and learned a not so user friendly computer system.... And yet I still feel so unprepared. I don't feel like I am ready enough to make a positive impact with my clients. 

Here is the thing with me. I hate being unprepared. I hate not feeling ready. and I especially hate when people can tell I am unprepared. Sometimes I get paralyzed with fear right before I try something new. Paralyzed to the point where I choose not to start something, because I am afraid I will not be as successful as I think I should be. What kind of life is that? And this, this personal training thing is new and scary for me. Being held accountable for someone else's progress and success is a lot of pressure. I feel like I still have so much to learn before I can truly help someone. I still feel like I lack the knowledge and experience that veteran trainers around me have. My problem is I don't have time to feel this way and it's too late to back out now. So how does one gain the confidence needed to be successful at something new and frightening but rewarding?

I've gotten certified. I have had the new hire training at the gym. I know this is what I want to do and I know I will eventually be great at it. I guess the only thing left to do is buckle up and get ready, because the gym is opening whether I am ready or not and I want nothing more than to do well. 

So wish me luck, and maybe throw some confidence my way, I am lacking it a bit.

Cheers!

<3 BB

who wants to pack for me?

Hello, hello!!!! 

Today I confess for humpday confessions that I am not a fan of people who brag about how busy they are and how they don't have any free time blah blah blah....buttttt I also confess that that is exactly what I am going to do today because it's my blog and I can be annoying if I want to. Let's talk about what my week looks like, ok?

Monday: Get to my regular place of employment at 6am. Leave early for new hire training at the gym until 5pm.

Tuesday: Get to work at 6am and stay until 5pm. Happy Hour with my lady friends....where I left my credit card at the restaurant and didn't realize it until I was all the way home and had to go back and get it. wa wahhhh 

Wednesday: Work at 6am. Training from 1-5pm. My last round of golf lessons that night. More on that at a later date.

Thursday: Work at 6am. Amos Lee Concert at the Oregon Zoo that night. OH EM GEEEEEEEEE. 

Friday: Work at 6am. Fly out to Indiana for 9 days that afternoon. 

So my question to you all is....Where do I find time to pack for this trip?!?!!?!? No really, who wants to do  my laundry, get my life in order, and pack for me?! Because ain't nobody got time for that around here. How does one even pack for 90, humid, and thunder storms anyway? Rain I can handle, but humid.. I can't even. 

Anyway, enough about me complaining, because honestly, I am not even complaining. I am loving the gym so far. I can't wait for it to open to the public, even if I am nervous to start actually training. I am ready for vacation. The weather has been great here and things are going well in my life. I just don't have time to pack... I suppose I can attempt to do it when I am trying to come down from the greatness that is Amos Lee's concert tomorrow night. I hear sleep is for the birds anyway. 

In other news, I purchased a few books on nutrition the other night and am really excited to start them on my vacation! Has anyone read any of these? What are your thoughts. 

Good Calories and Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

What to Eat by Marion Nestle 

Wheat Belly by William Davis 

Cheers!

<3 BB

exciting news

So fun news guys, I recently got a job as a personal trainer at a new gym that is opening up by my house and I am super, super excited. I have kept it on the down low while interviewing just in case I didn't get the job. No one would have wanted to hear about a job I didn't get. Now when I say gym, I  don't mean your standard gym. The place I will be working at is fabulous. We are talking indoor and outdoor pools, a huge water slide, NBA sized basketball court, new equipment galore, spa, cafe, etc. 

VillaSport doesn't officially open until sometime in early August, but I started new hire training yesterday and have it all of July. With that being said my schedule is going to be crazy packed with my full time job, training for PT, trying to live up summer while I can, and heading off to Indiana at the end of next week to visit Brad's family. Basically, what I am saying is you might not see as much of me around this blog and your blogs. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not actually sorry. Mostly I am excited for what is all to come. Don't worry, I'm not quitting this blog, I love it far too much to stop...I just might be a little more selective in my posts and with my time.

This whole selective with my time also means I have to force myself to get up at 5 am for early morning workouts to fit everything in. We'll see how long that lasts...

Then again, working out on mornings like this is a lot easier than in the dead of winter. 

Wish me luck with the new job, I am actually pretty nervous since it is my first real training experience since getting certified! 

Cheers! 

<3 BB

Certified Personal Trainer?

On Monday I passed the NASM test to become a Certified Personal Trainer. Hooray! Studying is over! Now just because I passed the test does not mean I am the next Jillian Michaels yet. 

With that being said, there is a huge sense of relief that the test is over and I don't feel like I need to constantly be studying my text book. Here is a list of things I am excited to do now that I have free time again! 

//Finish reading this book 
//Start this book 
//Play on Pinterest - guilt free 
//Workout in my free time
//Create new workouts for the blog
//Practice being more like these two
//SnapChat even more
//Read all the Buzzfeed 
//Go to brunch 
//Start Sherlock on Netflix
//Look at pictures of puppies online

//Make up names for said puppies -this guy is Gus 
//Go see Frozen 
//Perfect my Elaine Benes dance moves

//Figure out what to do with my CPT

//But most importantly...I can now wear these pants when I train people. 

Cheers!

<3 BB, CPT

core + back

So, between my Personal Training Certification studying and my weekly Physical Therapy, I am starting to realize that the body is a crazy, awesome, super involved thing. 

Initially, I started physical therapy, because I was having IT Band issues in my knee.  The more I have been working with my Physical Therapist, Chloe, the more we are realizing I have some other issues that are causing the knee pain.  Most of my issues are stemming from lower back pain and the fact that my little stabilizer muscles are not strong enough and not doing enough work, making other, stronger muscles do jobs they normally don't do.  So what starts at the back, then moves down to my hip flexors, and then eventually works its way down to the knee. Crazy right? Plus, it doesn't help that I sit at a desk for 8-9 hours a day, which is horrible for you. 

Anyway, I figure a lot of you are like me and have a desk job or maybe don't work out your core and back enough, which can be a real pain in the butt, or back, or hips, or knees (or all of the above), so I wanted to share some of the exercises I have being doing with my Physical Therapist to help build my core and back muscles. 

The video below is short and sweet, but features a lot of my Physical Therapy 'homework' or exercises I do at the clinic. 

Depending on how strong your core and back are start with a set or two of each exercise and build from there.


Cheers to a healthy body!

<3 BB

personal trainer, whaaa?

Exciting things happening around this place. Yesterday I took the plunge and ordered my study materials to become a Personal Trainer.  That means I now have 180 179 days to study for and pass my NASM exam to become a Certified Personal Trainer. 

I am so excited and nervous!!!!!!!!

What did I get myself into?! 

All my life I have been healthy and fit. I played sports all through high school and college and now that I am done with specific workouts for sports I still find myself working out a lot.  Part vanity, part sanity, but mostly because it makes me feel good and I need it in my life. Over the past few years I have realized it is more than just a workout to me. You know when people ask what your hobbies and passions are, I am that person that picks fitness and health as part of theirs.  Weird, I know...Here is the kicker, I want other people to be as excited about being fit and healthy as I am. I want to be a part of a person's success and lifestyle change! I want to learn the science behind the fitness.

But here is the deal, I know how to train myself and I know my way around a gym, but do I know how to make others succeed? Do I know how to motivate in a positive healthy way? I don't ever want to make others feel bad about their lifestyles, but I do want to encourage and push others to be happy, healthy, and fit. When in doubt I can just give my clients a shake weight right?! 

And the test, I am nervous for the test itself. I have 6 months to study, so that is good, but I have been out of college for like 4 years. Do I ever remember how to study? I don't think I have taken a class on the human body since high school health ahahaha.....Calm down Brooke, you're starting to freak out.

I am not sure how I am going to put my certification to good use once I have it, but I suppose I should worry about passing the exam before I move onto the next step. I could definitely see myself having my own business someday, but that would involve getting liability insurance, getting an LLC, etc....so I will probably start out in a small fitness center or gym fist.  I am pretty positive that I don't want to work somewhere like 24hr Fitness though, not really my style.  Annnnnyway, wish me luck and go get sweaty!!!!

Cheers! 

<3 BB 

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5