024 - The Health Movement Podcast - Brooke Brum - Losing Fat vs Gaining Muscle - Goal Setting

[00:00:04] Welcome everybody to another episode of the Health Movement Podcast. We are on episode number 24. We have an awesome guest with us tonight. Tim won't be able to make it, but before we begin, as always, we are not doctors, so please consult your physician before changing any programming or nutrition or anything like that.

[00:00:25] Also, you can find us on our website, healthmovement.us. You can join our new newsletter on there or jump over to the YouTube channel if you're listening to this on Spotify. It's the Health Movement Podcast on YouTube.

[00:00:39] But without any further ado, our guest tonight is Brooke Brum. She is a certified personal trainer. She's working on her bachelor's in exercise science and her associate's degree in nutrition. Welcome, Brooke. Did I get all that right?

[00:00:54] Brooke Brum. You did. Thanks for having me.

[00:00:57] Brooke Brum. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. And when we were talking beforehand, you had mentioned one of the things you wanted to talk about was the difference between building muscle and losing fat. And I think this time of year, it seems to be the time of year where everyone wants to get in shape, New Year's resolutions and everything like that. And usually it lasts about two weeks and then most people fall off.

[00:01:23] So what are your thoughts there? Building muscle, losing fat.

[00:01:27] Yeah, I wanted to talk about the differences between building muscle and losing fat and how they're both different. So most people, when they go to the gym and they think, okay, yeah, I'm going to strength train three days a week. I don't understand why the scale is not changing.

[00:01:48] And they come to me like, okay, I'm looking better. But again, the number on the scale is not going down. And that can be disheartening. And I think that what people don't realize is you can't just strength train. You can't just lift weights and expect your body fat percentage to go down.

[00:02:13] But it is needed if you want to burn fat more quickly. So the component of cardiovascular fitness comes into play. So the more muscle, I try to tell them, the more muscle you build, the more oxygen your body requires for your cardiorespiratory fitness.

[00:02:34] And the more oxygen that's required, the more fat mobilization is actually in effect while they're doing their cardio workouts.

[00:02:46] So it's like this interplay between continuing to build more muscle and burning more fat.

[00:02:53] But what I've found is typically people tend to build more muscle or to build muscle more quickly than they do burning fat.

[00:03:04] And I think, you know, two, three months into the program, you know, while they're looking good, that's why people kind of fall off.

[00:03:15] Because they look at a scale like, I don't understand why the scale still says 150 pounds, but my pants are falling off of me.

[00:03:27] Yeah.

[00:03:29] And that in and of itself should be enough to keep going, even though the numbers are saying something different.

[00:03:38] Because the scale is not showing body composition.

[00:03:42] It's showing you only, you know, all the things combined.

[00:03:48] Fat-free mass, muscle mass, bone density.

[00:03:53] And bone density goes up when you start training.

[00:03:56] So naturally, if your bone density goes up, you're going to actually start weighing more.

[00:04:00] Your muscle mass goes up.

[00:04:02] The density of muscle mass is far greater than the density of fat mass.

[00:04:10] Yeah.

[00:04:10] I actually, while you were talking, I pulled up a picture.

[00:04:13] And I don't, we try to do this sometimes where we share something.

[00:04:16] It doesn't always work.

[00:04:17] So this is an image of what five pounds of fat looks like as opposed to five pounds of muscle.

[00:04:23] And you can just see the size.

[00:04:24] If this works, if it doesn't, then I'll just cut it.

[00:04:28] Because, but can you see that?

[00:04:30] Yeah.

[00:04:31] Exactly.

[00:04:31] Yeah.

[00:04:31] There's five pounds of muscle versus five pounds of fat there, which looks kind of gross.

[00:04:36] But you can just see the size difference.

[00:04:39] So obviously, when you're losing this and gaining this, the scale is not going to change.

[00:04:44] But your waist size will change and you'll see a lot of, you see a lot of difference there.

[00:04:51] Right.

[00:04:52] That worked?

[00:04:53] Yeah.

[00:04:54] That was great.

[00:04:56] Yeah.

[00:04:57] And another thing too, when they start seeing those, the numbers and their body is looking

[00:05:04] better in the mirror, their clothes are fitting better, the scale might not be changing,

[00:05:08] but they start getting bored.

[00:05:11] Oh.

[00:05:12] And I feel like people tend to, they don't realize that they have to continue doing this

[00:05:21] work for the rest of their life.

[00:05:22] And that intensity has to continue increasing to see your body continuously change in a positive

[00:05:28] direction.

[00:05:29] And it's, the more physically fit you get, that doesn't mean that, you know, even for me,

[00:05:38] if I stop training for a week, it's a slippery slope.

[00:05:43] Oh, yeah.

[00:05:44] Like, my, I can already tell, um, my, my muscle, like my strength always, it starts going away.

[00:05:51] My power starts going away.

[00:05:52] Um, yeah.

[00:05:54] The body tends to want to always rest, like go into rest mode.

[00:05:59] And it's just this constant battle of just kind of pushing back against that and staying

[00:06:03] with the program.

[00:06:04] And even though the scale might always stay, say if you're 150 pounds, it might always stay

[00:06:12] at 150 pounds, but your body keeps transforming.

[00:06:15] That might be your ideal weight.

[00:06:19] Yeah.

[00:06:19] Yeah.

[00:06:19] I, and I think a lot of it is the weight should be, uh, excuse me, one of the last things

[00:06:26] you look at.

[00:06:27] And unless like you're in the obese range or morbidly obese, once the, once the number's

[00:06:31] that high, you do need to pull off some of that.

[00:06:33] Right.

[00:06:34] That weight.

[00:06:35] But when you get to a certain point, you're, the weight doesn't really matter as much as

[00:06:41] how you feel, uh, how your joints are doing, um, inflammation in the body.

[00:06:47] If you're getting out of breath, going upstairs, um, all these things change as you get in shape

[00:06:53] and you become fitter that you just, you feel better.

[00:06:58] For me, I noticed it when I buckle the seatbelt on the car, if it's a little snug around, around

[00:07:04] the belly, that's sort of like, all right, yeah, no, I got it.

[00:07:08] I got to dial back up.

[00:07:09] And that's usually my indication or the, the pants are a little tighter, you know, and

[00:07:13] the holiday season is, isn't always the friendliest on the, on the waistline, but it's something

[00:07:19] where you can't be married to that scale or the number on the scale.

[00:07:24] It should be take pictures of yourself.

[00:07:26] That's probably the best thing to do.

[00:07:30] Nobody loves the before picture until you have the after picture to, to compare it to, but

[00:07:35] you got to start somewhere.

[00:07:36] Um, and it's like you said, it's not quick.

[00:07:40] Like you're not going to lose 30 pounds and transform yourself in a month.

[00:07:44] Yeah.

[00:07:45] And that doesn't happen.

[00:07:46] And that's another thing too.

[00:07:48] You know, I have clients that go on social media platforms and like, Hey, I've seen this

[00:07:54] transform your body in 60 days.

[00:07:56] This person lost 30 pounds.

[00:07:59] You know, why can't I get that?

[00:08:02] And my answer is because it's not possible to transform your body.

[00:08:08] Literally losing 30 pounds in one month is number one, not healthy.

[00:08:13] Number two, it, is it sustainable?

[00:08:17] Whatever they did to get to that point, can they continue doing that for the rest of their

[00:08:22] life?

[00:08:23] No, no.

[00:08:23] And the, and you look at the people who are like show ready for, I mean, we had a guy

[00:08:28] Jay on, um, two episodes ago and he's, he's getting ready for Mr. Olympia.

[00:08:34] He wants to get to that point.

[00:08:36] And he said he had to drop 50 pounds to get down to, I think one 77 was his, his weight

[00:08:42] maximum.

[00:08:43] And he's at two 25 now, but he like, you can't maintain that physique for more than a week.

[00:08:49] Like it's gotta be dialed in.

[00:08:51] You gotta be weighing yourself once or twice a day.

[00:08:53] You have your fitness coach and nutrition coach and everything's lined up, but it's just

[00:08:58] to get on stage for two, three minutes or however long it is.

[00:09:01] And then like you can live 12% body fat for men, like 16 to 18 is incredibly lean.

[00:09:09] And that's probably sustainable if you're really dialed in, but men around 15 to 18%.

[00:09:16] And I think women it's like seven to 8% higher, I believe might be off on that.

[00:09:21] But like, that's a healthy, sustainable, uh, body fat percentage that you can maintain

[00:09:28] forever if you're willing to, to live a healthier life.

[00:09:32] But it's not crazy.

[00:09:33] Like you're not eating chicken, broccoli and rice every meal.

[00:09:36] Right.

[00:09:36] And fish for breakfast.

[00:09:37] Like some, some stuff you have to do to get, get that level of fit online.

[00:09:43] Like you see.

[00:09:44] Um, and if they, if they just care about the scale, you could write them a plan to lose

[00:09:49] 30 pounds in a month.

[00:09:50] Um, you know, you cut the calories to a thousand a day, ramp up the exercise and it's miserable.

[00:09:57] It's not healthy.

[00:09:58] It's not sustainable.

[00:09:59] You're going to hurt yourself.

[00:10:01] Yeah.

[00:10:01] Um, and with my female clients, that's the thing is female and male, physiologically speaking,

[00:10:10] just two totally different worlds.

[00:10:12] Yeah.

[00:10:13] And we've got, you know, estrogen, progesterone working against us in the muscle building

[00:10:20] area is, you know, um, and not only that, a lot of women that I deal with, they're moms,

[00:10:28] they have, you know, busy lifestyles as it is.

[00:10:31] Yeah.

[00:10:32] Then to go and start incorporating, you know, lifting weights, you know, strength training,

[00:10:37] some form of, some component of, you know, uh, high intensity interval training, and then

[00:10:43] their cardiorespiratory fitness is trying to keep a balance in it all.

[00:10:46] You got to worry about their cortisol levels.

[00:10:50] And once those cortisol levels start going up, their ability to actually lose weight goes

[00:10:57] down because their estrogen increases, which tells the body to store more fat.

[00:11:03] So it's like this balance of just like, we can't just go from zero to a hundred miles

[00:11:09] an hour in one week.

[00:11:11] Like there has to be, it's like, I tell my clients all the time, it's like planting a seed

[00:11:16] and watering it every day and just little by little watching it grow and not expecting

[00:11:21] it to go from a seed to a tree overnight.

[00:11:25] That's a good analogy.

[00:11:26] That's a good analogy.

[00:11:28] I like that.

[00:11:29] Um, but that it's a good point that it's, it's a process and it's a lifestyle change.

[00:11:36] It's not a diet.

[00:11:37] It's not like I'm going to work out for 12 weeks and then I'm done.

[00:11:40] Right.

[00:11:41] If you stop after 12 weeks, you're going to go right back where you started.

[00:11:44] And usually the depression kicks in because you're like, I was there.

[00:11:47] What happened?

[00:11:47] Why is it even worse?

[00:11:49] Um, so it's understanding the, the, the benefits.

[00:11:53] And we talk about your why, if your why is just to look good in a bathing suit, like that,

[00:11:59] that's really not going to last long term.

[00:12:01] Um, you know, increased cognition, increased life expectancy, decreased, you know, risk of

[00:12:08] heart attack and heart disease.

[00:12:10] And, and all the benefits that come from just living a healthy lifestyle.

[00:12:13] I mean, I think I mentioned it before.

[00:12:15] My mom is 75 and her idea of a vacation is to go on a bike trip for a week where they ride

[00:12:21] 30 miles a day.

[00:12:22] And that, at 75, she's still able to do that because that's been her lifestyle.

[00:12:28] Um, and I go over there to, you know, for dinner and it, it's, she likes, she likes chicken.

[00:12:33] She'll have a salad and then more veggies with the meal.

[00:12:36] And then it's like sweet potatoes and that, that's the stuff she likes.

[00:12:40] And it's nice.

[00:12:41] I like your mom.

[00:12:42] Yeah, no, it's, it's, she, she loves exercise.

[00:12:45] She loves skiing.

[00:12:47] She loves hiking.

[00:12:48] She loves biking.

[00:12:49] And, you know, that's just, that's, that's her lifestyle.

[00:12:53] So it, it's gotta be that.

[00:12:55] But again, there are, there are these memes I see where it's, um, your footwear in your

[00:13:02] seventies, it can either be like the slippers in the old, in the retirement home, or it can

[00:13:07] be your sneakers that you're strapping on for a run.

[00:13:09] It's just, what do you, what do you want it to be?

[00:13:12] And what, what's your focus?

[00:13:14] Right.

[00:13:14] Um, yeah.

[00:13:16] So that's, that's, that's a big thing.

[00:13:19] Um, when you said, uh, you mentioned that sometimes the clients get bored, um, when they

[00:13:25] don't see the big changes, what do you do in instances like that where, where people aren't

[00:13:31] really as focused or dialed in as they should be?

[00:13:34] Well, first, um, the biggest thing is just knowing where they're at in life.

[00:13:41] Like if there's something outside of their goals that's affecting, uh, their mood, um, you know,

[00:13:49] their agenda's changed or just too much is going on and they kind of fall back and they,

[00:13:57] the, the priority of fitness kind of gets on, goes on the back burner.

[00:14:03] And so my first question is asking them, you know, is everything okay?

[00:14:09] And if it's just, you know, I'm, I'm bored, I'm not seeing changes.

[00:14:13] I don't know.

[00:14:13] Then I just change it up.

[00:14:15] Um, it's, I mean, it's that simple.

[00:14:18] There's so much you can do with an individual.

[00:14:20] And when it comes to like, if their goal is to have a better physique, I always tell them

[00:14:26] to like, um, shift your focus from what you want to look like aesthetically to your performance.

[00:14:39] Because if you can increase your performance, a by-product of that is aesthetics.

[00:14:44] I like that.

[00:14:45] Yeah, that's very true.

[00:14:46] If you focus on your gym numbers as opposed to your scale numbers.

[00:14:50] Right.

[00:14:51] Exactly.

[00:14:52] That makes a huge difference.

[00:14:52] And as a trainer, you know, if their goal is to lose weight, I'm not going to have them

[00:14:56] doing one RMs in the gym all the time.

[00:14:58] Like that's not going to get them anywhere.

[00:15:00] I'm going to keep them in the range of, you know, building muscle, hypertrophy, and then

[00:15:06] focusing on their cardiovascular or cardio fitness.

[00:15:10] And if they, if they're bored with walking, okay, well, what do you like to do?

[00:15:13] You like to bike?

[00:15:14] Let's get you on a bike.

[00:15:16] Let's do that instead.

[00:15:17] Um, if you're not like doing, you know, barbell training, then let's get on some kettlebells.

[00:15:22] If you don't like doing kettlebells, let's focus on doing some dumbbell training.

[00:15:26] You almost kind of, you'll find that people, I'm sure you know this, have their niche on

[00:15:32] what they enjoy doing.

[00:15:34] I'm sorry.

[00:15:35] You're good.

[00:15:36] Hey, Bob.

[00:15:37] Um, and in it, when I, when I find that they get excited with a certain, um, with a certain

[00:15:46] equipment, I'll keep them on that for a while.

[00:15:51] What do you like?

[00:15:52] What's your, what's your motivation or not motivation, but what's your favorite type of, type of workout?

[00:15:59] Ooh.

[00:16:02] Um, my, my favorite type of workout are the equipment.

[00:16:05] What you like to do.

[00:16:07] What, what's your, your fitness routine?

[00:16:09] And I'm sure it changes up.

[00:16:11] Um, but what's your, what's your normal, normal workout looking like?

[00:16:15] Um, so I strength train twice a week and then I'll do a CrossFit high intensity interval

[00:16:23] workout once a week.

[00:16:26] I have my cardiovascular training.

[00:16:28] I, I'm a runner.

[00:16:29] I enjoy running.

[00:16:30] Okay.

[00:16:30] So, um, and I'll do that twice a week.

[00:16:33] And then for a mobility and flexibility, I'll do, I have a, I go to a hot yoga studio in downtown

[00:16:39] Woodstock once a week to kind of sweat it out, detox, get the, the mobility.

[00:16:45] Flexibility in.

[00:16:46] And then, um, that's kind of, I feel like my yoga is more of like a passive recovery

[00:16:52] day for me.

[00:16:54] Yeah, I can, I can see it can be tough.

[00:16:57] I'm not, I'm not knocking the, the yoga people out there cause it's, it's definitely not easy,

[00:17:01] but I've noticed I'm 46 now.

[00:17:04] I got my age wrong a few episodes ago and my buddies were giving me a hard time about that.

[00:17:09] But, um, I've noticed the mobility stuff has been huge lately getting that dialed in.

[00:17:16] And, um, that, that's cause I still like to play basketball.

[00:17:21] I still like to be active.

[00:17:22] And if I'm not good with my mobility, then that's when the Achilles start bothering me

[00:17:27] and joints and ligaments and tendons.

[00:17:29] And so I found as I've gotten a little older, I've got to be a little more careful.

[00:17:34] But then my goal at the gym has changed.

[00:17:37] Like when, when I was younger and this might be more of a male dominated, uh, viewpoint on

[00:17:43] going to the gym, but you just want to lift as much weight as you can.

[00:17:46] Not that anybody cares except for you and maybe the person next to you, but like nobody, you're

[00:17:52] not walking down the street.

[00:17:54] It's like, I've repped two 25, 15 times.

[00:17:57] Maybe wear a shirt or you get into like, and you get special treatment.

[00:18:02] But, uh, now that I know, like my, my kids are getting older.

[00:18:08] I want to still play basketball with them.

[00:18:10] My son is at the point now where I can see that he's going to be stronger than me at some

[00:18:15] point in time and he's going to be able to beat me at basketball.

[00:18:18] I'm just not ready for that yet.

[00:18:21] I'd be super excited when that day comes.

[00:18:23] Don't get me wrong.

[00:18:24] Like I, I want him to succeed, but he's only, he's not ready.

[00:18:30] I'm not ready for that yet.

[00:18:31] He's 15.

[00:18:32] So I, I'm hoping that I can, I can beat him for a few more years, but even still like the,

[00:18:38] the thought of playing basketball with him when he's 30 and I'll be almost 60.

[00:18:43] Oh yeah.

[00:18:44] Yeah.

[00:18:45] At that point in time.

[00:18:47] Yeah, I will.

[00:18:48] Oh, uh, not that there's anything wrong with being 60, but I just, I, I want to be able

[00:18:53] to keep doing those things.

[00:18:54] So my, my focus and my goal has shifted from pure strength to, um, I, I guess athletic ability,

[00:19:03] mobility, functionality, not getting hurt as often.

[00:19:06] Right.

[00:19:06] Um, and I think in the long run, it's going to allow me to get stronger and maintain strength

[00:19:14] because I'm not getting hurt.

[00:19:16] Uh, you know, when I was really focused on lifting heavy, I overdid it.

[00:19:20] Then my shoulder got hurt and then I couldn't lift for two months and then I pulled a hamstring

[00:19:25] and then I couldn't do, you know, so you just go through these phases where you can't do

[00:19:29] anything.

[00:19:30] Right.

[00:19:30] So.

[00:19:30] I feel like nowadays, um, in high school they're teaching, they're doing like weightlifting

[00:19:37] and all this stuff as a class.

[00:19:39] And they're learning about how to kind of balance lifting and not just focused on lifting heavy,

[00:19:48] but proper form, you know, proper reps, proper rest, stuff like that, which that was like not

[00:19:56] happening when I was in high school.

[00:19:59] At least I wasn't focused on, and I don't think I was as focused.

[00:20:02] I didn't even know if they had weightlifting when I was in high school, but I know now with

[00:20:07] some of the youth, or with one of my youth athletes that, um, that I train, she, she's

[00:20:15] Olympic weightlifting, you know, she, her form is on the money.

[00:20:21] Um, she knows all, I mean, basically all of your basic functional, like strength training

[00:20:26] movements.

[00:20:27] She knows how to take care of herself.

[00:20:29] She knows how to eat properly, how to rest, recover.

[00:20:32] They, they, and she's learned all this in high school.

[00:20:36] Well, that's the stuff you should be getting taught too.

[00:20:40] Like, I wish I, I knew that stuff.

[00:20:42] It took a long time for me to, to learn, excuse me, proper form and, and just rest in the

[00:20:49] importance of sleep.

[00:20:51] Like I, I wouldn't get seven hours of sleep, eight hours of sleep a night.

[00:20:55] And I feel like if I get six and, and get up, I know I've only gotten six.

[00:21:00] If I get seven, I'm good.

[00:21:01] And my body feels so much better.

[00:21:04] Um, so it's, it's funny how there's so many different aspects that just go into your overall

[00:21:11] health from getting enough sleep to, to eating mostly whole foods, to drinking enough water,

[00:21:17] to lifting properly, to getting your, you know, your cardio in and your cardiovascular

[00:21:22] health improves.

[00:21:23] So there's a lot that goes into it.

[00:21:26] Um, and it's a lot to learn.

[00:21:28] So the earlier you can teach people, the better.

[00:21:30] And then they're doing that their whole lives as opposed to, you know, thirties, forties,

[00:21:34] fifties, trying to figure that out and, and, you know, fight father time at that point in

[00:21:39] time.

[00:21:40] Yeah.

[00:21:41] I mean, it goes, I mean, and it makes you wonder what performance is going to be like

[00:21:45] in their thirties and forties, their performance levels.

[00:21:48] That's true.

[00:21:49] That's true.

[00:21:51] Um, I mean, you see athletes now the, the longevity of their careers.

[00:21:57] I don't know if you're a big sports fan or anything, but like even watching LeBron James

[00:22:02] playing as long as he has as many seasons, Brady played forever.

[00:22:07] Steph Curry's played forever.

[00:22:08] Um, in certain sports, I don't think longevity is really there.

[00:22:14] If you're a lineman for, for football, like you're getting beaten up a ton is that everyone

[00:22:18] gets stronger.

[00:22:19] You're still getting, taking a pounding, but just the knowledge that people have, it allows,

[00:22:25] it allows you to continue for a lot.

[00:22:27] Right.

[00:22:29] Yeah.

[00:22:30] Performance nowadays is not what it used to be.

[00:22:32] That's for sure.

[00:22:34] A lot of these athletes are.

[00:22:38] Like super human.

[00:22:40] Yeah, no, they definitely are.

[00:22:42] It's fun though.

[00:22:42] It's fun to see some of the stuff that, that people can do when you've got the training right

[00:22:48] and the mindset.

[00:22:49] And, um, I'm a big fan of Kobe Bryant's mindset and his workout philosophy and exercise and

[00:22:57] all that.

[00:22:57] And it's, it, if you're like super focused on something to the point of obsession, um, that's

[00:23:05] when you can really dial it in.

[00:23:06] And that's, it's not just fitness in, in, in that part of your life.

[00:23:10] It's any, like, if you want to be a successful business person, then you've got to, you've got

[00:23:14] to dial it in and the same work ethic you would put into everything.

[00:23:18] Yeah, I agree.

[00:23:19] I mean, even going back to, um, I think going back to, you know, when someone's goal is to,

[00:23:29] you know, tone up, get more physically fit, whether it's because they want to or because

[00:23:35] their doctor has said that they have to for whatever reason.

[00:23:38] And something's happened and it's, they're plateauing.

[00:23:43] It's not just kind of going back to, you know, looking at your sleep, looking at what you're

[00:23:48] eating.

[00:23:48] Um, what kind of supplements are you taking?

[00:23:51] Uh, what is your mental health like?

[00:23:54] Like all of these things affect one's ability to, for their body to recover properly so they

[00:24:03] can build muscle.

[00:24:04] So they can lose fat properly.

[00:24:06] They're not retaining water because, you know, cortisol levels are high.

[00:24:11] Um, they're not, you know, and if, if you're stressed out and you're working out and you're

[00:24:17] mentally stressed and then you're physically putting stress on your body, um, like what,

[00:24:24] you're not doing anything, you're, you're not doing anything good for yourself when that

[00:24:28] happens.

[00:24:29] So I think it's just, that's what I'm saying.

[00:24:31] Yeah.

[00:24:32] Performance-based training shouldn't just be for athletes.

[00:24:34] That's why I do all the different modalities of training because it all fits into the pie

[00:24:43] of the end result that most, I mean, at the end of the day, people just want to be healthy.

[00:24:50] They want to look nice in their clothes and they, you know, want to live a long life.

[00:24:56] And in order to get to that point, you have to look at all the pieces to the pie, which

[00:25:01] is, which a lot of it is performance-based training that a lot of these athletes do to

[00:25:07] set it at a more elite level.

[00:25:08] Yeah.

[00:25:10] And I think what you're saying about the variety and the different modalities is that's huge.

[00:25:15] If all you do is go to the gym and do the same 10 exercises every time you're there, you're

[00:25:21] going to get really good at those exercises, but you're going to be so imbalanced with your

[00:25:27] body and you're going to start noticing injuries that pop up because you're, you're overcompensating

[00:25:34] on one part of your body and the, the, the inverse or the opposite isn't getting the same attention.

[00:25:39] Um, and it's, I mean, how often do you go to a gym and you see somebody who's been there

[00:25:45] for five, six years and they do the same exact workout all the time and nothing's changed,

[00:25:51] you know, it's the same weight, it's the same rep range, it's the same everything.

[00:25:55] And it's, yeah, it's better than doing nothing, um, in some regard, but in other regards,

[00:26:01] you're probably setting yourself up for, for injury and not getting where you want to go.

[00:26:07] Yeah.

[00:26:08] That same thing with, you see a lot of females, um, they only do cardio.

[00:26:14] I'm only going to run.

[00:26:16] I'm not, cause I don't want to look bulky.

[00:26:18] I don't want to this or that.

[00:26:19] And I'm just like, but, but their body is not responding anymore.

[00:26:25] No.

[00:26:26] In fact, it's reversing.

[00:26:28] Yeah.

[00:26:28] Yeah.

[00:26:29] Once you keep doing the same thing over and over, your body gets really good.

[00:26:32] Then it doesn't have to change, you know, get to that one point and then that's the

[00:26:37] way you're going to stay unless you, you vary it up and do something different.

[00:26:41] Right.

[00:26:41] Increase the intensity, the distance, the, uh, I don't know, whatever, whatever you want

[00:26:46] to do.

[00:26:47] Yeah.

[00:26:47] There's so many things that you can do to change it up.

[00:26:50] We, um, we were talking to somebody a little while ago and, and, you know, finding something

[00:26:55] you enjoy is probably the number one thing.

[00:26:59] And our husband was getting into exercise and he found curling, which was like, wait,

[00:27:05] that they have that around here.

[00:27:06] And I looked it up.

[00:27:07] There's a curling club nearby.

[00:27:08] So, so Tim and I started talking about like, all right, once the spring hits, cause not,

[00:27:13] not all of us have warm weather in the sixties during, during December and January, uh, Brooke,

[00:27:19] but, um, once it warms up here, it'd be awesome to find like, go, go do parkour with, with a

[00:27:26] group of parkour people and do like as many random things as we can find that are just

[00:27:32] different ways to exercise and different things that can be enjoyable.

[00:27:36] Yeah, I agree.

[00:27:38] There's so many things out there that people don't even know exist.

[00:27:42] I looked it up.

[00:27:43] I have a list, no lie about 120 different things that I didn't even realize.

[00:27:50] And some are normal, like basketball and soccer and things, but others, I had to look up what

[00:27:54] they were because I'd never, it never even heard of them before.

[00:27:58] So it's just getting that variety and, you know, and then you also have that community

[00:28:02] aspect where you're with a group of people and then you're talking about what they're

[00:28:07] talking about mental health in your social relationships is one of the best things for

[00:28:13] mental health.

[00:28:14] When you're by yourself all the time or you don't have that social interaction, that definitely

[00:28:17] can hurt mentally.

[00:28:19] So if you're out engaging with other people who are like-minded and doing the same thing,

[00:28:24] like that definitely boosts your spirit and your mood and definitely helps out mentally.

[00:28:30] I agree.

[00:28:31] I'm going to throw a question at you that I didn't prepare you for, so get ready.

[00:28:37] But it's not a tough one.

[00:28:38] If you had to pick, and we're just focusing on weightlifting in training and like a gym

[00:28:45] aspect, if you had to pick six exercises and only six, these are the only six you can do

[00:28:51] forever and I'm putting you on the spot.

[00:28:53] What six do you think you would pick?

[00:28:54] Oh, okay.

[00:28:56] Well, obviously the classic big three, the deadlifts, the bench, and the back squat.

[00:29:02] Why would you pick those?

[00:29:05] One's a pull from the ground, compound movement, so it hits every muscle group.

[00:29:13] The bench, because again, that's another full body movement.

[00:29:17] I mean, it hits one of the biggest muscle groups, you know, the chest, and especially for females.

[00:29:22] We're not gifted with our chest muscles being our major source of strength.

[00:29:30] So I think it's important that we keep that balanced.

[00:29:35] And then the back squat, just simply because I enjoy back squatting.

[00:29:40] It's important.

[00:29:42] Pick the ones you like.

[00:29:43] All right.

[00:29:43] So deadlift, back squat, and bench.

[00:29:46] Mm-hmm.

[00:29:47] And then.

[00:29:48] And then probably the pull up.

[00:29:52] Yep.

[00:29:54] And, ooh, power clean.

[00:29:57] Okay.

[00:29:59] Just because, again, full body power just gets you going.

[00:30:04] It's everything.

[00:30:05] It does.

[00:30:05] Because you can get hurt if you don't know what you're doing.

[00:30:08] So that one you've got to ease your way into, but that's a good one.

[00:30:13] Oh, yeah.

[00:30:14] And always push-ups.

[00:30:15] You'll always see in my videos, like I'm always putting out push-ups.

[00:30:19] Yeah.

[00:30:20] Just for that muscular endurance.

[00:30:22] Yeah.

[00:30:23] I usually like if I do bench or chest, rolling right over it and burning out on some push-ups

[00:30:28] and seeing how many I can do.

[00:30:30] And then you've got to go to knee push-ups.

[00:30:32] And then I'm usually laying face down on the gym floor.

[00:30:37] I try not to look at how dirty it is.

[00:30:40] You know, that's when you know you pushed it pretty hard.

[00:30:44] Yeah.

[00:30:45] Yeah.

[00:30:45] At that point, it's like, who cares?

[00:30:47] I'll shower.

[00:30:47] Oh, yeah.

[00:30:47] No, I don't care.

[00:30:49] My means is some of you all right.

[00:30:54] How about you?

[00:30:55] What are your six moves?

[00:30:56] Oh.

[00:30:58] I'm not going to agree with everything because that's no fun.

[00:31:02] Okay.

[00:31:02] But bench, deadlift, and back squat, it gets everything.

[00:31:09] Well, the squats get everything in the deadlift, get a bunch of everything.

[00:31:16] Bench, I like it for the shoulder.

[00:31:20] And if you want to build muscle or anything like that, the heavier you can put the weight on,

[00:31:25] it's going to allow you to build strength and then build muscle.

[00:31:29] I love unilateral movements.

[00:31:35] So like a walking lunge, holding up a kettlebell over your head with one arm, something like that.

[00:31:41] That's tough.

[00:31:42] Yeah.

[00:31:43] It's not easy.

[00:31:44] But you get your core in there too.

[00:31:48] I like shoulder press too, but I like it with dumbbells as opposed to a barbell so that you have to stabilize it a little more.

[00:32:03] And then I got to do one more.

[00:32:05] One more.

[00:32:07] One more.

[00:32:09] One more.

[00:32:10] I do these things sometimes.

[00:32:11] I don't even know what they're called, but you lessen the weight on a back squat and you jump with the bar.

[00:32:18] You go down like 45 degrees and explode up as much as you can.

[00:32:24] I do enjoy that.

[00:32:25] So, I mean, it's kind of doubling up on squats, but it's hitting the muscles a little bit differently.

[00:32:31] Yeah.

[00:32:31] Different.

[00:32:32] Yeah.

[00:32:33] You're getting a different response there.

[00:32:35] Yes.

[00:32:35] And it's more power.

[00:32:37] And I think it goes to my, I can't think of the word, but my allowing myself to believe I still have a chance of being able to dunk a basketball.

[00:32:48] That makes sense.

[00:32:50] I could see that.

[00:32:50] Yeah.

[00:32:50] So that one, I think I would go with that one there.

[00:32:54] You mentioned earlier before we hit record that today is like a meal prep day for you.

[00:33:02] It is.

[00:33:03] What's that look like when you're meal prepping?

[00:33:06] Oh, so for meal prepping, I've never heard of the zone diet.

[00:33:11] Zone diet.

[00:33:13] No, I have not.

[00:33:14] It's like a CrossFit way of eating.

[00:33:19] But it's basically keeping the macros at a certain ratio.

[00:33:23] So always everything I eat basically has to have a component of protein, carbs and fat.

[00:33:30] Okay.

[00:33:31] So because I'm not a big cook and I'm not like, I don't do all this fancy stuff.

[00:33:36] Like I eat for fuel as long as it tastes good.

[00:33:39] Yeah.

[00:33:39] I can continue eating that for the week.

[00:33:42] Like I don't have to keep eating different things all week long.

[00:33:46] So it's the same thing?

[00:33:48] It is.

[00:33:49] Like Monday through Friday.

[00:33:51] My schedule is so busy.

[00:33:53] I just, I don't care.

[00:33:54] As long as it's what I need.

[00:33:57] It's food and it hasn't spoiled and is making you sick.

[00:34:02] You know, there you go.

[00:34:04] I'm similar.

[00:34:05] I don't vary too much as long as it gets me what I need.

[00:34:09] But what's on the menu for this week?

[00:34:15] Sweet potatoes.

[00:34:17] I love sweet potatoes.

[00:34:18] I do too.

[00:34:18] Yeah.

[00:34:19] And grilled chicken.

[00:34:21] So it's pretty basic.

[00:34:23] And then cook that with olive oil and chop up some peppers, onions, throw that in the mix.

[00:34:32] And then when I'm ready to eat it, I'll put some hot sauce on it and it tastes great like a gourmet meal.

[00:34:38] Nice.

[00:34:38] I like it.

[00:34:39] You ever with the sweet potatoes, I'll usually microwave it for a minute so you can cut it a minute or two.

[00:34:45] And you cut it into chips and you throw them in the air fryer and eat them like that.

[00:34:49] They're thick.

[00:34:50] I haven't.

[00:34:51] But they are really good.

[00:34:52] I'm going to try that.

[00:34:54] Yeah.

[00:34:54] No, that's one of my favorites.

[00:34:56] It's not as easy as throwing one thing in the microwave and just being done with it because you've already prepped it.

[00:35:01] But that's a favorite with the sweet potatoes.

[00:35:04] Wow.

[00:35:05] For sure.

[00:35:06] And what do you do for breakfast?

[00:35:07] Because I can't imagine it's chicken for breakfast.

[00:35:11] Or maybe it is.

[00:35:11] I'm not judging if it is.

[00:35:13] I promise.

[00:35:14] No.

[00:35:15] No.

[00:35:15] So for breakfast, typically it's just my protein shake with greens and then I'll have a yogurt with some blueberries or I'll put the fruit.

[00:35:25] Yeah.

[00:35:27] And that's good for me.

[00:35:28] So I actually have quite a bit of protein in the morning.

[00:35:31] It's probably like 35 to 40 grams of protein in the morning.

[00:35:35] Oh, that's good.

[00:35:36] You're not going to get hungry right away with that.

[00:35:39] Yeah.

[00:35:39] It keeps me pretty satisfied.

[00:35:42] That's, I forget.

[00:35:44] Oh, I think I wrote it up for the newsletter that's coming up for your show.

[00:35:48] Um, for this show about if you focus your breakfast on getting a lot of protein in there, how that sustains you throughout the day.

[00:35:58] And if you're just eating like cereal or a bagel or some simple carbohydrate that your body burns through so quickly, you're going to be hungry again in an hour and you get on these glucose spikes.

[00:36:08] And throughout the day that it makes it a lot harder to maintain just a good eating, eating habits throughout the day.

[00:36:18] Yeah.

[00:36:19] And that's why I like to pick a carb, um, like kind of a complex carb for my lunch because I want to make sure that I'm fueled up for my workout.

[00:36:29] Typically if I'm working all day, I'll get my workout in the evening, but I want to make sure I still got gas in the tank for a decent workout.

[00:36:38] Whether it's strength or a CrossFit.

[00:36:40] If it's a CrossFit workout, I will have more carbs for breakfast in the morning.

[00:36:46] Um, just because it just, it's more like in use involved and I've just found.

[00:36:53] Do you do like a workout of the day or do you go to a place, a CrossFit place?

[00:36:58] I don't know.

[00:36:59] I, I do my, my CrossFit workouts at the garage gym.

[00:37:02] I'll program them up myself.

[00:37:04] Sometimes I'll see like CrossFit will post the workout and I'll be like, okay.

[00:37:08] I'll give that one a go.

[00:37:09] Yeah.

[00:37:09] But for the most part, I know their rep scheme and, um, I, I tend to try to kind of generate my own.

[00:37:16] I, you can't call it CrossFit workout.

[00:37:19] We'll just call it high intensity functional workout.

[00:37:22] Oh yeah.

[00:37:22] Sorry.

[00:37:23] We don't, we don't want to get in trouble with branding here.

[00:37:25] That wouldn't be.

[00:37:26] Yeah.

[00:37:27] Especially in that community.

[00:37:28] Even though that community is great.

[00:37:30] I love that they're very, uh, family oriented, but you do have to be careful with.

[00:37:35] Yeah.

[00:37:36] They're protective of the brand there.

[00:37:38] They definitely are.

[00:37:39] They definitely are.

[00:37:40] I have a few friends and to be honest, CrossFit, I've seen people get injured, uh, quite a bit.

[00:37:48] And I think if you get a good instructor who understands the programming and, and how to keep people safe, uh, and maybe that's being too dramatic.

[00:37:58] But if, if the one in charge understands, uh, in values, the whole, let me start that over.

[00:38:07] That didn't go the way I wanted it to hold on 41.

[00:38:10] Um, so with CrossFit, it, um, I, I've got a friend who just started it and they love it.

[00:38:18] Um, and they keep trying to get me to go timing wise.

[00:38:20] It doesn't work, but the instructor is awesome.

[00:38:24] You know, they, they program out the week and it's not hitting, you're not hitting the same muscle groups every day.

[00:38:32] Yeah.

[00:38:33] And that's, I think that's the big thing.

[00:38:35] If, if you have somebody who's in charge of it, who's doing it correctly, I think CrossFit can be amazing.

[00:38:42] It's just, if you have people going overboard and, and pushing too much, that's when you get those injuries that happen that, that definitely set you back quite a bit.

[00:38:51] So.

[00:38:52] Yeah.

[00:38:53] Well, I mean, I have a love, hate relationship with that kind of working out.

[00:38:59] I think when people jump into that kind of style only without any previous experience in stabilizing their joints and learning how to even just strength train or lifts properly.

[00:39:11] Yeah.

[00:39:12] And you're going right into like, yeah, doing hang power cleans and ball slams and, uh, as, and you, you're not even preppy to the most modified version of those movements.

[00:39:26] And you're setting yourself up.

[00:39:28] And I only say this because I know people that have hurt themselves doing stuff like that.

[00:39:33] Oh, a hundred percent.

[00:39:35] But I also know people who it's worked brilliantly for.

[00:39:38] So I, I, it's not a beginner sort of thing where you never work out and you go to a CrossFit gym for the first time.

[00:39:45] Like that's, you need some background or you need someone who's willing to take the time to show you the progression from beginner to intermediate to, to more advanced lifts.

[00:39:55] Yeah, definitely.

[00:39:57] And to be fair for the CrossFit trainers, they don't ever have enough time to teach people how to move properly.

[00:40:05] It's like they go in for a quick intro.

[00:40:09] Okay.

[00:40:09] This is what the movement is.

[00:40:10] And I know this cause I know some CrossFit trainers and they have come back saying, I wish I just had more time with some of these new clients that come in, but we just simply don't have, we don't, we literally have 20 minutes to show them how to do movements before the workout starts.

[00:40:27] Yeah.

[00:40:29] That's, that's stuff.

[00:40:30] Do you ever do the Murph challenge each year?

[00:40:33] No.

[00:40:33] I know that's, it's a bit, a bit too much for me.

[00:40:37] I, I, I've thought about it and I watched it happen at the CrossFit games in 2015 and just like watching all those people pass out and EMS coming.

[00:40:49] I was like, yeah.

[00:40:50] I've done modified one where you don't have to do all the pull-ups and then all the push-ups and then all the squats.

[00:40:57] It's, you know, you kind of break it up into less reps at once.

[00:41:03] Um, but you know, you feel it.

[00:41:06] It's, oh, for those who don't know what it is, you run a mile and then you have to do 300 air squats, 200 push-ups, 100 pull-ups, and then you run another mile and you do it as fast as you can.

[00:41:16] With the weighted vest on?

[00:41:17] With the, yeah, no, I didn't, I didn't get to that part.

[00:41:20] Yeah.

[00:41:20] Yeah.

[00:41:20] The weighted vest is that's, yeah, that's when you're doing it right.

[00:41:24] I'm not, not at that point.

[00:41:26] Yeah.

[00:41:26] Um, I think I can't, to be honest with you, I don't even know how to do chipping pull-ups.

[00:41:32] I don't either.

[00:41:33] That, I did regular pull-ups.

[00:41:35] Yeah.

[00:41:37] It's tough.

[00:41:38] I want to know.

[00:41:39] I just, I haven't explored that yet.

[00:41:44] Yeah, no, that, that, that hasn't been a focus of mine.

[00:41:48] I, I tried doing the muscle up and getting that going.

[00:41:50] Um, but then I had some bicep tendonitis as, as I was saying, I would overdo it.

[00:41:56] And then, so then I couldn't do it anymore for a while.

[00:41:59] And actually Tim, uh, co-host, it helped me with it because I didn't understand properly

[00:42:06] the best way to recover from that and what I needed to be doing.

[00:42:10] And since he, he kind of worked on a little bit, showed me what to do.

[00:42:13] And I've been religious doing that.

[00:42:15] It feels like there's no pain whatsoever.

[00:42:18] So it's.

[00:42:19] Oh, nice.

[00:42:19] Yeah.

[00:42:20] What'd you do?

[00:42:20] Like a lot of eccentric movements.

[00:42:22] A little bit, but it was a lot of, he, he like worked it out, you know, like gave a,

[00:42:28] like a deep, deep tissue massage through the pec, the shoulders, tricep, bicep, all the

[00:42:33] way down the forearm.

[00:42:34] And I was literally just focusing on the spot that it hurt.

[00:42:39] Um, and not understanding really that the pain or the, the issue is originating further up

[00:42:45] and you just got to hit it all.

[00:42:46] So I'd have a softball.

[00:42:48] I'd roll it against like roll my whole body against the wall, which looked awkward when,

[00:42:53] when I'm just like up against a wall face.

[00:42:56] Yeah.

[00:42:56] And that's a good move though.

[00:42:58] It, it helped, you know, and I did that religiously for probably two or three months.

[00:43:03] It's, and then it, it's, it's better now.

[00:43:06] I don't, I don't have any issues.

[00:43:07] So you just gotta, you gotta put the time in and be consistent with it.

[00:43:12] And that's.

[00:43:12] Yeah.

[00:43:13] Patient.

[00:43:14] I think that's the biggest thing too.

[00:43:15] And that's another thing is when you injure yourself, not letting that stop your fitness

[00:43:21] journey.

[00:43:22] Yeah.

[00:43:23] You still gotta find other ways to do it.

[00:43:25] You just can't do the thing that you really wanted to do.

[00:43:28] Yeah.

[00:43:28] If that's what caused the injury.

[00:43:31] Yeah.

[00:43:31] But it was.

[00:43:33] And being patient.

[00:43:34] Like one thing that I have had to learn how to deal with is if I do hurt something, pull

[00:43:42] a muscle and it starts feeling a little better, still kind of reserving yourself and allowing

[00:43:50] your body to feel a little bit longer than what you think it's.

[00:43:54] Yeah.

[00:43:54] You think, oh, it feels all right.

[00:43:56] I'll give it, I'll give it another shot.

[00:43:57] I'll do the same workout that I hurt it with.

[00:44:00] And yeah.

[00:44:01] And then you hurt it again.

[00:44:02] That's never.

[00:44:02] I do that with basketball.

[00:44:04] I'll pull a muscle and then it'll feel fine as I'm walking and I'll be like, all right,

[00:44:09] I can go back.

[00:44:10] And second I start running, it's like, oh crap, I did it again.

[00:44:14] You know, so I, I've learned that lesson too.

[00:44:19] But well, Brooke, we're coming up on a, almost 50 minutes here.

[00:44:24] Uh, I want to thank you so much for, for taking the time to hop on here with us.

[00:44:30] Um, is there anything, any plugs you want to do or how can people get in touch with you?

[00:44:36] I'll put it all in the show notes, but I want to give you a chance to give a shout out.

[00:44:40] Yeah.

[00:44:41] If anybody is interested in getting some personalized programming done, um, just find me on Instagram.

[00:44:47] It's fit for life.

[00:44:49] L Y F E, right?

[00:44:51] L Y F E.

[00:44:52] Yeah.

[00:44:53] Why?

[00:44:53] Because that's my why.

[00:44:55] Ah, I like it.

[00:44:57] I like it.

[00:44:58] Um.

[00:44:59] And number four, I'll put it in the show notes though, but I'll have your, your Instagram

[00:45:02] link on there as well.

[00:45:04] Oh, nice.

[00:45:05] Thank you.

[00:45:06] Yeah.

[00:45:06] Yeah.

[00:45:07] Just direct message me and, um, we can talk and touch and I can, I have a, uh, an app right

[00:45:14] now.

[00:45:14] So, um, doing online training has, that door has opened for me.

[00:45:19] Oh, nice.

[00:45:20] Yeah.

[00:45:21] How long have you had the app for?

[00:45:23] Um, not too long.

[00:45:24] Really just started in the summertime.

[00:45:26] Oh, nice.

[00:45:27] Um, but it's, we're starting to work out really well.

[00:45:30] I enjoy making workout videos, uh, personalizing programs for people because it, you know, I

[00:45:37] see people once, twice a week, but you know, ideally they need four or five days of training.

[00:45:44] Yeah.

[00:45:44] So it just, basically what that does is it closes that gap of me, of them like, what

[00:45:49] do I do?

[00:45:50] Okay.

[00:45:50] I'm here.

[00:45:50] This is what you do.

[00:45:52] And, um, if I can't be with them, you know, for a week, they're out of town or I'm sick,

[00:45:58] I'm out of town and the, the, the app is always available to them.

[00:46:02] So they don't have to be in Georgia to get in touch with you.

[00:46:05] They can do this anywhere.

[00:46:08] All right.

[00:46:09] All right.

[00:46:10] Well, thank you so much.

[00:46:11] Um, I always forget the outro on these things too.

[00:46:14] So that wraps up our episode from the health movement podcast.

[00:46:18] Thank you, Brooke, so much for joining us.

[00:46:20] Uh, we really appreciate you taking the time.

[00:46:23] Thanks for having me, Derek.