In 2014, with a newborn baby in her arms, set out to lose some weight and get her fitness back. Little did she know that just a year later she鈥檇 have lost 107 pounds and changed her life forever. Her newfound love of fitness and nutrition led the former stay-at-home mom to become a personal trainer, eventually founding her own online diet and exercise consultancy.
Today, staying fit has infiltrated every aspect of Bernard鈥檚 life鈥攁 key to success in her eyes. 鈥淔itness changed my relationship with food and exercise,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t changed my career path. It changed the way I parent my child and the activities we do together.鈥 Between running a business and raising her son, who鈥檚 now six years old and full of energy, Bernard has mastered the art of fitting it all in.
How Bernard聽Stays聽Strong
Don鈥檛 Fall for Fads: 鈥淭he key to my success was implementing healthy habits that I could sustain. At some point, if you鈥檙e on a ketogenic diet you鈥檙e going to want to eat a piece of bread. But that completely derails you. It鈥檚 not realistic in the long term.鈥
Do Fat-Burning Exercises: 鈥淚 love battle ropes, burpees, boxing, and medicine-ball slams. But one of my favorite things to do outside is to run an old set of wooden stairs along the Mississippi River bank in Minneapolis. It鈥檚 absolutely beautiful in the spring, summer, and fall, and being in nature is a great distraction.鈥
Protect Your Joints: 鈥淚 tend to get clients that have a lot of weight to lose鈥攁lso moms and grandmothers. Especially for those older clients, they tend to get aches and pains, and the same is true for people carrying extra weight. My knees and my feet hurt every day before I lost weight. Now, I have聽a cup of every day. It really helps with joints.鈥
Try Brianna鈥檚 Busy Mom Workout: 鈥淚 encourage all of my mom clients with babies and toddlers to throw the kids in the stroller and take them for an outdoor workout in the local park.鈥 Here鈥檚 her go-to workout:
Walking lunges with stroller (50 reps)
Park-bench push-ups (15)
Park-bench triceps dips (15)
Jumping jacks (50)
Park-bench step-ups (20 per leg)
Forearm plank (60 seconds)
Side plank (left and right sides, 30 seconds each)
Squat jumps (15)
Arm circles, forward (60 seconds)
Arm circles, backward (60 seconds)
Body-weight shoulder presses (60 seconds)
Nourish Your Body: 鈥淚 always recommend that people lead with real food like a lean animal protein and a mashed sweet potato or protein-rich quinoa. My favorite way to refuel is grilled salmon and roasted broccoli. But people are time-crunched these days. That鈥檚 where quick products like protein powder or yogurt come in. Between meals, I love 鈩 Citrus Lemonade or Mixed Berry protein drinks.鈥
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