Brittany May

Sometimes a door closes so what was meant to be from the very beginning can flourish!

You’ve likely heard the buzz lately about all the changes with Beachbody. As many of you know, I’ve been a coach with BODi (formally Beachbody) since 2017. While BODi may have closed the doors on coaching yesterday, I’ve been paving my own path behind the scenes. I am forever grateful for the friendships and the personal growth I’ve experienced over the years. But now I’m FREE, for the first time, to truly tap into my own talents and create my own programming.

Mom Tales & Barbells Fitness is taking on a life of its own!

I’ve always had a passion for helping women live healthy and fulfilling lives - generating energy to be the BEST mother, wife, AND still achieve her dreams in life.

My coaching style not only focuses on balanced training and nutrition but also on the mindset shifts needed to break self-sabotaging behaviors we all face when achieving goals.

If you are looking to improve your habits, maximize your energy and overall wellness, tap into your potential at home and in your career, and achieve your fitness goals without yo-yoing or restrictive diets then you're gonna want to join in for my holiday special!

I don’t believe in waiting until the New Year to set goals! Instead, let's set the foundation NOW so you're already ahead of the crowd and smashing goals BY the New Year!

I started my personal journey the Monday OF Thanksgiving week!! Many thought I was crazy but I'll tell you, it was wonderful enjoying the holidays AND still feeling fabulous, instead of tired and sluggish thru winter AND I crushed my initial goal before Christmas!

Join me for a 90 day bootcamp, at an 80% discount! I am offering 80% off for my first 5 clients in exchange for a commitment to results (as shown by investing 20%), a testimonial, and an awesome coaching experience!

Comment HOLIDAY or send me a private message if you want to be one of the First five!

Throw back to 6 years ago, on this day, when I was 2 months into wearing a 24 hour heart monitor.

I had suffered a cardiac event in June.
It was a long, drawn out process of trying to discover the problem and recovery became an even longer process. For months I was told to stop exercise completely until we could determine more.

In October I had finally been cleared to exercise again and the kids and I returned to our favorite program with our favorite trainer!

Have you really ever asked yourself why you exercise?!?! I ask this question to all my clients because it's important for me to truly understand each person's why - the driving force.

I've collected a lot of answers over the years, and I want to share my thoughts on why we should care about consistent, structured exercise-

Movement is our longevity.

We need cardiovascular health (heart and lungs and overall circulation) that's best optimized with cardio based movement.
Genetics are always going to be the battle, so control what you can.

We need strength and mobility!
Imagine being in your late 60s early 70s and you can no longer walk up stairs or carry groceries. Now, imagine being in your 80s and running circles around your great grandchildren- because you stayed active!
Which do you wish to be???

This is why we do balance training; use weights or body weight to challenge our muscles; and incorporate stretching and yoga to improve flexibility.

And what I think is the most important - exercise is a massive stress reducer!!
Don't believe me? Take a walk after a hard day, then show up at home. Then, tell me how this day was different than the ones where you carry that stress into the home.

Exercise isn't supposed to be punishment or a way to "earn" or "burn" treats and certain foods.

Movement is literally your life-line, your defense mechanism against your genetic downfalls, the fountain of youth and defense against aging, the one action you can control that improves your quality of life!

Happy Halloween 🎃

We all have those moments in life when our mind tells us - “I can’t.”

This particular moment today was a great reminder of our own strength.
My trainer has pushed me to my limits. I used all the weights - maxing at 30 pounds - but I also pulled out those 3 pound weights because I was maxed out!

And now he’s asking me to INCREASE my weights 😳

I’m taxed, my body is shaking, and my mind is screaming “NO! I CAN’T increase my weights.”

In those moments - we have a decision to make.

It’s in those moments I remind myself - I am in control and when my mind is yelling “I can’t” I take control and say “I MUST!”

Think of those moments in life when you’ve thought - there’s just no way I will ever survive this situation/circumstance/experience.
Do you quit?
Or do you stand up on the inside and say “I MUST!”?

I’m always a “I MUST” kind of person - no matter how bleak the problem I am facing. I’ve never been a quitter and I don’t back down from challenges. Maybe that’s a personal fault, but it’s never failed me yet and I’ve beat the odds more times than seems possible.

I train freaking hard and I train my clients hard because I KNOW - if you can master discipline and grit in the workout, you damn sure can do it in life! What you train in the gym prepares you for the challenges of the world.

When you find yourself wanting to call defeat and throw in the towel, I challenge you to shift that mindset to “I MUST continue!” and watch how very quickly your circumstance shifts. Take a beat, deep breath, quick body scan, then get back to action.

Yeah, it’s a holiday; but it’s also a new month and a new week! Go out and make it incredible! No matter how slow you gotta go (or how low you gotta drop them weights) just keep moving forward!

What challenges do you face in life that hold you back from your wellness goals??

Is it time constraints? Your schedule is soooo packed already that it seems like a chore to even attempt to find the time within your day??

Is it a lack of energy?? You’re already running out every ounce you’ve got each day, so there’s none left over for you?

Maybe you just don’t know where to even begin? How to even start?? You’ve been living in survival mode for so long, just getting through the days, and you KNOW you can’t possibly keep going like this, but also you just don’t know how to pick up and start?

I know the struggle because I’ve lived out every single one of these scenarios. We go through seasons in our lives and depending on the season, old habits just won’t open new doors🤷‍♀️
Sometimes we’ve gotta adjust the process.

I’ve got years of data - past successes AND failures; what worked when x,y,z happened, but also what absolutely didn’t work; seasons where things seemed super easy, and seasons where having routines felt impossible and actually created more stress!

ONE small change set me free from the added stress and overwhelm; freeing me to tackle ALL the demands of long work hours, kid’s extracurriculars, AND still have time and energy for my self-care!

Tricia and I are tackling this topic in our Ignite to Flourish Masterclass in 2 weeks. We know soooo many people are struggling right now with these same scenarios so we’ve decided to open this class up to everyone! So if you’ve ever wanted to sit in on one of our lives trainings, wondered what our Ignite to Flourish program was all about or if it would benefit you, or you just want to break this cycle of starting to stopping on your wellness journey; then jump into our live training on August 7th!

Drop 🙋‍♀️ below and I’ll get you the link to join class with us!

Clients ask me all the time - how can I get my child to eat more fruits and veggies??

*The secret*
Eat them yourself AND let them see!!!
Kids mimic what you do!!

I was heading to the grocery store and she wanted to tag along. She picked out all kinds of fruits and veggies and added them to our cart. I only said no to raspberries because they already looked pretty bad - otherwise, I let the twins add whatever they want from the produce section.

She then came home and chopped up her lunch: broccoli, carrots, sweet peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, slices of roast beef, and hard boiled eggs!

She gave me an idea for this week! I've been reading all about gut health lately and the book I'm currently reading said we should have a wide variety of fruits and veggies for our gut microbiome. So I've challenged the twins to eat at least 30 different plants this week!

She's already off to a great start!

“What we say to ourselves in the privacy of our own minds matters.” – Marie Forleo

Confidence comes from within. You will never reach true self-love and self-acceptance by relying on others. That comes from your own internal sense of self and your identity in Christ.

One thing that seriously impacts your self-esteem is your self-talk. 🎙 Studies and experiments have shown that our inner monologues (aka self-talk) influence our behavior, whether positively or negatively. I don’t think I need to explain what negative self-talk sounds like. 😉 That’s why we are going to go straight to how to change your self-talk to be more positive. 👌

1. Listen carefully. Pay attention to what you are saying about yourself. When is it more likely to be negative? How are your emotions affecting your inner monologue? What are your triggers?

2. Distance yourself from your feelings. When you do identify negative self-talk, don’t further villainize yourself by saying things like “What is wrong with me?!” Or “Why can’t I just ________.” Talk to yourself as another person. Ask things like “Why are you feeling this way?” and act as your own therapist in that moment.

3. Turn up the volume on positive talk. Distract yourself from the negative talk by incorporating more motivational and positive comments. Whether or not you believe it or feel it, overpower the negativity with ‘you’ve got this’ and ‘you can do this’ to drown out the inner critic.

4. Talk to yourself as a friend. A lot of the things you are saying to yourself, I bet you would never say to a friend. Then don’t say it to yourself either! Give yourself the same love, compassion and grace that you do to others.

5. Take responsibility for your ability. How often do you tell yourself (or others) that “I can’t _________”? Instead, say “I don’t” or “I won’t” because that implies you are making a choice not to. Choosing not to even try something is different and more honest than just making the excuse that “I can’t” do that.

Ready to change your inner dialog?? "Ignite to Flourish" kicks off July 7th!
Comment FLOURISH for all the details!

"You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." — A.A. Mine

Yesterday we talked about limiting beliefs. However, that is not the only thing that might be holding you back. There are many ways that we sabotage ourselves, and for many different reasons. 😔 Any kind of self-sabotage keeps you from shining bright and reaching your full potential.

Self-sabotage is basically getting in your own way, like making things harder for yourself or setting yourself up for failure. 👎 We do this because of low self-esteem, bad habits, internal conflict, fear of change or failure, a need to be in control, complacency, or social pressure.

What do we do that is considered self-sabotage? That is a great question, because you may be doing it without even realizing it!

• Procrastinating on something you need to do
• Subjecting yourself to temptation that could ruin your progress
• Making easy excuses or re-prioritizing things
• Turning to unhealthy ways to cope with feelings
• Developing defense mechanisms

Any of these things sound familiar? 🤔 It is totally normal, and actually a natural human response, to avoid failure or danger. We are so intricately designed by God for survival and self-preservation. But we are also no longer fighting to literally survive each day in our modern society. That means we can push ourselves outside our comfort zones and be ok with struggling through a challenge.

Learn how to overcome self-sabotage in my new coaching program "Ignite to Flourish"

"You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will." ― Stephen King

It's day ONE of July and a Monday!!
I think that means it's gonna be a great month!

Are you ready to See Yourself In Your Best Light?!
Stepping into your sunshine requires building confidence. Let’s shine brighter than ever in our own eyes, because that light radiates outward to everyone else in your life! 🌟

Usually, the biggest thing standing in the way of our goals -ourselves! So, my first tip to build confidence is to bust through limiting beliefs. 👊

A limiting belief is a specific thought, general feeling or belief about yourself that is false, but that you believe to be true. These beliefs limit you by preventing you from pursuing your goals and desires. You don’t even bother trying something because of the belief you have about your ability to achieve it. 😔

For example, you might think “I will never run a 5K race because I am just not a runner.” Or, “I can’t work out in the morning because I am not a morning person.” Both of those limiting beliefs are subjective and things that you can change or work on.

Sure, maybe running is hard for you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t train and become a runner. And yeah, maybe you have more energy in the afternoons. But that doesn’t mean working out in the morning is impossible for you. Especially if you work at it and become a morning person, like with the tips from last week! 😉

Instead, try: “I am capable of training for a running race.” Or: “I am working on having more energy in the morning to work out.”

We ALL face negative thoughts and limiting beliefs, let’s work on overcoming them together! Those limiting beliefs stop here and now. 🛑

Let’s work together to become aware of our own limiting beliefs, identifying those beliefs, and be intentional about flipping the switch and thinking positive!

Want to really tackle your current limiting beliefs? Join me this month as we launch the "Ignite To Flourish" coaching program!
We start July 7th!

Does Monday morning have you feeling meh? Tired? NOT at all excited to tackle the week???

It's time to tap into (BIG E) Energy!!!

The biggest tip I can give to create Energy within is release the tension!

If you can release stress, your mind is refreshed to start dreaming again and looking ahead to the future; all of a sudden you feel a burst of renewed energy.

How can you release the tension:

🌱 Get outdoors in the morning and allow the sunlight to reset your natural circadian rhythm

👟 Intentional movement taps into your stored potential energy and elevates your (BIG E) Energy while also reducing stress!
This doesn't have to be anything massive - just a quick 10 minutes of movement of any kind! Think going for a walk, stretching, yoga, even things you already do daily like tasks around the house.

Start creating more energy alive days than meh days and see how very quickly life becomes easy and full of joy ✨️

Plant seeds daily within your life - on purpose!!!

🔥Want more energy? Gotta create it!

✨️ Want to feel more connected with your day, your surroundings, the people in your life? Gotta be intentional with where your mind wanders (or doesn't)!

Want to become the master at creating the life you desire???
I'm running a FREE challenge in May to teach you the exact blueprint to flourish in life!!!

Drop 🙋‍♀️ below to get all the detail! This is one challenge so closely related to my masterminds - you aren't gonna want to miss out!!!

When I was little I always wanted to learn ballet. Ballet dancers are so poised and polished - absolutely the exact opposite of my clumsy, awkward self.

When we first started my home gym I had Zack install a piece of railing we were removing as a ballet barre!

We live in a very digital world so it didn't take long for me to find some YouTube videos and social media accounts to follow to learn ballet. I did a few videos here and there but just never felt connected to the learning process and quit.

Back in August, Aria's school announced they were offering an adult ballet class and I couldn't wait to get started!! I signed up the same day I registered her for this year's curriculum.

I have ZERO pervious dance experience and the learning curve was huge! I still struggle with the basics (like not having weird hands and keeping the curve in my arms 🤣).

But what I get from these live sessions makes a difference!!

I'm learning from someone who not only has experience training new dancers like myself (although new dancers are usually 3-5 years old - not late 30s), but also advanced dancers!

She's taught me so much in just a few months. I worry sometimes I hold up the advancement of class because I'm full of questions but often times the other dancers thank me because they had forgotten or needed a refresher too but didn't want to ask.

I've still got some fine-tuning to my routine but I'm sooo excited for the May production!

This process has made me realize the power of having a teacher, mentor, or coach!!

We all have access to information. We can literally Google "how to_________" and find endless articles and videos on the topic.

But having someone to guide you, make the process enjoyable, and reduce the learning curve gets you to the goal without all the frustration of doing it alone! And sometimes being the new person in the group- you also have questions the more seasoned participants needed answered as well!

Because I want to be the guide for you along your wellness journey, I've got a special offer for a beta- round of my 6 Weeks to Bloom program!

All I ask in return is you show up, put forth the effort, and be open to learning something new!

Comment BLOOM for all the details!

I went from being the girl that wouldn't even sit on deck on a cruise in her swimsuit to a girl that walks stage in a bikini.

That's the difference between feeling completely insecure in your skin because those around you judged constantly and fed that insecurity and changing your circle to women that lift you up and encourage you to chase your dreams!!

My self-care journey opened opportunities. It taught me to love myself at every stage of life, to feel energetic and vibrant, to dream again, and gave me a safe space to share experiences and dreams without judgment. This journey brought me incredible people - that have become some of the greatest friends I've ever had!

Could I have become the person I am today alone? Probably; eventually. I've accomplished a lot in life alone. But having a supportive community made the process in the beginning so much easier because I was surrounded by support and uplifting individuals during the harder parts of the journey.

Your circle matters!

Our community always has space for you too!!

Are you feeling overwhelmed when it comes to… food? What to eat, when to eat…Substitute this, avoid that, eat TONS of this!

Nutrition is such an important piece of our days, well-being, and health. But if it seems complicated, I know I am much more likely to avoid really figuring it out. And for years, that’s what I thought - nutrition and meal prepping is so complicated, how could I ever figure out what works for me?!

If this sounds like you, I have the perfect starting place for your wellness this spring - you’re invited to the 🍌 Bite-sized Bootcamp Challenge I’ll be hosting in my MTB Fitness Free Community!

In this challenge, I will highlight a nutritious swap you can make in your kitchen throughout the week and highlight a new clean ingredient in one snack-licious recipe!

You will also receive a free recipe guide + meal plan if you want to take clean eating a step further! 🙌

From this free challenge, you can expect…
🍽️ A daily morning post highlighting ingredients you can feel great about in your meal plan,
🍽️ A daily afternoon snack recipe to try right away,
🍽️ A free recipe PDF for you FULL of recipes with the ideas we discuss this week for you to build in your snack plan week after week, and a free 7 day meal plan to kickstart your healthy eating journey with SIMPLE recipes, right away!

I run free challenges every month in my community and would love for you to jump in so you never miss a thing!

Comment “SNACKCAMP” to join this “bite-sized” challenge on March 25th!

On average it takes anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks to bloom a flower from seed (depending on the flower).

A few factors that impact the flower seeds ability to grow and bloom:
💧 Humidity
🌞 Sunlight
🌡 Temperature
🍃 Proper airflow
💐 Proper soil

So if a tiny flower seed needs all that, why would you expect yourself to need less?

I've read we can create a new habit in as little as 21 days. But from experience, I'll challenge that and say it takes closer to 90 days; or approximately 12 weeks, to create a habit that becomes so second nature it's no longer forced.

My promise with 6 Weeks to Bloom is to provide you with all the necessary conditions for you to bloom while also teaching you how to create lasting routines! By the end of our 6 weeks you will be well on your way to not only blooming but flourishing!

What is it costing you not to chase your dreams??

Who else, besides you is it impacting??

Sure, I could have stayed in a job that fulfilled my career needs, but it was sucking the very life out of me. My kids were never awake when I came home at night or when I left early in the morning.

I was so mentally and physically drained that it took my entire day off just to recover (just to return and start all over again). I was short tempered and going through the motions. Exhaustion wasn't an occasional feeling - it was a state of being.

One day I realized my kids were gonna grow up without having me present in their lives. They were gonna look back and say "Mom had to work."

And that's the day the seed was planted.
I HAD no choice but to chase the dream my heart aways desired.

I always knew when the kids came along I wanted to be home with them. I wanted to homeschool, grow a garden that would feed them nutritious foods and teach them along the way, and be present for all the events of their childhood.

I knew that by NOT chasing this dream I was robbing them as well - it no longer just impacted me.

So what's the cost of not chasing your dreams??

In my 6 Weeks to Bloom course you will discover HOW to dream again, HOW to start working towards the goal, HOW to create internal energy, and HOW to start living vibrantly again!

6 Weeks to Bloom enrollment is now open! It's time to chase dreams and crush them!!!

https://mtbfit.io/6WB/