Endurance: 4 weeks to build physical and nervous system endurance by bringing in body energetics and mindset work into our workouts together.
Hosted and led LIVE by Holistic Certified Personal Trainer and Kinesiologist Brittni Colleen
Why is building nervous system endurance important when it comes to creating a deeper body connection, self-love, weight release, building strength, and overall wellness from the inside out?
Well first off, building endurance with your nervous system, meaning you and your internal world can remain calm, safe, and supported EVEN during higher intensity workouts or any physical activity that the body could activate a flight or flight response.
This is you training your mind on how it’s supposed to respond and what you want it to FEEL when you are under good stress, such as exercise.
You see, the body only knows stress as stress.
Especially, if you are under a lot of current stress, healing, or going through trauma or you simply wake up that day and not feeling your best.
We create, our society has created a certain language around higher intensity exercise that for some has manifested in the opposite results they seek.
That is exactly what happened to me.
As an educated Kinesiologist and Personal Trainer with 13 years of experience in the industry where I took everything I knew but yet continued to gain weight and fast, it crept right up on me and I couldn’t stop it. I would go to the gym to “let the stress out”, but my approach was actually causing more stress to my body which resulted in more weight gain. Now, this is my story, stress can manifest in many ways.
I was approaching my workouts with a hustle, push and let’s sweat it out until my knees collapse attitude with language that didn’t support the language my body needed to hear.
We say things like “omg, this is so hard”, “I’m dying”, and “just keep going” even though your body is saying to slow down, take a breath and it’s our job to tell it what it’s ACTUALLY feeling. To tell it that EVEN though this workout is “hard” or “challenging” it’s completely safe and you FEEL DAMN GOOD!
You create a safe relationship with exercise when you train your mind that it’s safe to experience it.
It’s our job to listen to our body's cues and language to show us where we are at, and where we need to focus because it’s smart and it knows exactly how it needs to move.
It’s our job to let our minds know that our bodies are powerful, capable, and under good stress which is beneficial to our optimal self and growth. Again, if you’re listening your body will guide you to where you are now, it’s up to you to honour that, start there, and begin to build endurance both physically and mentally.
It does not mean you STAY there.
The only reason you stay where you are is when you are not connected to your body, going through the motions and just well “pushing hard” and “sweating it out”. It’s about intention, it’s about connection, it’s about focus, that’s when you see true results both internally and physically.
This is why I’ve created my work around bringing energetics, mindfulness, and internal work to physical fitness.
Think of bringing the internal practices of yoga to a higher-intensity exercise program like this one.
They are challenging workouts, but it won’t feel that way when you begin to connect to YOUR pace, YOUR nervous system, and honour where you are now! From there we build endurance, meaning as you improve in fitness and see physical results WHILE your mind and body respond in a balanced, calm, and empowered way.
Through this work, learning how to listen to your body through physical and energetic cues you will decrease stress and anxiety in the body, build a deep connection with your body, and therefore move into a self-love journey with your body. And not only fall madly in love with your body at the end of the 4-weeks BUT the one here and now - that’s where the journey truly begins.
This decrease in stress and/or working alongside stress (we get stressed, we are human, it happens! but it’s how we work with and manage it), getting in touch with our bodies physically, listening to your bodies language, bringing in intentional energetics and self-talk, and of course being guided through these challenging but FUN workouts can lead to weight release, pain relief, strength, toning and well you falling madly in love with exercise and activate self-love!
“Exercise is so much more than working out solely for the physical. It’s an opportunity to connect on a deeper level with your body and inner self by introducing mindful and energetic practices to your workouts.”
THE SCHEDULE
Program length: 4 weeks (next round TBA)
Live workout time: TBA
There will be limited replay access just in case you can not make the live workout on Zoom. Limited time replays are to promote accountability to show up for you.
*Class times are subject to change based on participant availability and/or otherwise noted.
-
Core & Energetics
-
Week one & three: Lower body strength
Week two & four: Upper body strength
-
Week one & three: Upper body muscular endurance
Week two & four: Lower body muscular endurance
-
Full body working combinding both physical and energetic components we have done during that workout week.
Why these specific workouts?
-
Coregetics.
In this class, we begin our week together activating our power center the core physically and energetically. We will also have an energetic theme each week alongside activating inner empowerment to start the week. Together we will activate our inner power, safety, balance, trust, and energy through energetic teachings that coincide with the physical workouts. These are intentionally designed to build upon one another to activate inner empowerment as well as physical stamina and endurance.
-
Strength.
In this class, we will be activating strength and safety through our supporting systems both physically and energetically. We will be adding heavier weights and a slower pace to strengthen and FEEL our bodies through slower tempo movements as we bring in breath focus to keep our nervous system regulated while we lift.
Each week we will be alternating upper and lower body and opposite rotation to our muscular endurance classes. Ex: If we are doing Upper Body Strength we will be doing Lower Body Muscular Endurance that week.
-
Muscular Endurance.
In this class, we will be feeling the burn to not only build physical endurance but to train the mind it’s completely safe, and regulate your nervous system as you breathe and move through these movements. This is a higher rep, lighter / bodyweight workout class that typically will focus on those smaller muscle groups and getting them working, fired up, and activated to support those bigger muscle groups that tend to want to take over.
This is a higher rep class but with little to no weight vs. strength which is a heavier weight session at a slower tempo. This supports your nervous system by learning pace, tempo, and how to regulate your nervous system and build its endurance as you keep improving.
-
FullBODY.
In this class, we bring together both the physical movements with our energetic intentions for that week in a full-body workout. Your body and therefore your mind have experienced these exercises and energetic cues already, creating familiarity and a regulated nervous system to remain calm as you take your workout up a notch to build both physical and internal endurance.
Weekly Energetic Focus
Every Monday we kick off the week with Coregetics. Not only will be activating and strengthening our core during our workout but further setting our intentions with energetic teaching and focus for the week ahead. Each week focus will be intentionally built upon one another to activate energetically from the inside out.
Week One: POWER
Week Two: SAFETY
Week Three: TRUST
Week Four: ENERGY
We begin our journey by reclaiming our power through activating one of our most powerful centres: The Core. The Solar Plexus. We get to release what is no longer ours to hold in our bodies and reclaim our power both physically and internally during our workout sessions together.
Together we will build a solid strong foundation to root and ground in and activate safety from the inside out. Learning to feel safe in your body through exercise is key to a regulated nervous system. Further prepping you for next week to let go and trust in yourself and your body’s capabilities and individual strengths.
Together through internal activation and a week of unilateral workouts we will learn to trust in ourselves and our bodies. Tapping into duality and opposite energies to improve and restore balance both internally and externally.
Taking the plethora of practices and tools you will have learned to regulate your nervous system and to be intentional with your movements. We now learn how to energize the workouts by increasing the intensity without shocking the nervous system or body. Learning to tap into your own body’s thresholds, endurance, and how to regulate your body by listening and feeling it. And of course, activating feeling energized and radiant!!
The format
How it works:
+ Live workouts on Zoom
+ Limited time replay access
+ A private community on Facebook
Next round: TBD
Live Workouts times: TBD
I will lead a 50min LIVE workout on Zoom (see workout schedule above) which includes a warm-up, workout, and cool-down stretch. The class times are subject to change.
Can’t make the live workout time? Workouts will be recorded for limited-time replay access.
It is highly encouraged to make the live workout as this is more than just a workout, this is also a personal training experience in a group setting (my style, my specialty!). I want to be able to be there with you during the workout to be your personal trainer. Life happens and there are times when you may not be able to make the live, however, there is an element of accountability that is key to the progression of building endurance and this will support you to show up for you! With that, the replays will be posted soon after they go live for that week and will be taken down every Sunday before we start the next week.
We will have a private community space on Facebook to stay connected, share wins and experiences through this journey together. Community plays a big role in commitment, dedication, and accountability, and well makes it way more fun!
During our workouts, I am sharing wisdom and knowledge that will be further shared for deeper teachings and understanding within the group space for deeper discussions and questions.
What do you need?
Zoom as this is where our classes will be held.
Dumbells
Optional: a mini band. This is a great for added resistance but is not required.
What weight of dumbells will I need?
My recommendation is one set of heavier dumbells and one set of lighter dumbells.
Heavier weights for our strength training classes and lighter for our muscular endurance classes. In our strength classes we will be focusing on heavier weights at a slow tempo, pace and typically larger muscle groups where in our muscular endurance classes we will be focusing on lighter weights with more reps.
It all depends on your fitness level but my recommendation is:
Heavier Dumbell Set: 10lbs and up.
Lighter Dumbell Set: 3 - 8lbs (5lbs is recommended).
Love notes from Endurance 1.0 participants!
“Omg seriously Brittni Colleen is the dream personal trainer I have been waiting my whole life to find!!!!!”
I have struggled with physical activity all my life because it always felt like my mind was BEGGING ME to stop stimulating it.
(I’m sure I’m not alone on this one).
Brittni used psychology as well as kinesiology in her training,
So thanks to Brittni, I now know how to synch my brain with my body so that it doesn’t feel like torture anymore.
This has been done by breathing intentionally and finding my natural tempo (rather than “pushing out the reps” faster than I can breathe).
Today as we wrapped up, I caught myself saying “I feel euphoric.”
Ummmm… since when have I ever felt euphoric from working out?! Almost never!!
If you haven’t already, connect with Brittni!! She kicked off her personal training program, Endurance this month, and the doors close soon!! I highly recommend joining if you want to start moving your body without being at war with your mind.
Brittni has created a workout experience that perfectly suits my intuitive, free-flowing mind, body, and soul. I could never really get into going to the gym or establish any kind of consistency when it came to working out or moving my body and thought working out for the longest time “wasn’t for me”. But with Brittni’s approach, I was able to not only commit to a workout 4 times a week but through the vessel of working out in this way, I learned how to listen and understand my body. My body and I actually started to communicate back and forth and I knew, intuitively, how to respond at the moment.
Brittni taught me how to balance between pulling back or easing into the movements without stressing the body or my nervous system and knowing when to push myself a little further because I’m actually ready for the challenge.
I was amazed by how different I felt between week 1 and week 4 and I can’t wait for the next round, Endurance 2.0!!
I’m telling everyone I know!
- Jessica Bommarito
“Endurance literally changed my life.'“
As someone with a history of complex trauma, workouts have been hard for me. I could always do calming workouts, like yoga or walks, but as soon as the heat in my body came on, I would start to panic.
It wasn’t uncommon for me to experience panic attacks mid-workout. I actually stopped going to gyms because of these panic attacks.
In July, I signed up for the first round of Endurance with Brittni Colleen . Besides being someone I would trust with my life, she also has a background in human kinetics and understands the intricate link between the mind and the body.
Endurance isn’t just a series of at-home workouts. It’s that and SO MUCH MORE!!!!!
Brittni teaches you how to regulate your nervous system AND move your body at the same time. This alone was a life-changing skill for me to learn!!
Then, she also guided us to teach our minds and bodies to LOVE the sensations coursing through our bodies during the workout (such as the burn of lactic acid, the shaking of limbs, and the feeling of muscle weakness when you’re pushing outside of your comfort zone).
She taught us how to breathe and move properly too.
The end result is that I can now do ANY workout that I want as long as I practice the mind-body skills that she taught me. I have a level of muscular and cardio endurance that I have never accomplished before !! Anddddd I don’t have panic attacks while working out anymore (I even started going to the gym again). I feel euphoria instead of panic now.
I’m doing round 2 of Endurance this month. I highlyyyy recommend joining us if you want to learn how to build up your mind-body endurance while establishing regular workout habits into your daily life!!
The group aspect was great too!! I loved the women who worked out with us in Endurance 1.0!!! We supported and encouraged each other along the way. I’m so excited to see what group comes together for Endurance 2.0!!!
I highly recommend checking out the program and making it happen for yourself.
It was an actual game changer for me.
- Quinn Downie
How do you know if Endurance is for you?
+ This program is truly for everyone! If you have a medical reason that is not safe to participate in an exercise program. If you are unsure, please ask your doctor if this program is right for you. This is a higher-intensity, challenging program but it is designed to guide and teach you cues both physically and energetically to maintain a healthy calm state while under workout stress. This is the whole point of the program.
+ Desire to learn how to introduce mindful and energetic tools into your fitness routine such as strength training. To truly experience first hand that less is often more, we do not need to hustle and push our bodies beyond measure in order to look and feel good.
+ If you find yourself doing everything you’re supposed to do, ie: working out, eating well, staying active, etc. but are seeing the opposite results like weight gain or experiencing aches and pains. Or not seeing the results at all.
+ Haven’t experienced working out with your Nervous System. Meaning looking at the relationship between the stress in your life and how it plays a huge role in your body.
+ All fitness levels are welcome. I am a certified personal trainer and have my Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology (exercise science) and have been in the personal training and wellness space for 13 years. The LIVE classes are your opportunity to receive the ultimate support as I will not only be leading you through intentionally designed workouts but I will be personal training you as well to make sure movements are done correctly.
+ Workouts can be challenging. This is where energetics and mindfulness practices meet the physical fitness world. Just because we are working with the Nervous System does not mean we need to stick to yoga. These are timed workouts which means you go at YOUR pace, even though we are in a group setting the workouts are designed for you to connect and understand your body, where it’s at now and build from there.
+ Want to have FUN while you workout in a motivating community environment.
+ Want to connect to your body, fall madly in love with your body and exercise, release weight, relieve aches and pains, manifest through your workouts as we will be activating you internally throughout to raise your vibration, feel strong, toned, and energized!
Get notified when Endurance doors re-open.
Doors for Endurance are currently closed but you can simply get on the waitlist and notified when the doors re-open.