Fem PMS and Fem Balance Giveaway for Ladies

And the WINNERS ARE

Sharon Shiner said...

Please enter me into the giveaway..I responded to you when you originally asked about PMS etc...unfortunately I am greatly affected by PMS w.sometimes severe back pain that makes it hard to train (let alone move!!!).....
thanks Lauren!
Sharon Shiner

Michelle said...

Could really use being the winner of this one! These workouts are a lifesaver for me....since my late husband's illness and death, I lost the ability to work out after my 13 hours shifts at the hospital....or maybe its just age finally! But the Lauren DVDs pack in just enough to get the heart rate up, tax the muscles a little and do it so quickly, that at least I've done SOMETHING besides hit the wine and crackers! Keeps my weight down and keeps me going! Love your work! Blessings, Michelle

PLEASE email On The Edge Fitness Customer Service to redeem your Fem Balance Products and iVersion Choice.  Congratulations!  Please keep us posted to see how you are doing.  

Several months back I conducted an informal survey on menstrual cycle and training over at the On The Edge Fitness Facebook page.  More than half commented that they were greatly effected with their strength and conditioning training, 1-2 weeks before their period and many during.  Most of it has to do with major swings in hormone levels, deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, and painful periods.  Many females suffer from depression, crying spells, weight gain, water retention, and severe headaches just to name a few.  No wonder your training is greatly effected! For this very reason I am offering a giveaway for an awesome and completely natural product, FEM PMS, from one of my favorite and respected companies Premier Research Labs.  This also will go hand in hand with FEM BALANCE that I will also be giving away as well.

In order to naturally prevent PMS you must take the precautions such as avoid salty foods, caffeine, alcohol, processed sugars, and hydrogenated oils.  Most PMS balance supplements contain lots of single ingredients such a cramp bark and red raspberry.  The single ingredients don't really address the problem. That is why I like this product.  It has an array of high quality natural ingredients that will help tackle most of the common problems.  Rules on giveaway will be posted below.

Here are the ingredients for the Fem PMS

European Red Raspberry Leaf

• Rich in fragarine (uterine tonic), tannins and polypeptides
• Supports and tonifies the uterus
• Provides support during pregnancy, helping to prepare the body for childbirth
• Helps ease nausea

Central American Opuntia Cactus

• Rich in natural vitamin C, bioflavonoids and 17 essential amino acids
• Supports healthy respiratory, glandular and circulatory systems
• Supports healthy nervous system function and mood regulation
• Naturally high in fiber which helps curb appetite
• Supports healthy endocrine and immune function
• Promotes healthy urine flow and helps neutralize toxins and internal waste

Cramp Bark

• Used anciently by Native Americans for swelling
• Supports natural muscle relaxation, especially the uterus
• Supports the natural muscle tone of the uterus
• Promotes a calm, healthy nervous system

Atlantic Kelp

• Rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, trace minerals, natural vitamins and amino acids
• Supports healthy thyroid function and metabolism

South American Bladderwrack

• Supports healthy thyroid function and metabolism
• Supports the body's natural histamine response

Indian Noni Fruit, Seeds

• Contains natural compounds which promote healthy, cramp-free menstruation
• Contains scopoletin, a natural compound which helps promote calm mood and sense of well being
• Supports menstrual cycle regulation
• Supports the body's natural histamine processes
• Promotes healthy lactation in mothers who are breastfeeding

Indian Turmeric Root

• One of the most versatile antioxidants with unparalleled DNA repair
• Contains natural compounds which support the body's natural histamine processes

Here is how you can easily win these products.  There will be 2 winners!

Leave a comment on this blog to be considered.  The winners will be announced next Tuesday over on my On The Edge Fitness Fan Page.  You must be apart of the community in order to win.  All you have to do is like this page.  I will also announce it on my blog for a day, but then take it down since I have lots of blog posts coming up!!   I will also throw in a downloadable (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) DVD of choice.

If you prefer not to take a chance Fem Balance and Fem PMS will be on sale for a few days, which you can find under the Nutrition store.  If you know a friend or family member that could greatly benefit, please share this.

My Time in London

Ben and Lyla in front of Big Ben

London is a very meaningful place to me.   My father grew up there and shared many stories of his childhood, his up bringing, and always ended in how proud he is of his British heritage.   I've always admired my dad for his simplicity with life, along with his hard work and determination.  Here is a man who grew up in a bedroom the size of most people's closets, was completely content with it, since that is all he felt he needed.  In order to help get him through college he was a London cab driver.  He came to the states when he was in his 30's leaving his entire family and everything he ever knew in his life to be with my mother.  Upon moving to America he studied in Southern California in order to pass the bar exam.  He took many odd jobs throughout process to contribute to the household.  Growing up listening to his English accent all my life was always fun.  As the English would say, I was a "cheeky" little girl and always "took the piss" out of him.  Needless to say, I find the English humor incredibly funny and when I go back to London I'm constantly laughing and happy.  Just riding the tube is an adventure and comical.  Listening to the thick English accent when they say  "Mind the Gap" and "This train terminates at CockFosters" never gets old.  ( I know I'm revealing my immature humor) Of course the serious side of seeing the culture, amazing sights, the kind people, and the deep history of London is incredible.

Photo courtesy of James Breese after a Primal Move session, by Regents Park.  This photo had to be taken.  For those who don't understand why I found this hilarious, Google it!  

My 89 year old grandparents live in London and I've always had a very strong connection with them, especially my grandmother.  I've always admired how independent they are.  They have been retired for years and live in a very quant humble house in Hampstead.  Every day from morning to night they don't stop moving.  They have a list of all their own daily chores.  My grandparents are very old fashioned and simple people.  They don't have a dishwasher or even a dryer for their clothing.  They hand wash every single dish, hang their clothes dry, iron, sew, cook all their own food.  Laziness is just not an option and this is very typical with much of the older generation I observed when I visit.  The older generation is out and about, doing their own shopping, riding the bus, and seems to be much more independent and healthier than the Americans.  It shows how easy we have it here in America.  Most of us have cars and have become technologically savvy to the point that it gives us the opportunity to not have to do as much for ourselves.  Overall Americans have a cushier life.  I have probably been to London about a handful of times throughout my life.  After all, it's not the closest place when living in Southern California to travel to.   When I go to London there is a part of me that feels as if I'm home.

English Phone Box.  A shame that their aren't many left, due to everyone having their own mobile phone.

This trip was much different and very special to me.  My grandmother has been very sick, in and out of the hospital, because of the horrible side effects she had been experiencing from her chemo treatments.  I knew how important it would be for my kids to get to spend some time with their great grandparents.  Parents know very well that flying half way across the world with 2 young children is a brave feat.  Nevertheless, the importance of the trip out weighed the exhaustion ahead, and we booked it.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much better the traveling went than I expected.  I would say, bringing the kids on my own without Ben, would have made for a whole other experience, that may have not been so smooth.  I strongly suggest one parent per child under 5 if possible, when traveling across the world on 11 hour flights to another country!  

 

Waiting in line with Chloe on my back for the London eye. (Was a super cold day)

Public outdoor Gym, Chloe enjoying herself

We stumbled across this awesome outdoor little gym.  The kids had a blast playing on all the equipment.

Lyla was better at this than all the adults who attempted it.  She kept saying "Mommy look at me, I'm exercising! This makes me healthy, give me so much energy and is fun!"

Cuddling on the streets in London

Looking out over the entire London, from the awesome London Eye

Being sassy and tired, playing with the iPad

Over the years I've had a number people in the UK, ask if I will ever come over and do a workshop.  I promised I'd make it over, just wasn't sure when.  Having 2 kids close together and nursing both children, I chose not to do much traveling during that time.  Last year James Breese, owner of Kettlebell Fever and official UK Dragon Door Kettlebell Distributor, contacted me to carry all my DVD's.  We then had a few moments to meet up in San Diego, while I was meeting with RKC Team Leader Andrew Read about strength training.  I told James I was going to London to visit family and wanted to do a workshop.  James quickly took the wheel and made it happen!  To both of our surprise this first workshop in England had no problem filling up.  James wanted to add some Primal Move to the workshop and immediately after seeing the video of Peter Lakatos, I was sold.  I actually couldn't wait to learn it for selfish reasons!  

First Ladies London Kettlebell and Movement Workshop

Attila Varga, Me, and James Breese

While I was in London, James took time out of his morning to show me some of the Primal Move system, at beautiful Regents Park.  I must say I'm very impressed and look forward to seeing more of it.  James is a fantastic teacher in all accounts from his Primal Move to kettlebell training, he is top notch!  He is a Krav Maga instructor and has actually had to use his skill many times while he was a London police officer.  Very impressive stories to say the least!  I had never worked with him before, but fortunately my intuition about people are usually spot on.  I'm glad I was right!  The workshop took place at one of the best BJJ academies in London at Carlson Gracie.  I was very honored to have, Atilla Varga, RKC and BJJ coach, to be there assisting at the workshop.

For the short time we had, the students made incredible transformations in their progress.  We had every level from the complete beginner to the advanced lifter.  Below is one of the letters I received after the workshop that makes me proud to share.  This kind of feedback is what keeps the workshops alive!

Dreams DO come true!
I've dreamed of taking a class with Lauren Brooks since I first discovered her DVD workouts about 2 years ago. I live in the UK whilst Lauren lives in the US so I thought my dream would remain just that. Well sometimes dreams do come true as I had the opportunity to take a workshop with Lauren on her recent trip to London and what an experience it was! I was very nervous before attending thinking it would be filled with super fit, amazingly honed athletes and I would be left standing in their dust. Not so. There was a great cross section of kettlebellers from out of shape beginners to some RKC's and Lauren taught us all with huge encouragement, intuition and passion. Lauren's love for what she does is evident in every move and sentence. Lauren is warm, encouraging and totally non-intimidating. Her form tips are excellent. For instance in order to stop some manic swings that were being performed she told us all to think "float" at the top of the swing and it worked like a charm - no more bionic swinging! She wants everybody to progress, safely, to be their best selves and to have fun with their kettlbell practice and not view it as a chore.

If you ever get the chance to work with Lauren, please, please take it. I gained so much from my workshop experience - vastly improved form from when I walked in (even the RKC's participating in the workshop had some tweaks made to their form) and increased confidence that I was actually on the right path and pretty darn good at some moves (swings).

If ever Lauren comes to the UK again for a workshop she can count on at least one class member for sure - me!

Thank you Lauren for everything.
Charmaine, UK

   

In closing, I plan on making my way back to London.  Most likely a quick visit solo since it is hard to drag the chidden along.  I look forward to my future adventures on the other side.  Next time I hope to visit Ireland, Scotland, France and Spain if at all possible!

5 Year Blog Anniversary WINNERS

My first big giveaway to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of my blog has now come to an end.  Today is the day to announce the winners.  The comments that were written were absolutely inspiring and touching.   Thank you everyone for participating.  Since this was so much fun, I plan on doing many more giveaways with various products and services in the future. After going through roughly 145 comments and doing easy math these are the five lucky winners.  I wish you all could be winners, however there will be many more options in the future!  Below are the winners listed with their blog comment they left so they can claim their prize.  Please email On The Edge Fitness to claim your prize.  Congratulations and thanks to all for participating!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS of my new book "Kettlebells for Women: Workouts For Your Strong, Scultped & Sexy Body" AND any Kettlebell Workout DVD of choice. 

The first place winner will also receive a complete personalized NUTRITION PROGRAM 

WINNER 5 Jennifer Denley 

Hello Lauren,

Happy Anniversary!

My name is Jennifer and I am the proud mother of a beautiful 3 year old daughter and will be delivering my second daughter next month!

WIth that said, it is very important to me that I create an enviornment of healthy eating and exercise. The last thing I want is for my daughters to grow up around the word 'diet' and to think of exercise as a means to be 'skinny'. Balance and feeding your body the movement it needs are key.

I want to win your contest so I can learn the fundamentals to living a fit and nutritionally sound lifestlye so I can pass it along to my daughters (and husband by default - poor guy always gets left out LOL).

I went ahead and completed all the bullets for entering the contest besides Twitter.

Thank you for your consideration for this contest but most importantly for being such a great inspiration and role model!

Jennifer Denley

WINNER 4 Kez from Brisbane, Australia

Happy Anniversary Lauren! My partner bought me my first kettlebell last Christmas and since then our little kettlebell "family" has grown to accommodate our increasing strength and fitness while we have trained together with your DVDs. Our inspiring story is still a work-in-progress at this stage. Having tried many different forms of exercise, only kettlebells have held our interest as they are consistently challenging ... and very rewarding!

On behalf of all your fans and followers worldwide, I would like to thank you for your accessible kettlebell instruction and nutrition tools. You've de-stigmatized the macho-manness of resistance training and empowered us mere mortals to greatness!

Cheers to another 5 years from your fan club in Brisbane, Australia!!!

WINNER 3 Rachel D. (Mother of 5 kids)

Rachel D. said...

I've been following your blog for years now. I think it was you posting about getting back into shape after having babies that kept drawing me back.

I'm not always consistent but keep going back to kettlebells because they work so much faster than anything else I've done and I really enjoy it.

I have 5 kids so I pretty much have to work out at home. Your Dvds make it happen! I can't wait to see your new book!

WINNER 2  Kelli (on her way to Sierra Leone, Africa in a year as missionaries)

Kelli said...

I think I first found you on YouTube, and I was impressed with your form while learning to do a kettlebell swing. I followed a link from there, and watched this tiny fit girl (you!) doing a get-up with some huge crazy amount of weight bell, and I became an immediate fan. My story, in a nutshell, is that I feel like an athlete inside my head, but my body and health don't reflect that. It is very hard emotionally to feel like an athlete, tough and strong, and then not have that reflect in my reality. I have four beautiful children, and was a little bigger with each pregnancy. After having my second, I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. This has been a huge mental struggle, because I'll commit to exercise, and then fatigue would hit, and I'd have to stop. It messes with me mentally, questioning if I am lazy. My husband, God bless him, has been so supportive through all of this. He thinks I am the most beautiful woman in the world, he really makes me feel loved, even though I need to lose about 55 pounds. So I am really not saying "poor me", I have a beautiful life with my husband and children. It is just that that athlete in me wants out! Along with the fact that I need to lose weight for my health. One of your recent blog posts said that you exercise an average of 20 minutes a day. That was a lightbulb moment for me. I have exercise videos that are an hour long. Well, they made me feel defeated before I even began! I have your first two DVDs and I can do a quick workout and feel good about it now. Getting "permission" from you to do short but intense workout has helped my energy levels. I just got your book, so I will be studying that. I recently cut out of my diet grains, dairy, & refined sugar. We went to eat at someone's house, and they had spagetti, garlic bread, and angelfood cake! The next day my stomach hurt, I had broken out on my chin, and my husband said my breathing was bad while I was sleeping. It seemed like I have an allergy. So I did some research, and people with wheat allergies can have chronic fatigue symptoms! I noticed that you eat gluten-free, so I am so interested in getting a nutrition consultation from you, to lose weight, address my allergy, and learn how to eat while traveling. You see, we are moving to Sierra Leone, Africa in a year as missionaries. I feel a sense of urgency to have my health and weight healed before I go. Along with that comes traveling to churches to present the ministry, which means exercising on the road, eating healthy during long car trips, and navigating eating at people's homes. I think I would be a fun change for you to help. I don't think a nutrition plan is something I just want, I feel like it is something I need, and this giveaway is perfect timing given by the person I would want it from most.
Congratulations on 5 years, and more to come!

WINNER #1 "Red headed mama" (mother of a 5 year old girl)

Redheadedmama said...

Hi Lauren,

I already own three of your videos and just bought your book. Thank you for putting such great women-centric KB training out there. I love that my five-year old daughter thinks that moms are supposed to be strong and active (unfortunately, she's also seen me at my worst in hospital at 95 pounds when I was really sick -- I'm glad that now she associates me with strength and sport now!).


I would love to win your nutrition program. After over two decades as a vegetarian, I had to go back to eat meat for some complex and serious health reasons. For moral reasons, I struggle every day with not wanting to eat meat but having to as I recognize my body needs it . I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated your recent blog when you spoke of your own similar struggles with eating meat as I'd never heard of anyone else going through something similar to what I had to go through (as most vegetarians I know seem to function perfectly well as vegetarians!). Anyway, I'd love to find out more about your nutrition programming as I've had to totally approach eating differently and change my way of thinking about the foods I eat, and I'm still learning.

Keep up with the great blog and congrats on the blogging award!