WED: Become More Stories feat. Brooke Laird

My name is Brooke Laird, I am 28 originally from Ohio and have been living in San Diego for a little over three years. At this point in my life I can’t imagine not being active, but that hasn’t always been the case.

Between high school and the end of college, I was on a roller coaster of unhealthy relationships with food. It started with eating whatever was in sight and believing two hours of volleyball would compensate. By the middle of high school, I became consumed with exercise and eating as little as possible. Then came college, and the way to the typical story of the freshman 15. Drinking, late night pizza, and no regular gym routine quickly lead to a drained bank account spent on on a whole new set of clothes in much larger sizes.

Fast forward through a few years of college drinking, I was standing at the finish line supporting my parents who were running a marathon. As I looked around at the community of runners and observing the camaraderie, I realized I wanted to be a part of something like that. A few months later I completed my first half marathon in May of 2009. Between 2009 and 2015 I completed 7 marathons and more half marathons. I became your classic cardio bunny and would sprinkle in upper body and some leg workouts a few times a week. I wasn’t fast, had no structure to my training plans, and no major goals.

In 2016, I decided to continue to pursue this new passion so I had hired a running coach and joined a gym where I was doing a 60 day rigorous diet and exercise plan. In April of that year, I qualified for the Boston Marathon and was happy where I was at in my fitness journey. During that same spring my friend Abby (May) convinced me to try a class at this gym she was attending and loved. Even though I was already a part of a gym I thought I loved, I figured I would at least try it out. This was my introduction to Performance 360.

I vividly remember tier one was squat and maybe one more movement, but I left the gym and thinking “this place isn’t for me, I barely sweat, this won’t help with my running.” I laugh thinking back to this moment.

A few months later I moved within blocks of the P360 PB location and figured I would give “Abby’s gym” one more chance. I took a Saturday PSC class with Matt on October 14th and signed up for an unlimited membership before even leaving. For the first few months I would not only cherry pick classes but would often do PSC, shred, and a run all in a single day. I was obsessed with Shred and would choose the PCS classes which I thought would give me the best workout (only evaluated on how sweaty I was when I left).

This past January, I hired Lenny to help me with my nutrition as I geared up for The Boston Marathon in April. After Boston was over I decided to reevaluate my goals. I started seeing progress in my lifts, getting constant feedback from coaches, and was inspired daily by the women at the gym that were setting and achieving huge strength goals. I have set some huge goals for 2018 and 2019 and although I will continue to be a runner and strive for PRs, I can’t wait to see how my work in the gym pays off with strength and in my marathon.

I have come a long ways from having an unhealthy relationship with food and cardio in my college days, and now, I feel this balance that I have on my overall fitness and competitive racing has set me up for the most successful version of myself.

The past 10 years I have only been identified and viewed myself as a runner, but now I can say thanks to this gym, I am an athlete.

-Brooke

Wednesday, 8.15.18

First. For Structure
8 Back Squats 70%
8 DB Bench Press
*Every 5’ for 15’ (x3)
—
Then. For Conditioning
3/s ½ Kneeling LM Press
6 DB Side Lunges
5 Push-Ups
5 Sandbag OTS
50m Power Skip
10 Cal AB
(x18’)