Say what? The Brandon-isms of training...

It's hard to imagine training without this guy.

     Tonight was my last training session with my trainer, Brandon Mauro from Tranform PT at Muscle Inc., before he leaves Pennsylvania for a new adventure and the next chapter in his career. In the seven months I have known him I have completely shifted the way I look at life, deal with stress and pain, approach a problem, deal with people and even the way I teach my students. He has taught me so much about living a positive life, embracing a healthy lifestyle, eating good nutrition, taking care of my body, weight training, setting goals (and crushing them), pushing myself to be better and the importance of having life balance. (See Can I take a moment to give my trainer props) And we have even had more than a few good conversations about life, music, books, motivational speaking, traveling and philosophy along the way. It is because of his inspiration and motivation that I was able to lose 42 lbs so far, reach a personal record deadlift of 175 lbs for 10 reps, and a personal record squat of 135 lbs for 8 reps and countless other physical feats that I never imagined I would be able to do. And he is the reason I am motivated to keep pushing the limits for new PR's.

     

     When we started training last June my goal was to lose weight, get in shape and have more
energy. As we progressed I started to set other goals like get stronger and look leaner. And now I am setting goals like squatting 225 and having six pack abs. In seven months I have made the lifestyle change I set out to do. I eat clean, train six days a week, do my best to stay positive and motivated and even try to inspire others to do the same. I feel at home at the gym and everyone there has become my extended family. When I'm sick, sore or having a bad day I always feel better after a workout. And talking to Brandon is therapy when I need it. I have truly learned what it means to 'live my best life' as a result of knowing this man. And I mean it when I say I will miss him terribly. I kid and say I am his 'gym mom' but he has become a friend I can depend on, can talk to about anything and can make me laugh even when he's pushing me beyond what I think I can do. Muscle Inc will not be the same without him.

      The past seven months have been a learning experience to say the least. Brandon reminded me one day that in my case 'the teacher became the student' because I literally knew nothing about training, good nutrition or living a balanced life. And Brandon truly knows what he is talking about. #mytrainerknowshisshit So a couple months ago when I found out that Brandon would be leaving, I started to write down a list of all the things he says all the time. A reference of sorts for future motivation. Motivational phrases that I have considered printing out and plastering on the wall of the home gym my husband is building on the second floor of our garage.

     So here you will find a list of things that Brandon has said repeatedly over the course of our training. Brandon-ism if you will. And if you have ever trained with Brandon you will understand and recognize some (if not all) of the following quotes:

"It's all about the journey...and having fun!" From the very beginning Brandon made it clear that this was a journey and it wasn't so much about what my goals were but how I was getting to those goals.

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet." As an English teacher I say this to my students all the time. So it was funny to hear Brandon tell me the same thing. If I did my own research on something we were talking about I would often ask 'is this true?' and sometimes it was and other times it was misinformation.

"It's all about changing for the better gradually mentally, physically and spiritually." When I started to see results early on in my transformation I told Brandon how excited I was and that was his response. And over the months that followed I did change mentally, physically and spiritually for the better by changing my mindset.

"One more set..." I learned to not trust that when Brandon says 'last set' that it was, in fact, the last set. He often would change his mind about the number of sets (and sometimes reps) during a workout.

"You're going to be sore tomorrow..." 'Sore tomorrow' is a phrase that took on various meanings throughout our training. In the beginning it was an 'I hate you' sore where walking up stairs was a challenge or a 'go home and ice my bum shoulder' sore. As the training progressed and I got stronger being sore was a good thing. Recovery started to happen faster and the days I am most sore are after a heavy lifting day or high volume rep day. But the soreness I feel now is not a 'go home and ice my bum shoulder' sore.

Made Brandon a Choc Peppermint Cheesecake & he got his pump on.

"Ok. Stay there. Drop set!" The first time Brandon uttered the words 'drop set' was on a leg day
when I was on the leg extension machine. My quads were burning and Brandon told me we're going to do a drop set. When it was over my quads were on fire. That was early on in the training. Now I know if he says, "Ok. Stay there," he doesn't even need to finish the sentence. I know it means a drop set is coming.

"Cook everything in coconut oil. Nothing but coconut oil." When I started cooking clean there was a lot of things I changed about what I ate and how I prepared it. The biggest change was what I cooked my food in. Coconut oil. Just coconut oil. And the reason? Because coconut oil has a lot of nutrients and a high resistance to heat and retains those nutrients when you cook with it. Olive oil is good but has a low resistance to heat and loses nutrients at high temps.

"Take care of your body. It's the only one you get." From the moment Brandon said this to me the first time, I took it to heart. It was the driving force behind my motivation. At 48, I finally realized that I needed to take care of my body if I didn't want to worry about things like heart disease, diabetes and asthma. It is because of this quote that I think twice about unhealthy eating habits and even my cheat meals resemble a version of the clean diet I eat every day.

"We're just getting started. Much more results to come." Brandon congratulated me and celebrated with me every small success along my journey but he was always quick to remind me that there was more to come. Even this week as we talked about him leaving and me being on my own next week, he reminded me that I'm not done and there is much more to come.

"They've got it at Wegmans." I can honestly say I had never been to Wegmans before I met Brandon. My impression of the store was that it was another version of Whole Foods which meant it was expensive. I had heard their prepared foods were awesome. But it wasn't for the prepared foods that I ended up trying Wegmans. It was for the organic foods, grass fed beef and unique items they carried that were suddenly a part of my diet. If I couldn't find it anywhere else Brandon would tell me they had it at Wegmans. And I soon discovered that their prices were no worse than any other place I shop at.

"Getting the blood flowing will help the muscle recover." When I first started training with Brandon I was going to physical therapy for tendonitis and bursitis in my left shoulder. Within 2 weeks I had stopped going because during training sessions I was doing the same thing just with weights. Throughout the months that followed if my shoulder acted up or on one particular occasion when I woke up with a particularly stiff neck, I would always feel better after a workout and the blood got flowing to the muscles. In the past, I would be on the sofa with a heating pad and cocktail of painkillers and muscle relaxers.

"Americano?" When I started training with Brandon seven months ago I was an avid DD customer who loved her flavored coffees, especially at this time of year. Pumpkin Spice, Peppermint Mocha or whatever speciality flavor they were marketing for the season. When I started looking at nutritional information I realized what I was putting in my body with my daily coffee fix. Early on Brandon had told me 'better be black coffee.' And I have to say the first time I tried it black I swore off coffee for a while. That was until Brandon introduced me to Americanos. The first time I got him an Americano my car still smelled like coffee when I drove home that night and I decided I had to give it a try because it smelled so good! So the last two months of training it became a habit and I would get the daily text from Brandon before our training session started, "Americano?" It became our daily pre-workout ritual. I'd stop for Americanos and we would sit and bull shit while sipping coffee before we would train to 'get the endorphins going' as Brandon would say.

"Head up, butt out, chest up, shoulders back, heels down" Did you ever notice that many exercises at the gym require you to arch your back and stick out your butt or chest (or both). Brandon would constantly remind me to keep my head up, arch my back and stick my butt out, chest up, shoulders back and heels down when I was learning squat form. (And then would demonstrate with perfect form.) I needed a lot of help. (See Squat ass to grass or don't squat at all) When your awkward and self conscience about how you look or how big your butt is instructions for doing a squat can be intimidating. It is for this reason that it took me almost six months to get my squat form right enough that we could put weights on the bar which is probably why Brandon had to constantly remind me of what to do for proper squat form.

"Squat ass to the grass" Soon as I mastered the squat form, squatting with weight as low as I could go became my mission. Brandon would say to squat 'ass to grass' or not at all. He told me that if his clients weren't squatting ass to grass when they came to him they were before they left him and would jokingly threaten to drop me as a client if I couldn't. (like he would even LOL)

"Hold on a second..." When you're working out and Brandon needs to take care of someone at the counter or use the men's room. Or when he was in the middle of something when I text him a question. I always got the 'hold a sec...' and then he'd come back and seamlessly go back to what we were doing.

"Yeah, don't do that again." Brandon told me early on that I needed to learn gym etiquette (what was acceptable and not acceptable in gym culture.) Lesson #1: don't let the stacked weights on the cable machine slam when I finish with them. Or in other words, don't just let go. First time I did that is when I heard, "yeah, don't do that again."

"Commit to the rep." Once we started going heavy with squats I had to learn to do this. If I didn't commit to the rep that is when I would doubt myself and lose form. Brandon would say, 'visualize yourself going down and coming back up. Take your time. Breathe. Commit to the rep.'

"Chips and dip" Brandon's humorous reference to chins and dips. Let me tell you. Chins and dips are not as much fun as chips and dip.

"Go grab the next weight." When I say Brandon pushes his clients during a workout I mean he pushes. Brandon always had more faith in what I was capable of then I did in myself. And recently since we started setting weight goals he would push me to go heavier with every exercise. Just this past Monday night was one such night. We started dumbbell presses with 20's for the first set. Set #2 he told me to grab the 25's. Set #3 Brandon said grab the 35's. Not the 30's. The 35's. I looked straight at him and said, 'no.' He's like 'grab 'em. You can do it.' Well any weight that I have to use my quad to push it up is too heavy in my opinion. But I grabbed the 35's, went back to the bench, laid back and pushed the 35's up (with a little help from Brandon) but then bagged out 12 reps, all me.

"There's the kick!" Usually when we were pushing heavier weights and I was either nearing the end of the last set or we were at that point in the workout where my muscles were fried, my knee-jerk reaction was a kick. Sometimes a double kick. Luckily, Brandon was never standing in the wrong place when this happened and he could usually anticipate it coming. Although, the first time, Brandon was standing directly in front of me.

"Trust the process." There were several times along the way when I started to doubt my progress and Brandon always reminded me to "Trust the process." He'd explain that it doesn't happen overnight and that what I was doing was working. He'd also remind me that it wasn't just about weight loss and that I was gaining muscle too. As I continue on this journey and see small changes I am reminded that I can trust the process.

"Do your cardio." When I started with Brandon we trained only 2 days a week. After a month we upped it to 3 days. Once the challenge started in September we upped again to 4 days a week. By November when he announced he was leaving we started training 6 days a week in an attempt to get all the sessions on my contract in before he left. The more we trained, the more intense the workouts became and the more I dreaded doing cardio and had to be reminded to do it. One day recently, I was putting my coat on after training and Brandon yelled from across the gym, "Tricia, are you putting your coat on to work up a better sweat with your cardio." I laughed and told him I needed to go home and rest and see my husband.

"Get it." Whenever I get close to a goal or the end of a set for a new PR (personal record) Brandon would be my cheerleader of sorts with his "Get it!"

"Tighten your core. 2 seconds down. 1 second up." When doing heavy squats I had a tendency to overthink the rep. I wouldn't breathe or I would get distracted and my form would suffer as a result. Brandon would remind me if I keep my core tight and focus on my breathing I should take 2 seconds down and 1 second up. Go down slow and controlled so as to not 'free fall' but come right back up so I didn't lose form.

"Eyes on the prize." Especially during the Transformation Challenge Brandon always reminded me to keep my goals in mind and remember what the end benefits were. I did this throughout the training and especially during the challenge and placed 3rd overall as a result. (See Top 3 baby! Not bad for a newbie...)

"#balance" Training is more than just working out and eating right. It's about life balance. My life balance became my obsession and included everything from good nutrition and the gym to social time with my husband and friends, quiet time on my patio, snuggle time with my grandson, time to reflect and read and even a few concerts. If you ask Brandon, he'd probably tell you I had too much balance. Whenever Brandon and I talked about something I was doing outside the gym we would hashtag it #balance.

"#adapt" As we went through training I learned to adapt to new things. And as I went through the process whenever we realized this we’d hashtag it #adapt.

"That would be sick!" One of Brandon's favorite things to say whenever he thought something was a great idea.

"Mind over matter. Don't overthink it. Just do it." As we went heavy with my weight goals I needed this reminder often. If I took too much time at the top of a rep for squats or deadlifts I would overthink it and psych myself out. Brandon would say this and again, I would visualize myself doing it and just do it.

"Arch your back." I can't tell you how many times I heard this. Just last night I had to be reminded several times while doing deadlifts.

"Head up." Same with this. Brandon would have to remind me regularly to keep my head up in certain exercises.

"Finish strong." Last set, last exercise of the night and I'd hear Brandon tell me to 'finish strong.' Some nights this was hard depending on what body part we were working and how hard we worked out.

"Shabooom!" An expression of affirmation or celebration that Brandon used for the first time in a text message a couple months ago. I had no idea what it was or what it meant. I actually thought it was a typo. LOL Brandon and I used it to make a point, to say there ya go! Shabooom!

"Don't forget to breathe." Sounds so simple and you’d probably think ‘how do you forget to breathe?’ but when doing squats and deadlifts Brandon would tell me ‘I should hear you breathing!” Learning to control my breathing during an exercise was one of the first things I had to learn.

"Ok. NEVER do that again. Worst way to chuck weights ever." One night after finishing a set of dumbbell presses Brandon said ‘ok chuck ‘em.’ and I literally chucked them with a push from my shoulders. Brandon looked at me and scolded me very firmly when he said to NEVER do it that way again. And then he followed it up with, "I have to be careful how I use the word chuck with you."

"Apes Eat Bananas, Apes are Jacked." If you train with Brandon get used to him eating in front of you. One thing you always see Brandon eating is bananas. And when Brandon is asked why he eats so many bananas. This was his reply.

"Your muscles are poppin'!" During an intense arm day workout every once in a while Brandon would say this. I have noticed definition in my muscles especially my arms recently too. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

"No fear, no doubt, bang it out!" Brandon became Dr. Seuss right before my last squat max PR last week. He was basically telling me to not overthink it and not to let fear enter my mind. He knew I could do and refused to let me doubt myself.

"#respectthedepth" When I finally reached my 135 squat goal and we took a video to share (See Squat ass to grass or don’t squat at all) Brandon told me to hashtag it #respectthedept because I did just what I was taught and went as low as I could go.

"The one before THE ONE. One squat. Tight. Clean. Smooth down and then up." When Brandon says 'The one before THE ONE' he’s referring to the set before attempting a new PR. One clean squat or deadlift. Then that ONE is followed by the PR set.

"Don't be intimidated by the size of the plate. The 45's are only ten pounds heavier." As if he could read my mind as I stared down the 45’s the first time they were on a barbell I was lifting, Brandon turned to me and told me not to feel intimidated because we only went up 10 lbs from the last set. Somehow the 45’s do get to me and every once in a while I psyched myself out overthinking the rep.

"Gloves are for sissys. Gotta be tough!" When we went heavy with standard deadlifts it was the first time I saw calluses on my hands. I look at them as battle scars but all my friends told me I should get gloves. I told them I had a feeling Brandon would disagree and that was his response. Although, I am at a point where the weight of my deadlifts is more than my grip can handle so gloves or straps will help with my grip as I keep increasing my max weight.

"NEXT... " This last quote I need to give credit to another client of Brandon's, Matthew Gallagher. He started with Brandon at the age of 53 and 300 pounds. When he finished with Brandon he was 54 and 245 lbs. Matthew explained to me, "as much as he pushed me, I pushed him. I would not let him get to me so after every exercise, no matter how much I hurt, no matter how much I was sweating I used to jump up and say NEXT!!!! As much as he challenged me I challenged myself but that's what makes him such a great trainer." And it's true. Brandon IS a great trainer. For me 'Next...' was something he said after each exercise or after I crushed a PR goal. 

     Now it’s time for me to say "Next..." to Brandon. Next career goal, next adventure, next life challenge, next chapter. NEXT...

Good luck to my seinse, my gym guru, my yoda, my friend, mentor and inspiration. You are going to do great!! And I look forward to a kick ass workout with you when I see you again! Shaboooom!!