My Trainer Brent Hruska on Micro-dosing, Lowering Cortisol & How Yoga Changed His Life

I met Brent Hruska on Instagram. That’s proper. I hashtagged #austintrainers, discovered him & reached out. I figured I needed to include extra weight lifting into my train so we had a cellphone name.

Brent was open to all my particulars ( LOL ) of what I needed to perform with him: low cortisol surroundings, low music, not lots of people, & a coach who might work with me on my thoughts, physique & spirit.

As you realize, we moved to Austin so I haven’t been capable of work out with @kimkellyfit in San Diego or @parkerpilates in LA. I nonetheless do Skype exercise with them however I want somebody I can see in individual too. If you’re in LA or San Diego I extremely suggest Kim & Betsy.

Anyway, Brent & hit it off. He has some REAL good vibes, his health club is mainly outdoors in nature & he’s dedicated to creating small adjustments each day for large outcomes. Recently he was on the podcast speaking concerning the results of energy coaching on hormones, longevity & psychological readability. So I needed to have in on the weblog too. 

In this publish Brent will get into his journey from physique constructing to steroids to yogi to non-public coach, why he holds a particular place in his coronary heart for yoga, issues he likes within the health area proper now & he even shares smoothie ideas when you’re eager to bulk up or lean out.

Without additional adieu, meet my coach in Austin, Brent Hruska.

My Trainer Brent Hruska on Micro-dosing, Lowering Cortisol & How Yoga Changed His Life

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 ♡ Introduce your self to The Skinny Confidential viewers.

Brent Hruska: Hi! My title is Brent & I’m a private coach in Austin TX. I’ve been a coach for the previous 16 years and moved to Austin from Seattle in September 2022. 

I’m extraordinarily grateful for the connections I’ve made & the shoppers I’ve right here, comparable to Lauryn & Michael. They’re wonderful folks with such good power, & they’re so beneficiant. 

Every shopper I’ve had the chance to work with right here has been unbelievable. I’m so grateful to have been on the podcast & now on the weblog. Hopefully each present a few of you with worth & make it easier to attain your health and well being objectives. 

♡ Your technique on coaching is exclusive since you work on reducing folks’s cortisol. Can you speak extra about that?

BH: When somebody begins to work with me, rather a lot instances they’re below an excessive amount of stress. Maybe they’ve a number of youngsters or they’re making an attempt to run a family or they’re a brilliant excessive performer at their company job, or operating a enterprise or doing all these issues! 

Most of the time these persons are doing boot camps or excessive depth courses & they’re often below consuming too. They’re below a whole lot of stress in each method. On the opposite hand, some persons are so exhausted that they aren’t doing any sort of train in any respect. They’re burned out.

So there’s a method to make use of train to assist heal the physique & truly achieve extra power.

In my very own health journey I’ve crashed & burned many instances which I’ll get into later. But in a nutshell I used to be into physique constructing & steroids, ignored what my physique needed, fueled myself with caffeine & ran myself into the bottom. I used to be working & coaching shoppers an excessive amount of, ignoring boundaries & not working by myself well being regime. It’s a nasty cycle & it’s onerous to interrupt. “How do I get out of this mess” is one thing that I assist my shoppers with.

We work to revive steadiness within the nervous system & develop a exercise the place you’ve power after. When you’re in your 20s you are able to do some wild shit. You can go go go & by no means actually really feel it. But as we become old doing boot camps and excessive depth coaching can depart us feeling extra depleted. 

Strength coaching is an efficient technique to ‘use your battery’ however in a wholesome method.

It doesn’t produce cortisol which retains your physique feeling ‘amped up’ – it truly has a really grounding impact & when finished correctly doesn’t exhaust folks. So together with energy coaching, I encourage my shoppers to do issues that deliver steadiness to their nervous methods. This means reducing cortisol, aka, getting the stress down. I need them to really feel their vitality & vibrant power & use it as a information. Stress accumulates within the thoughts, the physique & the feelings so what brings that stress down seems completely different for everybody. 

My aim is for all my shoppers to do exercises & push themselves in a method that makes them stronger, to allow them to deal with extra stress, however to not the purpose the place they will’t recuperate from it. I encourage my shoppers to do issues that they get pleasure from & make them really feel good, no matter which will appear to be for them.

Along with health objectives & doing issues that make them really feel good, I attempt to train my shoppers how vital breath is simply too. A good way to really feel accountable for your personal nervous system is to go for a stroll. No cellphone, no headphones, simply stroll. Focus in your breath, in & out of your nostril, & you’ll discover it’s so calming to the nervous system. In truth there’s a ebook referred to as Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, & it talks about how by way of the nostril is the simplest technique to breath. 

♡ What are wellness practices that everybody can profit from?

BH: There are so many! Walking, fingers down, everybody ought to be doing it. For me, it permits my thoughts to go so deep & manage my ideas however with out me deliberately occupied with something. It’s so good for my thoughts & it’s considered one of my favourite issues to do within the morning. It helps me visualize my day & my week and I really feel extra calm & centered for the day. It additionally helps me be a lot extra current with shoppers. Also, the morning solar & being in nature is simply the most effective. 

Meditation is so good too. I like Headspace or the Alo Yoga app, however actually one of the best ways to meditate is to simply sit & give attention to one thing. For me, I prefer to give attention to my respiratory. I think about vibrant power flowing into my physique. 

I like yoga too. Being very bodily is an efficient method of me to get right into a aware state & yoga has actually modified my life & benefited me rather a lot ( I get into it extra quickly ). It’s a really stress-free, regenerative fashion of stretching. I all the time suggest it for shoppers with accidents or scar tissue.  You can go on YouTube or actually simply decide a pair poses, do them on the ground & maintain them. This is nice for connecting to your thoughts too.

Float tanks are one other factor I like.

It’s the last word mediation hack. You don’t even should do something. It’s a deprivation tank & you float in 1000 lbs of epsom salts & you simply float in the dead of night. Eventually your thoughts reaches a spot of quiet & a state that seems like once you’re between consciousness & unconsciousness. Sometimes you’ve some wild, vivid loopy desires, nevertheless it’s so stress-free. I used float tanks rather a lot in a time the place I used to be out of steadiness & working method an excessive amount of. I’d be so amped up with cortisol & it received so unhealthy that I might barely go to sleep. The float tanks actually helped as a result of irrespective of how harassed my nervous system was. It immediately balanced me & gave me time to mirror. 

Eating mindfully is one thing I feel we’ve all gotten away from. Diet is vital, however once more it’s particular person. It relies upon what exercise you do, for instance, when lifting weight it is best to have a bit extra protein, BUT. the vital factor right here is we must always all attempt to eat extra mindfully. Try consuming with out your cellphone, or with out the TV on or at your work desk. 

When I used to be in India doing my yoga trainer coaching, each meal needed to be in full silence. In order to honor our meals & be aware, we couldn’t converse. So strive it! Start with only one meal & see how current you could be for simply 10 minutes. Afterwards, notice how that meal made you’re feeling. 

Those are some issues that work properly for me & different shoppers however issues are completely different for everybody. One factor I can say is that strolling is nice for everybody! Go on walks! WALK WALK WALK!

♡ Give us 3 exercises anybody can do at dwelling, proper now, with no tools.

BH: The method I like to have a look at dwelling exercises, particularly when you don’t have tools, is to make use of your full physique. You can use your physique weight to burn gasoline & create energy in the entire physique.

Simple physique weight workout routines for the decrease physique are lunges, squats, break up squats, step ups & then variations of all these issues could be finished. 

You’ll additionally desire a ‘pushing’ motion & a ‘pulling’ motion. Pushups & dips work your chest, core, biceps, triceps- and you are able to do variations for these too. The ‘pulling’ motion is a bit tougher as a result of you have to some sort of tools. The secret is to give attention to robust contractions ‘as if’ you’re pulling one thing. This is the place you possibly can get some bands or a kettlebell to do a rowing motion or one thing like that. In my opinion you don’t want another dwelling tools than a pull up bar &resistance bands.

Anyway, listed below are 3 at-home exercises for you!

Workout 1

A1: Push ups

A2: Alternating Reverse Lunge

A3: Hip Thrusts

A4: Plank

30 seconds work / 30 seconds relaxation x 5 rounds 

Workout 2 

A1: Chair Dips

A2: Chair Step Ups Right Leg

A3: Downdog Pushups 

A4: Chair Step Ups Left Leg

A5: Flutter Kicks 

30 seconds work / 30 seconds relaxation x 3 rounds 

Workout 3

A1: Wall Sit

A2: Frog Pumps

A3: Supermans

A4: Split Squat Right Leg

A5: Sit Ups

30 seconds work / 30 seconds relaxation x 3 rounds 

As you achieve extra resistance to those workout routines you’ll be able to improve your time, or your rounds, or add extra workout routines. 

♡ What smoothie do you suggest for somebody making an attempt to realize energy & bulk?

BH: Whether you’re making an attempt to lose or achieve weight, it comes all the way down to energy in vs. energy out. That’s it.

Smoothies are a great way to extend or lower calorie consumption truly. It could be difficult for lots of people to eat extra, so smoothies are nice for that. 

If you wish to add extra energy to your eating regimen to extend your muscle mass you’ll be able to add nut milks, nut butters, hemp seeds, further scoops of protein powder. You may even double or triple your regular protein. ( Check out some protein suggestions right here ).

One factor although is to steer clear of including too many greens. It provides further fiber, however not many energy. Bananas & dates are wholesome excessive calorie choices too.

♡ What smoothie do you suggest for somebody making an attempt to tone & drop some weight?

BH: If you’re making an attempt to drop some weight, you wish to create fullness so extra veg than fruit ( as much as an 80/20 ratio ) is nice. Use frozen fruit so that you don’t have so as to add ice cubes that can make it watery.

Berries are nice as a result of they’re excessive in fiber, then mess around with some greens. You can add cucumber, avocado, some carrot. See what you want however simply attempt to make it largely veggies with some fruit for power.

I like a smoothie with frozen mangoes, frozen pineapples, cilantro & a little bit of avocado. 

Try to eat seasonally too. Go to your native Farmer’s Market & see what’s in season. Doing this actually offers you a aware connection to your meals & you’ll be extra in align together with your surroundings & what’s occurring local weather sensible.

I can’t again it up with science for you, however doesn’t consuming what’s in season seem to be a good suggestion? Wouldn’t it really feel unusual consuming watermelon in November?

♡ What’s one thing problematic you see within the eating regimen & health area?

BH: I’ve all the time had an issue with the best way ladies are marketed to. Look, all is honest in love & conflict however considered one of my pet peeves is when ladies are marketed too the best way they’re at the moment.

The truth is, all of us have been born with completely different genetics. Some persons are skinny, some folks have plenty of muscle, all ladies can’t be Victoria’s Secret fashions & all males can’t be NFL linebackers. YES, a whole lot of coaching, blood, sweat & tears go into these careers, however a whole lot of it’s genetics.

For occasion, there isn’t a quantity of weight-reduction plan, steroids or coaching I might do to run  60 yards in 5 seconds, or no matter they do. LOL. I might by no means carry out on that degree.

Again, these folks work onerous, there’s no doubting that. Athletes & fashions work their asses of, however they’re additionally born with sure constructions & skills.

It bothers me when exercise courses inform ladies that in the event that they do it, their physique will appear to be this or that. 90% of the time that isn’t going to occur for most individuals. Yes, a whole lot of our bodies do change from sure exercises, however most don’t.

Pilates & barre are wonderful exercises, they’ve so many advantages, however they aren’t going to show you right into a mannequin.

If you actually wish to change your physique you might want to carry weights, however you don’t should do it in a method the place you’re making an attempt to enter a physique constructing competitors. But you do have to do it in a method the place you’re including extra weight than final week & in a method that can get you the physique you need.

So ya, the advertising and marketing actually bothers me, & that goes for advertising and marketing on social media too. You ought to solely be evaluating your self to your previous & current self & regularly enhancing on that. In the physique constructing world, we’d all the time say that your solely competitors is your self.

You can strive completely different workout routines & see what your physique responds to, what feels good & how your physique adjustments. I encourage everybody to expertise each sort of exercise as a result of all of them have completely different results for each physique.

Personally, I consider that 90% of girls ought to be energy coaching with a splash of different sorts of exercises to assist them obtain their objectives. Different seasons of your life required various things although. For occasion, there was a time in my life the place I solely did yoga & didn’t carry a weight for 3 years. I received smaller & kinda ‘skinny fat’ however that’s what my physique wanted on the time.

Everyone must do what works for them.

♡ What’s one thing wonderful you’re seeing within the eating regimen & health area?

BH: I like that everyone has the ability to share their health, well being & wellness story very simply. AND it could possibly go viral! Anyone can go on Instagram or TikTok & share their expertise. Whether you’ve Hashimoto’s or some uncommon illness, you’ll be able to go surfing and share what labored for you and what didn’t. 

We have the flexibility to share our experiences with every on such a grand scale & it makes folks very relatable by way of hardships, journeys & successes. 

Seeing earlier than & afters of individuals actually received me to vary my physique & ‘buy in’ to the entire health factor. Some of you would possibly bear in mind a program referred to as ‘BODY FOR LIFE’ – it was one of many first applications on the market & it was nice. It wasn’t loopy, it was simply 6 small meals a day ( with a protein, carb & fats ), one cheat day, my dad & I’d exercise 3 days every week within the storage doing 20 minutes of intervals, it was nice. But these earlier than & after footage & tales actually received me to purchase in to all of it.

So that’s what’s wonderful proper now. People can share their tales & it’s one of many causes I began a podcast, Bodies By Brent. Loads of finish outcomes look the identical however the journeys & experiences that get folks there are actually distinctive.

♡ Talk to us about meditation.

BH: I feel each single individual on this planet must develop some sort of mindfulness apply. This means one thing that simply makes you conscious. That’s the place your energy is. If you’re wanting to vary the best way you assume, or change your habits then mindfulness can assist you consciously concentrate on what you’re doing or considering that’s not productive to your aim.

An simple technique to develop that is by strolling. Go with out your cellphone, give attention to respiratory & see what involves you. You’ll discover the presence that involves you in your walks will carry over into time with your loved ones, or once you’re within the bathe or wherever.  There are alternatives all through our complete lives ( & each day ) to develop consciousness & mindfulness.

Another time i like to meditate is once I’m cleansing. For no matter motive, whether or not I’m cleansing my automotive or the home, I attain such a meditative centered state. Cleaning has such a therapeutic impact on the thoughts. 

So actually, meditation is simply focussing on one thing, something, to deliver you into the current second. There are so many issues that may make it easier to with this. I additionally prefer to deal with my exercises like meditations. I take note of the mind-muscle connection & am aware of my respiratory between units. The mind-muscle connection is every little thing when you’re making an attempt to vary your physique.

There are precise research that recommend individuals who visualize their energy ( mind-muscle connection ) noticed nice progress & change against those that didn’t. So exercises are a good way to meditate & be current in your physique.

♡ Talk to us about micro-dosing. Would love to listen to your ideas.

BH: Psilocybin or magic mushroom micro-dosing is once you take a dose so low that you just aren’t ‘tripping.’

I micro-dose typically truly. I suffered from despair rather a lot in my life however I didn’t even understand it, it’s one thing that has just lately come to me. Growing up in Seattle was tough as a result of it was darkish on a regular basis. It’s cloudy & wet & my nervous system doesn’t do properly with that.

On that notice: one other factor I wish to say is that your particular person physique has a local weather & surroundings that it thrives in. If you’re in a local weather or surroundings that you just don’t love, MOVE. MOVE MOVE MOVE. Do it. It would be the smartest thing you’ve ever finished.

Back to micro-dosing. so you are taking a really low dose, & I simply do it once I really feel I want it each few days. It helps me shift my thoughts & my temper to a extra current state & will get me out of my head. It’s a really useful software to make use of once you’re meditating, occurring a stroll or a hike. It deepens your presence & the expertise.

It’s additionally a fantastic software to make use of if you find yourself engaged on a mission, brainstorming or doing something artistic. I encourage you to do your personal analysis & discover data on several types of micro-dosing. For me & lots of people I do know it has had a really optimistic impact on us. It’s a good way to chill out with out involving alcohol.

♡ You prepare a whole lot of ladies. What’s a simple tweak ladies could make with regards to their relationship with meals & health? 

BH: This won’t be a simple tweak but when I might want one thing for all ladies with the snap of a finger, it will be to let go of the guilt they’ve over what they eat. 

Guilt & meals causes a lot hurt & harm. Food is a tremendous factor: it permits us to nourish ourselves, join with folks, helps us make reminiscences & it feeds us emotionally which generally is a good factor.

These ideas that carbs are unhealthy and bla bla bla does a lot hurt. Flexible weight-reduction plan is finest & that’s the place you eat largely complete, actual meals & let different meals are available as you see match. Eating what you need typically isn’t going to kill you. Letting go of the guilt once you eat one thing you ‘shouldn’t’ or throw meals away or binge, or sneak meals behind your loved ones’s again will likely be a wholesome behavior to get into it. The guilt causes so many extra issues than the Venti Frappuccino you simply had within the automotive by your self.

Practice letting go of the guilt.

It’s not simple, however turn into conscious of why you’re feeling responsible & the place it’s coming from. Give your self some grace, love & kindness.

Also, belief yourselves. I want ladies would belief themselves with what their our bodies want when it comes ot train. If you’re a girl who is considering beginning energy coaching, simply do it. It’ll be the most effective factor you ever do. You’ll really feel stronger, your hormones will regulate & you’ll watch your physique rework. Now, when you go someplace & the coach makes you uncomfortable otherwise you simply don’t prefer it, then don’t do it. But proceed your search & discover some sort of resistance coaching. It’s simply so good for you emotionally, mentally & bodily. 

♡ How do you wind down? Share your nighttime routine.

BH: It sucks. LOL. I’m not excellent. My life is a set of experiences that permit me to study & apply these experiences to my shoppers. I’m removed from excellent & I’m regularly making an attempt to enhance myself. My night time time routine is one thing I’m engaged on & making an attempt to dial in. 

My perfect night time time routine could be doing 10-20 minutes of stretching, then 10-20 minutes of studying then going to mattress. I just lately received a brand new mattress & I’ve been sleeping like a champ, so I’ve been doing a whole lot of that.

Sometimes I simply watch a Seinfeld episode, take heed to some music then go to mattress. It’s all the time altering, & it’s not excellent, so I’m engaged on it. I’ve limitless move for floating so typically I’ll go to a float tank & I move out as quickly as I get dwelling.

I can let you know what NOT to do though- don’t go in your cellphone earlier than mattress. Try to offer your self a 2-3 hour window with out your cellphone earlier than going to sleep.

♡ I do know you’re keen on yoga. Talk to us about that.

BH: Yoga saved my life. I used to physique construct & I used to be in nice form, however I received into steroids once I was younger. I used to be so focussed on turning into a physique builder. Along with a whole lot of different trainers, you assume that when you win some competitions & look actually good, then you definately’ll get plenty of shoppers. It’s a really shortsighted view on how to achieve success.

When I used to be 25 I received to a spot the place I spotted I wasn’t progressing like everybody else as a result of I wasn’t taking steroids. It was this eye-opening, curtain has been lifted feeling, realizing what different guys have been doing behind the scenes. 

So I stated fuck it, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna go all in. It was exhausting making an attempt to vary my physique & I didn’t wish to be doing that till I used to be 50 years previous so I believed, lets see if I can do one thing with this. And it was a enjoyable expertise.

I by no means ended up even doing a present as a result of each time I used to be virtually prepared, I wasn’t prepared. I’d binge eat, however the steroids actually exacerbated it & gave me a nasty relationship with meals. They additionally made me emotionally & socially a hermit. The solely time I felt good was once I was lifting weights. I used to be anti-social & simply beating the shit out of my physique.

I wasn’t being attentive to what my physique wanted in any respect. One time I used to be strolling to my automotive & I might hardly breathe as a result of I used to be so heavy. It was simply so dumb, nevertheless it was enjoyable. And I realized rather a lot.  

So I received to some extent the place I made a decision sufficient was sufficient, no extra of this.

It’s an dependancy & I didn’t understand it as a result of I used to be younger. I made a decision to come back off chilly turkey & begin to do issues that felt good for my physique. And that’s a completely completely different mind-set then I had ever had earlier than. 

I used to assume yoga was so silly & such a waste of time. Loads of my shoppers have been doing scorching yoga & I simply thought it was a waste of power & it made them sore earlier than they labored out with me. But I made a decision to strive it. I went to a category.

The teacher was a Buddhist nun & had a level in cognitive behavioral remedy.  She taught us the true ideas of yoga. She taught us the apply of asana, breathwork & meditation. So we’d study from her concerning the philosophies of east & west & do these visualizations of letting go of stress.

I simply bear in mind being so current. More current than I’ve ever been & with the ability to discover what was occurring proper in entrance of me. For the primary time ever I might ‘see’ my stress & anxiousness. I’d by no means thought I had both of these issues earlier than. They turned this separate entity from my SELF.

The first few instances I went to yoga courses I had these intense emotional releases. I’d cry & be weepy, however each time I left I felt lighter, extra in tune & conscious. That’s what led me to observe the trail of what my physique wants & give attention to that.

Lots of people say they’ve a non secular awakening of some kind of their lifetime & it’s one thing I’ve been upondering for some time.

I feel it refers to once you turn into conscious that there’s a deeper self than the individual you assume you’re. The non secular awakening is the attention of your self & your soul. You will not be your ideas or your feelings, you aren’t your physique. There turns into this deeper consciousness & consciousness & I feel that’s the awakening. It’s a life altering factor to expertise & that was just the start for me.

So, sure, yoga holds a really particular place in my coronary heart as a result of it helped me turn into conscious of myself on a deep degree. It helped me perceive my stress & anxiousness, it helped me stop smoking. It’s helped me develop mindfulness the place I wasn’t engulfed in feelings & might make good choices.

♡ What’s a ebook, podcast or useful resource you suggest? (could be on any topic)

BH: A ebook everybody ought to learn is The Untethered Soul. I’ve by no means come throughout a ebook that’s finished a greater job of explaining what mindfulness is. The evolution & strategy of turning into awake. It’s easy, highly effective & I like it. 

Obviously I like The Skinny Confidential HIM & HER podcast, however one other favourite is The Huberman Lab. His podcasts are dense & he covers one matter & goes very deep on that one factor with the newest analysis. It’s a really cool factor for us to have entry to proper now. Andrew Huberman kinda weeds by way of all of the analysis & made up shit on the market & solely brings you data that’s useful to you. He cuts by way of a whole lot of the bullshit that’s on the market. I all the time suggest it to my shoppers to allow them to hear for themselves what’s true & what’s not.

♡ Where can everybody discover you? Pimp your self out! 

BH: You can discover me on Instagram @bodiesbybrentatx & TikTok @bodiesbybrent. Feel free to shoot me a DM anytime when you have questions or are interested by working with me.

My web site is bodiesbybrent.com & you’ll be able to take heed to my podcast Bodies By Brent on Spotify or iTunes. It’s a spot the place my shoppers share their journeys & we focus on the newest within the health & wellness area. It’s an extension of me as a coach, with out truly having to coach with me. Hopefully it supplies worth & training that will help you attain your objectives. 

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There you’ve it. Brent has the most effective method to conserving cortisol low in a exercise ( & in life ). Be positive to observe him @bodiesbybrentatx & take a look at his podcast.

AND remember to take heed to him on The HIM & HER podcast the place he talks all about energy coaching for hormones, psychological readability & longevity.

x, lauryn

+ scope this publish on easy methods to manifest one thing.

++ learn to create your personal meditation station at dwelling. 

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