Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Henderson.
Hi Brooke, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Brooke Henderson and I live in Knoxville with my husband Kris and our three boys (Micah, Malachi, and Milo. Here’s my story into why I started my own health journey and how it inspired me to help others. I was not an athlete in high school, at all. I actually did not get into fitness and healthy eating until after my husband and I returned from our honeymoon. I realized then that I was at my heaviest weight and decided I needed to do something about it.
So we did what everyone else does and joined a local gym. Through making healthier food choices and moving my body regularly, I lost 35 pounds on my own. Shortly thereafter, I became pregnant with our first son, Micah, and gained all my weight back and then some.
After he was born, I did not focus on myself at all. He was my world and became the only thing I allowed my attention to focus on. We moved to Knoxville when Micah was 2, shortly after he turned 3, I got the desire to get healthy again. So we did what everyone else does when they want to get healthy… join a local gym (at the time it was CourtSouth). This gym changed my life.
I got into group fitness classes, started eating healthier again, and felt amazing in my own skin again. So much so that I felt inspired to become a certified group fitness instructor and started teaching classes at the gym. My husband, Kris, and I had two more sons. I continued teaching classes during both pregnancies and postpartum periods. Then in March 2020, due to COVID, I stopped teaching at the gym and started focusing on coaching people virtually.
I created an online accountability group and helped people feel comfortable working out at home. Once I had that established, I really felt called to get my certification in health and wellness coaching to allow me to help coach people more with their nutrition. Now I work with clients in a group or individual setting to help empower them to take their health back in a way that brings them joy.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, not all of it has been a smooth road. My postpartum journeys were the hardest moments of my life. With my second son, I experienced severe Postpartum Anxiety, and navigating that was devastating. My constant during that time was being able to teach my classes at the gym. My members there saved me more than they will ever know.
My PPA wasn’t quite as extreme with my third son, but I experienced more physical setbacks and that was extremely hard to navigate mentally. As the instructor and leader, I was the one that was supposed to model to the members all of the high options for the moves we were doing, and I couldn’t do that. My body did not recover as quickly as it had before. Fast forward a couple of years and I experienced more health issues in the last quarter of 2021. Two back-to-back surgeries called for complete rest physically.
That was hard mentally, because for me, like many others, exercise is a way to release the stress that may be going on in life. It brings me so much joy and to not be able to do that was hard. But it was such a blessing to still be able to cheer my clients on in their journeys and watch them flourish. All of that to say is that most of the time, the struggle is more about mindset and making sure that that stays as positive as possible.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a certified health and wellness coach that specializes in helping women ditch diet culture and become their strongest selves while having fun in the process. I love working with other moms who sometimes lose themselves in the midst of raising their children. It is so easy to put ourselves last when in reality we need to put ourselves first. We have to be strong and well to be able to take care of and be there for those that need us most.
I am most proud of my little family. That not only do they support my desire to help others, but they are in this with me. I can say with 100% certainty that if my husband, Kris, hadn’t stayed so dedicated to our health and fitness in the early years, I would not be where I am today – helping others do the same. Kris and I schedule our workout times around each other and even all three of our boys are active. It is a family experience making it that much sweeter of a process.
I think my passion for seeing others succeed is what sets me apart. I help people figure out what works for them in their current life, knowing that could change at any minute. And when it does, I help them navigate that change. Life ebbs and flows and your health and wellness journey needs to as well. This is a lifelong journey. Not a before and after. And when you can do that joyfully, that’s where the magic happens.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
My husband and I have lived in Georgia, South Carolina, and have called Knoxville, TN home for 12 years.
We absolutely love it here. The outdoor activities are endless. We still haven’t explored everything Knoxville and the surrounding area have to offer. It is one of our goals this year to explore and hike more.
There really isn’t much that we don’t love about Knoxville, but I do wish that it was a more diverse city.
Contact Info:
- Email: brookelhenderson@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookehenderson.coach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookehendersonwellness
