Despite growing up as an athletic child who enjoyed tennis, swimming and even figure skating, Holly Brook’s desire to “just be a teenager” undermined her focus on fitness. Then came Covid, and the isolation the lockdowns brought, which only made her more sedentary. That first lockdown in 2020 was a blow to the mental and physical fitness of many people, but was also a catalyst for change.
“During the first lockdown of 2020, I really neglected my health,” says Brooks M&F, in which she explained that she struggled with her body image and felt lost in terms of a sustainable fitness routine. Finally, she traded her doom scrolling for a quest that would change her life for the better. “I wanted to feel healthier and more confident, so I hired an online PT and really invested in my health for the first time,” she explains. “The start of my journey in 2020 was extremely focused on weight loss. It was a big driving force behind why I wanted to hire a personal trainer. I wanted to be smaller. I weighed myself daily and measured my progress by the number on the scale.”
Holly Brooks ditched the scale to focus on strength
While Brook managed to lose body fat and lower her weight on the scale, she realized this was becoming an unhealthy obsession. “Along the way, I slowly realized that even at my smallest and lowest weight, I was never satisfied,” she says. “I decided to break the pattern and ‘retire the scale.’ I put them away and shifted my focus. I started training with the goal of getting stronger, not smaller.”
At first, the weights seemed bulky and her form lacked finesse, but by 2022, Brooks felt completely comfortable with a barbell and knew her priorities had shifted when an impending vacation failed to bring fear of the scale back into her life. “I was training at my local gym in Manchester, I remember being half way through the deadlift and realizing I had a holiday in Barcelona in four weeks,” reflects the fit woman. “Suddenly I realized that this was the first holiday where I hadn’t dieted or restricted myself since I was a teenager. Instead, here I was at the gym trying to get stronger!”
How Holly Brooks Built the Strong Girl Society Movement
No longer a slave to the scale, Brooks is now all about building a strong body and mind. “I honestly remember being in an incredible rush and thinking, I want everyone to experience this, it was so liberating,” she reflects. To share her experiences, Brooks started a Facebook group, creating fun fitness challenges for her growing membership list. “The challenges were all about getting stronger and letting go of toxic diet narratives,” she explains. “That was the birth of the Strong Girl Society.”
Fast forward to 2026, and the Strong Girl Society has gone from strength to strength! There is a dedicated training platform and a powerful community of tens of thousands of people. There are live Strong Girl Society events such as local runs and instructional fitness workshops. And while the SGS continues to help its members, Brooks still draws her own inspiration from the message that the only person you’re competing with is yourself. That ethos has helped her with another passion: endurance sports. In 2023, Brooks ran her first marathon in Paris, and it also turned out to be a great experience when she was accompanied by her more experienced father. “To be honest, I wasn’t nervous,” she recalls. “I trained so hard for that race and with my dad next to me, I knew I could do it.”
Holly Brooks has found a safe place by working up a sweat
Brook’s core message is simple: stop chasing the numbers on the scale, or how long it takes to run a marathon, and instead focus on the experience. The rest will come naturally. “The time you get is just a bonus,” she says of her immense love for marathons. “The achievement is to put one foot in front of the other for 42.2 km!”
By focusing on what’s important regarding her own personal improvement, Brooks is less concerned with the metrics and more interested in being present. “I think if I focused too much on time it would detract from the reason I run,” she says. “Running is really my safe space. I get to go out and process whatever I need mentally. I think it’s rare to get that space these days because we’re constantly stimulated.”
Besides the physical benefits of training and competing in a marathon, Brooks says the most uplifting aspect is what has happened to her mental health. “Your mentality will make or break your run,” she explains. “The more tired you get, the more those negative thoughts creep in: ‘I can’t do this’, ‘I’m not strong enough’, ‘I can’t do it’. If you let those thoughts win, it’s game over. You have to keep your mind positive or that negativity will transfer all over your body. So before every run I usually come up with three positive affirmations and then when I feel those negative thoughts coming in, I start chanting my affirmations repeatedly. I force the positive thoughts to win!” Of her next run was the LA Marathon in MarchHolly Brooks doesn’t feel like resting. The boost in confidence she’s gotten from ditching her obsession with her body weight has only made her healthier. After the LA Marathon, Brooks will keep things moving with a HYROX event. “Miami, on April 3, I can’t wait!”
To follow Holly Brooks on Instagram, click here.
On TikTok click here.
And on YouTube, click here.
#Holly #Brooks #Ditched #Scale #Focus #Stronger #Muscle #Fitness