Brett Hoebel is perhaps one of the most inspiring people you’ll ever come across. A fitness expert and celebrity trainer, Brett knows all about how to stay in shape, how to stay motivated, and how to keep your eye on the goal. You may remember Brett Hoebel as the “secret” trainer from the Biggest Loser’s 11th season. He’s also a nutrition & lifestyle coach, a yoga instructor, a personal trainer, and the founder of Hoebel Fitness.
Celeb Dirty Laundry had the exclusive opportunity to speak to Brett about his career in the fitness industry, what motivates and inspires him, and how we’re all able to change our lives and bodies for the better.
What personality trait is unique and important to a personal trainer?
You’ve got to care. You really got to care about helping other people. You got to walk your talk. I think that’s one of the main things. As a personal trainer, if you want to inspire other people, you’ve got to walk your talk. You’ve got to exude exactly what you want to teach other people. And I do see in the industry that that is not always followed by everybody. That’s one of the main things. Walk your talk and trust me the rest will follow.
If one works at a desk all day, what tips can you give to that person to stay in shape while working?
Nutrition is such a key part to staying in shape, so when it comes to nutrition, making sure that you have the right snacks. Number one: The accountability and the motivation. Two: Nutrition. Three: Training. Four: The recovery. Now, I was an overweight teenager, and fifty pounds overweight I was called a fat kid and it’s a big part as to why I ended up in this career. And it’s a big part why I work with children on their diet and childhood obesity. Kids like sugar. I love sugar. I still do! Trying to reduce sugar in a kid’s diet is a big priority. So kids love sugar, they love juice. They drink a lot of juice. Here’s an example of a simple “swap” – Juicy Juice – it’s got 35% percent less sugar, still tastes great and has a full serving of fruit, and for the parents – they need to lead by example – take out the soda and swap with ice herbal tea and put a little splash of salsa on top. That was a big hit with Biggest Loser contestants and now you’ve got a great alternative.
If a young athlete aspires to become a personal trainer, what advice would you give them?
Something they got to do – they got to be willing to put in the hard work, and pay their dues, and be patient. I think with a lot of younger athletes, it’s the patience thing, because we live in a society that today where everything is instant gratification. You know, the technology that we now have, you don’t have to wait around any longer to get stuff and that starts to wear into other parts of their life. You got to be really patient and develop the skill sets that you’re going to need to compete and you know, it’s not just about competing. There are so many other lessons that you’re going to learn about yourself, about hard work, about discipline that you will not learn if you don’t have the patience.
What inspired you to become a personal trainer?
For me, this is a funny little twist. When I entered into the fitness industry, it was not for a want, it was for a need. I was actually pre-med, working as a lab tech, and I couldn’t afford a gym membership. I just wasn’t paid enough money – that was a luxury I didn’t think was part of my budget per month. So, I had been doing a lot of martial arts and been doing sports since I was a little kid and on the tenth time I went into the gym on a guest pass, the front desk was like, “Dude, really? You need to get a membership.” So my buddy said, “Why don’t you teach one of the boxing classes?” Well, I didn’t think I was up for teaching it, but I thought I could be the assistant, so I applied and luckily I got hired. I showed up for my interview all dressed up and my resume at the time, the guy was like, “Look, twenty other people showed up for class.” He threw me a pair of focus mitts and said, “Here’s your interview. Get in there and teach with me.” [I got in there and taught] and right after that, he said, “You’re hired.” So, that was like my entrance into the fitness industry, but it was more for a need, but then I really discovered, hey, this is something I enjoy, that I’m good at, and I really look forward to doing it and it ended up being my career.
Did you ever expect to reach celebrity status when you started out?
Look, I don’t consider myself a celebrity and I never thought that I would have the success that I have today. I just feel very privileged that I get to do something that inspires me, that inspires other people, and that contributes, you know, to the greater of what’s going on. So, I feel very lucky about that.
You developed your own AB program. Could you tell us more about that?
Yes! REBABS! R.E.B.A.B.S. That was really a lot of hard work and something I’m very proud of, but it’s definitely not lying on the floor, doing crunches. If you want to lose weight, if you want to get a six pack, you want any type of flat abs or sexy abs, you’ve got to burn fat off your stomach. Now, there’s no such thing as spot reduction. So, you can’t spot reduce fat on your stomach. You got to burn it all over your body. So, I developed this program that involves interval training that will burn fat and raise your metabolism off your entire body. Strength training, because you got to build muscle, because muscle burns fat, and then the AB training we do to sculpt the abs. There’s three forms of training, but if you think you’re going to do crunches, you’re far mistaken – AB training, interval training, and strength training. It really works. If you put in those 90 days, I can guarantee you the results.
When you’ve reached the end of your career, what’s your next step?
I feel very fortunate about this. A lot more people are looking to me for more of my motivational and inspirational messages. I feel very fortunate about that, because I do think at the end of the day, it’s not the dumb bell or the diet that gets you into shape – it’s the accountability, that motivation, that drive underneath. So, for me, what I’d like to Segway more into is almost being like the fitness version of Tony Robbins. He’s a very impactful, inspirational, motivational speaker. I want to do that with fitness. Fitness is like the shell of the egg – it’s the outside, it’s the tangible thing that people can understand and they can really touch, but the inside golden yolk of the egg is really that inspirational transformational message that you can give people. That emotional connection that they can get that’s going to last them a lifetime.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BRETT AND HIS WORKOUT SECRETS, YOU CAN FOLLOW HIM ON:
TWITTER – @BRETTHOEBEL
FACEBOOK – BRETT HOEBEL
AND VISIT HIS PERSONAL WEBSITE – BRETTHOEBEL.COM
