Danielle Brooks in white dress weight loss

36-year-old actress, Danielle Brooks, recently shared a reel of her gym session with her audience and straight away it was giving my kind of vibe.

LISS on the treadmill.

Familiar compound lifts.

Moderate weights.

And I thought, yes. You don’t have to do the most to see progress.

I’ve been following Danielle’s journey from before she became a mum, and she has been steadily dropping the pounds; so there’s the proof in the pudding. Her consistency is paying off beautifully. She’s leaning out and keeping the curves.

In this blog post I’m going to break down the key elements of her training style that just make sense for fat loss especially for women over 30 — the kind of weight loss that has you doing a double take when you walk past a mirror.

 What She’s Been Sharing

  • She’s been openly sharing:
  • LISS (incline treadmill walking)
  • Moderate weight compound lifts
  • Consistency over extremes

And yes, visually she appears leaner and stronger over time.

Here’s a recent circuit she posted:

  1. Plank walkout
  2. Thread the needle
  3. Light jog on the treadmill (4–5 speed, 5–8 minutes)
  4. Dumbbell snatch
  5. Medicine ball slams

I’ve completed a similar total body workout inspired by Danielle which you can follow along with over on YouTube [LINK].

I went for a 40/20 interval split.

Shoot for moderate weights and repeat 3–4 times for a proper full-body burn.

 The Internet Lied To Us A Little Bit

There’s this loud internet narrative that fat loss = HIIT + lifting as heavy as humanly possible.

And yet we keep seeing women like Danielle Brooks, Eniko Hart, and Karrueche training with:

  • Structured strength sessions
  • Compound movements
  • Treadmill incline work
  • Core & glute emphasis
  • Moderate loads with controlled tempo

And they’re getting leaner, stronger, and more athletic.

I fell into this trap too. I genuinely believed that unless I was panting, hunched over with my hands on my knees, I wasn’t doing it properly. And by “it” I mean weight loss.

If you started your fitness journey with P90X… gather hither 😂

I was constantly sore. My goodness. We lived through it though. We learn.

 The Myth: You Need High Intensity To Lose Weight

There’s a persistent belief that fat loss only happens through extreme intensity.

But fat loss comes down to sustained energy balance over time; not how breathless you feel during a workout.

You don’t have to suffer to see results.

LISS (LowIntensity Steady State cardio) — incline treadmill walking, walking around your neighbourhood, cycling, swimming — helps you:

  •  Burn calories in a manageable way
  •  Recover properly
  •  Reduce joint stress
  •  Keep cortisol from chronically spiking
  •  Stay consistent

Bottom line: if you’re not maxed out physically after every workout, your body can recover faster. And when you recover faster, you show up again tomorrow. Consistency beats intensity every time; and it’s a major key to weight-loss.

Why Incline Walking Is So Underrated

Walking is grossly underrated for weight loss. I cannot stress enough how quickly you’ll notice visible changes in your weight and appearance when you make walking a daily — or even regular — habit.

I noticed this personally when I made walking a daily part of my postpartum recovery after baby number five. The results genuinely changed my attitude towards fitness and my approach to weight loss.

Incline walking is not “lazy cardio.” Slow is often the fastest way to sustainable weight loss.

If your workout plan is sustainable, you’re far more likely to stick to it. For me, this gentler approach requires less mental negotiation. I don’t have to hype myself up to suffer.

Incline walking:

  • Activates glutes and hamstrings
  • Elevates heart rate without maxing it out
  • Is low-impact (important post-pregnancy or for joint care)
  • Can be sustained longer than HIIT

For mothers especially, recovery capacity matters. If you’re balancing work, children, and running on six hours of sleep, five days of HIIT isn’t empowering if it leaves you exhausted.

LISS supports fat loss without draining your nervous system.

But let’s be honest – you can incline walk all day, but if your nutrition is chaotic, your results will be too. I created  The AGF PLAN which is designed to work alongside this exact training approach so you can lose weight, keep your curves, and actually enjoy your food.

The Power of Moderate Weight Compound Training

Now let’s talk strength.

Compound movements (squats, RDLs, lunges, hip thrusts, rows, presses) recruit multiple muscle groups and create mechanical tension — which is key for muscle preservation and growth.

Truth is, you do not need to lift until you’re bursting at the eyeballs to build muscle.

Moderate loads (typically 8–15 reps) are highly effective for:

  • Lean muscle development
  • Joint safety
  • Better recovery
  • Higher training frequency

For women 30+, this matters. Heavy lifting is excellent when programmed properly. But it is not the only path to progress.

Muscle responds to tension and effort; not theatrics.

Why This Formula Works So Well For Women 30+

As we move through our 30s and 40s:

  • Recovery becomes more important
  • Stress management directly impacts fat loss
  • Sleep quality influences hunger and fat storage
  • Hormonal fluctuations affect energy and training tolerance

Excessive high-intensity work can elevate cortisol. Chronic stress, especially combined with poor sleep, has been linked to increased abdominal fat retention.

The solution isn’t to stop training. Matter of fact, stopping training at this stage increases the risk of longterm health complications. This period already marks a natural decline in muscle mass, bone density, and metabolic rate.

You don’t stop training because you age. You age faster when you stop training ~ Anon

The solution is to train intelligently.

LISS + moderate compound strength:

  • Supports lean mass retention
  • Keeps systemic fatigue manageable
  • Allows higher adherence
  • Reduces injury risk
  • Maintains metabolic health

This is sustainable body recomposition.

What This Looks Like In Practice

A balanced week might look like:

  •  3–4 strength sessions (compoundfocused, moderate load)
  •  2–4 incline treadmill sessions (20–45 minutes)
  •  Daily steps between 8–12k
  •  Adequate protein intake (around 1.6–2.2g per kg bodyweight)

There’s no need to be extreme in pursuit of weight loss.

LISS is not “doing less.” Moderate weight is not “playing small.”

The best approach is to adapt your fitness routine to your physical realities so that you can be consistent.

It’s a two-pronged strategy.

When combined with progressive overload, good nutrition, and consistency, you’ll gain strength, develop visible muscle definition, and achieve sustainable weight loss. And that, in my opinion, is the real glow-up.

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