A Note and Thank-You Coach Erin

Today is your last day with Get Fit NH as a coach, and as you embark on the next chapter of your life I just wanted once again to publicly say thank-you and express my appreciation to you. You have been amazing this week staying the course and getting a ton of work done when many people would have mailed it in. You have continued to show your care and affection for our clients, who I know have done the same to you this week.

Our relationship has been complicated at times, but you have helped me grow as both a coach and leader. I think it is fair to say we have pushed each other harder than we wanted to be pushed at times, but it has made us better, and better is what this place is all about. Once again at this time we are both being pushed out of our comfort zones – you are embarking on a new career, and I, the rest of the team, and our awesome students are getting used to new faces in new places. I am confident we will experience growth once again.

I truly hope you will not be a total stranger. Boston Children’s is gaining a kind, caring, compassionate human being who will bring joy to people’s lives. Continue to seek to make impact wherever you go, the world is a better place because you are in it.

Make It Happen!

Dean

Octobers “Happy and Healthy Headlines” Are Here!

Featuring Coach Meagan and the awesome Linda Dianis of 8:30am ladies fame telling us about her business ‘MyCollegeCoach”. Plus welcome our new students and celebrate your achievements!

Download your copy for free right here

Get Fit Games Recap

If you didn’t make the Get Fit Games this morning you missed out!

Our Athlete Academy joined our SGT Adult Athletes and they all rocked it.

Special shout out to Cathy C., John L. and Paula H. for participating for the first time, I am proud of you guys for making it happen.

Also these two SGT adults set Personal Bests:

Cristy Bresson: 3RM Deadlift and 1000m SkiErg

Adam Davidson: 4m Pushup

Athlete Academy, Coach Adam or I will go over your results with you next week, so hang in there.

I look forward to seeing more of y’all get out here next time and measuring all the progress you are achieving.

Make It Happen,
Coach Dean

Exercise Shouldn’t Be Scary

A great message from my friend and mentor Martin Rooney.

Let Get Fit NH and TFW Concord help YOU reach YOUR potential!

Breaking Down the FMS – Rotary Stability

What is Rotary Stability?

According to Gray Cook, the co-creator of the FMS, the purpose of the Rotary Stability screen is to show stability in the pelvis, core and shoulder girdle during combined upper and lower body movement. The Rotary Stability, as well as many of the other screens, is based on primitive movement patterns. We are able to complete these movements at a very young age but as we age our bodies don’t always work like they were meant to – no kidding, right?

If you tend to sit most of the day, have poor posture and don’t train, your core is going to become weak. When talking about “core” you may hear training geeks like us talk about the “soft core” and the “hard core”.

The “hard core” also known as the “outer core”, is what most people refer to as “the six pack”.

Our friends at Smart Group Training tell us the “soft core” (also known as the “inner core”) is more of a reflexive core that requires subconscious timing. In other words it turns on and off without you even knowing it – pretty cool!

If you have trouble with this movement pattern it could be caused by mobility issues in the hips or shoulders or you may have a stability issue.

How can we narrow that down?

If you are able to pass the Active Straight Leg Raise and Shoulder Mobility Screens, but are not able to touch opposite knee to elbow on the Rotary Stability Screen, then it is most likely a stability problem. Once we figure out if you have a mobility or stability issue we are able to give you exercises to help clear the screen. Two exercises that can help with your Rotary Stability are Walkouts and Slow Mountain Climbers.

walkout from Dean Carlson on Vimeo.

While you are working on clearing the Rotary Stability screen we are going to limit certain exercises in training such as Kettlebell Swings. The reason for this is if you don’t have the proper core stability and shoulder and hip mobility then you are at an increased risk of hurting yourself during an explosive movement such as a swing. If you get hurt then you can’t train and our goal is to help you get better!

Facebook Check-In’s Made Easy (I hope)

With our 50 Workouts in 15 Weeks Challenge in full swing, we want to make sure it is easy as possible to get you checked in quickly and easily, so Coach Erin wrote up this tutorial for us – Thanks Coach!

Number 1 Way:
When you open Facebook app on your phone there is a box at the top that says “Status, Photo, Check-in…” click there. Then click “Check-in”
If your Location Settings are on then Get Fit NH should come up. If not then you can type “Get Fit NH” into where is says “Search for Places”
Click “Next” and then “Post”

Alternative:
Go to the Get Fit NH Facebook page on your phone by typing “Get Fit NH” into the search field at the top
Click the “More” button and a menu appears. One of the options is “Check In”. Click that.
You can choose to add a description and then click the “Next” button in top right corner
Choose who can see the post, the click “Post”

Don’t worry if you can’t figure it out the first time, we got your back! 🙂

Concept2 Fall Team Challenge Starts September 15th – Sign Up Now!

Let’s rock it like we did last time guys! The challenge is to row or ski as many meters as we can as a team between September 15th and October 15th, 2015. (That’s a lot of “15’s”)

Please note that we are starting a new team for this challenge, so you will need to join the new team and join the challenge.

Here’s how to do it:

1. If you do not have a Concept2 logbook, create one here. (If you already have an account skip to step 2)
2. Join our team – “Get Fit NH” – by clicking here. Please note if you were a member of a previous team you must “leave this team” first.
3. On the Team Page in the “Next Event” section, select Click here to take part in the Fall Team Challenge 2015
4. On September 15th start getting those meters! 🙂

Get complete details for the challenge by clicking here.

Let’s Make It Happen!

September “Happy and Healthy Headlines” Is Here!

Featuring CJ Best and Annmarie Timmins – don’t miss it!

Click here to download your copy!

Recovery Week Reminder and a Huge Thank-You

Just a reminder that next week is our next scheduled recovery week from regular training, but there is still a lot going on around here. Now is the time to schedule your FMS rescreen and/or body composition analysis. The coaches in Concord are ready, willing and able to get that done, so take advantage of it while you can.

If you are new to the concept of recovery weeks (or need a reminder) please click here to learn all about why recovery is so important.

I want to take this opportunity to personally thank-you for choosing to train with Get Fit NH. We are a family owned and operated business, and you are truly an extension of that family. Every day we get to do what we love to do because of you. Please continue to dream big and then chase those dreams hard.

Make It Happen!

Dean

Recovery Week August 31st-September 6th
Monday through Friday
FMS Rescreens and Body Comp Analysis
By Appointment

Monday September 7th
All Family Labor Day Training in Concord.
8:00am

Coach Dean’s Oven Pulled Pork Recipe

This is a really simple recipe, but it takes two special tools that you may not have.

1. An in-oven thermometer like this one
2. Patience:)

We have been buying our Pork Butts (also known as Pork Shoulder) at Sam’s Club. There are two in a package and weigh 5-7 pounds each. For our family we cook one at a time and we get quite a few meals out of it. One of my favorites is to reheat a couple ounces of pork in a skillet with a couple of eggs for breakfast.

The first thing you are going to do is brine your pork shoulder at least overnight. Mix 2 quarts of cold water, 1/2 cup salt, 2 bay leaves and 3 tbsp of your dry rub mix (recipe to follow). Drop in your pork shoulder, and add a bit more water if it’s not totally submersed in the brine solution. Pop on the lid and stick it in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook:

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. While it is heating up remove the pork shoulder from the brine solution, rinse in cold water, then pat dry with a towel. Put fat side down in a large roasting pan. A lot of fat will render out of the pork, so you need room in the pan to accommodate. Reserve 3 tbsp of your dry rub, and use the rest to completely coat the pork (yes, you actually do rub it lovingly onto the meat so it sticks). You start on the bottom, coat the sides, and end with the fat cap up to roast.

Insert the probe from the thermometer into the center of the thickest portion of the shoulder, being careful not to touch bone, as that will throw off the reading. Put the shoulder into the oven, and set the alarm on the thermometer to go off when it reaches 200 degrees.

Now comes the patience part. 🙂

Depending on the weight of the shoulder it can take up to 8 hours or more for the internal temp to reach 200 degrees. When we cook two at a time it can take 10-12 hours or more. You don’t have to do anything, you just have to wait. You also need to start pretty early in the morning. 🙂

When the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees (we are talking Fahrenheit here) turn the oven off and let the internal temperature cool to 170 degrees. This can take an additional 2 to 3 hours or more. When it hits 170 it is ready to pull!

When I pull the shoulder I take out another roasting pan, grab a couple forks, and get to work. If you were patient and followed the directions the meat should fall off the bone. Use the forks to shred completely, then mix in the reserved spice rub and try not to eat it all at once!

Many cooks remove the fat cap off the top before shredding. If you want to reduce the amount of fat that is the way to go. I usually don’t, but do what feels right to you.

I probably made this sound more complicated than it really is. The rub takes less than 10 minutes to make. The brine process even less time. For our summer party I spent 10 minutes getting the shoulder into the fridge Thursday night, got up a few minutes early Friday morning before I drove into the 5:00am class to stick it into the oven, and pulled it at about 7:30 Friday night. Actual hands on time was somewhere in the 30-45 minute range, including putting it into containers and refrigerating for the next day.

Does it take some patience? Absolutely.

Is it worth it? Well y’all begged me to put up the recipe, so I think we know the answer to that as well! 🙂

Promise me one thing though, don’t ruin it by putting some yucky commercial barbecue sauce on it. That is practically blasphemy! Eat it as is or make yourself one of these two great sauces:

Pulled Pork Mustard Sauce (Nancy’s Favorite)

• 1 cup prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cayenne

PREPARATION

Mix all ingredients together and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. If your making this sauce for a whole hog multiple the ingredients by about 8. Makes about 2 cups

Southern Vinegar Sauce for Pulled Pork (Dean’s Favorite)

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

PREPARATION

Melt margarine in a sauce pan. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in vinegar and allow to cool. Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Coach Dean’s Dry Rub Recipe

As promised here is the dry rub recipe I use. Ingredient amount listed are for one shoulder, so if you are cooking two just double it and you will have plenty.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/4 brown sugar

Note: not being a big fan of sugar, I tried the rub without it, and it’s just too spicy for my (and the kids) taste. You don’t need a lot of brown sugar, but it does take the edge off and creates a great flavor.

Let me know how it turns out for you!