Dean
Dean
A couple of weeks ago one of our Get Fit NH family lost her house in a fire, and the call went out to lend her and her family a helping hand.
Knowing you guys, I am not surprised by your generosity and willingness to help in any way you could. The results of your efforts were incredible, and while we don’t have an exact amount as we did not open any cards, it is safe to say that we passed along well over $2500 to help Tara get back on her feet. As you can imagine life is still upside-down right now, but Nancy has spoken and texted with her often and she is getting settled into a new place to stay and working all that out.
We cannot adequately express what a privilege it is to be your coaches and be part of the amazing Get Fit NH family!
THANK-YOU!!!
A few months ago Nancy and I were in Louisville at a coaching conference, and Mike Robertson of IFAST in Indianapolis was just about to put us through a training session (in other parts known as a workout) and he said something that sticks me to this moment.
“Ok guys we are going to do something different today, we are going to do it right.”
Now think about that for a minute. Mike was not talking to a group of people who had just stepped into the gym for the first time, who had never done a pushup, or a split squat, or a deadlift. He was speaking to some of the best coaches in the country. He was making sure we knew that he was watching what we were doing, and he wasn’t afraid to make sure we were doing things right.
Why is this so important?
Because when we do things right, when we practice the fundamentals, we will eventually be able to train harder, stronger and longer.
Just as Mike was watching us, the coaches at Get Fit NH are not there to just have a presence in the room, or be a cheerleader, or just look good (which is a good thing where I am concerned), they are there to help you get better.
And while you may say “No Duh!”, slow down for just a second.
Because I assure you it is not that way everywhere. There are gyms everywhere whose primary purpose (or at least it seems to me) is to beat you into the ground, regardless of capability or consequences.
That’s not coaching.
As human beings we don’t necessarily like being told what to do, or that we don’t do something well. And on occasion we have had clients get annoyed with us for not letting them do something, an exercise movement, they just weren’t ready for or are currently unable to perform correctly. (I’ve been there – just ask Mike)
And it is all too easy to focus on what someone else is doing, someone who has been here for years perhaps, and want to do the same things – right now – not understanding the hours, days, weeks and months it took to get there.
We know that if we can back you up a step or two, learn and then practice the pattern, you will be way ahead of where you would have been without the proper coaching. We see it over and over again. Clients achieving things they never thought possible, things they haven’t been able to do for years or ever, because now they are doing it right.
None of us have perfect movement patterns, and yours truly is no exception. I have challenges with hip mobility that I need to work on, or it doesn’t get better, and I don’t get better. It’s not always a matter of getting pushed harder or trying to go faster. What if your body can’t achieve the proper positioning in order to allow those things? It has to be addressed. It’s not just a matter of putting 10 more pounds on the bar.
CJ and I were coaching a couple weeks ago and had a client ask us a great question. “Why do we work on hip hinging so much?”. We were able to explain in depth why that fundamental movement pattern is so important, not just while training, but in every day life.
And every day life is why we train, right?
We don’t toot our own horn too often, but I would be doing our coaching staff a great disservice but not letting you know not only how grateful I am they are part of the Get Fit NH Team, but for how great they are as coaches. For those of you who have been around a while, you know that not every coach that walks through these doors has what it takes to coach here, and when they don’t, they aren’t here long.
I am reminded how good Nancy, and CJ and Erin (and soon Meagan) are every time we have a client who comes to us from another training facility who has not been coached well. It’s not the clients fault their back is in extension when they deadlift, or their knees valgus when they squat, they haven’t been coached properly. And while we aren’t perfect, we are committed to making sure you get the best coaching available.
So let’s do something different, something that not everybody know how to, or even wants to do…
Let’s Do It Right.
Make It Happen,
Coach Dean
You heard it right!
The World (galaxy?) Famous Get Fit NH “Pies Off The Thighs” post-thanksgiving training extravaganza is headed your way on Saturday November 24th from 8:00am to 9:30am at Get Fit NH Concord.
Sweat yourself out of that turkey and trimmings tryptophan enhanced coma as we get the whole family from both gyms get together for one of the few times every year.
Steve Finch, this is like your dream come true as the “good coach”, that’s right, Coach Nancy will be there to make sure the slacking stops and you get the 100% full benefit of 90 minutes of pure, ummm, fun!
Schedule for Thanksgiving Week:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: Full Schedule at both locations
Saturday: “Pies Off The Thighs”
Place: Get Fit NH Concord
Time: 8:00am to 9:30am
Today (November 12, 2012) marks the 4 week point of our “Eat Your Way Right Through The Holidays” challenge.
You should drop off your checklists at your gym and pick up a new one ASAP.
In two weeks (the halfway point of the challenge) we will be doing our next weigh-in, so keep up the great work!
We are also pleased to announce that Dr. Amanda Hegnauer of Whole Health Concord will be supporting our efforts to make it through this challenging time of the year by coming in and giving a talk on “Nutrition Through The Holidays” on Tuesday November 27th from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.
Talk about perfect timing!
Coming off of Thanksgiving and heading into the home stretch, this is the perfect opportunity to get refocused and get some more great tips on holiday survival.
Dr. Hegnauer works with Dr. Laura Jones, who is a favorite speaker of ours on the topics of health and nutrition, and particularly how what we eat directly affects our overall health picture. I am really looking forward to hearing Dr. Hegnauer speak as well – Don’t Miss It!
The public is welcome, so please bring your friends and family.
Nutrition Through The Holidays with Dr. Amanda Hegnauer
Date: Tuesday November 27th
Time: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Place: Get Fit NH Concord
First of all let me say congratulations to all the athletes who stepped up to the plate and came in to ski today. I absolutely love that you took the challenge, faced down your fears, and Made It Happen!
On Monday morning we will be submitting our times to Concept2 and seeing how we stacked up. No matter what I am proud of you and all the effort you put in.
The entire team is listed below, and I highlighted our top 3 Men and Ladies – You guys rock!
Here’s is your Team Get Fit NH:
Adam Rosenthal 3:46.9
Andrew Carlson
Brian Lothridge 3:38.7
Cristy Bresson
David Balshaw
Dawn Cillo
Dean Carlson
Deb Beauregard
Debborah Kaitz
Elizabeth Kovar 4:24.3
Frank Muller
Garren Mapes
Gretchen Wolfe
Janine Rousseau-Evans
Jennifer Mapes
Jennifer Perry
Kate Fox
Kathy Nourse 4:06.8
Laura Starr-Houghton
Lynne Marston
Mae Lynn Arlinghaus
Marion Gamache
Matt Mapes
Meagan Sbat
Nancy Carlson 4:28.9
Robert Moses
Scott Decker 3:43.0
We want to thank Maria Gilbert of 8:30am Concord for once again spearheading our Toys for Tots toy collection effort.
For the past two years Maria has provided the boxes as well as made multiple trip to Londonderry to drop your generous donations off.
You can check out the local page for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation by clicking here.
When you visit the page, they will have specifics about what kind of toys and the age groups of the kids for the toys they need most.
As always we want to make sure we express how grateful we are for all you do to support our local community and those in need.
Get Fit NH Clients Rock!
I know, I know. It’s not even Thanksgiving and we are talking about Jingle Bells already!
Nevertheless you guys have established a fantastic tradition of being huge supporters of the Arthritis Foundation every December. In fact last year Get Fit NH raised the most money and had the largest team overall for the Concord event – awesome! (Check out last year’s event here)
If you have never participated in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk you have missed out, because we have a blast!
We have been involved in this important event for the last few years.
Why?
Because almost everyone knows someone with arthritis, which can be a painful and debilitating disease. As exercise professionals, we also want to spread the word how important exercise is in the treatment and management of arthritis. Many of our clients have some form of arthritis, and we want to do our part to keep them moving!
So join us on Saturday December 8th 2012 – It’s going to be fun!
Click Here To Join Team Get Fit NH and Get Your Early Registration Discount
Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run/Walk
Rundlett Middle School
December 8th, 2012
Registration and Check In 9:00am
Race Starts 10:00am
For those of you who haven’t heard, one of our Epsom team members, Tara Brassaw, residence burned to the ground early Monday morning. Thankfully Tara is fine, but the house and everything in it is a total loss, and Tara escaped only with the clothes on her back. As you can imagine it is going to be a little while until things are sorted out and any insurance claims are forthcoming.
As is typical of our fantastic clients, as soon as the word starting spreading the number one question is “How can we help?, and her 5:00am crew has already started a gift card collection. Coach Nancy is setting up a basket in each gym for those who would like to help, and we are also setting up a “Tara B Fire Fund” donation link if you would like to help out in any amount that way.
It is a privilege to coach and be part of such a great team and have our Get Fit NH family be so willing to help.
Thank-You!
To donate to the “Tara B. Fire Fund” please click here
By this evening (Tuesday October 30th) you should have turned in your first 2 weeks of your “Lean Body Success Checklist” and picked up a new one.
So how did you do?
First of all I want to congratulate everyone who turned in their card, regardless of your compliance percentage. You took action, and that is what it’s all about.
You have discovered over the last 2 weeks where your strong points and challenge points are, and now over the next 2 weeks you can build on that improvement and keep getting better.
We have received a lot of feedback on the cards, and that is also good. Some of you were surprised at the level of (or lack of) your compliance and found the cards really helpful to keep you on point, while others expressed frustration.
Either way that’s ok, because now we have an opportunity to address some of those challenges.
Here’s just a rundown of some common challenges and some tips to help.
“I can’t eat 5 times a day” (review habit 1 here)
There is a pretty simple answer to that one. Just don’t. If 5 times doesn’t work back it down to 4 and work off that. Because the magic isn’t necessarily in the number of times you eat. The point is to make sure you are eating, and that you are controlling your cravings and blood sugar so that when you do eat you are in control and making good choices. If 3 meals plus a recovery drink after training works for you, then experiment for 2 weeks and measure the results.
“It’s too hard to eat vegetable with every meal, especially breakfast”. (review habit 3 here)
My advice here is to keep it simple. I eat baby carrots almost every day for breakfast because they are easy, I like the crunch and slightly sweet taste, and they complement all sorts of protein sources. I start off the day with some good fiber and carbohydrate, and they don’t spike my blood sugar like cereal or a bagel. Just do it for a couple weeks and it becomes habit.
“I can’t have cream in my coffee?” (review habit 6 here)
Coach Nancy has been working diligently to cut down her coffee and caffeine consumption. Since I (coach Dean) drink my coffee black, Nancy did some calculating just on the calories she was consuming in her coffee, and discovered she was going through a quart of 1/2 and 1/2 by herself every two weeks.
For some of you out in coffee land that is probably actually on the low side, but here’s the rub:
That’s 1200 calories every 2 weeks just from cream in coffee, which adds up to 31,200 calories a year! Drinking an extra 31,200 calories over your body’s energy requirements would result in a 9 pound weight gain over the course of a year – OUCH!
Before you tell me “I don’t use that much”, keep track over a week or two and check it out. And think about this – how much weight do you want to gain this year from drinking your calories? Is 4 or 5 pounds ok? Multiply that over the next (or last) 10 years and tell me how that works for you.
The cards are a tool.
Don’t let them frustrate you, but don’t dismiss them or give up either.
Make no mistake, you have dietary habits already. It’s a habit to grab a bagel and coffee, or cereal and toast, for breakfast. It’s just something you do, and have probably done for years. It’s a habit to have a sandwich for lunch, and a potato or rice with dinner.
Habits are created, which means they can also be replaced.
Pick just one PPW habit this week and work on it. Not all seven, just one. Make it the one that you think will be easiest, and build on that success.
As always, questions and feedback below.
Make It Happen!
Dean
This is the habit that ties the other 6 habits together.
Basically it can be summed up this way:
The Less Ingredients The Better.
We humans are such an arrogant lot.
We take what was created and try to make it better by taking things out, putting different ones back in, mish-mashing it all up until it becomes Frankenfood.
Have you looked at the ingredient list on your average food item lately?
It’s crazy!
Here’s a good rule of thumb. If it has more than 5 ingredients on the label, don’t eat it.
One ingredient foods are even better.
Apple
Orange
Spinach
Almond
Egg
Black Beans
Fish
You really don’t need labels for these, now do you?
When you eat whole foods, you are getting all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, even water content that is in there and is designed for your optimal health.
Your body doesn’t want to deal with all the chemicals, preservatives and other nastiness that is prevalent in so much of our food supply.
There are also studies that show that whole foods are better utilized than their individual components. This could apply to grains, vegetables and even fruit. Eating an apple is way easier on the system than drinking apple juice, because the fiber of the apple slows down the glycemic response, as just one example.
So put down the boxes, bags and wrappers, and pick up those healthy, tasty and just plain better whole foods.
Make It Happen!
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