Greetings everyone, I hope all of you are doing well. I just want to take this time to continue a conversation that Adam started with his Facebook video he posted on March 21. If you didn’t see it, I highly recommend you go check it out as he makes some very good points in his discussion. The  video is about positivity and opportunity. So I would also like to talk about the subject in this blog. 

Obviously, I know that these are challenging times that we all are facing and going through. It is easy to get caught up in the effects of the virus and how it is impacting everyone's lives. But just like Adam was talking about, we can either focus on the negatives, or we can try to focus more on the positives. Take this unfortunate circumstance and turn it into a chance to better ourselves. 

For example, I will be taking this extra time to continue my education and learn more about nutrition and how it impacts the body. Some of you may do the same and learn more about something you may be interested in. Maybe it's just reading a book or working on a particular hobby of yours like art or music. Some of you have kids at home continuing their education online. I know it can be challenging to get them to focus and do school in a home atmosphere, as I have two younger siblings doing the same thing. But utilize this opportunity to spend more time helping them learn. And if you're like me, probably teaching yourself also along the way. 

There are also positives to not being able to go to the gym. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no substitute for amazing coaches! You could even drag other family members to join in on the fun with you! There are positives to every negative. We just have to find it. We have to remain optimistic when we are filled with doubt and fear. It’s times like this that we must come together to support one another, however we can. For I believe we will become stronger after facing this adversity. Remember, you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain. 

Coach Dylan

We are entering a new way of life at the moment, a way that none of us have ever had to adjust to before.  Even if you were alive in 1918 the world has changed so much that it doesn't even matter if you had been there.  In 1918 if this happened everyone would be home and that’d be it. We wouldn’t all be working from home, schooling from home, teaching from home, etc.  

With all of these changes it's easy to fall into chaos.  It's easy to feel like life is happening to you and you have no control.  If you resign to that fact then it's just going to continue until you are able to go back into a pattern you recognize.  The only way to gain control is to take it, anxiety and depression tends to arise from a feeling of a lack of control. The only way to combat it is take back control.  

Start with the small steps you can control.  If you're not sure what they are? Then make a list of things you normally have a hang of that feel like they are out of control.  For example let's use food, it's going to be harder than ever to cook every day. Taking control of your food may be cooking for a few days out if you feel like you’ve fallen off with that some.  

These things compound, when you regain control of one thing, it creates time to take control of a second, then a third, etc.  It doesn't have to be huge changes, maybe it's as simple as controlling what time you wake up in the morning. Start there and move onto the next small thing.  I know you can do it!

Coach Adam

It may not seem this simple, but what we tell ourselves and what we tell others has a GIANT impact on what we do, say, or act on.  Think I’m wrong? Take a look at how things are going right now, how you FEEL they are going? If you answered any form of “crazy, it's out of whack, it’s upside down” then you may be right.  You need to follow that up with one more question “do I really have zero control?”.  

Guaranteed, if you’re honest with yourself, the answer is NO, you don't have ZERO CONTROL!  Look, I self soothe with food, I always have and I doubt it's going to change any time soon.  However what you believe becomes a huge part of how you cope. If you believe you have zero control, if you believe that an outside force is making you act in a way that you can't control, bet money you will act that way.  

When it comes down to it there's nothing wrong with having food that you enjoy, it's your life, enjoy it, if you want to have a cookie have a cookie.  If you want a bag of chips for 3 meals a day then have a bag of chips for 3 meals a day. The problem is the belief that you have no control over those decisions.  I am hearing it more than ever, “This whole thing is throwing me for a loop, I hope this ends soon so I can get my [nutrition], [training], etc, back on track”. You’re all world class professionals with families and/or careers.  The amount of work, control, and ability it takes to do any one of those things takes a heck of a lot more self motivation and control than putting down a stinking cookie. If you WANT a cookie, have a cookie, but don't allow yourself to believe the choice of whether or not you eat it, or whether or not you exercise in some form, is up to anyone BUT YOU!  This lockdown is not making it easier, but if you tell yourself that COVID-19 is the reason you just had your 4th bowl of sugary breakfast cereal, or COVID-19 is the reason you couldn’t walk out your front door for 15 minutes today, it's just not the case.  

The realization that you have complete control over your own actions is the first step to actionably gaining control.  Don't tell yourself you can't, or others you can't, because if you do...you’ll be right. 

Coach Adam

It's not easy, I totally get that, and I am not pretending to understand what all the parents are feeling like.  The parents who have not only had to become teachers, but also learn to work in a totally new environment...home.  I learned just with myself that without figuring out some ways to set myself up, things quickly devolved into chaos.  That's just me, those changes are exponentially needed when you add in the other pieces I mentioned above. Here are some easy ways to help structure to create a temporary new normal that will help you remain not only productive, but also help you mentally. 

• Create a dedicated work space
  • Here's an easy way to figure out what the best room is.  Write down the rooms with the space/hookups that you can work with, then pick the room on the list with the least foot traffic and distractions. 
• Set yourself a schedule.
  • Up at the same time.
  • Train at the same time.
  • Start work at the same time to the best of your ability.
  • End work at the same time to the best of your ability.
  • Set boundaries with others.
    • If you wouldn’t answer an email from a parent/client at 8pm under normal circumstances, and it doesn't affect something happening immediately the next day...DON'T ANSWER IT!
• Learn to use the snooze function on your email
  • Most email services have a snooze function, you can select the emails and they will disappear from your inbox until a date and time you decide on.
• Utilize the “do not disturb” function on your phone.
  • Set a time, turn it on, get off your phone.

You have to find ways to organize your time and set boundaries.  Everyone is in chaos, everyone is trying to adjust, the more we are able to organize our time and work, the more we are able to organize our minds. 

Coach Adam

In the book “The Energy Bus” by Jon Gordon, the bus driver, Joy, teaches her passengers “The 10 Rules for the Ride of Your Life”.  Rule #2 is “Desire, Vision and Focus Move Your Bus in the Right Direction”. Joy tells her passenger George that it is all about focus.  If you are not focused, then you become scattered and your vision does not have a plan. Joy told George about the law of attraction which says, “that the more we focus on something, the more we think about something, the more it shows up in our lives”.  What we think about and spend our energy on is what we receive back. Some people are negative and focus on what they don’t have and as a result they often find more to complain about. Joy challenged George to “stop thinking about what you don’t want and start focusing your energy on your vision and what you do want”.  The energy of your thoughts is a powerful tool. If you focus on failure and defeat, then you are more likely to see those in your life. However, if you focus on the positive and achievements, no matter how small, then that will drive you toward more success. Do you know what your vision is? How are you planning to make that vision a reality?  What is your focus? Do you think more about the roadblocks than the opportunities? 

Our Milestone Club is a fantastic way to make a plan to achieve your goal!  Your vision may to achieve a certain weight. Each month we break it down into specific goals and steps you can take to reach your vision.  We can help you focus on your successes or the changes you need to make to succeed.

We may be social distancing now, but when this challenge begins we will be easing back into our normal again. Sizzling Summer Slimdown (S3) is our FAVORITE time of the year! This is our biggest, most successful, most exciting and most participated in transformation contest! S3 is an event that is NOT to be missed around these parts. 

We know Get Fit NH veterans are well versed in S3 talk, but let's bring our new friends and followers up to speed...

Sizzling Summer Slimdown is referred to as S3, because let's face it....that is a lot of words! S3 is a 5 week nutrition challenge with extreme coaching, endless support, accountability and of course cash prizes. We take 25% of S3 earnings and divvy it up for the winners! This year we are going to offer a cash grand prize AND we are going to offer prizes for all teams who reach a specific milestone (we will get to that later!) Every year S3 rules are a little bit different. The principles always remain the same, because whole foods + portion control= GREAT RESULTS!

So, what is S3 2020?

This year we are teaming up in partners (because let's face it, you've missed your friends the last several weeks!) If you don't have a partner we will find you one! We will be sure to pair you up with someone in your class or that you know so that you get the important connection necessary to stay on the course! 

Here are the wonderful things you can get when you sign up:

• A printed manual INCLUDED as well as electronic 
• Private Facebook group with endless support and accountability
• Extreme coaching with the whole team
• Weekly check in surveys
• *New Feature* Google calendar with everything you need to know
• Live Facebook videos that will be send out via email weekly for our non Facebook users
• Partner support complete with doable partner challenges
• Pro tips and tricks
• Detailed lessons on creating a meal plan and grocery lists that make sense for your family 
• More than 60 new recipes

How do my partner and I win?

• Weigh in by May 2, 2020
  • *Note* We will send out times for you to come in starting April 23rd. We will be set up with the scale at the door for a quick in and out process. At that time we will provide you with your printed manual
• Complete your final weigh in by June 12, 2020
• Complete all 5 weekly surveys
• Complete 3/5 partner challenges 
• The team who completes those four bullets above AND loses the most percent of their bodyweight will win the first place cash 
• EVERY team that completes all four bullets AND loses 8% or more of their body weight will also win a special prize (Percent of bodyweight lost is number of pounds lost divided by starting weight)

Dates to know:

• Sign up right now, right here 
• Last day to sign up April 29, 2020
• Initial weigh in: April 23-May 2, 2-2020
• Start date: Monday, May 4, 2020 (
  • Note: This will be the start date even if our restrictions are not lifted or if you are still not comfortable coming to training in person. We don't need to be physically in the gym to continue awesome results! THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN CONTROL! 
• Weekly surveys every Friday
• Last day of challenge: Sunday, June 7, 2020
• Final weigh in due: June 8, 2020 - June 12, 2020
• Reveal party: Wednesday, June 17, 2020 at 6pm

Sign up HERE for the best $40 you'll spend today and you will get the pdf manual within 24 hours of sign up so you can dive right in 🙂 

Price breakdown :

10 of those dollars go into the pool of prizes!

10 of those dollars goes into the reveal party at the end 

10 of those dollars are for a fully printed in color manual 

10 of those dollars is for stellar coaching and 200 plus hours of work that will go into this incredible journey! 

Let's do this

Here is our first Autism Fitness @ Home exercise. Watch Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, introduce Autism Fitness with Bear Crawls, then watch the video of me and Henry working together on this exercise. 

I told you our contribution would be a “real life example” and that is most definitely what we see here. Even though it’s a relatively short video, there is a lot to see and learn. We can discuss Henry’s motivation, cognitive state and ability to generalize.

Our athletes are going to be different each time we see them. We assess them physically, cognitively, and adaptively each session, and their levels of performance in each of these areas will vary. 

One goal we have is that the athlete be able to perform the exercise in any setting. This is called generalization. While Henry and I have been working on bear crawls for a year together, this was the first time Henry has done them outside at home. He is used to doing them inside, mostly in the gym, and for the last couple weeks, inside. 

I think Henry is not unusual in that certain settings have different meanings for him. For Henry, going to the gym means he exercises with me, and we have our shared experience. Being outside at home usually means he is free to enjoy his swings or his tractor or jump in the stream wearing all his clothes. While this can mean a greater challenge to attempt Autism Fitness @ Home, it is also an opportunity for growth and generalization.

Assessing physical functioning: Because of his long legs, Henry has difficulty keeping his back flat when doing a bear crawl. Therefore, Henry has been exclusively doing bear holds for a few months. As you see in the video, he is able to keep his back flat when doing a bear hold. I wanted to assess his current level of ability with the bear crawl today, and you can see, he still bridges quite a lot and rotates his hips. That is why I decided to regress to the quadruped crawl, which he is also usually able to do. 

As you saw, he never performs a quadruped crawl, despite my labeling and demonstration, even cueing him to put his knees down. Is this because Henry has suddenly lost the ability to do a quadruped crawl? Of course not. This gives us the opportunity to think about other possible explanations.

Assessing adaptive (motivational) and cognitive functioning: Now you need a little background. Henry’s favorite thing to do outside is ride his tractor. This time of year is when he begins asking when he can get it out of the shed. The answer is always the same: when the ground is dry and the grass comes up. 

We have had two solid days of rain here in NH and Henry has asked me more times than I can count when he can get the tractor out. So it’s no surprise that Henry, finally outside after two solid days of rain, was almost completely focused on assessing the condition of the ground (it was, in his words, “a little wet,” which is not the preferred condition). 

So Henry’s seeming inability to do a quadruped crawl was less about being able to perform the crawl and more about not understanding the direction because he: 1) didn’t watch my demonstration (lack of interest /focus) even though I tried twice, and perhaps 2) not wanting to acknowledge the wet ground by putting his knees down. I can almost guarantee that if we were in the gym on a typical Monday, he would perform the quadruped crawl with ease. Sometimes our athletes will be “all in” and other times we have to be satisfied with getting them to go through the motions. In times like these, we take the wins where we can get them. 

I hope that you learned something from our first videos! Please feel free to comment or ask any questions on the Facebook post! Eric, Henry and I will be back with video number two, Overhead Presses, soon! 

Mae Lynn