What’s In Your Cupboard?

I went shopping yesterday.

“Big deal” you may be saying, “Why should I care about your grocery shopping?”

Well many of you have asked me “What do you eat? How do you make PPW (Protein, Produce, and Water) a reality?”

I thought I might answer that question with a few pictures. While you won’t see exactly what lunch or dinner is (Lunch was Salmon cakes, salad, and Deb’s Cucumber salad, while dinner is Grilled Enchilada Salad) you will see what I use to fix our meals.

Our cupboards for our dry goods is filled with spices, tuna, natural peanut butter, and things like ketchup and mustard. The Salmon was here until lunch time. This is it besides a big box of oatmeal, dried beans, almonds. Those are down below so the kids can reach it.

Here’s the fridge. All the typical stuff is here. Veggies located in the bins below but also scattered throughout the place. My rule of thumb is that my grocery cart should not be overloaded with fruit. An equal amount or more of veggies should be included.

The white bowl on the top shelf is full of hard boiled eggs.  There are over 48 eggs in the picture along with 5 family size containers of yogurt. They both make a great snack – quick and easy.

And the freezer? Its been stocked with frozen veggies, some of which are from our garden. Frozen shrimp, chicken, and also frozen fruit. I guess I didn’t need to say ‘frozen’; Imagine that frozen food in a freezer? 🙂

Meal Movement is also a main feature in our freezer. If you haven’t checked out the benefits of Meal Movement, find out more here.

And then finally the picture of my counter (I avoided the piles of papers and stuff that piles high only to clutter). You’ll see the fresh fruit my family enjoys eating.

If you see me at the grocery store, say hi. What’s in the grocery cart won’t embarrass me. I am not always perfectly compliant. No one is. But in general what you see is Protein, Produce, and Water.

Hope you enjoyed taking a peek into the Carlson’s Cupboards.

Now ask yourself “What’s in YOUR cupboard?”

To your best health, Nancy

Massage Therapy. Does The Body Good (plus 25% off your first visit)

We are very fortunate to have some great strategic health partners and allied health professionals in our network.

We only look to partner with those pros who are going to help you (and us) get better. The benefits of regular bodywork in particular have been extolled many times in this blog – Massage, ART, and Chiropractic can all help recover not only from training, but the everyday stress of life. What’s in it for your coaches is that we are able to talk specifics with your treatment provider (with your permission of course) and tailor your training around any limitations or movement deficiencies you currently have. This is very important! Rarely can you just “work through” and injury or limitation, and the more we know the better.

I also want to remind you that one of the benefits of being a client of Get Fit NH is the standing 10% discount to both Chichester Massage and Peace & Balance Body Therapies.

Christen over at Peace & Balance has also very generously provided an additional service discount for first time clients of 25% off – you would be kinda nuts not to take advantage! 🙂  Christen is right down the street from our Concord facility, and has even left cards at the gym with directions.

Take advantage of these client benefits, and do your body some good!

A Festive Feast for the Eyes, and It Tastes Good Too!

I am eating this as I edit. Delicious! – Coach Dean

Although it is almost Labor Day, don’t let this summer pass you by without sinking your teeth into this incredibly colorful tasty meal.

The fantastic zing of mango with lime and red pepper drizzled over grilled salmon. A tomato salad sprinkled with feta cheese – I just love the combination of tomatoes and feta. Contrasting the color of the tomatoes and beets with green beans. I am making myself hungry as I write this. You’ve got to try this one out.

Salmon With Mango Salsa

• 1 mango peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (about one lime)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 skin on salmon fillets (about 2 pounds)

Stir together the mango, cilantro, rep pepper, oil,  and lime juice. Heat a grill to medium high. ( If you can hold your hand 3 inches above grill grates for 4-5 seconds its medium. If you can’t hold it there that long you’ve got medium high or high heat. Be careful when testing heat of grill this way.) Season salmon with salt and pepper and lightly brush with olive oil. Grill skin side down for 4-6 minutes. Turn them over and grill for another 4-6 minutes. Remove from grill and spoon salsa over top.  Serves 4

(I buy fresh mango salsa pre made. I squeeze a bit of lime juice, add a bit of cilantro, and a few red pepper flakes to the premade salsa.)

Tomato Beet Salad

• 1 pound of beets
• 2 pound of tomatoes
• 1 pint of cheery tomatoes
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• fresh cilantro, optional
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the beets until clean. Roast on a baking sheet for 75 minutes. Cool. When they are cool to touch you can rub the skins together slightly to remove. Slice beets into rounds. Slice the tomatoes and halve the cherry tomatoes then arrange on platter with beets. Top with feta cheese and sprinkle with cilantro. To finish, drizzle with olive oil. Serves 4

Braised Green Beans

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 5 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

In a large skillet, bring chicken broth and garlic cloves to a simmer. Add in the beans and thyme. Cover. Cook for 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil on top. Serves 4

To your best health (while satisfying your taste)

Coach Nancy

Kettlebell Mastery Workshop with Jen Brickey

Kettlebells are hot, there is no doubt about it.

Frankly at Get Fit NH we couldn’t care less about what is hot, but if it’s a great training tool we are all over it, and there is no doubt that in the proper hands Kettlebells are incredible.

But just like any other tool, you have to use them right for safe and effective training. To that end we are pumped to have Kettlebell Expert and Instructor Jen Brickey from Fusion Workouts take the lead at our Kettlebell Mastery Workshop.

We will get a registration form online soon, but for now mark October 6th from 10am to 12pm on your calendars. Registration will be limited to 25.

Don’t miss it!

About Jen Brickey

Jen Brickey has quickly become Newton’s leading fitness expert in kettlebell and boot camps. She is the founder of Fusion Workouts, a 2000 square foot kettlebell functional training studio in Newtonville, MA. Jen is RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) and AOS (Art of Strength) Kettlebell Instructor. Ms. Brickey is also a certified strength and conditioning coach with the prestigious National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA-CSCS), a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports of Medicine (NASM-CPT).

Jen has been training for 9 years and in that time has helped hundreds of people look good, feel better and move better! In January of 2009, Jens vision of a kettlebell functional training studio was born with Fusion Workouts and since that time her business has grown rapidly.

Jen earned her bachelors degree in exercise science from Hofstra University in Long Island, NY. While at Hofstra University, Jen played basketball on a full scholarship. Being a division 1 athlete, Jen learned how fitness, strength and conditioning and nutrition go hand and hand in being a competitive athlete and being able to compete at the highest level.

August Hall of Fame Inductees

We LOVE the last week of the month at Get Fit NH, because we get to give stuff away.

Check out all these happy clients who earned their latest Get Fit NH swag – great work!

Gray = 1 month Survivors

Red = 1 year Hall of Fame inductees

Blue = 2 year Hall of Fame

Black = 3 year Hall of Fame

Dark Gray = 4 year Hall of Fame

Labor Day Sweat-a-thon – Let’s Have Some Fun!

Don’t shoot the messenger, but the end of summer is quickly drawing near. Not all bad news, as Autumn in New England is just an incredible time of year.

Labor Day is usually the last big hurrah before school gets back into full swing and the schedules get a little more routine.

It is also still a great day to train!

We will be running a (very) abbreviated schedule on Labor Day, September 3rd so y’all can get out to the beach and the barbecues.

At 8:00am we will be having a “Labor Day Sweat-a-thon” at Get Fit NH Concord. We always enjoy the times when we are able to get both gyms together and training hard, so don’t miss it!

Labor Day Sweat-A-Thon
Monday September 3, 2012
Get Fit NH Concord
8:00am – 9:30am

It’s Not Too Late, Warriors!

If you haven’t signed up yet for the Warrior Dash New Hampshire at Gunstock, which is being held September 15th, what are you waiting for?

There are still spots left, but I assure you they are going fast.

If the thought ever crossed your mind to complete an adventure race, I will tell you this is the one I have had the most fun doing.

You can check out the course info here, and go directly to registration here.

Make It Happen!

Were You Our Latest Winner?

Hey guys, wanted to update you on our “Win A New Wardrobe” contest.

We had 9 entries, and I promised $5 per entry, but since I am such a nice guy and passing out $50’s is kind of a tradition around here, I rounded up.

Pretty cool, huh? 🙂

The voting was pretty close, but the overall winner of $50 in cold hard cash (to be spent on starting that new wardrobe of course) is none other than Transformation #4…

Gretchen Wolfe!

You can read Gretchen’s story here (and believe me it is always worth the read).

Congratulations to Gretchen, but I want to give a shout out to everyone who entered the contest, because you are all rocking it!

Transformation #1 – Becky Adams

Transformation #2  – Diane Bottcher

Transformation #3 – Donna Keely

Transformation #4 – Gretchen Wolfe

Transformation #5 – Jen Schwab

Transformation #6 – Judy Swain

Transformation #7 – Katie Bean

Transformation #8 – Lori Boucher-Nichol

Transformation #9 – Steven Bottcher

Congratulations to all of you – Keep Making It Happen!

What Is Discipline?

What do you think of when you think of discipline?

Suffering, pain, restrictions, perfection?

It’s unfortunate that so many of us focus on the negative connotations of discipline. That we think that reaching our health and fitness goals is just one unbearable task after another.

In reality all the successes we have in life are due to the positive aspects of discipline.

Discipline is in reality nothing more than structured training.

That’s what education is.

A system of skills that build on each other. You have to learn to add before you can do algebra. You need to learn your colors before you can draw a rainbow. You crawl before you walk before you run.

I really enjoyed watching this years Olympic Games.

The athletes who reach that level didn’t just show up by accident.  They planned, prepared and practiced.

Part of that process was failure. It usually is.

Can you imagine if Usain Bolt decided that since he got beat at the Jamaican trials that he wouldn’t bother going to the Olympics? Instead of folding his tent and going home it pushed him to work harder.

His God given talent wasn’t enough. It rarely is.

The result of his renewed effort is that he earned, he achieved, he made history (and not just as a gold medal braggart :)).

Discipline is about perseverance, not perfection.

Discipline is about planning, not procrastinating.

Discipline is about practice, not just participating.

Have you ever had a bad habit?

How do you break it?

By practicing good habits.

And sometimes it takes many many efforts until you get it right.

Have you ever been frustrated because you are unable to perform an exercise in the gym correctly?

I have, and still am at times.

If you train with us you know that we are very particular about movement patterns, hip hinging for example.

It takes practice, and lot’s of it, to be able to progress from simple hip hinging to explosive movements using that same pattern.

Do you think anyone does it perfectly the first time?

I was practicing my 1-Leg RDL right along with you this morning, and I was thinking to myself how much work I still have to do.

But because I know when I have it right I will move better, be more efficient, and get more out of my training, I practice it.

Do you feel like throwing in the towel when you went on a brownie bender last night – again?

Me too.

But I know that the consequences of giving up are far worse than getting back on the horse and making the next great choice.

You are not perfect, stop pretending you are.

Accept it, but don’t use it as an excuse.

It’s all too easy to look at the guy next to you and think “He’s lucky, He’s a natural” when in reality he has practiced these movements for the past 5 years.

It’s tempting to look at the woman next to you and think “she must have great genetics” when you don’t know that 3 years ago she weighed 75 pounds more than she does now, and it took all of those years to break bad habits and build the good ones.

People don’t just wake up one day and win gold medals, or fit into size 2, and eat properly, and train optimally.

They planned, they practice, and most importantly they persevere.

Nobody is going to hand it to you.

The “luck fairy” isn’t paying you a visit.

You have to be committed to taking action…every day.

You gotta want it.

Badly enough to…

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

The Secret about Recovery Weeks

Yeah I am talking to you sweet lips!

Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but here’s the super secret hush hush lowdown on what to do on recovery weeks…

Recover.

You earn your recovery weeks by busting your tail for 8 to 12 weeks of hard training.

Enjoy It.

Our next scheduled recovery week is August 27th through Labor Day. This is not random, haphazard or unnecessary. This is part of the training plan that we put together every year, and it is a vital part of our training program. Recovery weeks are the key to lower injury rates and increased progress. Don’t try to outsmart the system. I can give you the names of people who have unsuccessfully tried, and it’s just not worth it.

To many of you recovery weeks are a new concept, and that’s ok, because we want you to know why we do what we do. Invest a few minutes of your time to understand the “secrets” of recovery weeks and how they make you better.

Recovery Is Where The Magic Happens

I Hate Recovery Weeks

Rest, Recover and Regenerate, It’s Not Optional