What is self-control?

Self-control is defined as the ability to manage your actions, feelings and emotions. It is important for us to understand and practice self-control in our lives. This can help us cope with certain emotions and feelings, as well as help control our actions. Preventing us from saying or doing something we know we will regret, or the regret of not doing something at all. By practicing self-control, we can improve our health and quality of life. Both physically and mentally. 

I didn’t understand the significance of self-control until my senior year in high school. I was always a very active individual who played sports, basketball in particular. But a quarter of the way through my season, I sprained my knee and tore my meniscus. I couldn’t walk and was on crutches for about 3 months while I went through surgery and physical therapy. For me, it was the most difficult time in my life.

Not being able to do the things I once could was hard for me to cope with. It was even harder mentally for me, as I didn’t want to be viewed as a handicap or someone who was vulnerable. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was vulnerable. I realized that it was ok to receive someone’s help from time to time. That’s when I started to change my mentality about my situation. 

Rather than be upset about my condition and what I couldn’t control, I started to focus on what I could control. That was my attitude, I wasn’t gonna let my injury bring me down and I needed to be more positive as I recovered. For my physical therapy, I was limited. But I focused on what I could do, no matter how small or simple the exercise. Some nights I would just lie in bed trying to fire up my leg muscles. It wasn’t much, but I knew I was working towards my long-term goal. Over time, I got stronger and was back to my active self. I gained a new perspective from my injury, and I believe I am stronger because of it. As I learned to focus more on what I can control rather than what I can’t control. 

The same can be said for you when it comes to your own health and fitness. Learn to practice self-control, so you can better understand your feelings and actions and how to handle them to benefit yourself. Whether that’s practicing healthier eating habits. Or making sure you make it to training, even though you are tired. Once you stop saying “I can’t” and start saying “I can” you will start to notice the positive impact it can have. It’s your life, take control of it.

-Coach Dylan 

I believe that many of us don’t achieve our goals because we give up on ourselves.  I love the quote from Albert Einstein, “You never fail until you stop trying”. How many times do we fall short of our goals because we just stop trying?  Achieving a goal is no small task and it can seem like there is always something working against us.  

Last year I completed my first half marathon.  I walked the entire 13.1 miles but that was an accomplishment for me.  Six months prior to that I couldn’t walk for more than 20 minutes without pain due to fibromyalgia.  After completing the half marathon, my husband and I promised each other we would do it again in October 2019 and add in some running!  

I will be honest, over the past few weeks I have questioned myself and my ability to do the half marathon next month.  I wanted to give up. I told myself that life has just gotten in the way and I haven’t been able to train as much as I would have liked.  I haven’t lost as much weight as I wanted.  Many other “reasons” floated through my head as to why it would be ok just to pass it up this year.  There is always next year or another race. I was ready to give up and stop trying.

Last week I was talking with someone and mentioned my doubts.  Without hesitation, he said of course you are going to do the half marathon!  I am so thankful for his strong conviction and belief in me.  A new fire ignited inside me. I decided I WILL complete the half marathon in October. I may not be able to run as much as I would like but at least I didn’t give up on myself and my goal.  

We may not always believe in ourselves and ability which is why it is so important to surround yourself with the right people.  I believe it is important to share your goals, struggles, doubts and successes with someone!  Your Get Fit NH Family is here for you!  We want to help you achieve your goals and we never want to see you give up! 

-Coach Erin

I recently heard the statement “use your emotions to drive you into motion”.  This phrase kept playing over in my head and I began to wonder how often we actually use our emotions to our advantage.

One definition that I found states that emotions can be defined as a complex state of feeling that results in physical and psychological changes that influence thought and behavior.  I think we would all agree that emotions are complex. I believe that it is all too common for people to suppress their emotions. Some emotions are uncomfortable, and we don’t want to deal with them or their cause, so we avoid them.  This can result in behaviors that are not beneficial and will not help us reach our goals. Have you ever been angry, felt lonely, or overwhelmed? Those are generally not feelings we like to sit with and think about so instead we may try to eat pleasurable foods in order to boost our moods and “make ourselves feel better”.  Often our attempts at “instant gratification” do not change the cause of the emotion.

I believe we need to increase our emotional awareness.  Emotions are energy in motion within us. They are an internal feedback system.  The goal is to be able to use these emotions to our advantage rather than let them weigh us down.  When an uncomfortable emotion arises, take a minute and do some deep breathing and allow yourself to notice what you are actually feeling.  Next, name the emotion. Once you acknowledge what the emotion is you are better able to manage it. Finally, you need to talk yourself through the emotion and reassure yourself.  Decide how you want this emotion to dictate your day. Can it be a motivation for action and change for the good? Or will it overcome you and stagnate your direction and goals. Denial does not change things – action does.  Even the action of owning the emotion is motion forward. By using your emotions in perspective, you can experience positive changes that will bring you closer to your goals.

-Coach Erin

My buddy Brenda posted this on Facebook the other day and it really struck me. What a powerful statement and what a true and scary statement! 

What is wellness though? It could be defined so many different ways by different people with different beliefs. The dictionary defines wellness as the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind. Especially as the results of deliberate effort. So let’s talk about the health and how you can deliberately take care of yourself.

• Nutrition. How you fuel your body has a massive effect on your wellness. If you choose to eat processed food and overeat then your wellness will suffer. It is up to you to MAKE TIME to meal prep and make it a priority to eat to fuel your body and feel good. If you choose to tell yourself you don’t have time, you are too busy, it’s too expensive, etc then you will find yourself finding a way at some point down the road. Make time.

• Exercise. How you move your body has a massive effect on your wellness. If you choose to live a sedentary lifestyle or choose to skip out on the opportunity to build muscle and get stronger and push yourself then your wellness will suffer. It is up to you to MAKE TIME to exercise so you can get strong and continue to age with grace. If you choose to tell yourself that you don’t have time, you are too busy, it’s too expensive, etc then you will find yourself back tracking at some point down the road. Make time.

• Drink Water. It is the only hydration your body needs. I know you don’t believe me, because we are fast paced and tired people who love coffee. But your body does not NEED coffee to thrive (maybe your attitude does!) Drink your water. It matters. 

• Go to sleep. How you rest your body has a massive effect on your wellness. If you choose to stay up way too late working or chatting then your wellness will suffer. Get your 7-9 hours of sleep each night so you can work and chat with more energy and more of a purpose. It might be a tough habit for you to get into. Start with setting yourself a screen time curfew and follow it! 

Those are the big four that have a massive effect on your wellness. The beliefs within those topics may differ person to person, but if you’re struggling with one of those four then start there. It is not too late now. Don’t make yourself back track. 

I will also say this..

For some of us, certain illnesses may be inevitable. Some are simply genetic and we are ticking time bombs, BUT if we take care of ourselves now we will be able to FIGHT harder against the cards we are dealt. Never for one second think that your hard work is not going to pay off.

Make it Happen,

Coach Meagan

• Get a water bottle with a straw! We are busy people and we don’t have time to unscrew caps when we are working, driving, etc. I bet you can suck down a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee way faster than you can drink water! Maybe that is because it is tastier, BUT it’s also the convenience of a straw. Do it!

• Infuse it! A lot of people add lemon to their water to spice it up. I like to add raspberries and lime to mine! If you just can’t stand water, because it is too boring then try spicing it up by infusing it.

• Add all the ice! Yes, this will mean you need to get up and refill more, but there is nothing more refreshing than iced cold water on a hot summer day! 

• Find the biggest water bottle you can! Burlington Coat Factory and TJ Maxx are great places to find ginormous water bottles! Fill it and set yourself a goal to finish it by a certain time. Add that alarm to your phone…maybe with an hour warning so you can drink up!

• Water apps on your phone. There are SO many now. If you are someone who forgets to drink water download an app and it will sound a notification every hour (or whatever you set it to) and remind you to drink up

Hydration is your friend. Drink up!

Coach Meagan

A new session of kettlebell classes are starting September 11th on Wednesdays at Get Fit NH. The session will run for 8 weeks working on building kettlebell skills, strength, and mobility.

Why Train With Kettlebells:

People have been using kettlebells to burn fat, build lean muscle, and improve mobility since early 1700's! Using kettlebells has been a proven method of improving your health for so long, I would even argue it is one of the best methods of burning fat while building muscle. Another wonderful reason to train with kettlebells is they do not take up much space and for most trainings you only need yourself and one bell! 

What Will We Be Doing In Class:

This class is designed to build up the fundamental movements of kettlebells and create a strong foundation you can take anywhere to train with kettlebells! We use a mixture of Kettlebells, TRX, and body weight to bring complete trainings for anyone! We like to take our time and really focus on quality of a movement to maximize the results we get! This class is perfect for anyone of any fitness level, if you are trying to take your first step into fitness or you're a fitness vet trying to add some new material into training this class is for you! 

Is This Only Open To Get Fit NH Members:

NO! This class is open to Get Fit NH members and anyone who is not currently a member! So if you think this is something for you sign right up! 

*To keep classes running smoothly each class is capped at 10 people*

Class Times And Cost:

Class Times: The class will be held on wednesdays at 4 different times:

• 5:30 AM
• 6:30 AM
• 4:30 PM
• 5:30 PM

Cost:

• For The Entire 8 week session the cost it $119

If You have any questions please reach out to me at :

Brian@getfitnh.com

If you are interested in signing up and having some summer kettlebell fun click below!

This will be a somewhat shorter blog but I think it is an extremely important one.  The most important parts of any goal are the start and the finish, more often the middle will take care of itself.  Let's start with training, what would you say that the most often difficult to make it to trainings are? Based on what we as coaches see its two days…Monday, and/or Friday.  What does that tell me? It tells me that one of the major challenges is either getting started with something, or finishing out. Be honest with yourself, if you are someone reading this who has a tendency to not finish out the week of training, do you also see a pattern of yo-yoing with your nutrition?  Or can you look back at past S3’s or just times when you tried to keep your nutrition on point and you got close to the end but decided you ended early?  

The start and the finish are by far the two most important parts.  Often just taking the step in the gym, on your first day or on a Monday, is one of the toughest decisions.  The second toughest decision comes at the end of the week, you’re tired, your stressed from a long week and you decide “well I made it ‘x’ days, that’s good enough” next thing you know its one less than the week before.  If you can start a week of training and end a week of training, the stuff in the middle tends to be the easiest (at least relatively speaking). If you can make time on a Monday and Friday then finding time on a Tuesday or Thursday is child's play.  Even if you have been inconsistent to training that would be my advice, pencil yourself in for every Monday and Friday, and the rest will come. Additionally if you are looking to improve your nutrition, I would be willing to bet that if you get Monday and Saturday/Sunday on lockdown, you will find the rest to be cake.  Give it a shot!

Coach Adam