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

It is no surprise that we are most often our worst critics.  Many of us battle the negative voice in our head that says “we aren’t good enough”.  That inner voice may lead you to believe that you are weak or a failure and will never achieve your goal.  

How do we fight the negative voices?  I believe that you have to acknowledge the negative thoughts and label them for what they are.  Rather than getting stuck in the thought process, acknowledge it and ask yourself if it is truth.  If your inner voice is telling you that you are weak, take a minute to assess the validity of the statement.  Have you made positive changes in you life? Are you more consistent with training or making better nutrition choices?  Those all require strength and therefore discounts the statement “you are weak”.

When attempting to remove negative thoughts, it is important to replace them with something positive.  Otherwise, the negative thoughts will just creep back into the empty space. There may be times in life when it might be more challenging to find the positive so keep it simple.  Celebrate and focus on even the small victories.

You are in control of your thoughts and whether they are negative or positive.  It takes time and practice but you can retrain your brain. We are here for you and always happy to remind you of the positives.  One Get Fit NH Family member reached out through email and shared her struggles and negative thoughts with us. I was so proud of her for acknowledging her struggling and letting us come along side of her.  She vented and vowed not to get stuck in the current thought process. We are in this together!

-Coach Erin

Our 4th annual Show up, Step up and Stick it up Challenge is coming up and this year has a new twist! We run this challenge to keep you honest as we head into a challenging time of year. The fall brings on back to school, sports and that leads us into the holidays and before you know it here comes January and we are motivated to get back on the wagon. 

But imagine how wonderful it would be if you never had to fall off the wagon! Imagine if you had some extra motivation (on top of your coach) to keep you going and keep you honest...

Well imagine no more! This challenge is for you and here is how it works:

Show up: There are 59 total training chances between the September 9th and December 20th to make it into training. To complete the show up portion we are asking that you make it a certain amount in that time being:

• 4 Training Days People: 50 Days
• 3 Training Days People: 40 Days
• 2 Training Days People: 25 Days

Step up: The Fit3D! On the backside of the card there will be a monthly spot to hit up the Fit3D. You want to talk about keeping you honest? Nothing better than the good ole "truth booth" to keep you on pace. The average weight gain between October and December is TEN POUNDS! It is a lot of work to get those pounds off so let's not fall into that category. We will help keep you honest.

Stick it up: This will also be a monthly spot on the backside of your card. This is for the goals board. Each month we put up a goals board. We strive for this to be apart of our culture and this will help you build that habit and keep you working toward the bigger picture. Each month you will need a coach to initial that verifying that you did in face "stick it up"

Share It: This is the NEW TWIST for this year! On the Back side of the card a new box will be added for you to share it that needs to be completed once a month. Here are some ways you could get this box checked off:

• Bring a friend to a fun friday or charity training
• Share a Get Fit NH video on social media
• Check in that you trained on Facebook
• Refer a friend to come train with us.
• Anyway you can share the greatness and fun we have and show proof to a coach

If you fill up your card with the needed amount of attendance checks, 4 (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec) step ups, stick it ups, and share it ups then your card will go into the magic prize jar. We will pick THREE cards to win mega awesome prizes. 

1st card pulled earns- $300

2nd card pulled earns- $100

3rd card pulled earns- $50

We look forward to kicking this challenge off and finishing this year out strong! Let's make it happen,

The Get Fit NH Team