This is in some ways a follow-up blog to my why Wednesday video.  What does the phrase “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” mean?  It means that doing things to prevent a problem or issue in small parts preventatively is a lot easier than trying to make major changes after an issue has arisen.  As an example think of a credit card, an ounce of prevention would be things like using your credit card sparingly and paying it off monthly, or at least in a timely fashion.  Which is much much easier, and more manageable, than continually charging things you aren’t able to afford at the moment to a credit card and then trying to pay off high amounts of credit card debt.  For anyone that has experienced this you know how unbelievably difficult it can be.  

The same is true of the body, very simply the best way to stay active and moving, is to….you guessed it, stay active and moving, training, ect.  It's a lot easier to maintain an active lifestyle for 10 years, than it is letting yourself become sedentary for ten years and try to rewind the clock.  Realistically you could probably maintain a relative level of fitness and mobility with just being physically active for 15-20 minutes a day in a pinch.  That seems a lot less daunting than being 10 years older and trying to train 6 days a week to make up for lost time.  

With all that being said I fully realize that this is a hard thing to picture, this is maybe our most difficult thing as coaches to convey because people tend to have trouble understanding something they have yet to experience.  Myself included, it’s very hard to consider back pain prevention (most often hip mobility) as a priority, until you hurt your back. Pressing overhead doesn’t seem like a big deal right now, until you have to do months of PT and waiting for your frozen shoulder symptoms to go away.  This is just something you have to trust me/us on. Keep yourself healthy now, to be able to hold up when things get challenging down the road, the reverse is EXPONENTIALLY harder.

Many years ago, when I was at a training conference I first learned of the word “Sawubona”. It is an African Zulu greeting that means “I see you”. In Western culture, we often say “Hi, how are you?” but so often people never wait for the others response. In contrast, Sawubona means “I see you and you are important to me and I value you”.

Recently during a training, I asked a Get Fit NH Family member “how are you doing?” Her
response was “I am here”. I told her “that is a step in the right direction!” I knew from
previous conversations she has been under a lot of stress for various reasons. I did not take it lightly that she made it to training. I know it was an achievement. For some of you, training is just part of your day, no questions asked and that is fantastic! For others, it is a struggle just to walk through the doors. I want you all to know that we never take it for granted when you make it to training! We love “seeing” you! You are so much more than just a body working out. While we may not greet you with “Sawubona”, we see you and you are all incredibly important to us. Your value is beyond measure! When you are a part of the Get Fit NH Family it means you are seen and valued! Thank you for not only training with us but also sharing your lives with us.

-Coach Erin

Happy Monday and first day back from recovery week! 

I hope everyone is feeling energized and ready to get back into some great training! I thought it would be helpful to write this blog about important things to remember coming back from recovery week and how you might feel starting off:

1. Start Slow! If you remembered we deloaded our training the two weeks before recovery week and then had recovery week. The purpose of that we to let our body recover and rest after spending a lot of time training with heavy weights. There is a good chance that you may not be able be able to lift the same weight as you could before recovery week but that's ok because you will build that strength back and then some!
2. Embrace The Training! You are all rock stars when it comes to training! You all always crush any challenge we throw at you which makes programming so much fun for us! A thing to remember in the first couple of weeks is that we are focused on getting the body moving again so that at the end of the training phase you are performing the best you can!
3. Wellness Is Peaks And Valleys! People will ask us why we would deload if it makes us weaker for a short amount of time. The answer is because your body needs it! Not even professional athletes train 7 days a week 365 days a year, they take time to deload and rest too! As awesome as it would be our bodies can't handle the stress of lifting heavy all the time. It needs rest and recovery so it can grow more especially as we get stronger and need more energy to keep getting stronger!

We are super excited about this training phase and to see all the progress everyone makes! Welcome back and remember to keep making it happen!

-Coach Brian

How important is sleep to you?  Many people struggle with sleep or sometimes even neglect it.  I think we all know it is important, but do we know the effects of not getting enough?  According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), “Sleep deficiency can lead to physical and mental health problem, injuries, loss of productivity, and even a greater risk of death.”

I was listening to a Ted Talk given by brain scientist Matt Walker. He presented a study in which one group of participants stayed up all night and another got a full 8 hours of sleep.  In the morning both groups were asked to learn a list of new facts.  Their brain activity was analyzed by an MRI. The results showed that the sleep deprived group had a 40 percent deficit in the brain’s ability to make new memories.  That has huge implications on learning.

The NHLBI states that “ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Sleep deficiency can also increase the risk of obesity.”  The hormones that regulate the feeling of being hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin) are affected by sleep.   When there is a sleep deficiency the ghrelin goes up and the leptin goes down which results in an increased hunger sensation.  If your goal is to lose weight, then you want to make sure you are getting enough sleep.

Goals for better sleep:

-Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night

-Consistent sleep schedule.  Try getting up and going to bed at the same time every day

-Turn off electronic devices 30 minutes before bed

-Establish a relaxing bedtime routine

Make It Happen! 

-Coach Erin

A new session of kettlebell classes are starting July 10th 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!

It's that time of year again, challenge time!  We run TWO class challenges each summer. July kicks off the attendance challenge. This is a great way to be accountable to your training even when the weather is nice! 

Let me take this opportunity to remind you that long walks and bike rides are exercise, but it is not strength training. Training is the magic that keeps your bones healthy and strong and is what gives you the ability to get up and down off the floor and maintain your independence as you age. None of us are getting out of this world any younger, so we need to do our part now to make life easier later! 

Here is how the attendance challenge works...

For the month of July we are looking for 100% accountability from everyone in every class. This means that if you are NOT in training then you let a coach know BEFORE a coach reaches out to you! Your coaches email, call or text over 150 clients PER WEEK for not making it to training. This is a tool we use to keep you accountable and for the month of July (and hopefully moving forward) we want to work on building that accountability habit and put the ball in your court. So here is how you get POSITIVE credit for your team..you either show up to training or let a coach know (in person, through call, text or email) that you are not going to be in training. If you need to come to a different training time then that is just fine- you will still get credit for your "home room" training time. This contact must be done BEFORE the coach gets to you- which should be within 24 hours of missed training. If you a coach contacts you first then that will NEGATIVELY effect your team- so just let us know!

The class with the best average will win a class party. To give you some examples of previous parties...we have done breakfast parties, glow stick parties, Taco Tuesday parties and more! The possibilities are endless! Each week we will update the average to show you which class is in the lead.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Meagan or email us at GetFitNHCoaches@gmail.com

Looking forward to this challenge kicking off! It starts when we return from recovery week!  

​Monday July 8, 2019 - Friday August 2, 2019

Let's Make it Happen!

We all have priorities in our everyday life. These are the things that are important to us like self-care, friends, family, religion, work etc.  

To-Do’s

Things that we just have to do. The list might not be the same every single day, but week to week it is pretty similar with the occasional curve ball like “pay the dentist bill.” I know I am not the only one who thrives with to-do lists and constantly uses the note pad app in her phone to write out a plan. These are things like laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, etc

Non-negotiables

These are things that are stronger than priorities and more than a to-do. These are things that we schedule into our life, because we need them to survive and thrive.  Things like sleep, exercise, food, water. Most of these things we do naturally, but many of these things we could be doing better. In order to support your non-negotiables, you need to have your priorities in order and shake up your to-do list.

You still with me?

Step 1: Define your non-negotiables. What are you doing or what should you be doing to live your best life and be the best version of yourself you could possibly be. Hint: I recommend using the examples I stated above (Sleep, food, water, exercise)

Step 2: Write out your current priority list and write out your “dream” priority list. Be brutally honest. A lot of us look something like this:

Family

Work

Friends

Self-Care

Note: it is OKAY to have work at the bottom! It is not okay to put yourself last. If you are not thriving then the rest of those areas will suffer! If you are a parent or if you have ever given any health related advice to someone you love then you have probably said something like, “You have to take care of yourself.” Take your own advice! Write out your “dream” priority list. Here’s mine:

Self-care

Family

Work

Friends

Step 3: Write a to-do list every single day that supports your priorities and your non-negotiables. If you are not a list maker you are missing out on extreme satisfaction, organization and results! Each week I work off of a document  called my “weekly review”

I do NOT want to know a life without this tool. I update my weekly to do for the following week every Friday and then I add to it each night to plan out my next day. Here is an example day on my (current) weekly review:

When I complete the task I bold it so if I missed something on Monday then I could go back for it on Tuesday or later in the week. This to-do list can and should include things like

Training at 4:15pm

Make lunch for Tuesday

Prep dinner

Meal plan

Screens off by 9PM and in bed

Right now, one of my non-negotiables is to keep my body functioning with limited pain which is why if you saw the whole week worth of to-do’s you would see a chiropractor appointment on Monday, prenatal massage on Tuesday, Doctor appointment on Wednesday, etc.

Everyone has 24 hours in the day. You have a choice to make those hours productive and lead a satisfying and healthy life. Truth be told – I do take a break from a weekly review Saturday and Sunday, but Monday through Friday I am faithful to this tool and it has been life changing and helped me paint a clear picture of what is important to me. It also catches me when I slip.

Be in control!

Coach Meagan