A few years ago I had an appointment with a fertility specialist. I had such a challenge getting pregnant for years and I was so frustrated and defeated. After waiting my one year “keeping trying” time frame I was finally seen. I sat before this doctor and explained to her my history, what I do for work, my background, my health, etc. She took my height and weight and she told me that part of the reason I might be having a challenge getting pregnant is because I’m overweight.

There are a lot of things that irk me about that day, but the most relevant frustration is that I sat in that chair in THE BEST shape of my life. I had been training for a figure competition so I was leaner than ever. It was clear by a glance that I was not overweight and considering I was thorough on my occupation and health history it was probably not my reasoning for fertility issues.

It was after THAT day where I made it a mission to be sure everyone knows that BMI (body mass index) is a TERRIBLE representation of your health.

This is where my push on body fat comes into play…

Body Fat takes into account your lean weight versus your fat weight. Now I want you to imagine this…

A woman 5’6 140 pounds 22% body fat. With that percentage of body fat we are looking a lean woman who has 110 pounds of LEAN weight (muscles, organs, bones) and 30 pounds of fat weight (we will always have SOME fat weight or else we’d be dead!)

A woman 5’6 140 pounds 32% body fat. With that percentage of body fat we are looking at an overweight woman who has 96 pounds of LEAN weight and 44 pounds of fat weight.

But their BMI is the exact same.

Say what?

If you are curious about your body fat then I would encourage you to hop on the Fit3d and get that done. The system determines your body fat AND your lean weight vs fat weight. A great benefit of that measurement is also to see where your weight is shifting. So for example, you might be discouraged if after a month or so the scale doesn’t move, but you might be ENCOURAGED to see that while your weight has remained the same you lost some fat and transferred it into that lean section.

As we mature we want to be sure that as our scale weight changes or remains the same we are keeping the lean weight number the same (if not higher!) We want to keep our muscles ripped and our bones dense as the years go on 

Coach Meagan

If you're working at becoming healthier , here are some of the checklist items that you might have omitted:

Set the time aside to read this spotlight, if you are having trouble, whether it be emotional, physical, or a combination of both.  If this doesn't make you want to run through a wall then I don't know what to tell you, because it sure as heck makes me want to. I have been so unbelievably proud of the way Andrea has handled her time her and even more so how she is handling her current injury.  I’m more than happy to admit that reading this in full was uplifting, I very seriously suggest you do the same. In Andrea’s own words;

“I started at GetFit nearly a year and a half ago, though it sometimes feels like a world away. It had been 6 months since me and my family uprooted our lives in the midwest and came to New Hampshire - a homecoming for me, though it still meant leaving a decade’s-worth of friendships. I was feeling unmoored and unhealthy, eating whatever and whenever I’d like, and never really exercising. It was when my knees started to really hurt when climbing stairs that I actively sought out GetFit NH and got on the 5am wait list. After a few months of the lovely 6:45pm class, I made it into the 5am class, where I’ve been nearly every morning ever since. 

I still love the things that initially drew me to GetFit - the comraderie, the lack of mirrors, the truly judgement-free atmosphere, and how I’ve always been able to participate at some level. When I began at GFNH I was incredibly self-conscious - uncomfortable in my own skin and hyper-aware of both my colorful bands and my limitations. But by coming consistently over these past 16 months, I gained - muscle, confidence, and skills, while at the same time losing quite a bit of weight. My goals shifted from weight-loss and shedding my bands, to climbing the FitRanx levels and training again for a half-marathon (something I enjoyed many years ago!) I was looking forward to better weather for the start of my training, but then life, with it’s best laid plans, had other ideas.

You see, along with strength and confidence, I had rediscovered a love of sports. Now, I have never considered myself an athlete - my sister was always the one that excelled with grace and drive (and loads of skill). Yet here I was in my 30s, lifting heavy weights, running, and playing field hockey again! I also returned to skiing, something I did every winter growing up. So the decision to go on a big family ski trip out west was a no brainer - I was feeling great, able to really dig in and go fast, enjoying the experience. But I couldn’t control for that grassy patch of ice or the novice skier that didn’t know to check uphill when merging. As I fell (yep, it was a big one), I could hear and feel everything tear in my right knee. And when my dad skied up behind my crumpled body on the ground, just seconds later, my first words (along with many swears) were, “I just blew out my knee!” And boy did I. After a trip to the ER, a rough plane ride home, and an MRI I was diagnosed with a fully torn ACL, fully torn MCL, and torn meniscus - the aptly named “unhappy triad.” 

I’m not going to lie, this injury has been painful - both physically (obviously!) and emotionally. I lost a lot in that silly fall - gone were all my goals, gone were the sports and teammates I had finally returned to, gone was my progress. What laid ahead (and still lays ahead) for me is lots of physical therapy, surgery for both my ACL and meniscus, nearly two months of crutches, and more physical therapy. Then, once that’s all done, I’ll be starting again. It felt, at first, like I would have to start from the beginning, a thought that made me cry.

But here’s the thing about me - I am both stubborn and absurdly optimistic. I cannot undo that fall, but you had better believe I can make it to the gym every day and do upper body sprints until my heart rate is at 94%. I can’t test up to the next FitRanx level, but I can work on my push-ups and core strength with the best of them. I can’t play field hockey or run, but I can do my physical therapy to help ensure my surgery and recovery go as smoothly as possible. Just because I can’t show up in the ways I had been, doesn’t mean I won’t show up at all. I believe in living a full life, and this experience is just one part of it - an opportunity to practice grit and drive, to learn how to slow down and care for myself, to accept help and even (shock!) ask for it when I need it.

In the days and week after my injury I kept in touch with Dean and Nancy, updating them on my predicament. I was most afraid they would tell me that I was being too difficult, that making up different workouts just for me was too much, and that I couldn’t return. Instead, I was told that if I could get myself to the gym, they would train me. A week and a half after my fall I limped back into the gym with my new goal. Show up. Just show up - no matter the circumstance, the limitation, the fear, and sometimes even, the pain (as long as your doctor OKs it) - keep showing up. Because this is just one small part in life and in the end I’ll be back (with my newly reconstructed knee) and darn it if I won’t be better and stronger than ever!”

-Coach Adam

A highly talked about topic in my years of being a cross country runner in high school and college was to not listen to the evil goblin. If you are asking yourself who the evil goblin is, don’t worry I asked the same thing at first. The evil goblin is the tiny voice in your head who tells you that you all the negative things in your head. He was the one sitting on my shoulder telling me to just give up, the race was too long, people were faster than me. It’s not just a running thing either, the evil goblin likes to be with all of us, whispering about how training is to hard or you are not ready to start doing it yet. It’s saying forget your diet and have that piece of cake or sip of wine. The evil goblin is the one that is there trying to hold you back from your amazing potential.

So, what do we do about the evil goblin? We tell him to SHUT UP! It’s not an easy task that can be done overnight, but getting that annoying goblin to be quiet is possible. Its possible by telling yourself why you started in the first place, why this is so important to you, and most of all telling him YOU ARE BETTER THEN HIM!

I ask all of you the next time he pops up and tries to bring any negativity or doubt into what you are doing take the first step of getting him off your shoulder and out of your ear. With practice, commitment, and self-appreciation you will have that goblin running away and will see how much potential you truly have.

Make it Happen!

Coach Brian.

A great tip from a two year old

As I sit here to write this blog I am reflecting after a LONG couple of days with a very strong minded two year old. Two year olds have a lot of great qualities (a lot of obnoxious ones too!) I think when we grow up, learn manners, and all that adulting stuff we forfeit some important qualities…let me explain one that comes to mind..

• Perseverance. There is NO ONE committed to persevere like a two year old. When someone tells them NO you can’t do that they rarely accept that as an answer. And if they get put in time-out then guess what? They get up and they try it again. I can’t answer for how long that goes on before they learn some discipline, because I am not there in my parenting career just yet My point is, there is a way to reach your goals and it isn’t going to be easy and you might even be told no you can’t do that or even hit a speed bump along the way, but regardless of how hard it is, you must persevere (you can probably hold the tissy fit, though. That’s not a good look!)

For the first time in our history we have the honor of winning 4 separate awards in the annual voting - absolutely amazing. A huge thank-you from the entire team for all of you who let your voice be heard and supported Get Fit NH and our team. It is humbling and gratifying to us all.

So without further adieu, here's the "what" and "who's" that took home the hardware:

And congrats to you. Without YOU, none of this happens. Get Fit NH does not exist. From the bottom of my heart, thank-you again for choosing to train with us!

Coach Dean

P.S. Got some time to give us a little more love? Voting for the Concord Cappies awards is still going on, and we would sure appreciate if you would vote for us there as well. 

Click Here To Vote. Thanks!

In 2011 my life changed. My life changed (for many reasons) in the winter of 2011 in an outdoor gym in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It was in this freezing concrete gym where I would exercise to no end day in and day out. Hours of my life on the elliptical, the stairmaster, the row machine. Hours of my life dedicated to crunches of many different sorts. Hours of my life running and running and running. I will never forget the week my entire outlook on fitness shifted. Some of the guys in my shop challenged me to a power hour. This meant that every hour on the hour for our 12 hour shift we would stop what we were doing and run a mile (I am not sure who else has been to Afghanistan, but you can take my word for it…it’s HILLY!) By the 6th hour I was feeling pretty beat up, but I wasn’t going to let my exhaustion win. I was “fit” and I was “strong.”

I did complete the 12 hour power hour and I felt so proud of myself. I was talking to some people in another shop about our challenge (some buff dudes) and they didn’t think it was impressive. They invited me to join their 500 and 1000 pound club. This meant that my squat, deadlift and bench press combined would equal or surpass 500 or 1000 pounds. I laughed at them. That’s RIDICULOUS! At the time I was 125 pounds (for context I weigh around 140 pounds now) My goal was always to be as skinny as I could be.  Over the next several months I worked with 2 fellow Marines who coached me on HOW to squat and HOW to deadlift and HOW to bench press. I had never done any of those things before because I was always a cardio queen. Always watching the number on the scale like a hawk and if I gained a pound I was LIVID. Over those next few months my scale weight DID increase, but my strength also increased tremendously. Because I was training to GET STRONG I had to fuel my body differently. By the spring time (and the end of my time in the Marines) I missed the 500 pound club with a 200 pound deadlift, 115 pound squat and 100 pound bench press. Even though I didn’t get name on a fancy plaque I still had a brand new outlook on my life and it changed my other perspective on what is means to be fit and strong.

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