Get Fit Family Appreciation Party! 5k/Strongman/Cookout = One Fantastic Day!

The Get Fit NH End of Summer “We Love The Get Fit Family” Appreciation Party will be an event you don’t want to miss. Geared toward the whole Get Fit NH family and your whole family as well!

To start the day we are proud to announce that we have decided to sponsor, support, and promote a great local 5K for a great cause. Alex Hoeker is a senior at Bow High School who is organizing the “Running for Heroes” 5k. Read his story and sign up for the race here.

Next we will be holding our first annual Strongman/woman contest. We are looking forward to “getting our strong on” with some really fun events. Watch and/or participate, it’s up to you!

Finally we will be holding our “Super Side Dish” contest. During lunch you will get to sample and vote on your favorite, with fabulous prizes to be awarded!

There is fun to be had by all, with games for the kids and fun for the whole family. We would love if you could spend the whole morning with us, but don’t let that stop you from dropping by when you can. Participate in the 5k, the Strongman/woman contest, come to the cookout, or all three! ( just bring that side dish with you!) 🙂

Get Fit NH End of Summer “We Love The Get Fit Family” Appreciation Party

Saturday August 22, 2015

Events:

8:30am: Running for Heroes 5k
10:00am: 1st Annual “Get Your Strong On” Strongman/woman contest
11:00am: Fire up the grill and party!

During lunch y’all get to vote for your favorite side dishes, with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. We’ll have games for the kids, Coach Dean’s famous pulled pork, and plenty of meat on the grill.

Please fill out the form below so we can plan the best day ever – We all look forward to seeing you there!

The Spotlights Continue to Pour in!

Maryann celebrates one year with Get Fit NH on July 24^th!!  It has been a very exciting year!  Maryann’s changes did not happen overnight.  There have been some struggles but she has worked hard and it is paying off!  Maryann’s commitment and enthusiasm make her a very special part of the Get Fit NH Family.  I hope you all are inspired by her story!

Before

After

“I came to Get Fit NH because I knew that I had to get fit or face potentially deadly health issues.  I always tell people “I went to GFNH so that I could live.” I was having some health issues related to my weight and stamina and I knew something had to change.  I remembered a friend had mentioned GFNH a long while back and it had stayed with me.   I was so nervous when I came in to test with Erin to see what my ability was.  There were so many things I couldn’t do!  Her response was that the first step is making the decision to do something positive!  The first two weeks were so intense!  I loved that at GFNH there was only positive energy. The people around me encouraged me and it gave me a lift. I was hooked! You do the things that are safe for you to do and are encouraged to do your very best 100% of the time!  Challenging yourself safely is the goal, but the expectation is that you will challenge yourself.  I leave the gym feeling powerful and that I’ve accomplished something for myself and my health!

What I’ve learned at Get Fit NH is that the passion you feel for your health and wellbeing should be greater than your passion for what doesn’t benefit you!  Sounds crazy, I know!  But for someone who loves food and is willing to eat regardless of the consequences, it’s an important lesson.  Using the passion that I have for food in order to get comfort from the stressors in my life has not worked for me. It has led me to health problems, stress and low self-esteem. Yet it was a behavior that I just couldn’t seem to change.  Through my many talks with Erin, Dean’s blogs, Nancy’s seminars and more, I have learned to focus on my accomplishments and remember that the feeling I get from meeting my goals, is more fulfilling than that ice cream sundae on a bad day!  I also learned that when I do fall down and make choices that do not benefit me, that is not the time to get discouraged and quit!  I have learned that when I fail or don’t meet a goal, that is the time to work harder! 

A few years ago on fb, there was some kind of a list where you put down a wish.  I remember I put “I wish I could be athletic again.”  I was a very good athlete in high school and college.  Now, I am a nurse and like many nurses, I have a bad back.  I also injured my shoulder moving a patient and the injury put me in physical therapy for a year.  I constantly took the elevators at work because I didn’t have the stamina to walk up a flight of stairs!  How do I feel a year after joining?  Like I’m athletic again.  I can do push-ups.  I can lift weights.  I ran/walked a 5k.  And I have not felt this good in about 15 yrs.   Since I joined GFNH, my back doesn’t hurt, my shoulder is stronger and I feel great!  At the hospital, I can walk up two flights of stairs and I NEVER take the elevators anymore!  I just won’t do it!   

My experience at Get Fit NH has been life changing.  Although I still have a long way to go, I know I can make it happen!  I have met wonderful people and made friends who support the positive changes that I’ve made in my life.  I love to walk into GFNH and see the friends I have made all gathering to work out and have fun!  I love the encouragement, competition and positive energy every time I walk through that door!  And I am grateful to Dean, Nancy, Meagan, Adam and especially Erin-who has walked beside me every step of the way!  They have all created a place of acceptance for all people no matter how they look, or what their abilities are.  I love GFNH!  BAM!”

And we love you too, Maryann! Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication! We are SO proud of you!

Keep making it happen,

Coach Erin

And the Answer Is……

When you walk into a gym you usually don’t think, “How is this place going to help me to eat better?” Get Fit NH strives to help you with just that. The first time I talked with Mae Lynn, she wanted to know how Get Fit NH could help her with running. Once she started and now over three years later, Mae Lynn gives us a little insight into more of the things Get Fit NH has helped her to change.

I asked Mae Lynn one question after our Sizzlin Summer Slimdown Challenge ended.

What do you find was the easiest new habit to change and which one was the hardest?

“Easiest? I found changing my cooking and shopping habits to be very, very easy. It simplifies the shopping process so much when you don’t have complicated recipes and long lists of ingredients to deal with. I go in, grab eggs, bacon, one or two big cuts of meat and 5 or six fresh veggies and fruits and that’s it. Maybe a package of salad and grape tomatoes. I always keep cans of olives and roasted peppers and artichokes in the pantry, and frozen peppers and onions in the freezer. It’s easy to stick with shopping this way when you find you are eating leftovers a lot and therefore cooking less! One big roasted chicken or a pot roast and two big pans of roasted veggies? Boom. Several meals.

Hardest? At first, probably the no added sugar beverages. I never drink soda anymore, I gave that up cold turkey years ago before I even did Weight Watchers. But when I gave up soda, I would still enjoy sweetened iced tea or lemonade especially in the summer. Now I have lemon water, unsweetened green tea, etc. I think people don’t realize real change takes time and often needs to be gradual. I quit soda in something like 2009, did the other sweetened stuff for a few years, and eventually got here.

I think that once you have the basic habits ingrained, having some treats once and awhile isn’t the end of the world.

Once and awhile I still have a sweetened iced tea and I almost always have chocolate milk after a long run. But it’s all about balance, and I feel okay with that as long as what I USUALLY do is a good habit. I have to remind myself it wasn’t always this way! I used to have soda or a sweetened beverage with every meal! Those things add up. When people ask me what they can do I always say change that one thing first. Now I always have water with my meals, and drink a lot of water during the day. If I do ever have a sweetened iced tea I’ll water it down, or ask for half sweet half unsweetened on the rare occasion I’m getting one at Dunks. A little sugar goes a long way for me now.

By the way, I love the new accountability idea. One comment I made on Facebook is that I will probably end up asking for more body fat assessments because my scale really hasn’t moved all that dramatically since I started with you guys, but I have gone from a size 12 to a size 4. Every summer, without exception, I have to buy new summer clothes. The lady at Eddie Bauer couldn’t believe it when I told her I lose weight over the winter.”

Keep on surprising all of us Mae Lynn!

How would you answer that question? 

What do you find was the easiest new habit to change and which one was the hardest?

Another noteworthy piece Mae Lynn added was,

“For as long as I can recall, my cholesterol has been high, and every health professional who ever had the opportunity has ‘strongly urged’ me to get on Lipitor. One stress test technician, after I ran the equivalent of Heartbreak Hill on the treadmill and passed with flying colors, was still downright nasty to me when I told her I intended to continue trying to handle it with diet and exercise and that I simply didn’t agree that statin drugs, designed to indiscriminately remove all fat from the blood, are a good thing for anyone. She said I was being irresponsible and that ‘some people are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol.’ Given that many relatives were on Lipitor, I might have had to concede that point.

The Great Summer MEPS Challenge Is Here!

Hello party people, how is everyone feeling? Great glad to hear you are all feeling fantastic, because I have some exciting news.

I saw Coach Nancy was doing the Great Burpee Challenge with her Epsom crew, so I thought we needed to try to keep up in Concord too.

For all those Myzone users out there (and if you are in Concord why wouldn’t you be a MyZone user??) we have a challenge coming your way to keep you busting it in and out of the gym this summer.

Over the next 5 weeks The Great Summer Exercise Challenge will be taking place.  Fairly simple principle, you will have 5 weeks to earn 3500 MEPs, if you are able to accomplish that your name will be entered into a drawing for a REALLY SWEEEEEEET PRIZE!!!!!! Don’t everybody jump through the roof all at once. 🙂

That’s not all however, an additional ticket will be added for every 500 MEPs you earn over that 3500 threshold.  You earn 3500 you get 1 ticket, 4000, two tickets, 4500, three tickets, etc.

So use this as some added fuel to push yourself to the next level in class and stay active outside of class as well all the way up until recovery week.  Enjoy your summer and lets have some fun and win some cool stuff, sound like a plan?

Coach Adam

Embrace the change and commit to greatness

Do you know the number 1 reason why people just like you choose Get Fit NH?

Accountability!

After our recently completed Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown, we asked “What helped you the most with your success?”

In a landslide the number one answer was…

“I was being held accountable.”

We listened. If our awesome students want more accountability, we are going to keep that momentum going all the time. Since we know this is what you want and more importantly what you need we decided to take action.

Our mission at Get Fit NH is to help you lose fat, build muscle and look and feel great. That’s why you came to us,  and from now on we are going to be more proactive in measuring your success.

Starting in our August session we are going to be weighing you in on a monthly basis. Simple as that. The first week of every month you just need to hop on the scale and we will write down the number. Leaving it to when we “feel like it” is not a good idea. If your body weight is higher than it should be, step on the scale. If the scale is not your friend then you will have a better opportunity of being reminded to get your body composition measured. These are tools that are available to you to be sure we are taking you from where you are to where you want to go.

We don’t want you to dread this each month. Our hope is that you embrace this change and embrace your journey toward a fitter more healthier you!

If we didn’t love you we wouldn’t hold you accountable – lucky for you we do love you all very much!

Here’s to making it happen!

Coach Meagan

I

Training For a Cause is Back!

Training for a cause is back! We are due to come together as a family and train together toward a GREAT cause! On Saturday, August 1st we will gather at Get Fit NH Concord and lay some sweat down! We encourage you to invite those friends and family members who you have been trying to get through the doors. This is the perfect opportunity!

This training will cost $10 and every dime will be donated to Operation Hat Trick. This is a local organization that is near and dear to our hearts as this is a program that assists our New Hampshire Veteran’s! You can either donate $10 or you can buy one of our custom Get Fit NH O.H.T ball caps for $15. 100% of proceeds will be donated to O.H.T.

Click here to learn more about Operation Hat Trick! We hope to see you there!

When: Saturday, August 1, 2015

Time; 9 AM

Where: Get Fit NH Concord

Cost: $10 or $15 for a ball cap

Who has earned their way into the spotlight?

Annmarie Timmins! Annmarie has been a fantastic addition to the Get Fit NH family. We are so blessed to have her train with us 4 hours a week. Annmarie is an incredibly hard worker and she always has a smile on her face! Her positive attitude and willingness to be patient and get better have served her well as she is conquering a lingering shoulder injury. I am proud of Annmarie for keeping her eyes on the prize. She has earned her way into the spotlight for her all around dedication toward bettering herself both during training and during the 164 hours per week where she is not with us. Here is what she has to say:

When I left my former career last year to return to school fulltime, I gave up my gym membership elsewhere and joined a local chain gym for $10 a month. I figured I could save money and train myself. I was wrong. When I began looking for a new gym in September, I wanted a place that was supportive, serious about training, and fun. Get Fit NH was an easy choice.

I have been training with a persistent shoulder injury for months with modifications from Coach Meagan and Coach Adam. My goal was to maintain my weight during my toned-down training. Then I did the S3 challenge and saw my body change in ways I never expected just by pairing good nutrition and consistent training. I went from about 140 pounds to 135 and lost eight pounds of fat. Even better, my longtime allergy symptoms, migraines, and digestive ailments have completely resolved for the first time in my life.

I had thought I was eating pretty well before I did the S3 challenge. I already ate lots of raw veggies and good quality protein and was drinking loads of water. But I was also eating dessert daily, cereal for breakfast, and other foods that had hidden sugars. Once I cut those out, my body changed quickly. I feel better now at 46 than I ever have.

I’ll mark my one-year anniversary at Get Fit NH in September and am looking forward to renewing for another year. I like lots of things about Get Fit NH – the schedule, the training routines, the challenges – but it’s the coaches that make Get Fit NH extra special for me. They give me the perfect mix of motivation, support, and challenge.

Thank you for choosing to train with us, Annmarie! Keep making it happen!

-Coach Meagan

The Get Fit NH Summer Challenge is On!

Our July challenge has begun!

The best part is as the winner of this challenge you decide if you are Tropical, Bananas or Just (plain) Nuts.

Training is important. We all know that. Get Fit NH wants to reward you for doing something we all know is important consistently. Every week you have perfect attendance in July your name will go in a prize jar. The more you’re consistent, the more chances you have to win. At the end of July there will be a name drawn in Concord and another name in Epsom. The winner will choose their prize.

What are the prizes? Shhhhhh……. It’s a secret. I love secrets. Here’s a hint. One prize has something to do with coconuts, actually the whole prize has to do with coconuts. Another prize has everything to do with nuts and you’ve got it the third prize is a little of everything.

It’s the Summer of Fun at Get Fit NH, so get on in here!

MYZONE Match Training- Space Limited!

Mark your calendars! We have our next MYZONE Match training scheduled for Saturday July 18th at 8:00 am in Concord. Those who attended last time would probably agree that this training hour was quite the learning experience as well as a challenge. During this hour there will be a prescribed zone that we will want you to train in. For many of us we can easily jack our heart rate up into the red zone (90-100% of our maximum heart rate) while others have a challenge getting out of the green zone (70-80% M.H.R). Still others have a challenge getting back into the recovery zones. The purpose of the match training is to learn to control your exertion, control your recovery,and control your breathing. This type of control is and maintaining these zones is not easy and it is the optimal way to train your heart.

If you haven’t picked up your belt yet, you will want to make that happen before this event!  There is limited space available, so you MUST register for this training ahead of time, no exceptions please. Space is limited to 28 students, so please do not sign up if you are not 100% sure you can be there – Thanks!

After this fantastic sweat-a-thon we will have our monthly Whole 9 seminar with Coach Nancy- so don’t miss out. It is 2 for 1 Saturday at Get Fit NH!

Make it Happen!
Coach Meagan

MyZone Match Training
When: Saturday July 18, 2015
Time: 8:00 AM Concord
Location: Get Fit NH Concord

Motherhood Is Not For Wimps- Training for Childbirth Workshop

Childbirth is usually the most challenging athletic event most women will ever train for – being a mom is definitely not for wimps!

It’s an exciting time at Get Fit NH Bootcamps as many of our families are getting bigger, and we want all of our moms to have safe and healthy pregnancies.

To that end, Get Fit NH is hosting a prenatal informational class with Certified Pre/Post Natal Coach (and mom of six) Nancy Carlson on Saturday, July 11th at Get Fit NH Epsom from 9:00-10:00am.

During this fun and informative seminar you will learn how exercise is not just for you, but for your baby. You’ll go home confident of the “do’s and don’ts” of exercising while pregnant. Also included are tips on “eating for two”, examples of healthy and tasty foods as well as additional resources that will keep your growing family healthy and feeling great!

To register for this seminar please call (603) 344-2651 or RSVP to nancy@getfitnh.com