The Spotlight is Shining on…

Brenda Schmieder!

Brenda earned her way in to the spotlight, because she came to Get Fit NH and went all in! She took our coaching and she put it into action immediately. Brenda is faithful to training and she is serious about her nutrition. She eats like an adult! Because of her dedication and commitment to getting better she lost over 18 pounds during our S3 V.I.P challenge, she has lost over 30 pounds since joining the Get Fit NH family in late February, her pain has decreased significantly in her shoulders and knees and her overall movement patterns have improved tremendously. Brenda is an absolute pleasure to coach. I am proud of you for taking control of your future, Brenda! Here is what Brenda has to say:

My story began, as all of ours do, with my parents! But my decision to join Get Fit NH also began with my parents. Dad is 85 and Mom is 80….I am blessed to have them with me still; but advancing age has not come easily for them. I spent a good part of my fall and winter going to one doctor appointment after another, talking with doctors on the phone and managing medications. My parents live about 45 minutes away, so this made it even more challenging for me to balance their needs with those of my husband, our daughter and my two jobs…..notice I did not mention my own needs!

I used to be in relatively decent shape, but a series of injuries and surgeries put my activity levels on a back burner several years ago. Add to that some serious family health issues that occurred around the same time….suddenly I was not moving and putting on some pounds as I fed my stress with food. Eventually I stopped caring about  any of those good health habits that I once had and pretty much gave up on myself.

It was the end of February when I had my “final straw” moment! That moment led me to pick up the phone and call GFNH. It suddenly cemented in my head that I wanted to age better than my parents have. The years pass so quickly and I want to go into my “golden years” feeling strong and fit. Perhaps, most importantly, I want my daughter to know that her mom took care of herself as best she could. I don’t want her time, or my time, to be spent at doctor’s appointments when I am in my 70‘s and 80’s and 90’s and even 100‘s! I want to be able to climb mountains with my husband again! I decided it was time to put myself back to the top of the list and to invest in me!

I met with Coach Meagan on February 24th and have not looked back! I love the motivation and accountability that I get from all the coaches….emails, phone calls, notes in the mail, encouragement while training…it all adds up. I told Coach Dean one day that GFNH is the only part of my life where I actually like to be told what to do! I need someone looking over my shoulder and helping me to believe in myself. I have never worked so hard at fitness…but I have also never felt stronger or more motivated to keep going.

I quickly learned that we all have to start our journeys somewhere, but that we don’t need to go it alone. From day one I have been coached and motivated by the staff and my classmates. I have learned that there is nothing I cannot do, but that I may need to modify it for my level. I have also learned that it’s “all about the food” and that what we put into our bodies is going to have a direct affect on what we get out of our bodies! Cooking and nutrition are a passion of mine, it’s been great learning about how to make the food I eat work for me!

Since joining GFNH I have lost weight and gained muscle. A scientist by training, I love the measurements and data showing my changing body composition; I find it motivating and actually look forward to getting on the scale each month! Get Fit NH is the perfect gym for me. I have chosen to invest in myself…and investment comes with a price. I have friends that choose the local $10 option and are amazed at what I pay; but I know that good health comes at a cost and I am worth it. If I don’t make the investment now, then I will be paying doctors later! I am determined to Make It Happen!!

Thank you for choosing to invest in yourself and train with Get Fit NH, Brenda! Keep making it happen!

Brenda is such a great example of what you can do with the right support, motivation, and coaching.

Join Brenda Today – Click Here to Start your 2-Week Free trial!

Coach Meagan

 

 

Recovery Week Reminder

Just a quick reminder that your next recovery week is scheduled for the week of June 28th, 2015, and the new training cycle starts Monday, July 6th.

 

Our recovery weeks are what I would call Macro-Recovery. In other words we take a planned week off every training phase in order to let the body rest up from hard training and get ready for the next phase.

But did you know you can do even better than that? We have 22 athletes in the Get Fit NH family who participate in our Bioforce HRV monitoring program, which measures your systemic stress load on a daily basis, which allows us to fine-tune the recovery process on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. You can catch up on that by clicking here

Read on why properly planned and adequate recovery is important for you!

The Recovery Curve

I saw the recovery curve for the first time during my time with Australian physical preparation coach Ian King. His principles laid the foundation for the way we program, train and especially recover here at Get Fit NH. The principles that work with professional athletes apply to us too!

The following illustrates a “good” recovery curve:

The green line represents what we are all looking for – continual, never ending progress over time. We are getting stronger, faster, thinner, better looking (ok at least that’s what I wish for).

Reality Check – ain’t gonna happen. The process of changing your body is not linear, in fact what we are looking at in an optimal training environment is more of a “One step back brings me Two steps forward”.

A closer look at the chart will help explain what I mean.

The red line represents Equilibrium. This is where your body wants to stay, no matter if your goal is losing fat, gaining lean, or both. As you have no doubt found out, forcing your body to change is hard work – really hard work. When you walk into Get Fit NH, our training is designed to elicit that change. But it’s not as simple as “working out” day after day after day. In fact as I am about to illustrate, training without proper recovery is actually hurting you, not making you better.

The blue line represents the “recovery curve”. Starting at the left hand of the chart all the lines intersect. For this illustration that point is where your first training occurred – you “worked out”.

But what’s going on?

Instead of performance going up, that line is actually heading down – this is what is called Depletion. If you think about it makes sense – you have worked hard, you are fatigued, your body is depleted of nutrients – you are spent!

Don’t worry, your body will get over it, if you treat it right! This is what we call Adaptation. Your body wants to be able to handle the increased demand that was placed on it, and starts the process of getting better.

You are in charge of if and how fast that happens. A few of the factors that influence this adaptation include Recovery Nutrition (read up!), stress levels, sleep habits, supportive nutrition, age, and training history.

The recovery curve continues with Supercompensation. Here is how Coach King describes this process:

“It is only when recovery is allowed that we see the super-compensation effect, the unique phenomenon where the bodies physical capacity is elevated in response to training, in anticipation of another exposure to the same stimulus.” – King, I, 1999/2000, Foundations of Physical Preparation

In other words your body has gotten better in response to your training, a new Equilibrium is established and this state  is when we will ideally train again. Our programming at Get Fit NH is carefully designed to give this the best chance of occurring, but as I hope you are discovering, you have a lot to do with this with how you treat your recovery!

As you can see, when things are clicking, this process when repeated over and over means you are getting better and better, the blue line is headed up – pretty cool!

The flip side to all this is what happens when the recovery process isn’t working so well.

This chart represents recovery gone “bad”:

When we continue to train in a state of “Depletion”, regardless of the reason,  the adaptation to supercompensation effect doesn’t occur, and instead of getting better, we find ourselves in a downward cycle. This can happen when we train the same muscle groups too soon, when we haven’t taken the steps described above to recover optimally (sleep and nutrition for instance) regardless of time between training, when we train too hard coming off an illness, etc. The last thing we want to happen is new equilibrium to be established in a downward pattern – not good.

The long and short of it is your body absolutely needs to recover from hard training. Consistently training in a fatigued state results in injury and illness. Your body is an amazing machine designed to put up with a lot, but it was also designed to need rest.

Which leads us to:

 

Recovery Weeks!

Face it – you can get beat up anywhere. Our responsibility at Get Fit NH  is to help you get better!

That includes recovery weeks. We have found that somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks of training is just about right to take a full week off and let your body recover.

That doesn’t mean that you spend your training time on the couch eating bon-bons, but if you insist on going down to PF and hitting the weights or running 10 miles every morning, your body will suffer in the long run, and perhaps even in the short term.

If you find yourself fighting this concept, ask yourself this – Is your unwillingness to take a week off a well reasoned decision based on what you know to be true, or is it that your attachment to training is so strong emotionally that makes it so hard? You will not lose all you have gained by taking the week off, I assure you! Again to quote Coach King, “…if you don’t (take time off)…most of you are going to lose it anyway!”

So now that we have established you are ready, willing and able to embrace recovery week, what do you do?

Glad you asked!

Three Steps for Successful Recovery

1.) Physical Rest and Regeneration

–        Our bodies must rest and recover to prevent over-training (or under-recovering) issues so that we can come back 100% healthy and energized for the next phase of the program

–        Focus on maintaining and/or increasing flexibility and tissue health by stretching and foam rolling daily. 15-30 minutes is fantastic!

–        Daily restorative walks are beneficial during this week. 30-60 minutes briskly walking (not jogging/running) will keep your body refreshed and active, without negating the purpose of this week. Don’t overdo it!

2.) Physiological and Psychological Rest and Regeneration

–        We must normalize key anabolic hormones, refill muscle glycogen, increase caloric intake, and prevent any diet induced catabolism (losses of lean body mass) so that we can enjoy greater fat loss for the next phase of the program

–        We have taken the road less traveled by being flexible eaters with a long-term approach to success and thus we will take a break from our aggressive fat loss nutrition plans. This is not a free for all, so stay away from your “trigger foods” (junk foods and sweets) that open the door to excessive calorie intake.

–        Instead plan (key word) and enjoy 2 or 3 controlled free meals to reward yourself for all of your hard work, but do not overdo it!

–        Caveat: If your nutrition habits have been less than optimal, more than likely none of this applies to you. Instead now is the time to plan and prepare to make the changes necessary to see the results you want. Spend some time with a coach and your Whole9 Nutrition Guide if you need help.

3.) Celebrate the Fruits of Your Labor

–        Take some time to reflect on how far you have come since you joined Get Fit NH in terms of improving your overall health, body composition, and performance

–        Enjoy your results!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

We would just like to take the time to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your hard work and dedication to improving your health and fitness… keep Making It Happen!

Are You Making it Happen or Making Excuses?

S3 V.I.P taught us a lot about what you guys are capable of. It is seriously amazing what some of you guys will do to be a team player and to get results over an assigned period of time. I hope you know that you have set a standard for yourself and you will forever be held to it, because you have proved yourselves!

Attendance. We are seriously just impressed with what some of you all pulled off to make it in here.

• Overslept? You still made it to a later session
• Had a meeting? You still made it to a later session (or often times at 5 AM!)
• Had a dentist appointment? Rescheduled it.

So many of you put training as a priority for this challenge and we are so impressed and grateful for that. Now like I said – you set the standard. Training should ALWAYS be a priority. If for 6 weeks you could make it work then you can almost ALWAYS find a way to make it work. Here is my concern- we are in the first week post S3 and attendance has already dropped tremendously. We know you can make it happen, so we won’t let you make excuses! (There- that was mean Coach Meagan! Roar!)

Now allow me to touch on another point. It is impressive what you guys were willing to do when you were put on a team. When the pressure was on and winning or losing for a whole team could depend on you you delivered excellence. Why is that? Is that because you are competitive? Or is it because you wanted to be a team player? Did you do it for you or was in largely for others as well?

So here is a question, during S3 V.I.P your friend offers you a cocktail (or some pie, whichever is more appealing to you!) what do you say? Many of you reported to your teams that you were so proud that you turned it down. Now post S3 V.I.P your friend offers you the same things- what do you do?

Do you take it because the challenge is over or are you “the weirdo” who passes on the offer, because you don’t eat that way anymore or drink that way anymore? S3 V.I.P was all about you. Just because you the challenge is over doesn’t mean you throw the habits out- stay after it. Everyone got results- everyone. What does that tell you and why would you go back? These habits works! Don’t turn back!

Get in here and keep making it happen,

Coach Meagan

 

No Whining

Get Fit NH is a special place to train. But training in Epsom at 6pm is an unforgettable experience. Part of the crew that trains at that time is Lori and Wayne. They are responsible for a new shirt the 6PM Crew at Get Fit NH will wear proudly. 

Lori gives a little insight into her determination, motivation, and dedication.

“I decided to come to Get Fit NH because our son was getting married. I tried to go walking but I always came up with excuses not to. I knew Get Fit NH offered 2 weeks for free so I signed myself and my husband up.  He wasn’t too excited at first but I wanted to see what it was all about.

I didn’t feel very coordinated or in any shape when we started.  I was soar and had trouble even walking.  I never knew someone could sweat as much as I did.  I had done aerobics, tried running, zumba and yoga but still I never sweated as much as I did and do at Get Fit.

Wayne and I both got hooked and have been here for 3 years now.  I have tried most of the challenges regarding eating.  Each time I have taken away a new habit.  We don’t eat like we did when we started Get Fit.  Wayne will tell you we don’t eat pasta or bread on a regular basis.  He’ll now tell you how much we eat squash.

Other things that have changed besides food, I feel stronger.  I have muscles – people at work joke about not messing with me.  I feel more confident about myself.

I really appreciate all of the time and attention you have given to me (and Wayne) over the last 3 years.  We have both benefited so much since joining Get Fit NH.  We have also found old and new friends.

I realized how far I have actually come since joining Get Fit.  I realized pounds and fat aren’t going to be shredded in large numbers in only a matter of a couple of weeks.  It will take time to drop these things.  After all it did take a little bit of time to add them on.

The thing I have to start doing is instead of saying “I’m not allowed to eat that” changing it to “I’m choosing not to eat “that”.  I was talking to Wayne about going to a conference last week and how I observed people at the buffet.  I saw people walking away with a brownie and 2 cookies.  I realized that was me not that long ago.  I was actually fine not having any of those items this time.  I know there may be a time in the future that I’ll be in the buffet line and look to take a brownie or cookie but I know there are always other, healthier choices.

Every competition you have had over the last 3 years has had an impact on our eating habits.  I look back to what I use to eat and most items have been removed.  On a rare occasion we may have them when we go to a restaurant but a lot of times I look for a better choice.

Thank you again for all of your encouragement.”

Get Fit NH is grateful Lori and Wayne have chosen to train with us. I for one appreciate the humor, attitude, work ethic, and all out fun they add to each evenings training.

Keep Making It Happen over and over again,

Coach Nancy

 

 

Student Spotlight is shining on…

Our 5 AM rockstar, Kelly Gauthier! Kelly is a pleasure to coach and has been making moves towards getting better for as long as I have known her. Her dedication and commitment has earned her some fantastic results. Kelly has a great attitude and she encourages and challenges the students around her on a daily basis. Kelly is in it for the long run!

“I was flattered when Meagan asked me to share my Get Fit story, but scared all at the same time; talking about myself is not one of my strengths!

(Deep breath…) I have always enjoyed “exercise”, I’ve tried a little of everything over the years. (I shamefully have to admit that one of my faves was Tae Bo, who DOESN’T love Billy Blanks?!) I never jumped on board the fad diet trains, they’re called “fads” for a reason. I’ve had my fair share of weight/body image issues over the years, I needed to find my way out of that “place”.

It was four years years ago when a friend was telling me about this great gym she had joined, she had lost weight, inches, and was feeling strong! I was intrigued, could this be the challenge I’ve been looking for…? I went home and googled Get Fit, “group personal training”, two weeks free…sign me up! From day one, I was hooked. The coaches, the people, the energy; and all at 5:00 a.m.!

Since starting my journey at Get Fit I have lost some weight, but more important to me is that my body fat has dropped 7.6%! I feel stronger, and I feel like an athlete! I’m in better shape now at 46 years old than I’ve ever been. My training at Get Fit has also made me a better, stronger, and more confident runner, I will be running my first marathon in October 2015.

I have learned so much since joining the Get Fit family, most importantly, training doesn’t stop when you walk out that door. Having coaches that really care and WANT me to get better, keeps me going strong.

Thank you coaches, for helping me to Make it Happen! :-)”

And thank you, Kelly for choosing to train with us!

Keep making it happen,

Coach Meagan

 

 

Records were set and Greatness was proved at Get Fit Games

What a great morning at Get Fit NH.

We had a great crew show up and participate in the “Get Fit Games”, where we come in, have some fun, and confirm we are getting better.

By my count our athletes set 16 personal bests! Big shout outs to Ronald Weilnau, Vickie Carrier, Glenn Foley, and Tom Haubrich for coming out for their first Get Fit Games experience! Now that is what it is all about! Make sure you look out for the next time we host Get Fit Games. If you wanna get better, you gotta measure!

Here’s the highlights of this mornings games.

Proud of you all!

Adam Rosenthal 

Deadlift, Silver level achieved

Vertical Jump, Personal Best

Scott Lebrun

Deadlift, Personal Best

Vertical Jump, Personal Best

Long Jump, Personal Best

Jenn Stevens

Deadlift, Personal Best

Vertical Jump, Personal Best

Inverted Row, Personal Best and Silver level achieved

Front Plank, Personal Best and Bronze level achieved

Dick Boddie

Deadlift, Personal Best and Get Fit “Fit” level achieved

Push up, Personal Best

Vertical Jump, Personal Best

Chin up, Personal Best

Long Jump, Personal Best

Front Plank, Personal Best

Adam Davidson

Push up, Personal Best

Long Jump, Personal Best and Gold level achieved

Ronald Weilnau

Deadlift, Get Fit “Fit” level achieved

Chin up, Silver level achieved

Front Plank, Get Fit “Fit” level achieved

Glenn Foley

Deadlift, Gold level achieved

Front Plank, Silver level achieved

Tom Haubrich

Deadlift, Get Fit “Fit” level achieved

Vertical Jump, Bronze level achieved

Chin up, Bronze level achieved

Long Jump, Gold level achieved

Front Plank, Gold level achieved

Ski Erg, Get Fit “Fit” level achieved

Vickie Carrier

Deadlift, Gold level achieved

Push up, Silver level achieved

Front Plank, Silver level achieved

Great job to all this morning! We are so proud of you for measuring your greatness, until next time…

Make it happen!

Coach Meagan

 

 

Memorial Day Training

Family training day coming up! On Memorial Day we will have an all group training at Get Fit NH Concord starting at 8:00 AM sharp! This will be our one and only training for that day, so don’t miss out! We always have a great time when we get the whole Get Fit NH family together under one roof. We guarantee fun and sweat for all!

See you there!

Memorial Day Training
Date: Monday May 25, 2015
Time: 8:00am to 9:30am
Place: Get Fit NH Concord

Get Fit Games are Coming Up

We’re springing into summer with our quarterly Get Fit Games! On Saturday May 16, 2015 we will host a series of competitive events at our Concord location. There are 7 different parts to this event and they include:

1.) 3 repetition maximum Deadlift

2.) Front Plank for time

3.) 4 minute Push Up challenge (from the floor or incline)

4.) Vertical Jump

5.) Long Jump

6.) Chin ups/inverted row

7.) 1000 M Ski Erg Sprint

If there is a piece of this puzzle that you are currently unable to participate in due to an injury then we would encourage you to STILL participate, but skip that part. This is a FANTASTIC event to measure progress. Everyone has a little competitiveness in their heart so come on out and show us what you’ve got!

If you have been to Get Fit Games before then you know it is time to get back in here and see where you have gotten better! If you have never been before then mark your calendar! You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to measure your greatness!

When: Saturday May 16, 2015

Where:  Get Fit NH Concord

When: 8 AM

Make it happen!!!

Coach Meagan

The 3 Smith’s Hit the Spotlight

Mike and Sarah Smith have been a part of the 6:15 Get Fit NH family for almost a year. I remember sitting down with them right after their trial and they were asking about what happens with training if they got pregnant. I am so happy for them as they reach their final days of pregnancy and prepare to open up the doors to parenthood! Sarah has inspired and amazed so many of her peers, because she has remained dedicated to her training throughout her pregnancy. Their positive energy and great attitude is contagious. We are so lucky to have them and I look forward to sharing their story with you! Here is what Mike and Sarah have to say! 

“We came to Get Fit  NH because we both agreed it was time to turn the page and start a healthier lifestyle, so the first step was become more active. We had heard great things about Get Fit NH, so we decided to check it out. It didn’t take us long to determine that Get Fit NH was where we wanted to start our journey. We were impressed with the facility and their knowledgeable staff, but what was even more impressive was how they took the time to understand our goals and physical challenges to better help us succeed. Their dedication and motivation to help us achieve our goals has been incredible since day 1. 

Since training at Get Fit NH we both are feeling more confident, stronger, and just overall healthier since we started at Get Fit NH. Mike’s lingering sport injuries from high school and college are improving, and he’s feeling better and better each week. Sarah experienced a HUGE change since well…she’s PREGNANT!!! We are expecting our first child in early May and we couldn’t be more excited. The Get Fit Team has been incredible throughout her pregnancy. They educated us on the proper nutrition, guided her with the appropriate exercise, and customized her work-outs each day which has really helped her manage the physical difficulties of being pregnant. In fact, Sarah continues to attend classes and plans to continue up until the final days! 

We’ve learned a lot since we started at Get Fit NH. One of the most important things we’ve learned is the importance of nutrition. The Get Fit Team does a great job of educating you on proper nutrition and the importance of eating the right foods to achieve the best results, which was something we lacked prior to starting at Get Fit NH. We still have a long way to go, especially when dealing with the challenges of food dislikes and cravings while being pregnant, but we’re on the right path with the help of the Get Fit NH Team. 

I’m not sure why anyone would choose not to train at Get Fit (seriously, this is not a sell).  We tried so many different ways to get a workout routine going but nothing stuck.  How boring to hop on an elliptical in front of a TV or pop in a workout DVD when you can have certified personal trainers putting together workout plans for you, showing you how to do the movements so you don’t get injured, modifying the movements to build up your strength to progress to the next benchmark, and someone to motivate you to succeed even if you are having a challenging week.  In two months we will have been training at Get Fit for a year together and have no plans to stop.  I feel like Get Fit is a family that trains together, motivates and supports each-other, celebrates accomplishments and promotes a much healthier state of life than we were living before we joined.  Previous workout routine attempts were short lived

**special question** How has training pregnant affected you and your pregnancy?

The plan was to get in great shape before I got pregnant, since I was overweight, so my pregnancy would be easier on my body.  However, since I had just started my journey at Get Fit 2 months prior to getting pregnant, I didn’t fully get enough time to accomplish that goal.  I will say it’s been challenging, to say the least, training through 18 weeks of all day sickness, weird pregnancy ailments / necessary training modifications and sleepless nights but I have done my best to make it in.  After a while I started to see a pattern; the days I didn’t make it in, I felt worse.  Everything hurt more, I was more tired and just all around lacking in energy.  So I made a decision to come to training no matter what.  I am 38 weeks in my third trimester, large with baby belly, and attending more classes than I did in my first and second trimesters and it’s been great!  Granted I cannot do as much and must carefully pay attention to my heart rate monitor so I don’t train too hard for baby or I, all things considered, training throughout my pregnancy has been the best decision I have made.  I am really excited to come back to training after I have the baby and continue my mission to get into great shape.  I can’t wait to train with baby number 2, hopefully in much better shape than the first time around and see how much easier of a time I might have with my body starting off in a much healthier state.”

As you can see there are no excuses here! Their mind is in the right place and they’re already focused on getting back into their training routine after Baby Smith comes. We can’t wait to learn if Baby Smith is a boy or a girl! Just over a week before baby is scheduled to make an appearance! Oh and Mike made the brilliant choice of choosing Team Meagan for our S3 V.I.P challenge so there is no doubt they will continue to do great things!

Keep making it happen,

Coach Meagan

We Have a Family Member in Need!

Who remembers Coach CJ? He was one of the Get Fit NH originals and then moved on to further his career with Dr. Brett Coapland at Performance Health. For those of you who have been coached by him you know that this guys knows his stuff! He is super smart and incredibly athletic, which is why his recent medical condition has taken us back quite a bit. To read more on CJ’s current condition or donate please click here

We want to do everything we can to help CJ and his family so here’s the challenge! We are picking only exercises the start the letters C or J (Chins, Chripees,Cross-Countries, Jumping Jacks, Jumping Chins, Jump rope…you get it! We are setting out the challenge board where you can challenge anyone in any training time to an exercise for a given amount of time and if they do it you will donate X amount of dollars. Once they complete their challenge they will cross it off the board and you can add your donation to our envelope. You can also challenge coaches too! I hear Coach Adam loves a challenge to do chirpees for  5 minutes.,,,he told me!

Are we ready to raise some money for our buddy, CJ? We’ll run this challenge through May 8th!