Now, maybe when looking at that title you probably had one of two thoughts, either “what the heck is he talking about” or “WAIT THERE'S A PAUSE BUTTON!?!!”. Hopefully it was the former, not the latter. We as humans always look to solve puzzles and plan things accordingly. What do I mean by that? Well… work is going haywire, Billy-bob and Suzie-Q both need to be at hockey and soccer practice on opposite sides of town at the same time, and someone has to get home to let the dog out...and if you are a family member at Get Fit NH, you also have to make your training today. So, we as humans try to put everything into its own category. We look at when kids’ seasons will end and we look at when projects will be done at work, and “that’s when I’m going to start eating right” or “that’s when I’m going to get back to training”.

Here’s the somewhat depressing, but completely honest answer…ITS NEVER GOING AWAY ENTIRELY!!! 3 months down the road when you expected everything to get easier, other things have cropped up and you have spent the last 3 months not caring about yourself without that magical open period finally showing itself.

That’s why this next part is important. No matter how much free time you think you will have coming up, in today’s world I think we can all agree we never end up with as much as we expected. That’s why it’s even more important to keep moving. You CANNOT hit the pause button. Life will always throw obstacles your way but you can never just all together stop eating right and exercising.

Think about it like a bike, you go on a long bike ride, lots of big hills and the like. Which option is going to get you to your destination (or your goal) more quickly?

• Option 1: You keep the bike on its highest gear and every time you get too winded, you stop and wait to completely catch your breath.
• Option 2: You start to get winded and instead of stopping, you just drop to a lower gear. You can take a breath but you are still moving towards your destination. Then once you catch your breath again, you go back up to the higher gear.

Option 1 is you hitting the pause button. It’s you saying “I’m putting it over there in the corner until I have time to even think about it”. Option 2 is where you want to be. Is it as easy as option 1? No, of course not, but you have goals you want to achieve and you WILL NOT get there if you hit the pause button every time things get hectic. Life isn’t like a movie where if you pause you can come back and just pick up where you left off. During that time you put it in the corner, you will have fallen further from your goal and will be even more reluctant to start again.

Don't hit pause, and keep making it happen,
Coach Adam

Since today is Friday, I thought I'd share why training on Fridays is so important!

1. Mentality - Probably the most important part of why training is important is the mentality, or the mental strength, that is required to do so. On the flip side, it’s important to avoid the bad habits you’re reinforcing to yourself if you skip it. I’m not talking about skipping one Friday if something comes up and you just can’t make it. I am talking about Fridays upon Fridays of skipping. It teaches, even if its just subconsciously, that it’s okay to not finish what you start, that after three days of training “okay, close enough” is acceptable. That is a dangerous sentiment to have. It’s the same as taking the opportunity to do 21 days of clean eating and on day 20 saying, “Well, I made it 20 days, how big of a difference is 1 day going to make?”. Nutritionally and training wise, maybe not much…at first. However, it’s a slippery slope. At first, it’s just one week. Then the next week you think, “I skipped Friday and felt fine, I don’t really feel like going this week either”… then the trend continues. Missing one class might not have a huge impact on training, but if that trend continues, that’s 4 classes a month and 48 classes a year. Don’t give yourself an excuse to not finish what you started. It starts with one thing, but we are all humans - if we give ourselves an inch, we will take a mile. It may start with training, but before you know it it’s bleeding over into nutrition and general life responsibilities.

2. Training Results - The programming at Get Fit NH is designed to affect your system in different ways to elicit an overall training response. Many of you already know this, but training is written as 2 days of metabolic work (most closely resembling cardiovascular training) and 2 days of strength work each week. That means that the training is written to work as a whole, balanced program over a week’s span, so missing a Friday leads to an unbalanced week of training. For the best training effect, we have to take advantage of all of it. Can you really tell me that missing 48 trainings in a year wont effect you?

3. Accomplishment - Its no secret that Friday's trainings are challenging, and on Friday you are tired, stressed, and ready to end your week as soon as possible. The sense of accomplishment you will feel after making sure you gave it your absolute all and saw the week through to the end will be great.

Fridays are important, too! Don’t give yourself an excuse, because it probably will not stop there.

-Coach Adam

In December and January we have been experimenting with assigned monthly goals using the mystery box. I have to tell you- the response and compliance since we tested this out has been much better than when students were setting their own goals- why is that?

Goal setting is a skill. We expect a lot from ourselves sometimes. Like losing 10 pounds in a month. That’s a huge goal. Achievable- sure for some, but certainly not likely unless something else in your life changes. Meaning training alone ain’t gonna melt those pounds and inches off.

Or sometimes we don’t expect ENOUGH from ourselves. Meaning you are avoiding the areas that truly need the attention. So where’s the balance? How do you know what is right for you? Well for starters- that is what your coach is for, but also focusing on habits /behaviors not numbers.

The purpose of assigning goals is to get away from the numbers like losing X inches, losing X pounds, etc. That is all well and good, but it is the habits and behaviors that make those numbers change. So as we migrate back to setting our own goals I want you to take that into consideration. The numbers will change if the behaviors change.

Make it happen,
Coach Meagan

I was listening to a song by the band “Disturbed” on YouTube last week. After that song was finished, a new song I had never heard before automatically loaded and started playing. The name of the song is “The Light”. The main chorus of the song is “sometimes darkness can show you the light”. The entire song is about when bad things happen, sometimes it is a path to something better. As far as the band goes, the message was something that I was not expecting but something that I certainly agree with.

We all have had/will have hard, dark times. It is difficult to ever think of those things as positive, and I am not suggesting you do. However, I think we can all agree that no matter how down and out we felt, how awful, how hurt, how beaten down we felt at the time… looking back, it made us stronger, more able individuals. It’s an unfortunate part of life that there will be dark times, there will be times when you feel that you are buried so deep that you will never dig yourself out. And then you do. It may take a long time, it may take as much effort as you can possibly muster, but when you get there, you are stronger than you were before.

Here’s the thing about feeling as though you have hit rock bottom, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It allows us to look back and reflect on the decisions you made that brought you to that point, and analyze the ways to make sure it will never happen again. For this to work, you have to allow yourself to think of it that way. Often at our lowest point the last thing we want to do is think positively. However, at that point you have an opportunity - to look at your situation and say, “this is how I got here, these are the decisions I made, how do I get out of this situation?” or “what can I do to make sure I am never in that situation again?".

Dark moments can have powerful, profound effects on us as humans; they often cause us to re-evaluate our own lives in ways that can change us for the better. While dark moments are awful to go through, they are negative, they are stressful, they hurt… just remember, as cliché as it might be, without darkness there can never be light.

-Coach Adam

I was listening to some stand-up comedy the other day and the comedian had a bit about being on an airplane, and about the safety demonstration. We have probably all seen this or heard jokes about it in the past.

During the demonstration for safety on the plane, they tell you that should the oxygen masks deploy, secure your mask first before helping other secure theirs. Shortly after that, I was writing a letter to a client talking about the same thing - putting yourself first.

I will fully admit that I struggle with this more than most others. I consistently tear myself in different directions, forsake sleep, food, exercise, to help other people. I, of course, try to keep the latter in check, but if a friend calls me and needs my help, and I’m coaching the next morning, there is a good chance I’m helping him until 1am and then coaching at 5am. It’s just the way I am and the way I have always been.

I am beginning to realize more and more however that I can’t keep that type of thing up. I need to make myself a priority or else I can’t help anyone. If I am constantly tired, constantly not taking care of myself, and constantly forsaking my own plans, aspirations, and well being for others, how long can I really help them? Pretty much until I break down, then I am no good to myself or to them. Just like on a plane, if you suffocate before you can get the mask on the person next to you, then what good was it?

I realize it’s not easy. I realize life demands time, that’s just how it is. That’s why we need to work to control our schedules and our time as well as we can, so that we can be healthy and ready to help those who need us. So remember, its not selfish to take time for yourself or to improve yourself, because in the end you will be much more able to help others than if you don’t. Think about it.

-Coach Adam

I am writing this blog sitting at the airport in Columbia, South Carolina. If you have ever traveled alone then you have probably overheard some interesting conversations. I just overheard a long conversation about weight loss that struck a nerve. It is hard to keep my mouth shut sometimes, but I did it! Instead, I decided to share it here just in case anyone out there has this same mindset.

The relevant piece of the conversation went something like this:
“I really would love to lose 30 pounds, but I am so busy. I just started with a new job and the girls have dance almost every night. It makes more sense to start after the holidays when I can have a fresh start and things slow down."

Her friend then agreed that this was smart decision.

If this is your mindset, allow me to be a GREAT friend and coach and tell you no, no, no!

1. Things will NEVER slow down. Nope. After the holidays, life goes on. Guess what? Work isn’t going anywhere. Your kids (probably) aren’t going anywhere. If you don’t find a reason to start, then you will find an excuse every single time. We all have the same 24 hours. Those who plan their time and include themselves in that time are the most successful. I say this because I love you…you’re not getting any younger and time isn’t slowing down so let’s go! Get started.

2. 30 pounds seems like a big number. If you keep putting off when you are going to start, that number will only get bigger. After the holidays do you really want to say you’d like to lose 40 pounds? How discouraging. The national average of weight gain through the holidays (October-December) is 10 pounds. Stay out of that category and do something now.

3. You don’t have to change who you are to get results. In fact, you only need to focus on one thing at a time. I bet between now and the New Year you can build 2-3 new skills to increase your performance and results. Focus on one habit each month to help you get closer to your big picture goal. Your coach can direct you. Results are about a lifetime of building habits and improving skills.

If this stuff was easy, then no one would ever say they are going to wait. It isn’t easy, but we have a simplified system to help you. You are NOT in this alone. Do not wait. The magical right time you are waiting for is not coming.

It is up to you to make it happen,
Coach Meagan

I came across a buzzfeed link the other day that had quotes about life taken from the movie Fight Club, which is one of my favorite movies, if not my favorite. This was one of the quotes they talked about.

It’s a morbid question, I fully realize and understand that, but it certainly is a way to get us to stop and think about our path, and our past, present, and future. It is something that we can really use to reflect. There is a reason death leads people to change. There’s a reason why when a family member passes away or someone has a near death experience, often people suddenly change. Being reminded that life isn’t forever and the time we have is important often, unfortunately, is a message only heard after life ends.

You don’t need to think about yourself dying, how heartbroken others around you would be and the like. It’s just an exercise in self-reflection. If for some reason this was the end of the line for you, would you feel you accomplished everything you wanted to? Would you be upset that you worried to much about work? That you didn’t take care of yourself? That you kept pushing off getting healthier? Or that you didn’t take that trip you always wanted to go on? Maybe you let work bog you down, working insane hours to save money for things that we just end up not doing because of work, rinse and repeat.

Time isn’t promised to any of us. That’s why it is important to take care of yourself to make it last as long as possible. We take care of our bodies so that we are able to do everything we want to do and aren’t restricted because we can’t walk. We take care of our minds, continue to read, and express and absorb. We de-stress, and make time for the things that make us happy. We don’t keep putting our lives on hold because we are just “too busy”. 

So, I ask you to think about this question, reflect, and see what you discover.

-Coach Adam

Strength training has endless benefits to your overall health and quality of life. One of the most appealing benefits that I think we can all agree on is that it helps us keep our independence. Strength training keeps us out of a walker for longer. It keeps us getting up and down off of the floor and gives us the energy to keep up with all those grandbabies! If that isn’t enough motivation to keep you training for life, then let’s chat about what does motivate you!

Here are 3 ways to advance your training to the next level:

1. Be Engaged

Coming in and going through the motions each day does not require a whole lot of effort. I assume if you’re here it is because you want to change something about yourself and get better. So what do I mean by be engaged? Pay attention to how much weight you are picking up. Pay attention to speed of movement. Count your reps. Be coachable. Ask questions and challenge yourself. If you want to see your body change, then you have to make it change.

2. Be Coachable

Again, assuming if you are here, then you want to be coached (that’s why you hired us, right?). So let us do that. If we push you to sink lower in your squat- don’t roll your eyes like we’re bullies! We’re coaches and we know if you’re getting in here then you want to make a change and we are responsible for holding you to that. Embrace the coaching- that’s what makes Get Fit NH different from any other gym in the area.

3. Be Smart

Did you know that you are a part of a SMART group training program? What makes us smart? The Functional Movement Screen. This is again one of the many things that makes Get Fit NH different than any other training program around. Look at the Functional Movement Screen as a measuring point. It gives you another way to measure improvement and be sure that you stay in the training game. I know some of you look at the bands as a punishment, but I promise they are what keeps us training you safe. Your coaches have bands too and there are exercises that are simply not appropriate for us too.

Keep making it happen,
Coach Meagan

The other day I really got to thinking about how people respond when asked, “How are you?”.

This is kind of a question we ask out of proper etiquette, but do you really listen to the response you get? I’m good, I’m well, I’m alright, I’m okay and I’m here are all pretty common answers. It’s pretty rare that someone answers totally honest that they are having the worst day or the best day or a great day, right? They just kinda answer and move about their business.

Here is something I observed recently (because I really do listen when I ask you how you are doing!): I get A LOT of I’m okay and alright or I’m here (consistently and from the same people!).

I am no longer taking that as an answer so you may need to think about an adjustment.

You CAN’T just be Eeyore all the time! If you answer that way, then that’s how you’ll act. Do you REALLY just want to be okay all the time?

When someone asks me how I am doing, I always (and will always) say excellent, stupendous, super, amazing, wonderful, ducky….something insanely positive because that’s how I want to feel and act.

I strongly believe attitude is a choice and it starts with how you think you’re doing. Your attitude effects SO many aspects of life. It effects everyone around you. It effects your motivation, your actions, your results….everything.

Words mean something and they effect you so don’t be an Eeyore, be a Baby Roo!!!

-Coach Meagan