The other day I was having a conversation with a student who was feeling uninspired. It always breaks my heart a little to have these conversations as it makes me realize we don’t talk about why goals are so important enough, which means I have not been doing my job.

As a coach and fitness enthusiast, I am one of those weird people who loves to train hard, sweat a bunch, and get better every day just because I want to be lean (forever and ever and ever). That is enough drive for me to get it done and stay excited about it. But not everyone is weird like me!

A huge reason to train forever and ever and ever is because we want to age more gracefully and stay out of a walker for as long as possible. We want to maintain our independence and get up and down off the floor and stay on our own two feet. While that is an important life goal- it isn’t enough for everyone to stay motivated. So how do we get excited about training every day?

Well, for starters we try to create an atmosphere that gets you PSYCHED to get here and make this the best hour of your day, but more than that you need a goal. A goal has an end date otherwise it’s just a hope and dream. It needs to be something important to you. Something that will drive you. Something that will make you REALLY happy when you achieve it!

When we set our goals, we go 4 weeks at a time so when setting goals don’t go too crazy! Sometimes you have to set smaller goals that are working up to a BIG goal! Here is an example of a goal that is too big for 4 weeks, but can break down into smaller goals.

Goal: To screen out of my red band.

October: I want to lose 6 pounds so I am going to focus on eating 3 meals/day.

• Being able to screen out of the red band could just mean you do not currently have the strength to push the excess weight from the floor. So, let’s work on getting some of the excess weight off. Also, that means you have to keep up with your training, because you won’t get any stronger by not training.

November: I want to lose another 6 pounds so I am going to get my last meal in before 7:30 PM.

• Assuming you nailed your other small goal, then let’s add on another step while keeping the other goal in place.

December: I want to screen out of my red band so I am going to spend 10 minutes on my personalized exercises every day.

• There are more personalized exercises that your coach can teach you to help you achieve this goal.

This is just an example. Your coaches are here for you to help you identify a goal and break it down 4 weeks at a time. It is about building habits, being consistent and working toward something that matters to you!

We can help you make it happen,
Coach Meagan

If you are here, you probably have a pretty solid reason to walk through the door every day. Here are some common reasons:

• Lose fat
• Gain muscle
• Feel better
• Look better
• Maintain
• Mindset

Could be one, could be all, could be a combination of some of those things. We all have our own reasons to walk through the door each day. I want to remind you of something...

Results don’t happen just by training. Training is what keeps your independence. Training is what keeps you on your own two feet. Training keeps you getting up off the floor without assistance. Training is what keeps the walker out of your future.

If you are breathing the same air as me and you are driven by any of those reasons stated above, then it’s this magical word that will ensure fat loss, muscle gain, feeling better, looking better, maintenance and mindset (and more!).

NUTRITION.

Yeah, I said it. We don’t want to believe this is true, but I’m sorry, it just is! Just because someone you know can eat 3 cheeseburgers, a large order of fries and a giant soda and not gain a pound DOES NOT make them healthy or fit…keep that in mind. We can’t change the cards we’ve been dealt, but we can change how we look and feel.

Take control. Don’t make excuses. If you want to change something about yourself, then let’s focus on one thing you’re going to change today to make it happen.

-Coach Meagan

How many of you give nothing but your best every time you step on the training floor?

It’s okay, you can be honest.

Every time you come into training, you:

• Choose the most challenging exercise progression that you are currently able to do
• Complete every second despite what that little voice inside your head says
• Are engaged in your training, meaning you know where you are going next and you surely won’t be missing a beat
• Progress your load as you are able
  

Does this explain you?

If not, why? Are we not all here to get results? I know I am. We are all looking to get better in some way whether that means fat loss, muscle gain, feeling better, looking better…anything! We all have goals we want to achieve. So if you are only training hard at most 4 times per week, why would you not give 110% for that one hour 4 times per week?

You have 4 hours a week to train your body to the best of your ability. If you can do push- ups, do them. If you can ski erg faster- do it. If you can lift something heavier, do it! Results aren’t going to come find you. You need to earn them. If you are not busting it every minute in here, then you’ll never reach your full potential.

Here is your new goal: Train like your life depends on it. There are so many people in this world who do not have a functional body, who do not have all their limbs, who are unable to train the way you get to train. EMBRACE THAT! Be thankful. Train hard every single time because you and your body deserve it and your quality of life does in fact depend on it.

Anyone can go through the motions – that’s not what we are here to do. We are here to change something about ourselves and be better. If that is not your mentality- let’s figure out how to change that!

Coach Meagan

You don't have to (and shouldn't) wait for the New Year to Start Getting Healthy!

I know winter is coming, but that is no reason to hide under those warm clothes and pack on a few extra pounds for the winter - you are not going into hibernation after all!

If you were one of the many people who participated in the Detox Challenge back in January and February of this year, you KNOW how good you felt when you cleaned up your nutrition after the holidays. And shedding some extra weight was just a really cool bonus.

If you missed out, read what some of our happy participants had to say ...

BONUS: This Jumpstart time we are upping the game by letting you team up with a partner for even MORE support! Join with a friend, neighbor, spouse, significant other, sister, brother, mother, father - You Get The Idea! The winning duo will win a Sweet Holiday prize.

How Do We Win?

Great Question! We are keeping it super simple this time around. The Duo with the highest percentage of weight lost over the 21 days wins!

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REGISTER FOR THE HEALTHY FOR THE HOLIDAYS 21-DAY PARTNER DETOX CHALLENGE FOR ONLY $27 EACH PERSON!

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This is my inaugural Athlete Academy specific blog, although many of you may also find it helpful. This post, as most of mine do, has to do with the mental aspect of training and performing. When it comes to athletes, this is extremely important.

Many times, athletes who have all the skill in the world never reach their potential because they don’t have that “killer instinct” for lack of a better term. They go into a tryout or a competition thinking “I don’t know these kids, I haven’t played or raced these kids, they are probably better than me”. I have had this happen to me in the past. I remember trying out for soccer my freshman year and thinking exactly that. So I was nervous, tentative, and just didn’t have the confidence to let my skill do the talking. As a result, I didn’t make the team and didn’t get to play my freshman year.

You have to have that mental capacity, the belief that “I have worked my butt off, I will win”. That’s where the “Too Fast, too strong” comes into play. You have to believe that you are faster than the other player heading for the loose ball, that if he comes to take it from you he won’t be able to because you are too strong. It’s in these moments that having confidence in ourselves is something that is a must. You have to believe you really are either too fast or too strong for that other team and that you will prevail.

I know that many of you may see this as arrogance, but here’s my response to that sentiment – if you believe you are too fast and too strong, and you get beat, guess what? That is yourself correct right there. If you truly believe in yourself and have confidence in yourself and you still get beat, then you know you have more work to do, but it will ultimately create that fire to keep it from happening again. So believe in yourself, believe that you are too fast, too strong, and if you allow it to, it will create the fire you need to be successful. Coach Adam out!

-Coach Adam

I have had the pleasure of meeting with a number of students who describe their training hour as a scheduled appointment. I wanted to share this thought with you, because it may help you adjust your mindset a bit.

When you have a doctor’s or dentist appointment, you have it written down or logged in your phone. You know that at 8 AM you will be where you said you were going to be, because someone is expecting you. Most of the time you will work the rest of your schedule around said appointment and if you just cannot attend then you do 1 of 2 things (usually) – you call to cancel or you reschedule….what am I getting at exactly?

I challenge you to make your training hour an appointment. When you schedule meetings and other outings, schedule around your set appointment. The luxury of training at Get Fit NH is that we are flexible. Of course every now and then life happens and you have to rearrange your schedule a bit. Another training hour is always open to you when life happens. Sometimes life happens all at the same time in one day and you really cannot make it- it happens and we won’t hold it against you! We won’t start to give you the coaching stare unless is becomes a habit!

The world we live in now is so fast paced. Our jobs, our kids, and our family are all a few factors that distract us from ourselves. When it comes to your health- be selfish. Get to your training appointment and do your best every month to get your name on that perfect attendance poster. You have the power!

-Coach Meagan

I have heard a lot of people referring to “balance” in the last few months.

Finding a way to be balanced… finding the right amount of starchy carbs to eat… balancing eating good stuff with eating junk they like to eat… or balancing what we say in terms of nutrition to what they have always been told about nutrition. Some believe they deserve to eat something because they see others eating it and it’s something they love the taste of, that they need to be able to balance what they should be eating with what they should not.

Here lies the problem: we all are different. We all have different bodies where some systems run better than others. Balance is a very relative term and until many of us realize that, we will most likely not achieve the goals we strive for.

When it comes down to it, what the body wants, what everything in life and nature wants, is homeostasis. This is the science-y word for balance. It’s the reason we sweat when our body is too hot, and we shiver when our body is too cold. Our body wants to maintain a certain temperature, too high and systems start to deteriorate and get damaged, the same if temperature gets too low. When body temperature gets too elevated, we sweat so that, essentially, the water can evaporate and carry the heat out with it. On the other end, when body temperature is too low, we shiver because muscular contraction creates heat. There are a million other examples, but you get the point.

The same types of principles come into play when we talk about nutrition. Like I said earlier, balance is a very relative term. If a person is considered balanced, it basically means that their system can effectively use and manage what they are putting into it.

This is where the differences arise. For example, my system may only be able to process 50 grams of carbohydrates before starting to store it as fat. Whereas a friend of mine, same age, may be able to process 100 grams before it starts to store any as fat (numbers are just for examples sake, there is no reasoning behind them other than that).

So does that mean that either one of us is unbalanced? Am I unbalanced because I see he can eat 100 grams but I can only eat 50? Does that mean I’m eating incorrectly? No, it does not. I know that my body can’t process carbohydrates like the same way my friend’s can, so I have to eat in a way that keeps my body in balance, not based on what other people consider balanced.

The other thing we have to realize is that many of us, myself included, treated our bodies with such imbalance for so long, that our threshold is significantly lower than it would be normally. Maybe if I hadn’t spent the better part of my early twenties downing Monster drinks and Domino’s pizza while playing Call of Duty, I might be able to eat 100 grams of carbs now. However, I put such an imbalance on my body during that time period, that I need to eat even more specifically to bring myself back to balanced.

It’s like taking a scale and putting 100 lbs on one side and having 25 lbs on the other side. That’s my starting point, which means that I have to work 75% harder on one side (add 75 more lbs, for the visual people) to get that back to neutral. Most of us (myself included) have damaged our bodies to the point that staying balanced now takes much more mindful eating than it would have had we not done that to ourselves.

I’m not trying to beat up on anyone. Many people unfortunately don’t know, or until now, haven’t been taught this. Even though they know junk food is bad, they never realized how badly things they thought were “nutritional” are actually hurting them.

So just remember when we talk about balance, it is extremely relative. Don’t get caught up in what you want to do, or what you feel you deserve you should based on someone else’s definition. Focus on what you know creates balance for you personally, and stick to it.

Make it happen!
-Coach Adam

Raise your hand if you train to age more gracefully.

That should be all of us.

To some of us, maturing may be a touchy subject or it may seem lightyears away. We cannot control getting older, but we can control how well we move and take care of the body we have.

Mobility work is important. This is the 10-15 minutes we spend moving through and breathing through a range of motion. This right here is what saves you from getting hurt and keeps you in the game. If you think foam rolling is a waste of time, then you are terribly mistaken. It is important to get the blood flowing in our muscles before we start tearing into them. Don’t come in late and miss this stuff. It is just as crucial to your life goals as training is

Flexibility work is important. This is the time we spend after training when our muscles are warm. Now we want to lengthen our muscles back out. What is the benefit of flexibility work? Well, for starters it can definitely alleviate sore muscles and it keeps us moving free and avoiding tight muscles. Do you know what tight muscles lead to? A recipe for disaster, that’s what! Back pain, knee pain, hip pain, shoulder pain….so don’t scoot out early! Take the extra few minutes to stretch your muscles back out. This too is just as important to life goals as training and mobility work.

What are your life goals? What do YOU want to be doing when you are 85?

Me? Here are a few things on my list:

• Getting up and down off the floor without a real challenge
• Stairs
• Lift boxes on my own
• Drive (but probably actually wear my glasses!)
  

These are everyday activities that we take advantage of. Those of you with aging parents know these are real struggles. You have control. Are you willing to put the time in now to have your independence later?

Coach Meagan

This isn't a statement to everyone, but for those of you that are self-conscious about this problem, I suggest you continue reading. Not all of us are in top physical condition, myself included. I'm working on it, but I'm certainly not there. So that means that we probably have a little extra jiggle in some places or others. You know it, I know it, so let's not beat around the bush.

I went through a lot of my life with more jiggle than I'd like to admit, and it's still the case to this day. I remember trying to play soccer and hockey in uniforms that were made for someone in better shape. I remember not wanting to run full out, and trying to run with my gut sucked in because I was embarrassed and didn't want people to see that jiggle. I felt like if I feel it, then they must see it and I'm embarrassed.

I have a feeling this is something that some of you may struggle with. I see a lot of people that I know can do high knees or jumping jacks marching them out in warm-ups and I have a feeling this may be part of the reason why. I’m not calling you out, and this is not addressed to anyone specifically, just a general statement for those of you that might be feeling the same way I did. I still feel it from time to time. As much as I’d like to tell you that it doesn’t still bother me, sometimes demo-ing band attached sprints when my shirt isn’t baggy and you can tell (or at least I still feel that way), I do feel self-conscious about it . So I can imagine why that would be the case for you as well.

I tell you this to also let you know: NO ONE IS JUDGING, MAKING FUN, THINKING ANYTHING BAD, OR EVEN ACTIVELY NOTICING IT. If you are here, you are surrounded by people that fully support you and your efforts. There is not one person who is looking to judge you because of a jiggle. You are here because you want to get rid of it. Not working your absolute hardest because you are worried about some jiggle is just going to impede you from getting rid of it. So don’t think bad about yourself, don’t think people are watching, judging, or haven’t been there at some point or another themselves. Do the hardest exercise you are able to do and don't be self-conscious about any of that junk because the only person judging you is you.

Make it Happen!
-Coach Adam