Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday to Bootcamp! Happy Birthday to Bootcamp! Happy Birthday to Get Fit NH Bootcamp. Happy Birthday to you.

Yes, Get Fit NH Bootcamp turned two in May. We’ve grown and expanded. We opened with one class at 5 AM in the great outdoors, rain or shine. And because of wonderful clients and great results we now have 8 classes, built one location, and hold classes in another facility with over 130 terrific bootcampers.

We Owe You A Big Thank-You!

You’ve Made It Happen.

This year Get Fit NH Bootcamp was voted best fitness facility in Concord by the Hippo. Dean had great honors by being voted the best trainer in Concord by both the Hippo and the Cappies.

We’ve started our Hall of Fame. Those bootcampers walking around proudly wearing a red shirt have earned their way onto the Hall of Fame. They’ve been Making it Happen for over a year. Congratulate them. Ask them where they were when they started.

So Happy Birthday Get Fit NH Bootcamp and many happy returns.

Make It Happen – Every Day!

Nancy

You Spoke, We Listened!

File this under “You asked for it, you got it”!

Our Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown Contest is in full swing, with only a few more weeks to go.

You are doing a great job with the contest:

Your pants are getting looser…

The class competition is getting tighter…

and you are throwing more trash talk my way than ever!

In spite of the fact that you are doing your best to hurt my feelings, due to overwhelming demand we have decided to extend the S3 contest…

One More Week!

Why?

Two primary reasons:

First it’s April vacation next week, and many of you are going away. We wanted you to have a couple weeks after vacation to tighten it up, get back on track, and make your final push. If you are not going away – even better – you have one more week to Make It a Happen!

Second, the first week of May is a short week. Don’t miss this! We will be meeting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only the week of May 3rd.

Because of these two facts, we are going to end the Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown on Friday, May 14th. Your final weigh-in will be the last day you train during that week, and you must weigh-in no later than Friday.

I am really looking forward to seeing you take advantage of the extra week and make even better progress!

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Don’t Treat This Recipe Ginger-ly!

I love cooking with fresh ginger. It’s quick, easy, and very flavorful.  The picture on the right might not look like a gingerbread house, or a ginger cookie, or a ginger drop, so I put it there so you can see what the ginger root looks like in its “natural” state.

The flavor of ginger is peppery and slightly sweet. It makes a killer marinate for chicken, pork, and beef, but my favorite is on Salmon.

This recipe is super-easy and fast to make, and it tastes fantastic!

Grilled Salmon

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 c onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger, grated

1 tsp garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Soy sauce or Tamari

1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 lb salmon fillets

Combine marinade ingredients. Add salmon and marinade at room temperature for 15 minutes. Drain marinade. Cook on uncovered grill for 7 minutes. Turn with spatula and brush with marinade and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes until the fish flakes easily. (the fish can be broiled in an oven as well) Serves 2

At the grocery store you can find ginger in the produce section. It is a root and looks like a gnarly branch or somewhat like a deer antler.

Now if you don’t use ginger all the time here is a great tip for keeping it on hand and not letting it go to waste.

Store ginger root in the freezer (I use a zip-type bag).

  • It grates really easily and finely (any grater will do)
  • You don’t have to peel it! I’m not kidding. The peel grates up so fine you don’t have to worry about it
  • Much less waste, so it lasts longer.

Try this and you will be a convert, I guarantee. It takes all of the hassle out of working with fresh ginger.

Coach Nancy

Back To School

In my school days I was pretty much on cruise control.

I didn’t study.  I was proficient at cramming. Nose in the book 15 minutes before test time and wow, a fairly good grade was the outcome.

My motto in school was to enjoy life. I had more important things to do than be stuck in a library studying.

Even with that laid back attitude I still kept my 3.5 through high  school and in college a 3.65 (just shy of what Dean achieved). (Actually we had exactly the same GPA, you must be getting old – Love Dean)

Schools don’t really require you to learn to be disciplined.

You can get by and do just fine.

However – personal health and fitness are another story.

You don’t get an award for perfect attendance in life. It’s pretty much expected.

Try going through the motions in a sport practice and you’ll never see the field in  a game.

Fail to perform for a couple of weeks and someone else gets your position.

Sports/Fitness training require the same type of discipline that a long healthy life requires.

You can’t just squeak by. You have to push and push hard. You have to be spot on with your skills and dedication. You have to eat to ensure the best performance in practice so your coach notices and puts you in the line up for the big game. ‘Slacking off’ is not in an athlete’s vocabulary.

So what does that mean for you and me?

Lets apply that to our overall health and well being. How do you want your life to be? Would you like to sit on the sidelines and watch things happen or do you want to make it happen? Each training day should be like challenge. Challenge yourself to push harder, lift more, be faster. What about our eating and nutrition? Sure you can go for a while eating sugar and fast food. But it will catch up with you. That is the danger. Our bodies are so good at handling toxic substance that the wear and tear and mushroom top doesn’t show up right away. We’ve formed bad habits and we don’t see the pain immediately.

Here is where you need to realize food is fuel. Give your body everything it needs to perform at peak performance and you’ll be rewarded. But the old saying applies, “garbage in, garbage out”.

What are you training for? What are you eating for? For me I am training to live and live well.

No guarantees, but I am doing my best to stack the odds in my favor.

You coming with me?

Make it Happen today,

Coach Nancy

Are You Pounding Nails With A Screwdriver?

Before you read this post, I want you to head on over and read Gretchen’s blog on “results” from a couple days ago. She is writing as one of you, someone who isn’t a coach or trainer, someone like Nancy or me you may perceive as having an “unfair advantage”. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Done? Alright then let’s get to it.

The main point I want you to come away with from that post is this – Give Yourself Some Credit!

If you are headed in the right direction, if you have lost even 1 pound, you need to embrace the progress. It is possible that some are doing better than you, and if so I would encourage you to ask them what changes they have made to get where they are at. In fact here are some recent stories we have from your fellow team members. Ask one of them.

Robin writes: “So you may have already heard of my dressing room story. If not I can share it again. I recently visited one of my favorite clothing stores in the mall. I went to the dressing room with my clothes to try on in my usual size. I put them on and I looked like a bag lady. I had to go out and get a smaller size in everything, shirt, skirt, and yes even pants. I was excited.  I am making better choices, preparing my foods ahead of time and not just crabbing things just to eat. I feel better, and people say I look better also. I also love how I can just grab a pair of pants in the morning, after bootcamp of course and they fit, they are even loose. No more imprint of the button in my belly after I have been sitting.”

Or how about this one from “Bride To Be” Amanda

I’m getting married in August, so a little while ago I picked out my wedding dress and they took my measurements, I really didn’t like what they were. So I came to bootcamp and stuck to eating healthy while at home and at work (which was hard) and last Wednesday I went for a dress fitting and I had to hold the dress up because it would have fallen off! I was so proud of what I accomplished and thankful for the support I got from everyone I go to bootcamp with! I now know anything is possible!!

Stories like these two demonstrate that it is possible to make your goals happen, when you are dedicated and persevere.

You must get past the “What If’s”.

“What if I fail?”, or even more insidious “What if I succeed?”

Remember that old song “Free your mind and the rest will follow”? In many ways that is exactly right, and  you need to get your head in the game.

So at the four-week mark of our S3 contest, I want to give you some more tools. Tools that will help us, you and your coach, find some potential trouble spots that are possibly keeping you from where you want to get.

Many of you know of our relationship with Dr. John Berardi and the folks over at Precision Nutrition. We have begun using the assessment tools they have provided as a way for us and you to gain insight in to how to more quickly, easily and painlessly reach your goals.  There are 3 short questionnaires that will just take you a few minutes and will no doubt make a big difference.

Here’s the rub. I am not going to post these on the website. I don’t want any anonymous downloaders. Send me an email with your name and let me know you want to complete the assessments, and I’ll send them to you. Your coach will then be expecting the assessments back to review and then discuss with you. Don’t miss this opportunity to crank it up a notch. I am expecting a bunch of emails.

We have also recently received feedback from Dr. Berardi regarding the one thing our members can do that is extremely easy to do plus will make the biggest difference in fat loss progress. In other words, what is the maximum return on effort that you can possibly get.

Here’s the formula he provided:

Fish Oil (1g / %Body Fat) + multi-vitamin daily

In other words, Dr. Berardi recommends taking 1 gram of high quality fish oil for every percent of bodyfat you carry, plus a multivitamin every day.

So if your bodyfat is 18%  you will take 18 grams of fish oil, spread out evenly between meals, plus a multivitamin, on a daily basis.

Here are a couple simple online calculators that will give you a general idea of what your current bodyfat is so you know how much to take.

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/bfb

http://www.csgnetwork.com/bodyfatcalc.html

Now some of you may be thinking that sounds like a lot of fish oil, but I assure you science backs this recommendation up over and over and over again. I personally have started taking between 10 and 12 grams a day and am a believer. There are some very good fish oils out there, Nordic Naturals has a great reputation among others, but the one I am currently taking is “Members Mark 1400mg w/ 900 Total Omega 3” from Sam’s Club. I researched this particular product to make sure mercury was not an issue, and as far as I can tell it is a good product, and it is very inexpensive.

As far as multivitamins go, my recommendation is sticking with a “whole food” vitamin such as the VGF 25+ from Prograde Nutrition. Most vitamins in the average superstore are synthetic varieties and the research is mixed at best on these formulas. Take a look at the research and decide for yourself, but you need a multivitamin your fat-loss arsenal.

So there you have it.

Now it’s up to you. You have a choice to make. Do you take advantage of these “new tools” or are you going to keep beating on that nail with a screwdriver?

Post your questions below, then Make It Happen!

Eat The Rainbow

Here is an experiment that everyone should do.

Take all the food you are going to eat during a 24 hour period. Place it all on your kitchen table. Now step back and look at the colors. Do you see many different colors or are you eating the same colors in your food all day long? The idea is to eat the color of the rainbow each day. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green. Purple, and Blue are found in a variety of veggies and fruit. Take a good look at again at the table, do you see those colors? Do you see all of them?

Here is a recipe Rae from the Road Crew sent to us. Rae and her husband blended all the colors together and created Rainbow chicken.

Rae Says: “Funny you talked about the rainbow this morning because Jut and I had rainbow chicken for dinner. We call it that because it has lots of color in it.”

This is for four people.
13×9 baking pan
4-6 skinless boneless chicken breast (thin cut)
2 cups of chicken broth so the chicken does not dry out.(or water) We use Kitchen stock no added salt. (approved for people on a cardiac diet)
1 sm purple onion sliced
1 sm green pepper
1 sm red pepper
1 sm orange pepper
1 sm yellow pepper
1 med tomato
Goya  Adobo seasioning  (red cap, can be found in the mexican isle!!)

preheat over to 425
pour chicken broth into pan, place chicken in broth, sprinkle about 2 tbsp of Adobo seasoning over chicken (or use sea salt and pepper instead or your favorite seasoning)
Slice the onion, peppers and tomatoes. Place all the vegetables on top of chicken. sprinkle 2tbsp of Goya or your favorite seasoning over the vegetables. Cover tight with foil and bake for about 20 min.

Then eat the colors of the rainbow!!

Thanks Rae!

Six Chicken Dinners In Under 25 Minutes

That’s what the amazing Coach Nancy demonstrated during her live “Cooking With The Carlson’s” portion of our nutrition seminar tonight.

If you think food prep takes forever and you don’t have time to cook, think again. A little patience, perseverance and practice and you’ll be cranking out tasty and creative meals in no time!

We’ve shared all the recipes below, so if you couldn’t make it tonight, you can still make chicken dinner!

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Crock Pot Chicken

1 whole chicken
salt and pepper

Place chicken in crockpot, salt and pepper it. Cover and turn crock pot on low. Cook 6-8 hours. Enjoy.

Variations:
1. Place a lemon pierced with a knife in the cavity of the bird along with several sprigs of fresh parsley.
2. Vary the spices by sprinkling inside and outside the bird with Cajun spices or thyme, paprika, and sage

Kung Pao Chicken

1 pound raw chicken breast, cut into ½ inch cubes
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 inch of ginger, chopped
2 Tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 green pepper cut into 1- inch squares
1 onion cut into 1- inch squares
8-15 dried red chilies, snip off dried stem
8 ounces of sliced water chestnuts, drained
½ cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
2 Tablespoon peanut oil

Marinate chicken in garlic, ginger and vinegar while preparing other ingredients, up to several hours in advance
In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 Tablespoon of peanut oil over medium heat. Add chicken and marinade to wok. Stir fry until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken, add another Tablespoon of oil. Stir fry the onions, and peppers, water chestnuts, and chilies until the veggies start to brown. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, peanut sauce, mix thoroughly and serve.

Grilled Chicken

2 pounds of Chicken breast
½ cup rice wine vinegar (can use apple cider vinegar)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sprigs of thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

Add all ingredients to a Ziploc bag. Marinate for several hours. Grill over medium high heat until done.

Chicken Tenders

1-1 ½ pounds of chicken breast cut into 1/3 inch strips
¾ cup almond meal
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika

Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a ziploc bag. Add the chicken one at a time and shake to coat. Place on a cooking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 400 degrees for 7-15 minutes.

Coconut Chicken

1 pound of chicken breast
2/3 cup coconut
2 Tablespoon coconut oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced

Lay chicken in baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray. Mix the remaining ingredients together and cover chicken with coconut mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and broil for an additional 10 minutes.

Barbeque Chicken

2 pounds of chicken pieces
½ cup cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon celery seed
¼ hot pepper sauce
1/8  teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together except chicken. This can be done in a Ziploc bag to save on dishes. Add the chicken and marinate for 1 hour. Grill chicken pieces over medium high heat for 20 minutes, turn and grill for another 15-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside.