For the first time in our history we have the honor of winning 4 separate awards in the annual voting - absolutely amazing. A huge thank-you from the entire team for all of you who let your voice be heard and supported Get Fit NH and our team. It is humbling and gratifying to us all.

So without further adieu, here's the "what" and "who's" that took home the hardware:

And congrats to you. Without YOU, none of this happens. Get Fit NH does not exist. From the bottom of my heart, thank-you again for choosing to train with us!

Coach Dean

P.S. Got some time to give us a little more love? Voting for the Concord Cappies awards is still going on, and we would sure appreciate if you would vote for us there as well. 

Click Here To Vote. Thanks!

In 2011 my life changed. My life changed (for many reasons) in the winter of 2011 in an outdoor gym in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It was in this freezing concrete gym where I would exercise to no end day in and day out. Hours of my life on the elliptical, the stairmaster, the row machine. Hours of my life dedicated to crunches of many different sorts. Hours of my life running and running and running. I will never forget the week my entire outlook on fitness shifted. Some of the guys in my shop challenged me to a power hour. This meant that every hour on the hour for our 12 hour shift we would stop what we were doing and run a mile (I am not sure who else has been to Afghanistan, but you can take my word for it…it’s HILLY!) By the 6th hour I was feeling pretty beat up, but I wasn’t going to let my exhaustion win. I was “fit” and I was “strong.”

I did complete the 12 hour power hour and I felt so proud of myself. I was talking to some people in another shop about our challenge (some buff dudes) and they didn’t think it was impressive. They invited me to join their 500 and 1000 pound club. This meant that my squat, deadlift and bench press combined would equal or surpass 500 or 1000 pounds. I laughed at them. That’s RIDICULOUS! At the time I was 125 pounds (for context I weigh around 140 pounds now) My goal was always to be as skinny as I could be.  Over the next several months I worked with 2 fellow Marines who coached me on HOW to squat and HOW to deadlift and HOW to bench press. I had never done any of those things before because I was always a cardio queen. Always watching the number on the scale like a hawk and if I gained a pound I was LIVID. Over those next few months my scale weight DID increase, but my strength also increased tremendously. Because I was training to GET STRONG I had to fuel my body differently. By the spring time (and the end of my time in the Marines) I missed the 500 pound club with a 200 pound deadlift, 115 pound squat and 100 pound bench press. Even though I didn’t get name on a fancy plaque I still had a brand new outlook on my life and it changed my other perspective on what is means to be fit and strong.

S3 2018 "TBT Coach's Challenge" Is Here!

REGISTRATION CLOSED. THANK-YOU!

Fast Action Bonus! You get to choose your own coach by being one of the FIRST 20 to sign up for her/his team!

Magnesium is an important dietary mineral, and having a deficiency usually is associated with poor sleep quality. While some sleep aids leave you feeling sleepy and foggy, magnesium works to help relax your muscles so you can fall into deep sleep and stay there. Therefore, you don't need to worry about getting sleepy after taking a magnesium supplement. This year's "Sizzlin' Summer Slimdown Success Guide" puts it this way: "Magnesium (ZMA): Another one of my go-to recommendations to help combat stress. It’s not only great for stress, but it’s an important mineral that’s required for more than 700 biochemical reactions in your body! It can help with sleep, your digestion, and aches and pains, too. This is great to take right before bed." 

I can't say it any better than Coach Dean did:  "Like all of the ones we recommend, I have been taking ZMA for years - What more do you need to know! :)"

• Boost Immune Health: Approximately 70% of our immune system exists within our digestive tract. As we are in the midst of flu season, keep your immune system strong through a healthy gut.
• Manage Intestinal Distress: Used in treating irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, such as constipation, diarrhea, cramping, bloating, and gas.  
• Potential Influencers of Chronic Disease: Innovative research studies are being completed on how our gut microbiome affects the development of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and mood disorders. So far, results have been promising in the potential role probiotics can play. Stay tuned as evidence-based recommendations develop.
• Using Probiotics while taking an antibiotic treatment will help maintain the beneficial bacteria.

Why do I need more?

These ‘good’ bacteria actually fight off the ‘bad’ bacteria that can make us sick and that cause yeast or urinary tract infections. We also need a balance of these bacterias to keep our immune system healthy and promote good digestion.

Here is my take: Our American style of eating tends to feed the bad guys and leave the good guys hungry. I give the good guys an edge with this probiotic. 

While we are not saying you need to buy these from us, we've done lots of research and this is what we use at home. Dean and I want to pass that along to you. 

To Your Best Health,

Coach Nancy

​

Others like this: "I'm not sure I know what hunger really feels like. When I'm being mindful, I usually need to stop and think, am I really hungry right now or is it something else? When it's hunger, there is an empty feeling. I often think I am hungry but in reality I am procrastinating on a job task that I don't want to do. Procrastination and then stress because I am not doing what I should be leads me to eating when I am not hungry.

What you just watched was our 4:15 superstar, Ruth Littlefield, deadlift 165 pounds. I'll never forget the day Ruth started with us. Her biggest concerns were getting up and down off of the floor, kneeling, being in pain and just sick of feeling icky! Ruth has been training with us for almost a year (it will be a year in June!) during that time she has gained SO much to include knowledge, strength and confidence. It has been a coach's DREAM to watch this woman transform herself from the inside out. I am so proud of this woman right here and I am absolutely delighted to share her story...

In the fall of 2016 I started Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).  Through that work, I focused on mindfulness and awareness.  My therapist took me through a process to help me identifying what I value in life. The values that were calling out to me where self-care, connection, courage/bravery, humor, creativity, curiosity and contribution.  In order to move towards the things I valued, my therapist had me identify what I could do that would help me move towards those things and to be aware of what was moving me away from them. I was extremely sedentary, overweight, with high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, asthma and other ailments.  Engaging in physical activity, especially movement that built my strength, flexibility and cardio would allow me to move towards all of my values. The challenge though was that I had never liked exercise, I had a pocket full of excuses, I was uncomfortable in gyms, and I didn't know what I needed to do to be successful.  But my therapist encouraged me to be brave, so I checked out a variety of places and programs hoping I could find a place that was a good fit.  I tried a Vinyasa yoga class that was not customized and way too advanced for me.  I looked for a personal trainer but had no idea what to look for or how to approach it. Finally, two of my co-workers told me about Get Fit NH. One has been coming here since it started.  The other friend was newer to it and had lost a lot of weight and gained a lot of strength. So I decided to check it out.  It took a while for a class slot that worked for me to open up and I was SO nervous the first time I came to a session in June of 2017. Everyone here, from the coaches to the trainees are so friendly, encouraging and non-judgmental.  

​When I started, I didn't know squat about exercising and I had no confidence in my abilities. I have learned that through my commitment to the work and the right supports (thank you coaches and all my co-trainees), I have the capacity to change.  It takes effort, patience, and a willingness to celebrate small changes while not being discouraged by set backs.  

The biggest surprise since beginning training is that I actually love working out now!  That is a bonus I never expected.  My favorite saying when I'm in session is "I just DID that!". At first, getting up and down off the floor was almost impossible.  Now I do it relatively quickly and without my knees screaming, although I am still not terrible graceful.  I just got to the place where I can bench press 40 pounds and dead lift 165 pounds (check out the video of me being "strong like bull!!!").  I feel so much better in so many ways.  Simple things, like being able to reach my shoes laces and walk places are so improved.  My Cardiologist says my cardiomyopathy is significantly better and that is life changing.  When I think back to those values I identified, Get Fit NH is definitely making it happen!!!

​First we would like to take a second to thank everyone that voted for us during the Hippo Press voting. We say it all the time that we believe we have the best students in the entire world!

Now April is here and along with it is the Concord Cappies Voting! Again, thanks to all of you amazing people we have won the past two years and are going for a three-peat! 

So in order to win we need your help!

Here's what to do:

• Go to VoteGetFitNH.com
• Enter your Email Address
• Vote for all your favorites
• Especially #30 Best Fitness Center  - Get Fit NH Concord and Epsom
• Check your email for the confirmation link and click to confirm your vote

This survey is a breeze! There is no need to vote for 15 categories to qualify!

We appreciate your help SO much!

The Get Fit NH Team!

The results of the March Madness Sled Push Challenge are in!!! It was a close match between the training hours, but there can only be ONE winner from each location...

Drum roll please....

In Epsom with an average of 186.8 pushes PER PERSON!! And a HUGE shout out to Dan Yeaton for pushing the sled 750 times! Please join me in congratulating EPSOM 6:15AM! 

In Concord with an average of 16 pushes PER PERSON!! Please join me in congratulating Concord 6:45PM!

6:15 AM Epsom has earned themselves a Taco Tuesday breakfast party and 6:45 PM Concord has earned themselves a Taco Tuesday dinner party on TUESDAY APRIL 3RD! We look forward to partying with you soon!

Special shout outs to...

Cristy Bresson, Deb Kaitz, Ted Diers, Kim Lapomardo, Sonia Cormier, Dan Yeaton, Kathy Cole, Glenn Foley, Jodi Mattice- Collins, Tom Barker, Scott Decker, Wayne Preve, Laurie Vallee, Teresa Fortin-Madore! They all earned their FitRanx helping hand sticker and Team Leader stickers will be a surprise next week! 

See you next week!

Coach Meagan

The spotlight shines on Robin today. I could write a novel about Robin, because that’s how awesome she is. One of the best parts of being a coach is not only watching someone physically change, but watching them change mentally and emotionally. Robin has changed in all of these ways. When I first met with Robin 7 months ago she was so nervous. It’s common to feel nervous and self-conscious about starting a new training plan and doing something you’ve never done before alongside people you’ve never met before. Talk about intimidating. Robin embraced it and dove in anyways. The Robin I know today is SO far from the Robin I met 7 months ago. Robin today is confident, she is strong, she is outgoing and funny and as you’ll learn in her remarks she is proud of herself

I knew that I was at the point in my life where just eating right wasn't enough.  In the past I could just stop eating junk and cut out sugar and that, by itself, was enough to drop some pounds and I'd be happy with that.  However, once I reached my 40's , I realized that wasn't enough and that I was starting to lose muscle at a rapid pace and  that simple tasks were becoming more difficult.  Walking up flights of stairs was becoming challenging (and working on the 3rd floor of city hall, the elevator was becoming a normal part of my trek and I felt guilty every time) and even getting up off the couch was becoming a challenge.  As I was approaching 50, I knew I needed to change something.  I saw the post on Facebook about a 28-day Metabolic Reboot and decided to give it a shot.  I figured I could handle 4 weeks.  Those 4 weeks went by in a flash and I knew, I KNEW, that I had to continue.  

 I've learned that I'm stronger than I give myself credit for and I can also tolerate more than I give myself credit for.  And, most importantly (for me anyway), I CAN do an exercise program regularly and not die (although, sometimes it feels like I am going to...ha ha ha), that it can be part of my life and yet not RULE my life.  I always thought only the "crazy fitness people" exercised regularly and I was certainly not one of "them".   I have learned that I actually LIKE (*gasp*) to exercise.  Still don't like to run...not sure anyone can ever make me like that.  But I look forward to my 5:30 class and I NEVER dread going.  In the past when I had signed up for another gym, I would always look for excuses why I couldn't go and would justify it with, "well, it's only $10 a month so it's not a big deal".  And then after a while when I realized that all I was doing was adding to their profit margin and not getting any benefit out of it, I would cancel.  That cycle continued on for years.  Now THAT'S crazy.

One of the most important things I've learned - I love the coaches here!  I remember when I was talking to Nancy on the phone the day I called to ask about what I had seen on Facebook and I was thinking  "I don't want to be in a class with boys...I don't want them to see my failure."  Sad, isn't it?  That I hadn't even started yet and I was already thinking I was going to fail.  That was my past experiences programming my brain to automatically think that.  So Nancy registered me for the 8:30am "ladies only" class.  I remember that I was nervous as heck thinking that all the coaches would be drill instructors (like Biggest Loser) screaming at people and humiliating them.   After meeting with Meagan for the first time, I walked out  of there thinking, "I like her and I don't think she'll yell at me".   I got in my car feeling excited to start and thought to myself "I got this!"  From day one, I have been very happy with the training and the people.  I have never seen a more encouraging group of engaged coaches and I feel like I'm so lucky to have started my training there.  I tell people all the time about it.  When people see me leaving work with my gym bag and ask where I'm going - I'm sure they immediately regret it because I then go on a long-winded sales pitch for GetFit NH.  When people say to me "you look great" - I take that opportunity to tell them about GetFit NH.  I wish you guys had GetFit NH buttons, I would wear it proudly every day to promote you all!!!!!

Since I started my training almost 7 months ago, I have lost 15 pounds and 8.4 inches total.  I'm still a far distance from my goal and I'm moving along at a turtle's pace, but I'm very happy with the progress I've made physically in those months.  

Now the part you don't actually see.  I am FEELING so much better.  I can walk up all 5 flights of stairs at work and I don't save all my trips to only do once (like I used to do because I just was not comfortable moving my body), I find that I don't mind going up and down those stairs several times a day.  I park farther away and don't mind walking.  When I run errands, I don't mind getting in and out of the car several times.  

The other part is how proud my family is of me and they tell me all the time how proud they are that I am taking measures to take care of myself.  My husband said that he is not worried anymore that I won't be around to see our children get married and have children.  He said that previously, he worried about that every day.  How sad is that?  I am forever grateful to all of you for giving me my life back and for helping me to see that I can succeed, however long that takes.  I love you guys!!!!  ; )

We are so proud of Robin. Thank you for sharing your story! Keep making it happen!

Coach Meagan