Audrey is shining in the spotlight today talking about her success with the latest 21+ nutrition challenge. I knew Audrey must have been successful, because she was one of the most active participants on the Facebook accountability page. She posted updates daily about how she was feeling, what was challenging, and how she was overcoming obstacles. During this challenge she even spent time out of her home and in the hospital with her father as well as in living arrangements that were not her own. She made a plan and made it work. I am proud of Audrey for finding a way to make it happen when it would have been SO easy to find an excuse. Her positive attitude, energy and smile are all very contagious. We are lucky to have her in the Get Fit NH Family. Here is what she has to say.

Audrey is pictured on left

"Absolute biggest challenge? For sure was meal planning. I broke up the week and planned meals from Monday-Wednesday, and then planned again for Thursday-Sunday. Breaking the week up made it not so overwhelming.

What changed after starting the 21+ Day Challenge? I always love a challenge. The no sugar and no dairy was the biggest change. I love to bake so this was difficult, I just decided to not bake at all. I took out every unapproved food in my house so I am not tempted at all.

What results have you seen? Weight loss - finally. I love that I have not starved myself. I am working on changing my thought pattern to use food to fuel my body, not just eat for pleasure. I've also lost inches and I know I'm gaining muscle (thanks to the awesome workouts). I feel healthy from the inside out, not just looking for weight loss.

​What would you say to someone on the fence about starting? I would tell them it's not easy but so worth it. To write down their goals and make a plan. I would tell them I've tried everything in the past and there are no shortcuts. Something worth having is worth all the work. This is a life long journey not a sprint.

​What keeps you coming back? To have success you need support, and Get Fit is the best support I have ever had with a gym. The accountability is awesome and something I absolutely need. Dean and Nancy, as well as every trainer, practice what they preach. I love how they keep it exciting and challenging - always mixing things up. I especially love that the gym talks and educates us on healthy eating - not just working out. 

People ask me what the price is to go to Get Fit. They say Planet Fitness is only $10 a month. My response is you get what you pay for, and Get Fit NH is worth every penny!"

Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us, Audrey. Keep at it- we are so proud of you!
-Coach Meagan

Last week, I wrote a blog about the pause button - about not letting life, work, etc. get you to the point that you put an entire part of your life on hold. Below are some strategies to help you when those hectic times arise.

1. Look at your schedule ahead of time. I fully realize that this may not be an option for everyone. Some of you have highly fluid careers and lives and this may not be completely possible. However, looking at your week ahead can really help. What day do you have a 6am meeting so you may need to come to another class? What day might you have time to sit down for an hour and food prep for the following 3 or 4 days? Sometimes just sitting down and laying it out for yourself can make all the difference, rather than trying to do it on the fly.

2. Plan your meals ahead of time. All of our nutrition challenges have included some type of template for planning out your meals. If you have yet to do one of them, it is fairly easy. They can be as simple as a piece of paper with “Breakfast", "Lunch", and "Dinner” listed under each day of the week, or as complicated as the recipe itself at each spot so you have all your information in one place. Whatever makes it more likely to happen for you.

3. M.I.S.S (Make It Stupid Simple). For those really hectic times, make it stupid simple. By that I mean make it as simple as possible to plan your meals for the week. If you can stomach it, maybe eat the same simple recipe for breakfast every day to cut down on prep time. Or keep the meals different but try to stick to simple recipes that don’t take a ton of prep work. This may not be a good strategy for the long term because you will probably burn out on those easy to prepare foods, but in an extremely hectic time, simplicity is your ally.

4. Make training an appointment. You have heard Coach Meagan say this before and it feeds into strategy number 1. If you can figure out your schedule ahead of time, decide what days and times you are going to train and make it an appointment. Plan it ahead of time, write it down and stick to it.

5. Slow down, but never stop. This one is possibly the most important one of all. If you need to slow down, that’s understandable. If you can only make two classes a week this week and next week because work is so hectic, that’s understandable. The last thing you want to do is put off training completely, because like I said in part one, you never know what tomorrow might bring. Expecting to stop, then start again when things are “less hectic” ends in major complications the large majority of the time. So just slow down, but never stop.

Make it happen,
Coach Adam

This time the spotlight shines on Amy Doyle. Amy and her husband, Jim, have been part of the Get Fit NH family for a while now. Amy is part of our 5am class in Concord and always comes in with a smile, a willingness to work hard, and a shrug (we are working on the last one). All joking aside, Amy has been a fantastic addition to the family and we love having her in class. Here are some of Amy’s own words about her journey at Get Fit NH...

Why did you choose Get Fit NH?

My husband, Jim, and I joined Get Fit in July. After spending years going to gyms, we were looking for a different approach to working out. I had many colleagues at Bow Memorial School that trained at Get Fit and we decided to give it a try. We were both hooked after a few workouts.

What changes did you notice in the first few weeks?

Almost immediately I noticed that I wasn't feeling hurt and dinged up all the time. It was typical for me to experience pain while training, and I had come accustomed to working though chronic shoulder pain during my workouts. The first month showed me that this didn't have to be the case. The workouts at Get Fit were making me stronger, but not at the cost of being hurt. I also noticed that I was able to do more functional skills without pain and effort.

What outside of Get Fit NH has become easier since starting here?

What are your goals?

When I first started at Get Fit my goal was to lose 10 pounds. Like many people, I struggle with the number on the scale. Over the past few months, my goals have changed. I want to be healthy, strong, and know how to fuel and care for my body. I won't lie though...I want to be able to do a chin-up!

What have you accomplished so far?

What is your favorite part of Get Fit NH?

My favorite part of Get Fit are the coaches. I am so appreciative of their vigilance during the workouts to keep stubborn people like me safe and accountable. Without their guidance, I would still be struggling with injury and pain.

Keep the hard work up and the shoulders down, Amy!
-Coach Adam

When you lay down to go to sleep at night, do you ever think about your day and reflect on what you did to better yourself that day? I highly doubt it. Most of us have a mind going one million miles a second and we’re making to-do lists in our head, thinking about our kids and planning out the next day or thinking about work, etc. I know I rarely lay there and think about me.

But, wait! We (you and me!), WE are important too! Shouldn’t we all be striving to get a little better each day? I have two challenges for you:

1. Before you go to bed each night set yourself one small goal for the following day. It could be to read 10 pages of a book you have been meaning to pick up again, or to go to bed or wake up at a certain time. It could be to make it back to training if that has been slipping away from you. Set one goal that you KNOW you can achieve the following day that will help you get just a little bit better. Write it down!
2. Before you go to bed and before setting a new goal for the following day, check off that you completed your daily goal. If you didn’t make it happen, then reflect on what got in your way and come up with a plan to make it happen the next day.

It is way easy to put yourself on the back burner over and over and over again. I never quite understood this until I had kids. I get it now, but we are important too and taking some time to ourselves each day is not going to hurt anyone!

-Coach Meagan

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

Guys I truly despise closing, I really do, but this storm is forcing my hand. Rather than making you wait and have go get up early to figure out if we are closed for the morning or not, I have decided to make the call now.

Right now we fully intend to be open in the afternoon. The snow is forecast to taper off and/or stop by early afternoon, which should give us enough time to clean up and get ready for afternoon training

As always, please use your judgment. We want you first and foremost to be safe, and hopefully this will be the end of the need to cancel training for the rest of the season.

Things you can do instead:

1) Get a little extra sleep, and then spend some time on a foam roller, doing your correctives, and flexibility training. You have enough knowledge to make this time productive.

2) Do any additional nutrition planning and prep work for the week.

3) Jump on one of the training videos below. There are options for bodyweight only as well as band training.

4) Don't stress out! 🙂

Training Options Here!

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I wrote this blog a couple weeks ago as I was approaching the end of my pregnancy (which came a little sooner than expected!). I was taking time to reflect on how different my body felt, so its from the perspective of when I was still pregnant.

The human body is a pretty incredible machine. Over the past 8 months my body formed another human- craziness! A true miracle, indeed. The human body capability is unbelievable. I am currently 22 pounds heavier than what I was 34 weeks ago. My body has changed and it feels different in many ways. While many differences are pregnancy related – others are not. What used to be simple is now a struggle for no other reason than I am heavier than what I am used to. Here are three big changes in life just because I am heavier.

1. Getting up and down off the floor. What a simple part of the day this used to be. With all the classes I coach on a daily basis, this was a mindless activity I never really thought twice about it. Before I get up now I have to carefully roll myself on to my side and use my hands and sometimes knees to stand myself up. When you are not overweight, getting up and down off the floor is not a chore.

2. Training enjoyment. Because I am heavier, I am winded quickly. I am not able to lift as much as I know I am capable of because my range of motion is limited. It is overall more exhausting. When the weight comes off training is easier and more enjoyable.

3. Confidence. Yes, pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but when you’re heavier and don’t feel as “in shape” as you once were, your confidence takes a beating. I don’t walk as fast, I don’t do stairs as fast, I get out of breath easier and that can be kind of embarrassing. My clothes fit, but not like they used to.

I know this blog has the potential to be misperceived. While many of the things mentioned are directly related to growing another life, my intent is to help you understand that life is easier when you are carrying less weight around.

My intent is to help you understand that the human body is INCREDIBLE and your genes are not likely the reason why the weight is not coming off.

My intent is to help you see that life CAN be easier and things like getting up and down off the floor, training and self-confidence are not impossible.

If you want it – you can make it happen. The only person giving you a “no” is YOU!

The only person saying you can’t or won’t is YOU!

I can find a BIG family of supporters who can encourage you and assure you that YOU CAN!

-Coach Meagan

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We won't leave you hanging though - if you want to train, you can Make It Happen!

P.S. Scroll to the bottom for a surprise! 🙂

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