The Bible talk about a good name being more desirable than great riches – it is something to be treasured and preserved.

Our name, Get Fit NH Bootcamp is pretty plain Jane – I admit. Not very flashy, probably not going to win any “business name of the year” awards.

However you have to go a bit below the surface to understand it – it’s not quite as simple as it looks.

Here’s what each word in our name signifies:

Get: Achieve, Earn, Acquire as a result of Action or Effort. You want it? You have to work for it!

Fit: Fitness is many things to many different people.

Fit to do what?

For some people it is competing in triathlons, for others it is squatting 500 pounds, for others it is taking 3 flights of stairs without getting winded. You know what – that’s ok. Not everyone has to “fit” into a neat little box.

Fitness from a physical preparation standpoint can be defined in many different ways. In his book “Foundations of Physical Preparation” Ian King teaches the four dominant physical qualities: Flexibility, Strength, Speed and Endurance, each of which can be broken down in multiple ways. To those four qualities can be added additional skills, among them coordination, agility and balance.

An interesting thought is that “fitness” and “wellness” are not the same thing. You have probably heard stories of very “fit” people dropping dead of heart attacks while training. The ability to exhibit physical qualities and skills do not necessarily mean that wellness has been achieved. Measurements such as blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and bodyfat % will help us evaluate whether fitness and wellness are being achieved. Make no mistake, regular hard exercise is crucial to achieving both, but to that we must consider lifestyle and stress management, as well as our nutrition. It requires a holistic approach to achieve high levels of fitness.

Our programs are purposefully and carefully designed by us to give you what you need not only to achieve fitness, but wellness.

NH: Probably don’t need to say much here, because NH rocks! Seriously thought, while we have helped train numerous out of state clients, and serve as consultants to many fitness professionals in the U.S., our bootcamp programs are based and focus on residents of the Granite State.

Bootcamp: This part of our name might be the most confusing of all. What is “bootcamp” anyway? To be honest, I wish I could give you an across the board definition, but there really isn’t one. Some bootcamps really are “military” style classes, with barking instructors and your face in the dirt. Others are based on bodyweight and calisthenics, and get stale pretty quick. We have the privilege of meeting a couple times of year with other fitness pros from across the country that run very good programs, but make no mistake, all fitness bootcamps are not created equal. The vast majority I see have one goal – beat you into the ground until you beg for mercy – not conducive to long term fitness or wellness. While many programs are popping up that call themselves “bootcamp”, I urge caution when selecting a program.

So why  do we call ourselves a bootcamp, if there is so much difference? Well to be frank we were a bootcamp before bootcamps were cool. We had the great privilege of working with some great trainers down in Mass. who introduced us to their concept of bootcamp, and we have refined that initial concept to a program that as far as I know is unique in the industry.

From a physical preparation standpoint our injury prevention protocol and emphasis on flexibility and muscle tissue quality are the foundation of our program. If you are injured you can’t train effectively, simple as that. Each week in a training cycle (8-12 weeks) is carefully built on the one before it, coaching the skills required to safely and effectively train with continued progression. The ability of our coaches to adapt and progress or regress a skill based on ability and appropriateness is another hallmark of the program – group training is transformed into group personal training – a significant difference not to be overlooked.

As members of the Precision Nutrition Network and with Dean being the only trainer in NH to be a certified PN Coach, we also are able to offer unparalleled nutrition coaching to our members.

We are also privileged to have an amazing network of health care providers that help our members achieve total fitness and wellness.  Through our Strategic Health Partner Dr. Laura Jones, our members can get their bloodwork tested and evaluated. Dr. Jones is skilled the diagnosis and treatment of insulin resistance, thyroid and adrenal fatigue, and other metabolic disorders. Dr. Brett Coapland is an accomplished triathlete, and one of three practitioners licensed in NH for Active Release. Drs. Paul Malloy and Melissa Savicky have helped many of our members who came to us with health challenges get relief with their expert chiropractic care. Amy Troy and her staff at Chichester Massage have been instrumental in educating us to the many benefits of therapeutic massage. Having these professionals on the team is a valuable resource that we can collaborate with on behalf of our members.

My point is that you owe it to yourself to investigate any fitness program you are considering joining, and we certainly invite to look closely at ours. While we will freely admit we are not for everybody, we have helped hundreds of clients from 16 to 69 achieve levels of fitness they never dreamed possible. Odds are you can achieve those results with us too.

The Get Fit NH Bootcamp difference – It’s In Our Name!

Enough is enough – You are ready to make a change!

You have finally decided that you are going to start eating healthier, exercising and lose that extra weight that’s been bugging you.

So you pick up the latest diet book  and slap down some hard earned cash on a gym membership. You even schedule your workouts on the calendar. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, after work.

You are ready to get after it!

That first Monday night at the gym feels great – you did it! All is going as planned.

Wednesday rolls around and you are pretty sore. You decide you need some extra rest – you’ll hit it again on Friday.

Friday is here, your clothes are packed and you are good to go. But at lunchtime your (insert here…boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, pet gerbil) calls you up and want to take you to dinner. He’s not quite sure about this new gym thing. I mean it’s taking time away from him and besides, he loves you just the way you are. Not to mention it has been a long week, and you are pretty tired from working. Dinner it is then!

Suddenly the plan isn’t so solid after all, is it?

What happened?

In short, you didn’t have one critical factor in place that social scientists have told us may be the most important factor in achieving your goals:

You didn’t have the optimal social support – you didn’t have a Team!

At Get Fit NH Bootcamp, we know how crucial it is to have the support you need to reach your goals.

It’s one of the many things that make us different from the many other options out there.

In fact, I can’t imagine a better place to train hard, laugh out loud, tell stories, and get a lot of work done.

Our members don’t come to a class perform their reps and go home.

The team works together.

At times, that means we partner up during training while other days we divide the class for some fun competition. Even when we work individually through the training for that day, shouts of encouragement can be heard from one side of the room to the other. Each person wants the other to succeed.

Friendships are developed with each other, camaraderie is forged through hard work. It’s the beauty of a group of people with a focused purpose – to get better.

Many people at Get Fit NH Bootcamp have similar struggles and desperately want to reach their goals. Research show that goals are reached far more often and quicker with accountability rather than trying to do it on your own. Each member of the team encourages each other to push themselves during training. Many times a round of high fives are given after training. We love this type of energy, but the team is more than just what we do in class. I have observed our clients giving hugs to each other.

Hugs. Can you believe it? (Stay away from Brian and Karl though – just sayin’)

Our members are there for each other when a rough day at work leaves them tired and worn out. When the kids are acting up day after day other moms will come by to share their stories. There are other types of hugs too. When a milestone is hit -  reaching their goal weight, being able to do a chin up and succeeding to eat well while on vacation.

We know that you aren’t always going to get the support you need, even from those closest to you. Sometimes they just don’t understand, and sometimes they are scared that you will leave them behind somehow.

Communicate with the people you love how important it is for you to follow through with your commitment to yourself, and ask them to support you.

Some will get it right away – others may take awhile.

Just Remember This:

The Get Fit NH Bootcamp team is all about accountability, encouragement, help, energy, and motivation.

Don’t just sit on the sidelines, come be part of the team.

Make It Happen!

Dean and Nancy