Clean Up The Clutter

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“Out of clutter, find simplicity” Albert Einstein

Its January already. Yes, I know it is the second week of February but that is the thought that went through my mind at the beginning of the year. Is there any one else like that?

I thought so.

Christmas and New Years are filled with fun, family, outings, shopping, and parties. Its crazy busy and all of a sudden January steps in. For most people life slows down just a bit but not for me. January is one of our busiest times of the year. Knowing this, Dean and I had to simplify life. Our physical training had to be simple. We didn’t want it to get pushed to the side.

With all the busyness we made that area simple for us. Out goal? 10,000 Kettle Bell Swings by the end of the month. One dynamic, taxing, exhausting exercise for one month. We easily broke down the number we had to finish each week and each day to get to 10,000.

What in the world does that have to do with you?

Well……. Are you busy? Is your plate full driving here with the kids? Getting to work? A Social life? Adding in time for the love of your life?

Get Fit NH Bootcamp is able to take a piece of your life and simplify it. The training provided at bootcamp is designed by professionals – us. Using the knowledge we’ve accumulated (and continue to do so) we carefully plan out each training day. Not only is the training well balanced within the week, it is also balanced to effectively fit into a year plan. We’ve made it a no-brainer- You get in and get it done.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

  • Exercise improves your mood-  Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out.
  • Exercise combats chronic disease- Regular physical activity can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.
  • Exercise helps you manage your weight-
  • Exercise boosts your energy level- Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.
  • Exercise promotes better sleep
  • Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life
  • Exercise can be Fun! ( I didn’t say that, Mayo Clinic did, we just make it happen)

The end result of getting your physical training from Get Fit NH Bootcamp?

You can relax knowing your training is thought out in advance. You have a time, a place and people who care about you. You reap a multitude of benefits the whole day long.

To your best health,

Coach Nancy

By the way I finished with 10,046 Swings in January! :)

Fitness Starts Between Your Ears

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Jack Lalanne at Age 71

“Fitness starts between your ears,” said Jack LaLanne “You have to figure out what you want and then go ahead and do it. Your body is your slave.”

Jack, who passed away at age 96 this week lived fitness for longer than anyone I have ever heard of. He truly practiced what he preached.

In honor of Jack, join me in embracing life, in taking charge, in making good choices everyday.

Here’s Mine:

  • I choose to eat more veggies not pushing them aside.
  • I choose to eat baked or grilled not fried foods.
  • I choose to plan my meals and snacks each week. My life will be so much easier with a plan in place that allows me the flexibility to change it instead of being tossed around by the uncertainty of what the next meal holds.
  • I choose to drink lots of water. Water is important for our bodies. It acts as a regulator of all our body’s systems. Metabolism, temperature, a detox agent, alleviates constipation, a lubricant for our joints, a base for saliva, and much more.
  • I choose to take a multivitamin. I know I don’t eat perfectly 100% of the time so I want to supplement my intake with a quality multivitamin.
  • I choose to get a healthy amount of sleep each night. Our bodies do not shut off when we sleep instead they use this time to replenish, repair, and refuel.
  • I choose to avoid fad diets – instead I will make the changes to the way I live that will last a lifetime.
  • I choose to eat smaller portions and skip second helpings.
  • I choose to show my family and others the value of an active healthy lifestyle. When planning a family outing try hiking, skiing, bowling, or biking instead of centering it around the TV or computer.
  • I choose to take my training seriously. I will not exchange one trip to the donut barn for a workout session.

Everyone has choices to make each day. Choices about the foods we eat or don’t eat, the people we choose to inspire and motivate us, and the activities I participate in.

I choose to Make it Happen.

What about you?

To your best health,

Coach Nancy

Don’t Be Afraid To Succeed

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I know this week is Thanksgiving and everyone is hoping I would leave the talk about food behind just for one week. I’m not going to do that. Would you really want or expect anything less from me? I don’t expect anything less from you this week.

Afraid To Succeed

Are you afraid to reach your health and fitness goals?

No really, are you? Sound like a dumb question? If not fear, what is holding you back?

If you are one of my clients, or have been reading this newsletter for a while, I am convinced you have the tools you need to succeed.

In the past year we have covered a wide range of topics – from the benefits of exercise, to the importance of drinking water, to discussing why fad diets don’t work. The knowledge is there. If you are not progressing, it is because you are not translating that knowledge into action. Why not?

Believe it or not, many people are happier being fat and whining about it than actually doing anything about it.

How do I know? Because every time I talk to them, there is a different reason why they haven’t lost the weight. One week it is because they were too tired to work out, so we talk about priorities and the importance of sleep. The next week is because they forgot how to do the exercises, so we go over proper execution – again. The next time I talk to them, they have been too busy to eat – and it goes on and on.

It makes me wonder, what takes more effort, training several times a week or whining seven days a week. The fear of success is almost as debilitating as the fear of failure. After all, if I reach my fitness goals, what will I have to whine about? Where will I direct my (negative) energies? Think about it. How many times have you started to lose weight, got about halfway to your goal and quit? Why did you do that?

The battle begins and ends in the mind. And then it translates into action. What is holding you back? What are you going to do about it?

I am planning to enjoy Thanksgiving to the fullest, and I hope you will as well. My family will be together. It will be wonderful. But I won’t let one day turn into six weeks of overeating and undo everything I’ve worked for over the last many months. It’s a pretty easy choice for me to make.

Here’s To Making The Next Right Choice!

To your best Health,

Coach Nancy

Take A Step Towards Change

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“Change is not an event.  It’s a tiny decision made over and over again. Change isn’t once. It’s daily.” – Don Kuhl

Improving our lives is a choice. It’s an individual choice. The time, the reason, the motivation, the determination, the path we take to improve is all personal.  Each person has to decide on their own when and how they would like to improve their life. We have to be ready to take the first step.

Research shows the top three ways to make life better are

• Decreasing Stress

• Sleeping Better

• Reducing Pain

Guess what? Exercise can help you do all three.

An exercise routine will be lived out one moment at a time. The quality of our life is the result of the sum of our choices.

Isn’t it amazing how much our thoughts control our actions? “I don’t feel like it” is the number one reason we, as parents, hear our kids give us for not actively playing outside. Don’t do we the same thing? Of course we are so grown up that we disguise our emotions in sarcasm “I worked hard for this big belly, I don’t want to give it up now.” Or behind in difference, “ my great grandfather smoked and drank and he lived to be 101, I’m going to go out like him.” Or even fear, “I don’t think I could survive one day at bootcamp”.

Live in the present, it’s the only “place” where you can be active. Actions happen now, not in the past or future. In-the-moment opportunities, such as taking lunch to work, working hard each training session, planning meals instead of gobbling up fast food, and being active outside of your training program.

Stop looking at what happened yesterday, you can’t change it.

Don’t worry about tomorrow, because you can’t control everything that comes your way.

Make today count – Every Day.

Coach Nancy

I’m Not Listening

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I’m tired of the excuses. I don’t want to hear why I can’t do something. I’ve never liked hearing the word “Can’t” I think it has something do with being surrounded by brothers. I’m competitive. Yes, I like to win. I like the challenge being thrown out there and then stuffing it in their face as I accomplish the task.

So I hate hearing my doctor say your weight is great for someone over 40, or your muscle tone is fine for someone with six kids. Why the qualifier? Why can’t I have a reasonable weight for my height and body type? Why can’t I have the same muscle tone as someone with one child or no children?

doitThe competition was on. In my own mind the challenge was thrown down. I will have my doctor eat their words. I can be a healthy weight not for my age but for any one my height and build. I can have muscle tone again!

Don’t listen to everyone else tell you that you can’t eat healthy in this fast food world. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t lose the pounds you’ve carried for 15 years. Don’t let anyone else rain on your parade. You can have what you set your mind too. There are challenges along the way. Just don’t let those challenges whether they are people or circumstances stop your progress. Often the biggest foe we face is those dear people we call family and friends. Instead of fighting against them use their energy to fuel you on towards your goals.

Here’s are some things you can do to help turn them from destroyer to determination:

  • Talk to them. Be clear and concise on what your goals are and how they can help. If you don’t want to be tempted with chocolate ask them not to bring it in the house.
  • Be realistic. Sometimes communication backfires and you get more heat and grief after telling your family about your desires. Use that energy for fuel. When you hear them talking negatively, know they are throwing the challenge down. That is all they are doing. They want to see how badly you want your dreams.
  • Don’t react to their comments. Often times they are not sure of what lies ahead. Few of us like changes in our daily routine. They might feel things will be 180 degrees different from last week’s lifestyle. Be patient with them. Continue to talk it out.
  • Plan, plan, plan.

I want to hear I am a healthy weight and fitness level without a small sign hanging around my neck informing others “its okay how she looks, she is over the hill and had more than one kid.”

Here’s To No Signs,

Coach Nancy

Don’t Look For Your Motivation Here!

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Are you motivated today? Let’s get motivated! Find that inner motivation! What’s it going to take to motivate you?

You’ve heard it, and I’ve heard it – you have to be motivated to reach your goals.

I say Hogwash!

Blasphemy you say – isn’t it your job as a trainer to get me motivated?

Well, maybe for the one hour a day we are together I can encourage, inspire, and yes, even motivate you to get through the workout.

But what about the other 23 hours in the day?

I submit that what you need is a good dose of determination on top of that motivation.

Let’s look at a definition of each word:

Motivation – the state or condition of being motivated

Determination – a fixed purpose

Do you see the difference? Motivation depends largely on how we feel, while determination has a much more solid foundation – it is fixed, or unchanging in nature.

So what does that have to do with losing weight, eating healthier, reaching higher athletic performance? In a word – Everything!

Let me put it this way; It’s late Monday afternoon, you just finished a grueling day at work, your boss was being a major jerk and you have enough paper piled on your desk to heat your house for a month. You don’t feel like going to the gym, you don’t feel like doing anything but going home and plopping down in front of the television. What do you do? Are you motivated to go the the gym? The answer is pretty obvious – absolutely not. This is why determination is far more important than motivation. Determination will drive you to the gym, your present state of (lack of) motivation will cause you to drive right on by.

We humans are emotional beings. Our nature causes us to act on how we feel and the circumstances that surround us much of the time. Hard day at work? I don’t feel like going to the gym. Kids driving you nuts? That pint of ice cream is sure to make me feel better.

How about this? You have been working hard in the gym, not missed a training day in 3 or 4 months. Your nutrition is on track, and yet you still can’t get rid of that last 10 pounds. You are not seeing the results you want as fast as you want. What do you do? Circumstances like this can sap our motivation, no question about it. But are you determined to reach your goals, to do what is necessary to reach them, or do you give up, because it’s just “not working”?

The battle we are waging is largely in our minds. No one lives in a perfect bubble, immune from the pressures of the outside world. We all deal with less than ideal circumstances, it is only a matter of degrees. For years I made excuses why I was obese and unhealthy. For years I was “motivated” to do something about it, only to lose my motivation a few months later. Fear of failure, fear of ridicule, even fear of success can cause us to lose our will to keep going when things get hard.

As a trainer, when a prospective client wants to hire me to “motivate” them, I know we are in for a hard battle. It goes back to what was said before – if you are only motivated 1 out of 24 hours of every day, are you likely to do what it takes? I can guide you and inspire you, but motivation is personal and transient; it comes and goes. The best way I know to overcome these peaks and valleys is to formulate a plan, the “fixed purpose” that defines determination.

We are big on plans around here. We provide a training plan that you execute on a daily basis. The nutrition plan guides what and when you eat. 6 Pack 6 incorporates daily and weekly checkpoints into an overall plan that drives you toward your goals.

Do you have such a plan, the purpose that drives you on in spite of what is going on around you? Do you know what you are going to do today that will help get to where you want to be? Do you know what you are going to do tomorrow, next week, next month, next year? Taking a step back, do you even know what the end result will be? Have you fixed a picture in your mind of what you want to look like, feel like, or perform like? If not, now is the time.

Take out a piece of paper, and write down your “fixed purpose” for the next year, the next 6 months, the next month, next week, and today. Start with the end goal, the “fixed purpose”, in mind and work backwards. The action you take today will determine where you end up tomorrow.

This quote from the great Jesse Owens, a man who overcome far more obstacles than most of us will ever know, sums things up nicely.

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

It’s a new week. What are you determined to do with it?

Make It Happen!

Dean