And The Winner Is.... You!

Most of you already know that The Hippo Best of 2009 came out Thursday and Dynamic Strength and Conditioning won Best Gym, Best Blog, and Best Fitness Instructor.. I can't thank you enough for voting for us. It means a ton to me and to Michele to know that you feel strongly enough about what we're doing to vote for us. I was thinking that maybe I could thank everybody by giving a week's worth of workouts free of burpees and bear crawls :) But then that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? (Sorry, Jill :). People don't come to us to take it easy. You're coming because you want to do what it takes to feel better than you ever have. 

The title of this entry is "And the winner is... you!".. The reason I say that you're the winner in all of this is because you're the biggest part of what we're doing.. I might have built the playground, but it's all of you guys that get to come play in it. It's you that has realized what a joke the corporate fitness industry has become. You've come to us and taken your fitness back to its roots. You're working harder than you ever have in a gym, you're moving better, feeling better, and having fun pushing and supporting each other. Just this week I had 5 people tell me about (or show me) things that they've never been able to do. And I'm not talking about bragging that they can bench press 10 more pounds than before. I'm talking about people who are incredibly excited about how their body is functioning now compared to before. To me, that's what getting in shape is all about. This is why I feel that Dynamic Strength and Conditioning truly is the best gym around. Nobody cares as much as Michele and I do about helping our members get in the best shape of their lives and achieve their health and wellness goals.

While we're on the topic of "Best of.." surveys.... NH magazine runs a fairly prestigious "Best of" survey as well.. I say it's prestigious because anybody who wins always puts a plaque up in their restaurant or place of business if they win. Honestly, does anything say prestige like a plaque? I didn't think so ;)  So I figured, what the hell, let's take a shot at winning Best of NH 2009.. As I was looking through the list of topics you could vote for I came across, Best Buffalo Wings, Caesar Salad, Fried Clams, French Fries, Fried Crab, Cupcakes, hotdogs, salon, day spa, music venue, bartender, etc... Essentially, this poll is a list of the best things you can either put in you or have done to you.. No gym, no parks, no playgrounds, no cross country skiing, no swimming holes... You can vote for your favorite place to be subjected to drunk people singing badly (aka Karaoke), but you can't vote for your favorite place to go mountain biking. And then I saw it at the bottom of the list... "Other".. Oh, I guess that's us.. So if you want to go to the Best of NH 2009 and vote for us you can write us in as "Other". And when we win, I am definitely getting a giant plaque to put on the wall that says "Best Other of 2009!".. And while you're in there voting make sure you vote for Patisserie Bleu in Nashua for any bakery-related topics and Jake's Old Fashioned Ice Cream in Amherst as best ice cream.. They are both, without a doubt, best in class :)  And, if you're thinking, "Hang on, how can a bakery and ice cream shop be mentioned in a fitness blog?".. It's because Deb and Roni use all natural ingredients and when you're working as hard as we do at keeping our bodies fit it's OK to have a treat once in a while.. You're much better off getting your treats from a person who cares what she's putting into it rather than something that comes in a plastic wrapper.

Thanks again for voting for us in The Hippo and we promise to continue to help get you in the best shape of your life!

All the best,

kevin