February 17, 2026 • 35 mins
Holy smokes, everything feels pretty dang stressful right now. How do we take care of ourselves?
This is *not* a commercial for CrossFit, but it IS a conversation with the Head Coach of Dauntless Academy, Meg Trombley, about how she supports members of the gym (like Liz!) in showing up for themselves and one another.
Liz and Meg talk about being athletes and not athletes in their younger years, how one comment made to a teenager can affect their trajectory, and, well...aging.
This episode was recorded 45 minutes after Liz worked out. Can you tell?
Links:
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Liz Canada (00:00):
I know.
This seems way moreintimidating than it actually
is.
Meg Trombley (00:02):
I'm not going to know the answers to the
questions you're going to ask.
Liz Canada (00:05):
What do you think I'm going to ask you?
All right, question one.
Let's start with a simplequestion.
Have you watched the movieWicked, which you promised me
you would?
No.
I have not.
This podcast has been canceled.
That was the one thing.
Actually, I said to Philearlier, this was actually an
elaborate prank, and I wastelling you you'd be on a
podcast, but now we're going towatch Wicked.
You're listening to NewHampshire Has Issues, and I am
(00:41):
your host, Liz Canada.
This episode might seem alittle bit different because I'm
not covering a political issue,but I am tackling an issue that
maybe you also experience,which is how the heck do I take
care of myself in what feelslike an absolute dumpster fire
(01:02):
of society right now?
So although we talk extensivelyabout CrossFit, because that is
one tactic that I use to takecare of myself, uh, this episode
really isn't about CrossFit.
It's about stress, or it'sabout uh aging, or it's about uh
how one comment uh to ateenager can drastically shift
(01:25):
the trajectory of that person.
Which uh is terrifying as aparent.
But I can't emphasize enoughhow excellent of a coach Meg is,
whether you are in a class withher, or whether you are sitting
in sort of the waiting area ofthe gym and just chatting with
her, or she is uh so excellentand so caring.
(01:45):
Near the end of the episode,she says, even if you never do
CrossFit, if it's not for you,do something to take care of
yourself.
Uh try something new.
She talks about how she hasrecently started a new activity,
which is rock climbing.
That that is something that sheis really enjoying, learning
that and trying something new.
And I really wanted her to uhcome on this podcast because the
(02:08):
community that is fostered atour specific gym, I think,
should be a model for all of us.
That we should have people inour lives who are cheering us
on, literally and figuratively,being around people who uh want
us to uh try new things and pushourselves in a safe way, uh who
care about our our physicalwell-being, our mental
(02:31):
well-being.
Because friends, uh, I know youare stressed.
You wouldn't be listening tothis show if you weren't
slightly stressed out by what'shappening, whether in New
Hampshire or across the country.
But it is winter, there isstill so much snow on the
ground, is it ever going tomelt?
So how are we going to takecare of ourselves now and into
(02:52):
the next few months and into thenext oh, I don't know, uh, just
about three years?
So whether you ever tryCrossFit, or if what you love to
do is play soccer, if what youlove to do is walk with a
weighted vest, if what you loveis rock climbing or racquetball
or mountain biking or walkingyour dog around your
(03:14):
neighborhood and saying hi tothe people who live near you,
this episode is for you.
Quick reminder that this comingFriday, February 20th, I'm
going to be one of the guests atGranite Goodness Live local
podcasters night at 3S ArtSpace.
Tickets are on sale now.
Doors open at 7.30.
Please come say hello.
I'd love to meet you.
(03:35):
If you would like to supportthis show, you can go to
patreon.com slash nh has issues.
And one other way is to sharean episode with someone you
know.
Thanks for listening.
Meg, people are reallyintimidated by CrossFit.
I don't want this to be aCrossFit commercial.
I said that to you.
Yeah.
But also, like it is kind of aCrossFit commercial, but just
for our gym CrossFit commercial.
Meg Trombley (03:54):
And I I would say our gym.
There are other CrossFits likeour gym, but our gym is not
typical of many CrossFits.
Liz Canada (04:01):
Yeah, I completely agree.
What do people think about whenthey think of CrossFit?
Like what do you what does aregular person rope climbs?
Flipping tires, sledgehammers.
When we think Katie just saidthis the other day, like when we
think about like functionalfitness, like if I fell in a pit
for some reason, a rope climbwould be helpful, actually.
That would be a really helpfulthing to know how to do.
(04:23):
I still can't do a rope climb.
So I'm stuck in that pit.
I think you would you wouldwill it to happen.
So I would find a way.
There was life or I know whatmy feet are supposed to do on
the rope to help me climb up.
So probably the intensity ofthe moment would fuel me to get
up to.
Meg Trombley (04:40):
You just squeeze.
Yeah.
Just squeeze everything reallyhard.
Liz Canada (04:43):
That's right.
unknown (04:44):
Yeah.
Liz Canada (04:44):
People think rope climbs, tire flipping.
Yep.
I don't think I've ever flippeda tire here.
I'm gonna say that that's mybiggest complaint.
I have not flipped one singletire while we've been here.
They're back then.
I consider that successful ifthat's your single complaint.
That's right.
We have two tires.
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask.
When am I flipping a tire, Meg?
(05:04):
It better be programmed in thenext week.
I want tire flipping happeninghere.
unknown (05:11):
Oh man.
Liz Canada (05:12):
You want to try one?
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask.
Is it possible to take care ofourselves when we have all these
issues?
Meg Trombley (05:24):
I don't know why.
I don't know how I phrase thisor why I keep coming back to
this, but I think wouldn't it benice to like be able to get up
off the floor safely?
Right.
Like as we age.
Liz Canada (05:33):
Yes.
Right.
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask.
Can you get up off the floorwithout using your hands?
Meg Trombley (05:41):
Could I do that?
Maybe.
You could do that.
Yeah, I think I could do that.
You can l l be laying back, situp, come to a tall kneeling
position, like you're about todo a lunge, bring one foot out
in front and stand up.
Yep.
Yeah, I could do that.
Yeah, it doesn't need to belike a like a party trick.
Liz Canada (05:59):
But it could be.
Meg Trombley (06:00):
Yeah, like I don't know, warming up and then
handstand while like no.
It's just being functional.
Liz Canada (06:05):
Functional fitness.
Yeah.
That's the whole thing.
I am your host, Liz Canada, andjoining me today is a special
guest on the podcast, someonewho sees me first thing in the
morning before I have had enoughcoffee or caffeine when I am at
my most exhausted and ready toface my horrible days ahead of
me, my CrossFit coach, MegTrombley.
(06:26):
Meg, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Is that what I supposed to say?
You can say thank you.
Uh Meg is a coach at DauntlessAcademy in Exeter, which is the
CrossFit gym that I go to.
And I asked her to come on theshow because uh New Hampshire
has a lot of issues.
And one of the ways that I dealwith the issues is I start my
(06:46):
day with CrossFit.
And Meg is the person that Isee almost every morning helping
me deal with the issues.
And I asked her to come on totalk about what that looks like.
How does she help not just mebut all sorts of people and how
they're facing the world?
So thank you, Meg, for beinghere.
All right, so people think ofCrossFit as rope climbs and
flipping tires.
And people yelling at you.
Meg Trombley (07:07):
Yeah.
Lift a lot of weight.
Go heavy, go fast.
Like, yeah.
I think like an aggr likeaggressive.
I don't have that experiencehere.
Liz Canada (07:16):
Should I?
Should I be complaining aboutthat too, that you're not
yelling at us enough?
I mean, it depends on what youwant.
Do you want to yell at the sametime?
There are some people that Iyell at.
Do you wish you could yell atus more?
Do you wish you were yelling atus more?
No.
CrossFit is very intimidating.
I bring it up on the podcast Ibrought up with Christine
Stoddard.
There was an episode we didabout Medicaid coverage.
We sort of ended the episodewith all of the things that are
(07:37):
happening are so overwhelmingand exhausting.
How do we take care ofourselves?
And she said she goes mountainbiking in the morning because it
lets her not think about work.
And I come here, we'rerecording this in the gym.
I come here, so I don't thinkabout work, but then sometimes I
do, because I have like myphone foolishly near me.
But, you know, my podcast isNew Hampshire has issues.
(07:58):
And I talked about CrossFitbecause it is one way that I
take care of myself.
And I asked you to be on theshow because I think you help
people take care of themselvesin spite of all of these many
issues.
How did you get into CrossFit?
Were you a Division I athletein, let's see, weightlifting?
No.
Softball?
(08:18):
No.
Gymnastics.
No.
Uh soccer.
No.
Football.
No sports.
Rugby.
No sports.
None of the sports.
No.
So how did this happen?
How did you get to the CrossFitworld?
We graduated college.
Meg Trombley (08:30):
You and Phil?
Yes.
Sorry.
Yes.
Let me preface that.
I just assume that everybodyknows who Phil is.
You know who Phil is.
Yes, I know who Phil is.
My partner, Phil, at the timewe're dating.
And we graduated collegetogether.
And I had a physically activejob and he had a very sedentary
job.
And he played a lot of sportsand was a division one athlete.
Yeah.
(08:50):
Very team motivated.
Yeah.
Always working out for theteam.
Flash forward, like, you know,a year or two, and I'm kind of
have this haphazard routine, butI'm staying active and Phil's
getting very inactive.
And with that comes a mentalfeeling too, of maybe
restlessness or anxiety.
And then realizing, okay, whenI was moving, you know, and
(09:12):
playing sports, that felt Ididn't have those feelings, and
that felt better.
And he's really wanting to, youknow, have an outlet for that.
And I had stumbled upon someoneposting on Facebook that I went
to high school with pictures ofthem at a CrossFit.
It was just like a group ofpeople working out, but not like
what you think of as atraditional workout, like where
you're all like followingsomeone up front.
(09:33):
Yeah.
Like an aerobics instructor,and you're all doing like the
same moves.
Cause I know that Phil wouldn'tlike that and I wouldn't like
that either.
Like we're both not into that.
So I messaged this guy andsaid, What like what is this?
You know, these people areworking out amongst each other,
but not with each other.
Near parallel play.
So we're around each other.
So it's kind of like a team.
It kind of looks like a team.
Yeah.
And he said, Oh, this is, youknow, this is CrossFit.
(09:56):
And where he went didn't reallyhelp me.
But he just said, This isCrossFit.
Here's kind of what it is.
I said, Oh, that's cool.
So I booked this intro classfor Phil and I to attend really
for Phil.
Um, for him to find a way towork out that kind of felt like
a team and that maybe would be alittle bit more motivating for
him to go into this kind ofstructure setting, into a group
(10:16):
class, instead of just tryingto, he's just not motivated to
do it on his own or kind of justlike bop around.
Like it just, it all juststarted from that.
Booking this intro for him andus both doing it together.
And then it like became myentire life and identity.
Liz Canada (10:30):
Just one little intro class.
And now you're you're the headcoach here, right?
Is that your technical?
That's your title here.
I did something similar.
I had lived in Denver for awhile and I had moved to
Cambridge for graduate schoolfor nine months.
It was a nine-month program.
So I had thought I was goingback to Denver.
Went back to Denver just forthe summer, and I was staying
with my friend Kate.
(10:50):
It was like, well, I'm movingback to Cambridge like full
time, like for good.
And she's like, Well, what lifedo you want to have?
Like, what are the things thatwill make you happy?
I know.
Right?
Like, but it was like I wasrestarting my life, and it was
10 years ago now.
She's like, You care aboutyourself, like you're starting
this new life.
Like, how do you want to launchthis new life?
I was like, Well, I want to belike physically active again.
(11:11):
Like I was a big softballplayer growing up.
And she was into CrossFit ifshe had gone before.
I had done CrossFit workoutsonline.
Like they had posted them onthe main site.
So I would like look at that,go to 24-Hour Fitness, do the
scaled version.
And so she was like, Well, whydon't you just join a cross-it
gym near you, like where you'reliving?
And so she like forced me toopen up my computer, email the
(11:33):
gym there, and be like, Can Icome for an intro class?
And the intro class was at like6 a.m.
And she's like, That will meanthat you will really do it if
you actually go.
And then I I did and I keptshowing up.
What made you keep showing upafter that first class?
Meg Trombley (11:47):
So I had some experiences where early on I
tried to play sports, like inearly high school, and I had a
really fun time being on likethe team and doing practice.
But the way you do the physicalmovements didn't really ever
click for me.
Like I just felt really awkwardin my body, but I was still
having a good time.
Well, after like freshman year,when everybody like gets to go
(12:10):
like be on the team because it'sfreshman, in particular with
volleyball, I had a coach, shecut me going into our junior
year.
So I had now played freshmanand sophomore year.
So I had played on the freshmanteam and the JV team.
And she said, she cut mebecause all the rest of my
teammates were making thevarsity team and I wouldn't have
made it and she didn't want meto feel embarrassed.
What?
This is after she cut me.
(12:32):
And I'm like, well, that wouldhave been a nice conversation to
have with me because if we hadhad that conversation, you would
have realized I didn't evencare if I was playing.
I honestly would have beentotally happy, like never
playing in the game of justsitting on the bench because all
of my friends were there.
Yeah, right.
I'd had this routineestablished.
I liked being in practice.
I was staying physicallyactive.
I wasn't really sure what wasgoing on with the movements, but
(12:52):
like mentally, physically, likeit was doing really good things
for me.
And that moment made me feelreally bad about myself.
Speaker (12:59):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (12:59):
Like I had wanted to, I had thought about going to
school for athletic training.
I had considered myself thisathlete.
Yeah.
Wow.
And that now looking back froman adult perspective, you know,
I shouldn't have listened towhat other people were telling
me about myself.
But I'm a sophomore, you know,going junior in high school,
very impressionable.
Yep.
(13:19):
I threw away that identitybecause she was like, that's not
that one moment.
You can't do this.
Even though I wanted tocontinue to pursue that, it
stopped me from doing that.
So when I found CrossFit andeverything is infinitely
scalable, that like I was like,this is my moment.
If you want to show up and youwant to try, CrossFit's for you
(13:41):
because there's no nos.
Like, no matter what, you cando it.
I mean, I've worked with peoplewho are wheelchair bound doing
CrossFit.
You have Spina bifida doingCrossFit.
There's a way to modify and away to scale everything.
And that like really, reallyspoke to me and it truly brought
my identity back to me of likewho I was, like at my core.
It's been a journey.
It started to bring that backout of me and it empowered me
(14:05):
again.
Like it put the power back inmy hands.
So that really was huge for mefor CrossFit is that anyone who
wanted to try was given anopportunity to try.
Liz Canada (14:15):
That's so interesting that you had that
experience in high school.
I had something similar, but inmy academic side of my life,
like I was only an athlete.
That was what everyone waslike, Well, you're not the
smartest, but you are great atsoftball.
Like that was their thing forme.
And it made me believe that Iwasn't smart.
And so when it came to college,it was like, I'll just go to
whatever school accepts me.
(14:37):
And so my whole identity wasshaped by people saying things
of like, Oh, you want to go tothat school?
Well, it's a pretty toughschool.
And it's like, oh, okay, then Iwon't go.
I'm obviously too dumb.
That shaped my life where ittook me until junior year of
college to be like, oh, wait, II am kind of smart.
I do know how I'm doing things.
So it's like a sort of similarexperience of like one or two
people in like those formativeyears can set you off in a whole
(15:00):
other journey.
It's so tricky with teenagerslike that.
I think about that with theboys too.
What is gonna be the thing thatthey remember 10 years from now
that I didn't even realize Isaid or a teacher said, you
know?
Right?
What you hold on to?
Speaker (15:12):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (15:13):
Well, that's what pulled me into not only staying
across it, but then quicklyleading to coaching.
I didn't even know how to domost of the movements and I was
already like, I want to coachpeople.
And then they were like, wait,wait, you need to like learn
what's going on here.
But I was like, I want to be apart of giving people that
opportunity and giving themopportunities and the power back
in their hands.
Yeah.
And like writing their ownstory.
Like I wanted to help people inthat journey because I didn't
(15:34):
feel that I got that help.
Liz Canada (15:35):
When I started CrossFit in Cambridge, I also
started dating.
And I had been doing CrossFitfor like two months.
On this first date that I wason, she was like, So what do you
do?
And I was like, Oh, well, youknow, I this is my job, so
forth.
I also go to CrossFit.
And she looked me up and down.
She's like, Really?
Yeah.
And then this date is over.
This date is over.
Checklease.
That still happens to methough, because I have a larger
(15:58):
body, I have a fat body, and Igain weight and I lose weight.
And I think people have anexpectation of like, if you
quote unquote, do CrossFit.
You're ripped.
You're ripped.
You have shredded abs,everything.
And that's not really the case.
So you talked about folks whohave specific medical situations
(16:19):
that they might be in.
But what about someone who hasa larger body, like regular
people?
Is CrossFit truly for everyonein that way?
Yes.
Yes.
That's that's it.
Unequivocally.
Unequivocally, yes.
Yes.
Molly and I talk about we cometo CrossFit so that as we age,
we can still have a house thathas two floors that we can go
(16:40):
upstairs as we are older, or wecan still, you know, she loves
hiking, so like she can still dothat.
The reality of like aging isupon us.
Like we are in our 40s, andthis is where the scales start
to tip a little bit.
Speaker (16:53):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (16:53):
You can't just like rest on what you've been on
right now.
You have to continue to buildand work to keep what we have.
Which really sucks, Meg.
It's horrible.
But it keeps our brain alsofunctioning well too, right?
Like that challenge and evenlike the counting, we were
joking before, the countingunder a high heart rate, all of
that keeps you sharp.
(17:14):
I work with a woman who's 92and I don't count her reps for
her.
I do I secretly do.
I do count her reps for herbecause I don't want her just
like doing a thousand step upswhen it's supposed to be like
10.
And I'll stop her, you know,within reason of okay, okay, I
think it's time to move on.
But I I want her to count.
I want to introduce newmovement patterns to her, you
know, safely.
That constant challenge, justlike, you know, like reading,
(17:36):
you know, keeps your mind sharp.
It's the same thing.
Like you the acuity and alsojust obviously here interacting
with people, having theopportunity to interact with
people on a daily basis.
And that sense of community ishuge too.
So there's a lot, there's a lotgoing on in a CrossFit class
besides just flipping tires,which I still have not done.
Liz Canada (17:53):
Yeah, I think the community piece is so, so huge.
It's just like it's nice to behere.
I don't know that everyCrossFit gym feels like this.
How do you get the communitythat we have?
How did how did that happen?
Meg Trombley (18:07):
That's so weird that you just that question,
because Elliot, and Elliot's theowner, for those of you in the
podcast world.
Liz Canada (18:13):
He's the owner of John Fields is the owner of
Dauntless Academy.
Meg Trombley (18:16):
Him and I were talking the other day.
He asked me what I feel makesour gym unique and special in
the world of CrossFit.
And I said, I truly feel thatthere's no judgment here and
that everyone is so accepted andwe're all coming from different
walks of life.
And we all just really want tosee each other do well and grow
and be challenged.
(18:37):
And there's no like animosityof like, well, she did that way.
And like, or feelings of likejealousy.
Like it's truly like good foryou and not a good for you.
Truly a good for you.
Yes.
No sarcasm.
So I feel like that comes fromthis sounds so bad.
Not bad, weird to say.
I think it comes from thecoaches and the fact that we are
open and accepting.
(18:58):
Like I'm the person that likegets lost in the grocery store
because I somehow managed tolike talk to a stranger and then
we're like sharing each other'sideas.
I've never had that problemactually.
Phil runs away.
Phil runs away.
I guess and it's just metalking to people.
And then he goes, Do you knowthem?
And I said, Well, now I do.
Right.
Because I just talk to them,bringing it back to what I was
saying before of what drew me toCrossFit to stay, is if you're
(19:19):
willing to try, I'm willing tohelp you.
So as long as someone comes inhere with an attitude that
they're coming from a placewhere they want to try and
challenge themselves, this isthe place for you.
And I think the people whobring negativity and
complaining, those people justdon't last very long here.
So they kind of get likefiltered out.
But yeah, we have we have sucha diverse population of people
(19:40):
that maybe would never befriends or hang out outside of
here.
But also that's just part oflike being an adult, right?
Like you just have like yourworld get smaller and smaller
because you just like eitherwork from home or you just like
are with the people that youjust work with.
So it's really cool to have anopportunity to be in a place
where there are so manydifferent types of people.
But I think we're just so openand we make people feel
(20:04):
comfortable to be themselvesthat people are themselves and
people feel comfortable.
Liz Canada (20:10):
And like we're in our most physically stressed of
our days in the gym, I think.
I am sure there are folks whohave very physically demanding
jobs, or there are folks who aredoing things outside of the gym
that are probably even morephysically.
Doctors, right, right, yes.
But like at the end of theclass, we are all sweating and
(20:32):
fatigued.
And I often am laying on thefloor for 10 minutes.
And like I would never do thatin front of anybody else.
Like it's only okay here.
I could not in the case.
You're taking all your clothesoff.
We're just gonna shoes are off.
And everyone is like, yep,that's what we do here.
That is how we that is how weoperate here.
And everyone is just totallyfine with it.
I think people don't know whata class is really like because
(20:56):
gym classes are often those sortof mimicking the person at the
front.
Right.
Meg Trombley (21:01):
So maybe you could just talk a little bit about
like well, let me backtrack andsay if you're brand new to
CrossFit, there would have beenthings that have happened before
you've come into class.
So you'd have some idea ofwhat's happening, yeah, at
least, but I might not know towhat extent.
You know, maybe they've been wejust had a woman that, you
know, did CrossFit two yearsago, took two years off, and now
has come back.
So I really don't know whatkind of shape this person's
(21:21):
going to be in.
They might have some idea ofthe movements, but I like to
have that conversation with thembefore class.
Are we dealing with injuries?
Any medical conditions?
You know, what have you beendoing for physical activity
leading up to now?
Maybe they've been lifting, butthey've been doing no cardio.
And we're gonna talk aboutcutting this 20-minute workout
in half.
So it's hard, but it feelsappropriate for today.
I hope they show up early.
Sometimes I can have thatconversation with them ahead of
(21:44):
time.
But I don't know.
I just like getting thrown inthere.
Like I like the unknown of likesomeone showing up and I'm
gonna be like, What are what'sgonna happen?
What's gonna happen?
What are they gonna be like?
And no, I'm gonna be there tosupport them, but it's just like
making a new friend.
It's just a room full offriends.
Crosshood.
That's right.
I'm I view them as a friend.
They might not view me as afriend at their first class, but
(22:06):
they will.
Liz Canada (22:06):
How do you make sure that that new person feels
comfortable?
Um, I read people for a living.
Meg Trombley (22:14):
Hmm.
Well fancy.
Hopefully, the hope is whenyou've been coaching for as long
as I have, you start picking upon subtle cues.
Even just watching someone pullup and the fact that they're
sitting in their car for 10minutes before they walk in the
door.
Right?
Classic move.
Yeah.
You they come in the front doorand they kind of like linger by
the front door and they're likelooking around.
(22:35):
You can just start like pickingup on all of these things and
how you're gonna approachsomeone.
Someone who walks in like that.
If I'm in the middle of theroom, I'm not going to shout to
them, Hey, are you Liz?
Welcome.
Are you a new person who'snever been here before?
Everybody's like that toeverybody in the room, right?
I'm gonna walk over to them andbe like, Welcome.
How are you feeling today?
Oh, you know, I'm a littlenervous.
That's okay.
(22:55):
That's really normal.
That's how a lot of people feelwhen they come here for their
first class.
Let me show you around, right?
And just kind of meet them attheir level is more what I tried
to do.
It's just kind of picking up onthose just like really subtle,
silent clues of we're we'realways giving off information,
even if we're not, you know,communicating verbally.
The body language tells a lot.
(23:15):
Um, or if they've emailed us,and sometimes they're saying
certain things that are telltaleof like, you know, it's been a
lot, it's been a while, like I'mlooking to get back into shape.
So I kind of already have asense sometimes.
But yeah, when they walk in,just kind of picking up on those
clues.
Liz Canada (23:29):
You talked about coaching someone who's 92.
You have folks here who areextremely fit, can do all sorts
of things that many peoplecannot.
How do you make sure that we'restaying the course for our own
selves?
Meg Trombley (23:42):
Part of that, just like at a basic coaching level
is just a providing andshowcasing appropriate scaling
levels and recognizing that nomatter what level of the
movement someone is doing, it iswhat's challenging for them.
We are speaking about andshowing those scaling options
where sometimes some gyms mayjust imply, oh, and you can just
like scale this or whatever.
(24:03):
And even the language that youspeak about scaling with when
you put the word just in frontof something, oh, just do ring
rows.
It like makes it lesser, like alesser movement.
And I think we really focus onkind of elevating every
movement.
Liz Canada (24:22):
I recent, I don't know if I've recently said this
to Julie or if it's like a longtime ago.
Julie's another coach here.
She's like a newer coach.
Like she was a member here.
Yeah, she's been coaching forjust over a year.
And something that I havealways appreciated about Julie
is that she will say, it is notjust a ring row.
It is still hard to do.
Like she always makes a pointto be clear that like scaling is
(24:46):
not easier.
It is just as hard for thepeople who are scaling it as
whatever movement somebody elseis doing.
And I really like hearing thatabout the language because when
you hear something that's like,oh, just do knee push-ups or
just do ring rows, you're like,I'm over here struggling.
No, I'm I'm dying over here.
I am boring sweat.
(25:06):
But it makes it seem likeyou're less than the other folks
who are in the class.
And that is not true.
Like, if what your abilitylevel is doing a ring row, that
is hard.
That is very hard.
Meg Trombley (25:18):
And I think we have, we do a good job of having
those almost individualconversations with people too a
lot to figure out what thatlevel is for you.
Right.
But I see that here on a weeklybasis of I had a thought and
I'm excited about this workout.
My kids kept me up all night, Ididn't have breakfast, flew in
here late, and now I just feelreally overwhelmed and this
workout's not going how I wantedit to go.
(25:40):
And then we have a little, wehave a little chat in the
corner.
You and I have had that chatmany times.
Liz Canada (25:46):
Many, many times.
Meg Trombley (25:47):
And we just say, hey, maybe that's just not the
body we showed up with today,and that's okay, and we're just
gonna do the best with the bodywe have today.
That's right.
Liz Canada (25:55):
This gets to the true premise of this episode, I
think.
We finally got there.
I use CrossFit as like there'sa physical health piece, of
course, yeah, but more so amental health piece for me.
Because when I have the hardestmeetings ahead of me in the
day, I make sure that I start myday here.
Like that is how I deal withwhat's to come in my day.
(26:17):
And in every episode, I talkwith a guest about an issue that
New Hampshire is dealing with.
And people who listen are likelooking for, you know,
information about those issues,but also like, what do I do
about this?
Our state is feeling prettystressful.
Our country is feeling prettystressful.
Like you're feeling prettystressed right now, I think.
(26:38):
How do you help me and us takecare of ourselves here?
I'm so excited to answer this.
Yes, good, right.
Like, like you see me walk in,and there are some days where
I'm like, I'm I'm gonna rockthis workout, and some days that
I'm like, I am stressed out,even though it's only, you know,
I get here at like 645 in themorning.
How do you help us make surethat we're taking care of
(26:59):
ourselves?
Meg Trombley (27:00):
Um, I think in the big picture of just what we do
here as a whole in a class, orwhat CrossFit I hope does at
many other gyms is to handlestress, we need to be resilient.
So we need to be able to handlethat stress well and continue
to live and continue about ourday.
You know, we're alreadyencountering stressful things
outside of here.
And then we're trying to workout which can be something that
(27:21):
feels stressful also.
And it is, but a good kind ofstress.
Yeah.
It's it's weird.
You need resilience to handlestress.
And the way to build resilienceis to put yourself in stressful
situations and come out theother side.
Stressful situations could bewalking into traffic.
Well, that's not a very safeway to build resilience, right?
Like it can be a littledangerous.
Liz Canada (27:42):
It's uh hit or miss, literally.
Meg Trombley (27:43):
Like how it's gonna go.
But coming into the gym is asafer way to build resilience.
So I'd like to say in the inthe big picture, just coming in
here and challenging yourself towork out and do things that are
hard is helping to build thatbuffer against stress.
So if we don't have aresilience to stress that has
(28:06):
built, been built up, and youstep on a piece of gum, that can
feel like the end of the world.
Where if you have that bufferbuilt up, you can withstand a
hurricane.
So a hurricane of gum.
A hurricane of gum.
So we are trying to, in a safeway, put ourselves into stress
so that we can handle thingsthat are actually really
stressful.
(28:26):
Yeah.
Like truly stressful outside ofhere.
So that's like what we'redoing, like on a like a big
picture to take care of youguys.
Giving us safe stress.
Liz Canada (28:34):
Yeah.
Helping us conquer stress in asafe way where it's like, this
is limited to 20 minutes.
You're gonna do this for 20minutes and then you're gonna
come out the other side.
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (28:43):
And that pro that shows you prove something to
yourself when you do that.
That like changes your the wayyour brain perceives threats and
situations and the way youperceive yourself and your
confidence and to and yourability to handle those
situations.
So like you start your day andthen you go into this meeting
where stressful things arehappening.
You're like, listen, I alreadylike it.
Liz Canada (29:04):
I did a hundred wall balls this morning.
Right.
Like I can do anything.
I can do anything if I can getthrough a hundred wall balls.
Meg Trombley (29:10):
But on a day-to-day, when we're coming in
and maybe we haven't slept thebest, and you know, we're not
coming in at the with what wewould feel is the hundred
percent or the best version ofourselves, we need to assess
that like battery life.
That's like the analogy I like,right?
Like we have a hundred percentbattery.
I had the most perfect night ofsleep, right?
Right.
And I and I had this greatbreakfast that was so
(29:31):
nutritious.
And I came in here and I justfeel like I'm floating on a
cloud.
You're gonna get after it andyou're gonna give a hundred
percent because you have that togive.
But most of us are not comingin here like that.
That's like the idealonce-in-a-blue moon situation.
Right.
Most of us are coming in herewith probably anywhere from 50
to 80% battery if we're lucky.
Maybe sometimes it's 10%battery.
We just, you know, we have anew board at home.
You know, that's a greatexample.
(29:52):
We have a lot of families here.
My hope of what comes acrosswhen I coach is that I'm helping
you to not have a certainexpectation of how you're going
to perform today.
And just as I'm going to meetyou where you are, you need to
meet yourself where you are.
And to not have thisexpectation that you're going to
lift the heaviest you can todaywhen you're coming in here with
20% battery.
You still have all your wholeday ahead of you.
(30:14):
And I'm sure you need some ofthat battery somewhere else.
So you might only have 5% togive to this class.
And that's still something.
And I'm still gonna show up andI'm still going to take care of
myself and do what I can withmy body, but to not get
frustrated.
And I think pushing beyondthose boundaries and not
listening to your body is wherewe see people getting burned out
and just the stress building,building, building, building,
(30:36):
building, and no way to handleit.
So just communicating.
I think communicating and alsothose subtle cues I talked about
of how someone's coming in heretoday and noticing that, you
know, I'll see this sometimes ofpeople getting frustrated,
they're not performing how theywant to perform, and even
something like shaking theirhead in a no-motion when they
put the bar down.
And that really leads me towalk over to someone and say,
hey, what's going on?
(30:57):
You know, I I did this weightlast week and it felt so easy.
And today it feels like amillion pounds.
And we recognize that.
And I say it's okay to feelthat way.
It's okay that you feelfrustrated.
I know you want to perform, andthis is how we're gonna perform
today.
And we come up with a betterplan where they can feel
successful with how they'reshowing up today.
(31:18):
In that instance, it wouldprobably be let's take some
weight off the bar.
So we feel challenged, butappropriately challenged for
where we are today.
Liz Canada (31:25):
I think that happened to me last week.
It's like everything feels soheavy, it feels impossible.
And you're like, I want you tofeel good at the end of this
strength.
I don't want you to beatyourself up.
Like I want you to leave thisand feel good about what you
accomplished today.
And I think part of that isthat you get to know us
individually so well.
(31:45):
I think that is such a value tohaving the structure of
CrossFit, but this gym inparticular, like whether it's
you or Julie or Elliot, like youknow us individually really
well.
Meg Trombley (31:58):
I don't know where it would fit in, but I would
like to say that it doesn'treally matter what you do to
work out as long as you workout.
Like, you know, I know we'retalking about CrossFit, but in
the big picture, we're justreally talking about showing up
for yourself and taking care ofyourself mentally and
physically.
And science proves it.
I know there's a lot ofquestions about science being
(32:20):
real these days, but it isproven that movement does many,
many beneficial things for ourbody.
It helps us sleep better, ithelps us think better, it helps
us be better people toourselves, to the people around
us.
It helps us be physicallystronger, build muscle, all
things that help us live alonger, healthier, and happier
(32:41):
life.
And maybe CrossFit isn't foryou, but I encourage everybody
to move.
Do something and do something.
And if you don't know where tostart, the internet can be
scary.
Scary, but it also can be agreat tool.
Ask, like, how you know, how doI get started in this?
Something that you'reinterested in, and just try
different things.
Right now I'm trying rockclimbing.
Liz Canada (33:02):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (33:02):
And I've been having so much fun with that.
And it's just like a cool wayto use my fitness outside of the
gym and just find somethingthat you enjoy doing and that
you look forward to and it feelsa little challenging.
Yeah.
And you just show up ideally atleast three days a week to do
whatever that is for yourself.
I think it's so important,especially for people with
children, to step outside ofthat parental role and have
(33:26):
moments for just themselvesbecause they don't get that very
often.
And this is one of the waysthat we can get that.
So sometimes people leave herefor whatever reason because they
don't feel that crossfits forthem.
And I, my first question is,well, what are you gonna go do?
You're gonna leave here andwhat are we gonna go do?
Are you gonna go biking?
Are you gonna do you decide youwanna run?
You really want to go for amarathon?
(33:46):
That's awesome.
And if you want to talk to meabout it, I'm still gonna be
here to support you.
But I really just wanteverybody to know that movement
and exercise is for everybody.
It just may look different forpeople and it may come in
different forms.
And there are a lot of greatCrossFit gyms that have
knowledgeable coaches, which isgreat because if you're really
lost, they can help you figureout how to move correctly,
(34:08):
especially if you're someonethat's in a lot of pain.
Get that a lot.
People in a lot of pain areafraid to move because they
don't want to make their painworse.
And they think if they liftweights and they exercise,
they're just gonna be in morepain.
And if you can go to aprofessional, and this is not
even necessarily a physicaltherapy, and it can be depending
on, you know, where you're atin your journey, someone can
help guide you and show you waysto move that are going to make
(34:30):
you have less pain and make youlive a more fulfilling life and
feel better in your body.
And everybody deserves to feelgood in their body.
Mic drop.
Whether it's my mic drop.
Liz Canada (34:40):
Thanks, Meg.
You did it.
I did it.
You were on a podcast.
That's it.
I didn't cry.
You didn't cry, you did it.
One of the scaling options forhandstand push-ups, which as I
say this, I am sure a listeneris like, what the f is a
(35:03):
handstand push?
Ignore it.
Speaker (35:04):
Ignore it.
And you never even heard thatphrase.
I know.
This seems way moreintimidating than it actually
is.
Meg Trombley (00:02):
I'm not going to know the answers to the
questions you're going to ask.
Liz Canada (00:05):
What do you think I'm going to ask you?
All right, question one.
Let's start with a simplequestion.
Have you watched the movieWicked, which you promised me
you would?
No.
I have not.
This podcast has been canceled.
That was the one thing.
Actually, I said to Philearlier, this was actually an
elaborate prank, and I wastelling you you'd be on a
podcast, but now we're going towatch Wicked.
You're listening to NewHampshire Has Issues, and I am
(00:41):
your host, Liz Canada.
This episode might seem alittle bit different because I'm
not covering a political issue,but I am tackling an issue that
maybe you also experience,which is how the heck do I take
care of myself in what feelslike an absolute dumpster fire
(01:02):
of society right now?
So although we talk extensivelyabout CrossFit, because that is
one tactic that I use to takecare of myself, uh, this episode
really isn't about CrossFit.
It's about stress, or it'sabout uh aging, or it's about uh
how one comment uh to ateenager can drastically shift
(01:25):
the trajectory of that person.
Which uh is terrifying as aparent.
But I can't emphasize enoughhow excellent of a coach Meg is,
whether you are in a class withher, or whether you are sitting
in sort of the waiting area ofthe gym and just chatting with
her, or she is uh so excellentand so caring.
(01:45):
Near the end of the episode,she says, even if you never do
CrossFit, if it's not for you,do something to take care of
yourself.
Uh try something new.
She talks about how she hasrecently started a new activity,
which is rock climbing.
That that is something that sheis really enjoying, learning
that and trying something new.
And I really wanted her to uhcome on this podcast because the
(02:08):
community that is fostered atour specific gym, I think,
should be a model for all of us.
That we should have people inour lives who are cheering us
on, literally and figuratively,being around people who uh want
us to uh try new things and pushourselves in a safe way, uh who
care about our our physicalwell-being, our mental
(02:31):
well-being.
Because friends, uh, I know youare stressed.
You wouldn't be listening tothis show if you weren't
slightly stressed out by what'shappening, whether in New
Hampshire or across the country.
But it is winter, there isstill so much snow on the
ground, is it ever going tomelt?
So how are we going to takecare of ourselves now and into
(02:52):
the next few months and into thenext oh, I don't know, uh, just
about three years?
So whether you ever tryCrossFit, or if what you love to
do is play soccer, if what youlove to do is walk with a
weighted vest, if what you loveis rock climbing or racquetball
or mountain biking or walkingyour dog around your
(03:14):
neighborhood and saying hi tothe people who live near you,
this episode is for you.
Quick reminder that this comingFriday, February 20th, I'm
going to be one of the guests atGranite Goodness Live local
podcasters night at 3S ArtSpace.
Tickets are on sale now.
Doors open at 7.30.
Please come say hello.
I'd love to meet you.
(03:35):
If you would like to supportthis show, you can go to
patreon.com slash nh has issues.
And one other way is to sharean episode with someone you
know.
Thanks for listening.
Meg, people are reallyintimidated by CrossFit.
I don't want this to be aCrossFit commercial.
I said that to you.
Yeah.
But also, like it is kind of aCrossFit commercial, but just
for our gym CrossFit commercial.
Meg Trombley (03:54):
And I I would say our gym.
There are other CrossFits likeour gym, but our gym is not
typical of many CrossFits.
Liz Canada (04:01):
Yeah, I completely agree.
What do people think about whenthey think of CrossFit?
Like what do you what does aregular person rope climbs?
Flipping tires, sledgehammers.
When we think Katie just saidthis the other day, like when we
think about like functionalfitness, like if I fell in a pit
for some reason, a rope climbwould be helpful, actually.
That would be a really helpfulthing to know how to do.
(04:23):
I still can't do a rope climb.
So I'm stuck in that pit.
I think you would you wouldwill it to happen.
So I would find a way.
There was life or I know whatmy feet are supposed to do on
the rope to help me climb up.
So probably the intensity ofthe moment would fuel me to get
up to.
Meg Trombley (04:40):
You just squeeze.
Yeah.
Just squeeze everything reallyhard.
Liz Canada (04:43):
That's right.
unknown (04:44):
Yeah.
Liz Canada (04:44):
People think rope climbs, tire flipping.
Yep.
I don't think I've ever flippeda tire here.
I'm gonna say that that's mybiggest complaint.
I have not flipped one singletire while we've been here.
They're back then.
I consider that successful ifthat's your single complaint.
That's right.
We have two tires.
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask.
When am I flipping a tire, Meg?
(05:04):
It better be programmed in thenext week.
I want tire flipping happeninghere.
unknown (05:11):
Oh man.
Liz Canada (05:12):
You want to try one?
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask.
Is it possible to take care ofourselves when we have all these
issues?
Meg Trombley (05:24):
I don't know why.
I don't know how I phrase thisor why I keep coming back to
this, but I think wouldn't it benice to like be able to get up
off the floor safely?
Right.
Like as we age.
Liz Canada (05:33):
Yes.
Right.
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask.
Can you get up off the floorwithout using your hands?
Meg Trombley (05:41):
Could I do that?
Maybe.
You could do that.
Yeah, I think I could do that.
You can l l be laying back, situp, come to a tall kneeling
position, like you're about todo a lunge, bring one foot out
in front and stand up.
Yep.
Yeah, I could do that.
Yeah, it doesn't need to belike a like a party trick.
Liz Canada (05:59):
But it could be.
Meg Trombley (06:00):
Yeah, like I don't know, warming up and then
handstand while like no.
It's just being functional.
Liz Canada (06:05):
Functional fitness.
Yeah.
That's the whole thing.
I am your host, Liz Canada, andjoining me today is a special
guest on the podcast, someonewho sees me first thing in the
morning before I have had enoughcoffee or caffeine when I am at
my most exhausted and ready toface my horrible days ahead of
me, my CrossFit coach, MegTrombley.
(06:26):
Meg, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Is that what I supposed to say?
You can say thank you.
Uh Meg is a coach at DauntlessAcademy in Exeter, which is the
CrossFit gym that I go to.
And I asked her to come on theshow because uh New Hampshire
has a lot of issues.
And one of the ways that I dealwith the issues is I start my
(06:46):
day with CrossFit.
And Meg is the person that Isee almost every morning helping
me deal with the issues.
And I asked her to come on totalk about what that looks like.
How does she help not just mebut all sorts of people and how
they're facing the world?
So thank you, Meg, for beinghere.
All right, so people think ofCrossFit as rope climbs and
flipping tires.
And people yelling at you.
Meg Trombley (07:07):
Yeah.
Lift a lot of weight.
Go heavy, go fast.
Like, yeah.
I think like an aggr likeaggressive.
I don't have that experiencehere.
Liz Canada (07:16):
Should I?
Should I be complaining aboutthat too, that you're not
yelling at us enough?
I mean, it depends on what youwant.
Do you want to yell at the sametime?
There are some people that Iyell at.
Do you wish you could yell atus more?
Do you wish you were yelling atus more?
No.
CrossFit is very intimidating.
I bring it up on the podcast Ibrought up with Christine
Stoddard.
There was an episode we didabout Medicaid coverage.
We sort of ended the episodewith all of the things that are
(07:37):
happening are so overwhelmingand exhausting.
How do we take care ofourselves?
And she said she goes mountainbiking in the morning because it
lets her not think about work.
And I come here, we'rerecording this in the gym.
I come here, so I don't thinkabout work, but then sometimes I
do, because I have like myphone foolishly near me.
But, you know, my podcast isNew Hampshire has issues.
(07:58):
And I talked about CrossFitbecause it is one way that I
take care of myself.
And I asked you to be on theshow because I think you help
people take care of themselvesin spite of all of these many
issues.
How did you get into CrossFit?
Were you a Division I athletein, let's see, weightlifting?
No.
Softball?
(08:18):
No.
Gymnastics.
No.
Uh soccer.
No.
Football.
No sports.
Rugby.
No sports.
None of the sports.
No.
So how did this happen?
How did you get to the CrossFitworld?
We graduated college.
Meg Trombley (08:30):
You and Phil?
Yes.
Sorry.
Yes.
Let me preface that.
I just assume that everybodyknows who Phil is.
You know who Phil is.
Yes, I know who Phil is.
My partner, Phil, at the timewe're dating.
And we graduated collegetogether.
And I had a physically activejob and he had a very sedentary
job.
And he played a lot of sportsand was a division one athlete.
Yeah.
(08:50):
Very team motivated.
Yeah.
Always working out for theteam.
Flash forward, like, you know,a year or two, and I'm kind of
have this haphazard routine, butI'm staying active and Phil's
getting very inactive.
And with that comes a mentalfeeling too, of maybe
restlessness or anxiety.
And then realizing, okay, whenI was moving, you know, and
(09:12):
playing sports, that felt Ididn't have those feelings, and
that felt better.
And he's really wanting to, youknow, have an outlet for that.
And I had stumbled upon someoneposting on Facebook that I went
to high school with pictures ofthem at a CrossFit.
It was just like a group ofpeople working out, but not like
what you think of as atraditional workout, like where
you're all like followingsomeone up front.
(09:33):
Yeah.
Like an aerobics instructor,and you're all doing like the
same moves.
Cause I know that Phil wouldn'tlike that and I wouldn't like
that either.
Like we're both not into that.
So I messaged this guy andsaid, What like what is this?
You know, these people areworking out amongst each other,
but not with each other.
Near parallel play.
So we're around each other.
So it's kind of like a team.
It kind of looks like a team.
Yeah.
And he said, Oh, this is, youknow, this is CrossFit.
(09:56):
And where he went didn't reallyhelp me.
But he just said, This isCrossFit.
Here's kind of what it is.
I said, Oh, that's cool.
So I booked this intro classfor Phil and I to attend really
for Phil.
Um, for him to find a way towork out that kind of felt like
a team and that maybe would be alittle bit more motivating for
him to go into this kind ofstructure setting, into a group
(10:16):
class, instead of just tryingto, he's just not motivated to
do it on his own or kind of justlike bop around.
Like it just, it all juststarted from that.
Booking this intro for him andus both doing it together.
And then it like became myentire life and identity.
Liz Canada (10:30):
Just one little intro class.
And now you're you're the headcoach here, right?
Is that your technical?
That's your title here.
I did something similar.
I had lived in Denver for awhile and I had moved to
Cambridge for graduate schoolfor nine months.
It was a nine-month program.
So I had thought I was goingback to Denver.
Went back to Denver just forthe summer, and I was staying
with my friend Kate.
(10:50):
It was like, well, I'm movingback to Cambridge like full
time, like for good.
And she's like, Well, what lifedo you want to have?
Like, what are the things thatwill make you happy?
I know.
Right?
Like, but it was like I wasrestarting my life, and it was
10 years ago now.
She's like, You care aboutyourself, like you're starting
this new life.
Like, how do you want to launchthis new life?
I was like, Well, I want to belike physically active again.
(11:11):
Like I was a big softballplayer growing up.
And she was into CrossFit ifshe had gone before.
I had done CrossFit workoutsonline.
Like they had posted them onthe main site.
So I would like look at that,go to 24-Hour Fitness, do the
scaled version.
And so she was like, Well, whydon't you just join a cross-it
gym near you, like where you'reliving?
And so she like forced me toopen up my computer, email the
(11:33):
gym there, and be like, Can Icome for an intro class?
And the intro class was at like6 a.m.
And she's like, That will meanthat you will really do it if
you actually go.
And then I I did and I keptshowing up.
What made you keep showing upafter that first class?
Meg Trombley (11:47):
So I had some experiences where early on I
tried to play sports, like inearly high school, and I had a
really fun time being on likethe team and doing practice.
But the way you do the physicalmovements didn't really ever
click for me.
Like I just felt really awkwardin my body, but I was still
having a good time.
Well, after like freshman year,when everybody like gets to go
(12:10):
like be on the team because it'sfreshman, in particular with
volleyball, I had a coach, shecut me going into our junior
year.
So I had now played freshmanand sophomore year.
So I had played on the freshmanteam and the JV team.
And she said, she cut mebecause all the rest of my
teammates were making thevarsity team and I wouldn't have
made it and she didn't want meto feel embarrassed.
What?
This is after she cut me.
(12:32):
And I'm like, well, that wouldhave been a nice conversation to
have with me because if we hadhad that conversation, you would
have realized I didn't evencare if I was playing.
I honestly would have beentotally happy, like never
playing in the game of justsitting on the bench because all
of my friends were there.
Yeah, right.
I'd had this routineestablished.
I liked being in practice.
I was staying physicallyactive.
I wasn't really sure what wasgoing on with the movements, but
(12:52):
like mentally, physically, likeit was doing really good things
for me.
And that moment made me feelreally bad about myself.
Speaker (12:59):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (12:59):
Like I had wanted to, I had thought about going to
school for athletic training.
I had considered myself thisathlete.
Yeah.
Wow.
And that now looking back froman adult perspective, you know,
I shouldn't have listened towhat other people were telling
me about myself.
But I'm a sophomore, you know,going junior in high school,
very impressionable.
Yep.
(13:19):
I threw away that identitybecause she was like, that's not
that one moment.
You can't do this.
Even though I wanted tocontinue to pursue that, it
stopped me from doing that.
So when I found CrossFit andeverything is infinitely
scalable, that like I was like,this is my moment.
If you want to show up and youwant to try, CrossFit's for you
(13:41):
because there's no nos.
Like, no matter what, you cando it.
I mean, I've worked with peoplewho are wheelchair bound doing
CrossFit.
You have Spina bifida doingCrossFit.
There's a way to modify and away to scale everything.
And that like really, reallyspoke to me and it truly brought
my identity back to me of likewho I was, like at my core.
It's been a journey.
It started to bring that backout of me and it empowered me
(14:05):
again.
Like it put the power back inmy hands.
So that really was huge for mefor CrossFit is that anyone who
wanted to try was given anopportunity to try.
Liz Canada (14:15):
That's so interesting that you had that
experience in high school.
I had something similar, but inmy academic side of my life,
like I was only an athlete.
That was what everyone waslike, Well, you're not the
smartest, but you are great atsoftball.
Like that was their thing forme.
And it made me believe that Iwasn't smart.
And so when it came to college,it was like, I'll just go to
whatever school accepts me.
(14:37):
And so my whole identity wasshaped by people saying things
of like, Oh, you want to go tothat school?
Well, it's a pretty toughschool.
And it's like, oh, okay, then Iwon't go.
I'm obviously too dumb.
That shaped my life where ittook me until junior year of
college to be like, oh, wait, II am kind of smart.
I do know how I'm doing things.
So it's like a sort of similarexperience of like one or two
people in like those formativeyears can set you off in a whole
(15:00):
other journey.
It's so tricky with teenagerslike that.
I think about that with theboys too.
What is gonna be the thing thatthey remember 10 years from now
that I didn't even realize Isaid or a teacher said, you
know?
Right?
What you hold on to?
Speaker (15:12):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (15:13):
Well, that's what pulled me into not only staying
across it, but then quicklyleading to coaching.
I didn't even know how to domost of the movements and I was
already like, I want to coachpeople.
And then they were like, wait,wait, you need to like learn
what's going on here.
But I was like, I want to be apart of giving people that
opportunity and giving themopportunities and the power back
in their hands.
Yeah.
And like writing their ownstory.
Like I wanted to help people inthat journey because I didn't
(15:34):
feel that I got that help.
Liz Canada (15:35):
When I started CrossFit in Cambridge, I also
started dating.
And I had been doing CrossFitfor like two months.
On this first date that I wason, she was like, So what do you
do?
And I was like, Oh, well, youknow, I this is my job, so
forth.
I also go to CrossFit.
And she looked me up and down.
She's like, Really?
Yeah.
And then this date is over.
This date is over.
Checklease.
That still happens to methough, because I have a larger
(15:58):
body, I have a fat body, and Igain weight and I lose weight.
And I think people have anexpectation of like, if you
quote unquote, do CrossFit.
You're ripped.
You're ripped.
You have shredded abs,everything.
And that's not really the case.
So you talked about folks whohave specific medical situations
(16:19):
that they might be in.
But what about someone who hasa larger body, like regular
people?
Is CrossFit truly for everyonein that way?
Yes.
Yes.
That's that's it.
Unequivocally.
Unequivocally, yes.
Yes.
Molly and I talk about we cometo CrossFit so that as we age,
we can still have a house thathas two floors that we can go
(16:40):
upstairs as we are older, or wecan still, you know, she loves
hiking, so like she can still dothat.
The reality of like aging isupon us.
Like we are in our 40s, andthis is where the scales start
to tip a little bit.
Speaker (16:53):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (16:53):
You can't just like rest on what you've been on
right now.
You have to continue to buildand work to keep what we have.
Which really sucks, Meg.
It's horrible.
But it keeps our brain alsofunctioning well too, right?
Like that challenge and evenlike the counting, we were
joking before, the countingunder a high heart rate, all of
that keeps you sharp.
(17:14):
I work with a woman who's 92and I don't count her reps for
her.
I do I secretly do.
I do count her reps for herbecause I don't want her just
like doing a thousand step upswhen it's supposed to be like
10.
And I'll stop her, you know,within reason of okay, okay, I
think it's time to move on.
But I I want her to count.
I want to introduce newmovement patterns to her, you
know, safely.
That constant challenge, justlike, you know, like reading,
(17:36):
you know, keeps your mind sharp.
It's the same thing.
Like you the acuity and alsojust obviously here interacting
with people, having theopportunity to interact with
people on a daily basis.
And that sense of community ishuge too.
So there's a lot, there's a lotgoing on in a CrossFit class
besides just flipping tires,which I still have not done.
Liz Canada (17:53):
Yeah, I think the community piece is so, so huge.
It's just like it's nice to behere.
I don't know that everyCrossFit gym feels like this.
How do you get the communitythat we have?
How did how did that happen?
Meg Trombley (18:07):
That's so weird that you just that question,
because Elliot, and Elliot's theowner, for those of you in the
podcast world.
Liz Canada (18:13):
He's the owner of John Fields is the owner of
Dauntless Academy.
Meg Trombley (18:16):
Him and I were talking the other day.
He asked me what I feel makesour gym unique and special in
the world of CrossFit.
And I said, I truly feel thatthere's no judgment here and
that everyone is so accepted andwe're all coming from different
walks of life.
And we all just really want tosee each other do well and grow
and be challenged.
(18:37):
And there's no like animosityof like, well, she did that way.
And like, or feelings of likejealousy.
Like it's truly like good foryou and not a good for you.
Truly a good for you.
Yes.
No sarcasm.
So I feel like that comes fromthis sounds so bad.
Not bad, weird to say.
I think it comes from thecoaches and the fact that we are
open and accepting.
(18:58):
Like I'm the person that likegets lost in the grocery store
because I somehow managed tolike talk to a stranger and then
we're like sharing each other'sideas.
I've never had that problemactually.
Phil runs away.
Phil runs away.
I guess and it's just metalking to people.
And then he goes, Do you knowthem?
And I said, Well, now I do.
Right.
Because I just talk to them,bringing it back to what I was
saying before of what drew me toCrossFit to stay, is if you're
(19:19):
willing to try, I'm willing tohelp you.
So as long as someone comes inhere with an attitude that
they're coming from a placewhere they want to try and
challenge themselves, this isthe place for you.
And I think the people whobring negativity and
complaining, those people justdon't last very long here.
So they kind of get likefiltered out.
But yeah, we have we have sucha diverse population of people
(19:40):
that maybe would never befriends or hang out outside of
here.
But also that's just part oflike being an adult, right?
Like you just have like yourworld get smaller and smaller
because you just like eitherwork from home or you just like
are with the people that youjust work with.
So it's really cool to have anopportunity to be in a place
where there are so manydifferent types of people.
But I think we're just so openand we make people feel
(20:04):
comfortable to be themselvesthat people are themselves and
people feel comfortable.
Liz Canada (20:10):
And like we're in our most physically stressed of
our days in the gym, I think.
I am sure there are folks whohave very physically demanding
jobs, or there are folks who aredoing things outside of the gym
that are probably even morephysically.
Doctors, right, right, yes.
But like at the end of theclass, we are all sweating and
(20:32):
fatigued.
And I often am laying on thefloor for 10 minutes.
And like I would never do thatin front of anybody else.
Like it's only okay here.
I could not in the case.
You're taking all your clothesoff.
We're just gonna shoes are off.
And everyone is like, yep,that's what we do here.
That is how we that is how weoperate here.
And everyone is just totallyfine with it.
I think people don't know whata class is really like because
(20:56):
gym classes are often those sortof mimicking the person at the
front.
Right.
Meg Trombley (21:01):
So maybe you could just talk a little bit about
like well, let me backtrack andsay if you're brand new to
CrossFit, there would have beenthings that have happened before
you've come into class.
So you'd have some idea ofwhat's happening, yeah, at
least, but I might not know towhat extent.
You know, maybe they've been wejust had a woman that, you
know, did CrossFit two yearsago, took two years off, and now
has come back.
So I really don't know whatkind of shape this person's
(21:21):
going to be in.
They might have some idea ofthe movements, but I like to
have that conversation with thembefore class.
Are we dealing with injuries?
Any medical conditions?
You know, what have you beendoing for physical activity
leading up to now?
Maybe they've been lifting, butthey've been doing no cardio.
And we're gonna talk aboutcutting this 20-minute workout
in half.
So it's hard, but it feelsappropriate for today.
I hope they show up early.
Sometimes I can have thatconversation with them ahead of
(21:44):
time.
But I don't know.
I just like getting thrown inthere.
Like I like the unknown of likesomeone showing up and I'm
gonna be like, What are what'sgonna happen?
What's gonna happen?
What are they gonna be like?
And no, I'm gonna be there tosupport them, but it's just like
making a new friend.
It's just a room full offriends.
Crosshood.
That's right.
I'm I view them as a friend.
They might not view me as afriend at their first class, but
(22:06):
they will.
Liz Canada (22:06):
How do you make sure that that new person feels
comfortable?
Um, I read people for a living.
Meg Trombley (22:14):
Hmm.
Well fancy.
Hopefully, the hope is whenyou've been coaching for as long
as I have, you start picking upon subtle cues.
Even just watching someone pullup and the fact that they're
sitting in their car for 10minutes before they walk in the
door.
Right?
Classic move.
Yeah.
You they come in the front doorand they kind of like linger by
the front door and they're likelooking around.
(22:35):
You can just start like pickingup on all of these things and
how you're gonna approachsomeone.
Someone who walks in like that.
If I'm in the middle of theroom, I'm not going to shout to
them, Hey, are you Liz?
Welcome.
Are you a new person who'snever been here before?
Everybody's like that toeverybody in the room, right?
I'm gonna walk over to them andbe like, Welcome.
How are you feeling today?
Oh, you know, I'm a littlenervous.
That's okay.
(22:55):
That's really normal.
That's how a lot of people feelwhen they come here for their
first class.
Let me show you around, right?
And just kind of meet them attheir level is more what I tried
to do.
It's just kind of picking up onthose just like really subtle,
silent clues of we're we'realways giving off information,
even if we're not, you know,communicating verbally.
The body language tells a lot.
(23:15):
Um, or if they've emailed us,and sometimes they're saying
certain things that are telltaleof like, you know, it's been a
lot, it's been a while, like I'mlooking to get back into shape.
So I kind of already have asense sometimes.
But yeah, when they walk in,just kind of picking up on those
clues.
Liz Canada (23:29):
You talked about coaching someone who's 92.
You have folks here who areextremely fit, can do all sorts
of things that many peoplecannot.
How do you make sure that we'restaying the course for our own
selves?
Meg Trombley (23:42):
Part of that, just like at a basic coaching level
is just a providing andshowcasing appropriate scaling
levels and recognizing that nomatter what level of the
movement someone is doing, it iswhat's challenging for them.
We are speaking about andshowing those scaling options
where sometimes some gyms mayjust imply, oh, and you can just
like scale this or whatever.
(24:03):
And even the language that youspeak about scaling with when
you put the word just in frontof something, oh, just do ring
rows.
It like makes it lesser, like alesser movement.
And I think we really focus onkind of elevating every
movement.
Liz Canada (24:22):
I recent, I don't know if I've recently said this
to Julie or if it's like a longtime ago.
Julie's another coach here.
She's like a newer coach.
Like she was a member here.
Yeah, she's been coaching forjust over a year.
And something that I havealways appreciated about Julie
is that she will say, it is notjust a ring row.
It is still hard to do.
Like she always makes a pointto be clear that like scaling is
(24:46):
not easier.
It is just as hard for thepeople who are scaling it as
whatever movement somebody elseis doing.
And I really like hearing thatabout the language because when
you hear something that's like,oh, just do knee push-ups or
just do ring rows, you're like,I'm over here struggling.
No, I'm I'm dying over here.
I am boring sweat.
(25:06):
But it makes it seem likeyou're less than the other folks
who are in the class.
And that is not true.
Like, if what your abilitylevel is doing a ring row, that
is hard.
That is very hard.
Meg Trombley (25:18):
And I think we have, we do a good job of having
those almost individualconversations with people too a
lot to figure out what thatlevel is for you.
Right.
But I see that here on a weeklybasis of I had a thought and
I'm excited about this workout.
My kids kept me up all night, Ididn't have breakfast, flew in
here late, and now I just feelreally overwhelmed and this
workout's not going how I wantedit to go.
(25:40):
And then we have a little, wehave a little chat in the
corner.
You and I have had that chatmany times.
Liz Canada (25:46):
Many, many times.
Meg Trombley (25:47):
And we just say, hey, maybe that's just not the
body we showed up with today,and that's okay, and we're just
gonna do the best with the bodywe have today.
That's right.
Liz Canada (25:55):
This gets to the true premise of this episode, I
think.
We finally got there.
I use CrossFit as like there'sa physical health piece, of
course, yeah, but more so amental health piece for me.
Because when I have the hardestmeetings ahead of me in the
day, I make sure that I start myday here.
Like that is how I deal withwhat's to come in my day.
(26:17):
And in every episode, I talkwith a guest about an issue that
New Hampshire is dealing with.
And people who listen are likelooking for, you know,
information about those issues,but also like, what do I do
about this?
Our state is feeling prettystressful.
Our country is feeling prettystressful.
Like you're feeling prettystressed right now, I think.
(26:38):
How do you help me and us takecare of ourselves here?
I'm so excited to answer this.
Yes, good, right.
Like, like you see me walk in,and there are some days where
I'm like, I'm I'm gonna rockthis workout, and some days that
I'm like, I am stressed out,even though it's only, you know,
I get here at like 645 in themorning.
How do you help us make surethat we're taking care of
(26:59):
ourselves?
Meg Trombley (27:00):
Um, I think in the big picture of just what we do
here as a whole in a class, orwhat CrossFit I hope does at
many other gyms is to handlestress, we need to be resilient.
So we need to be able to handlethat stress well and continue
to live and continue about ourday.
You know, we're alreadyencountering stressful things
outside of here.
And then we're trying to workout which can be something that
(27:21):
feels stressful also.
And it is, but a good kind ofstress.
Yeah.
It's it's weird.
You need resilience to handlestress.
And the way to build resilienceis to put yourself in stressful
situations and come out theother side.
Stressful situations could bewalking into traffic.
Well, that's not a very safeway to build resilience, right?
Like it can be a littledangerous.
Liz Canada (27:42):
It's uh hit or miss, literally.
Meg Trombley (27:43):
Like how it's gonna go.
But coming into the gym is asafer way to build resilience.
So I'd like to say in the inthe big picture, just coming in
here and challenging yourself towork out and do things that are
hard is helping to build thatbuffer against stress.
So if we don't have aresilience to stress that has
(28:06):
built, been built up, and youstep on a piece of gum, that can
feel like the end of the world.
Where if you have that bufferbuilt up, you can withstand a
hurricane.
So a hurricane of gum.
A hurricane of gum.
So we are trying to, in a safeway, put ourselves into stress
so that we can handle thingsthat are actually really
stressful.
(28:26):
Yeah.
Like truly stressful outside ofhere.
So that's like what we'redoing, like on a like a big
picture to take care of youguys.
Giving us safe stress.
Liz Canada (28:34):
Yeah.
Helping us conquer stress in asafe way where it's like, this
is limited to 20 minutes.
You're gonna do this for 20minutes and then you're gonna
come out the other side.
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (28:43):
And that pro that shows you prove something to
yourself when you do that.
That like changes your the wayyour brain perceives threats and
situations and the way youperceive yourself and your
confidence and to and yourability to handle those
situations.
So like you start your day andthen you go into this meeting
where stressful things arehappening.
You're like, listen, I alreadylike it.
Liz Canada (29:04):
I did a hundred wall balls this morning.
Right.
Like I can do anything.
I can do anything if I can getthrough a hundred wall balls.
Meg Trombley (29:10):
But on a day-to-day, when we're coming in
and maybe we haven't slept thebest, and you know, we're not
coming in at the with what wewould feel is the hundred
percent or the best version ofourselves, we need to assess
that like battery life.
That's like the analogy I like,right?
Like we have a hundred percentbattery.
I had the most perfect night ofsleep, right?
Right.
And I and I had this greatbreakfast that was so
(29:31):
nutritious.
And I came in here and I justfeel like I'm floating on a
cloud.
You're gonna get after it andyou're gonna give a hundred
percent because you have that togive.
But most of us are not comingin here like that.
That's like the idealonce-in-a-blue moon situation.
Right.
Most of us are coming in herewith probably anywhere from 50
to 80% battery if we're lucky.
Maybe sometimes it's 10%battery.
We just, you know, we have anew board at home.
You know, that's a greatexample.
(29:52):
We have a lot of families here.
My hope of what comes acrosswhen I coach is that I'm helping
you to not have a certainexpectation of how you're going
to perform today.
And just as I'm going to meetyou where you are, you need to
meet yourself where you are.
And to not have thisexpectation that you're going to
lift the heaviest you can todaywhen you're coming in here with
20% battery.
You still have all your wholeday ahead of you.
(30:14):
And I'm sure you need some ofthat battery somewhere else.
So you might only have 5% togive to this class.
And that's still something.
And I'm still gonna show up andI'm still going to take care of
myself and do what I can withmy body, but to not get
frustrated.
And I think pushing beyondthose boundaries and not
listening to your body is wherewe see people getting burned out
and just the stress building,building, building, building,
(30:36):
building, and no way to handleit.
So just communicating.
I think communicating and alsothose subtle cues I talked about
of how someone's coming in heretoday and noticing that, you
know, I'll see this sometimes ofpeople getting frustrated,
they're not performing how theywant to perform, and even
something like shaking theirhead in a no-motion when they
put the bar down.
And that really leads me towalk over to someone and say,
hey, what's going on?
(30:57):
You know, I I did this weightlast week and it felt so easy.
And today it feels like amillion pounds.
And we recognize that.
And I say it's okay to feelthat way.
It's okay that you feelfrustrated.
I know you want to perform, andthis is how we're gonna perform
today.
And we come up with a betterplan where they can feel
successful with how they'reshowing up today.
(31:18):
In that instance, it wouldprobably be let's take some
weight off the bar.
So we feel challenged, butappropriately challenged for
where we are today.
Liz Canada (31:25):
I think that happened to me last week.
It's like everything feels soheavy, it feels impossible.
And you're like, I want you tofeel good at the end of this
strength.
I don't want you to beatyourself up.
Like I want you to leave thisand feel good about what you
accomplished today.
And I think part of that isthat you get to know us
individually so well.
(31:45):
I think that is such a value tohaving the structure of
CrossFit, but this gym inparticular, like whether it's
you or Julie or Elliot, like youknow us individually really
well.
Meg Trombley (31:58):
I don't know where it would fit in, but I would
like to say that it doesn'treally matter what you do to
work out as long as you workout.
Like, you know, I know we'retalking about CrossFit, but in
the big picture, we're justreally talking about showing up
for yourself and taking care ofyourself mentally and
physically.
And science proves it.
I know there's a lot ofquestions about science being
(32:20):
real these days, but it isproven that movement does many,
many beneficial things for ourbody.
It helps us sleep better, ithelps us think better, it helps
us be better people toourselves, to the people around
us.
It helps us be physicallystronger, build muscle, all
things that help us live alonger, healthier, and happier
(32:41):
life.
And maybe CrossFit isn't foryou, but I encourage everybody
to move.
Do something and do something.
And if you don't know where tostart, the internet can be
scary.
Scary, but it also can be agreat tool.
Ask, like, how you know, how doI get started in this?
Something that you'reinterested in, and just try
different things.
Right now I'm trying rockclimbing.
Liz Canada (33:02):
Yeah.
Meg Trombley (33:02):
And I've been having so much fun with that.
And it's just like a cool wayto use my fitness outside of the
gym and just find somethingthat you enjoy doing and that
you look forward to and it feelsa little challenging.
Yeah.
And you just show up ideally atleast three days a week to do
whatever that is for yourself.
I think it's so important,especially for people with
children, to step outside ofthat parental role and have
(33:26):
moments for just themselvesbecause they don't get that very
often.
And this is one of the waysthat we can get that.
So sometimes people leave herefor whatever reason because they
don't feel that crossfits forthem.
And I, my first question is,well, what are you gonna go do?
You're gonna leave here andwhat are we gonna go do?
Are you gonna go biking?
Are you gonna do you decide youwanna run?
You really want to go for amarathon?
(33:46):
That's awesome.
And if you want to talk to meabout it, I'm still gonna be
here to support you.
But I really just wanteverybody to know that movement
and exercise is for everybody.
It just may look different forpeople and it may come in
different forms.
And there are a lot of greatCrossFit gyms that have
knowledgeable coaches, which isgreat because if you're really
lost, they can help you figureout how to move correctly,
(34:08):
especially if you're someonethat's in a lot of pain.
Get that a lot.
People in a lot of pain areafraid to move because they
don't want to make their painworse.
And they think if they liftweights and they exercise,
they're just gonna be in morepain.
And if you can go to aprofessional, and this is not
even necessarily a physicaltherapy, and it can be depending
on, you know, where you're atin your journey, someone can
help guide you and show you waysto move that are going to make
(34:30):
you have less pain and make youlive a more fulfilling life and
feel better in your body.
And everybody deserves to feelgood in their body.
Mic drop.
Whether it's my mic drop.
Liz Canada (34:40):
Thanks, Meg.
You did it.
I did it.
You were on a podcast.
That's it.
I didn't cry.
You didn't cry, you did it.
One of the scaling options forhandstand push-ups, which as I
say this, I am sure a listeneris like, what the f is a
(35:03):
handstand push?
Ignore it.
Speaker (35:04):
Ignore it.
And you never even heard thatphrase.
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