I own a Personal Training studio. Why am I mentioning this obvious fact? Well, because of the word ‘Training’. Training means that we systematically, scientifically and purposefully force the body to build muscle, endurance, lose fat and become more resistant to joint pain. Working just means getting tired. ​ The most important quality we should… [Read More]

I learned something the other day, but first I want to tell a parable. It is that of Theseus Ship. Normally, this is a story of philosophy, but it is all I can think of when I think of this thing I learned. In case you aren’t familiar with story of Theseus Ship it goes… [Read More]

When trying to answer the question of “How Should I Adapt My Workouts As I Age?” It is important to first answer the questions of how long you have been working out, and, what kind of shape you are in today. Two guys, (Drew Brees and Tom Brady) make this a tough question to answer…. [Read More]

“Normal” aging isn’t normal. Joint pain preventing you from walking good, getting winded easy and having more pills than a gumball machine has gum. It just doesn’t have to be that way. 24 Hours A Day. 7 Days A Week. 365 Days A Year. Our body is always deciding – get younger or get older…. [Read More]

First, an interesting study. Ball State University in Indiana conducted a study of participants broken into two groups of ten men for a twelve-week strength training program. From the beginning, the groups were evenly matched and they all did the an exercise routine with the same rest and same frequency. One group gained 32% more… [Read More]

A common fear of many women who hear of all the benefits that weight lifting can provide is getting ‘bulky’ or ‘gaining weight’. The response in short – “If only you were that lucky and it were that easy.” For example, my weight lifting journey began when I was sixteen years old – nearly 20… [Read More]

Hands down my favorite movie of all time is ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve seen it (300+ no exaggeration). Heck I might watch it again after I finish writing this! ​ The other day I was watching Shawshank yet again when my wife Laura walked in and asked “Did… [Read More]

If I have been asked this question once then I have been asked a hundred times. Here’s the good news. You can get in better shape after a single workout! While weight loss can be difficult to predict because of your personal starting point, genetics, diet, and exercise routine…your actual health and fitness change almost… [Read More]

Never before has the subject of boosting your immune system been more popular – and for good reason! There is good news though. Recent research shows that regular exercise does boost our immune system, though the researchers aren’t quite sure yet why it works. Here is the study: A 2005 study at the University of… [Read More]

Deciding whether to do cardio or weights first is seemingly a simple question and yet deserves a complex answer that ultimately will end with “It depends”. ​ To start, it is very difficult to “ride two horses with one saddle”. In other words, trying to be a World-Class marathon runner and a World Class powerlifter… [Read More]

I love my clients because they are all “over-achievers”. If I say ten to twelve reps, they always do twelve. When I say two or three rounds they almost always do three. And that is probably why I get asked regularly what else should I be doing to get the best result possible. Luckily there… [Read More]

If I would have known then, what I know now… First of all, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. For example, not attending class nearly often enough in college. Thinking that “Frosting the Tips” of my hair looked good in high school. As well as, eating a baked potato that had been… [Read More]

Our Governor has lifted all mandates in regards to C19. This begs the question, what if anything will change at Stowe Training? Nothing. *I will continue to work by appointment only – ensuring that no more than 4 people will be exercising at the same time. *I will continue to keep the highest-graded HEPA filter… [Read More]

  Too much too soon. This is how most people approach fitness. You decide to join a gym and lose twenty pounds. You begin working really hard doing all of the “best exercises” like deadlifts, squats, and bench press. Progress is going great. You are losing weight and turning heads. But then, a shoulder starts… [Read More]

I have never had an exercise machine as a part of Stowe Training and never will. The biggest reason is that when we perform free weight variations of exercises instead of the machine counter-part we are working our core. When you sit on a machine to perform an exercise the seat takes the place of… [Read More]

Cluster. One of my favorite training concepts when performing barbell exercises. But, before we get into why, let’s first define exactly what a cluster is when referring to resistance training. A cluster is simply breaking up higher rep schemes into smaller rep schemes. For instance, instead of doing: 1 set of 8 You could do:… [Read More]

Knee pain is super common as we age but it doesn’t have to be. Some simple exercises can get rid of most people’s knee pain almost immediately, leaving them saying something along the lines of “I should have done this years ago!” If you can carve out thirty minutes to an hour two to three… [Read More]

Am I doing this right? This has to be the number one question I receive during a training session. And, it makes perfect sense as the primary reason people hire me is to help them “do it right”, make progress and avoid unnecessary injuries. However, this can lead to one major drawback – being so… [Read More]

There was a long, long, time ago when modern safety features on cars weren’t standard. No anti-block brakes or vehicle stability control required. Then in the early 2010s, a law was enforced that these safety features must be inside a car. Guess what happened? Accidents with cab drivers increased! Unbelievable, right? How could there be… [Read More]

The biggest mistake I see most is people testing their fitness instead of building it. Always going to an 11 out of 10 effort to try and get into shape faster. And I totally understand. This is America; so more must be better – right? The problem with always testing our fitness is that we… [Read More]

Every fitness program “works”. Cross Fit works. HIIT Training works. Body Building works. Body Weight only works too. Heck, even Orange Theory works. However, it all works if before you weren’t consistently performing a resistance training program but now you are. It is your new-found consistency that is the ‘secret sauce’ in all of these… [Read More]

Exercise Science is cool I know I’m biased, but hear me out. Literally, there are mathematical models we can employ that guarantee enhancement of our strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular system. For instance, if you do X exercise for X amount of times for X length of time, you will on average see improvements. This fundamental… [Read More]

99% of the time when someone decides it’s time to get in shape and drop a few pounds the first thing people do is start jogging. I get it. It is easy to get into. All you need is a pair of shoes, some short-shorts, and good old-fashioned determination. At least that’s all you think… [Read More]

My biggest philosophy behind each client’s program is the concept of the Kinetic Chain.​ Kinetic Chain means that everything in our body is connected – your thumbs are connected to your toes for example. The only problem with the definition is that when someone hears the word “chain” they think of, well…a chain. Instead, I… [Read More]

Twice a day. Eight days a week. That’s how most people start when beginning a new fitness program. And I get it. Currently, you are contemplating, procrastinating, and researching for months but the time has finally come. At last, you are not only are you ready to start but you are taking action to ACTUALLY… [Read More]

I don’t eat that much pizza. Don’t get me wrong; I think pizza is awesome. I’m not weird! I just don’t eat it that often. Except during Christmas break…. My favorite pizza place in the world is Johnny’s Pizza from Louisiana. It is probably just psychological (Laura says it’s not that good!) as I have… [Read More]

I truly believe that participating in a progressive resistance training program is the “Fountain of Youth”. Only, instead of a quick sip and lightning from the sky transforming you to your glory days we have the monotony, consistency, and persistency of a small stream forging the Grand Canyon. Look at these proven benefits of resistance… [Read More]

For this story, the real names will remain secret out of respect for my wonderful clients. Therefore, Joanie & Chachi will suffice. To clarify, it should be Joanie & Ellen – or something like that – as this is a tale of two women who lost over 100lbs training with me. Consequently, both gained some… [Read More]

When’s The Off-Season? Running. Tennis. Biking. Golf. Rowing. These are all GREAT forms of exercise. Fun, dynamic in nature, and accessible for most. But, there is one drawback. It’s easy to start each of these activities and odds are you are not a professional athlete so you would never consider taking an off-season. You would… [Read More]

Imagine you are driving to grab lunch with your grandkids one day and you came to a stop at a train light. Without knowing it, you accidentally stop on the train tracks as the train is coming. You jump out of the car in an attempt to open the back seat doors to let your… [Read More]

One of the duties I dislike the most about owning my personal training studio is vacuuming before I go home at night. As a small business owner, you are trained to “only do the things you can enjoy and delegate the rest.” For me, the only things I can do and enjoy are the following:… [Read More]

Most people should stretch their hip flexors more as it is one of the most common muscles whose ‘tightness’ leads to the lower back and or knee pain. The problem is that 90% of the time when I see someone trying to stretch their hip flexors they are using poor technique. Check out this 90-second… [Read More]

Can you increase your bone density? The short answer is – YES! For example, this ability is best described using Davis’s Law and Wolff’s Law: ​Davis’s Law is used in anatomy and physiology to describe how soft tissue models along with imposed demands. It is the corollary to Wolff’s law, which applies to osseous tissue…. [Read More]

I want you to make a fist. Go ahead, do it. What do you feel? Your fist, right?! Now make a BETTER fist… REALLY squeeze it… ​ What do you feel? Your forearm and perhaps your biceps a little bit, right? I want you to make the mightiest fist ever – the turning coal into… [Read More]

For our body to perform optimally we must have all of our muscles work in concert together. Row in the same direction. Be on the same team. Running the same play and acting unselfishly – just “do your job” as Bill Belichek would say. This is the last analogy I want to concentrate on today…. [Read More]