I’m sure every kid has a favorite book.
Right now Ella’s favorite is Dinosaurs A to Z.
It’s exactly what it sounds like.
A picture book with dinosaurs listed alphabetically.
Cute enough…
But where we may differ is that instead of just learning their names, we’ve had a very important discussion since day one:
Could we ride them?
Stegosaurus?
Hard no.
I don’t want one of those spikes in my butt.
Velociraptor?
Despite what Jurassic Park would have you believe, they’re way too small for daddy.
Maybe Ella.
T. rex?
Absolutely.
Nice smooth tail to climb up.
Big flat back to sit on.
Now…
Where exactly would you sit?
How would you climb up?
Would you hold onto his neck?
His arms?
Could you even reach them?
It sounds ridiculous.
But the whole point was never dinosaurs.
It was making something that looked scary… fun.
I never, ever thought we’d actually get the chance to test this theory.
Then Jurassic Quest came to Austin.
Most of the kids there were older than Ella.
Most were scared.
Ella?
She walked right up, waved, started talking to the dinosaur…
Later I asked what she said because it was so loud.
Her response?
“Please don’t eat me.”
Honestly…
I couldn’t think of a better thing to say.
And then up she went.
Forty feet in the air on the back of a giant meat-eating dinosaur.
The funny thing is…
I don’t think Ella was born braver than those other kids.
I just think she’d already “ridden” that dinosaur a hundred times in her imagination.
And I think fitness works the same way.
The reason I start people with exercises that seem almost too easy isn’t because I think they’ll stay there forever.
It’s because confidence is built one successful rep at a time.
One successful workout.
One successful week.
Eventually…
The thing that used to look intimidating…
Doesn’t.
Not because it got smaller.
Because you got more prepared.
The Exercise Does Not Need to Get Easier. You Need the Right Way to Prepare for It.
Most people over 50 do not fail because they are lazy.
They fail because they are handed a workout that assumes they already have the strength, confidence, mobility, and experience needed to perform it.
Then something hurts.
Or the workout feels intimidating.
Or they leave convinced that exercise simply is not for them.
That is not a motivation problem.
It is a coaching problem.
At Stowe Personal Training, we start with exercises you can do successfully today—then build your strength, skill, and confidence one carefully planned step at a time.
No bootcamps. No burpees. No being thrown into the deep end and told to keep up.
Not Ready to Join a Program?
Fair enough.
You should understand the approach before trusting someone with your body. Start with these free articles:
“Nate truly knows his stuff and cares about his clients!”
Annette Whatley 5- Star Google Review
Written by Nate Stowe, NASM-CPT, NCSF-CPT, CES, TRX Certified
Nate Stowe is a personal trainer and movement specialist based in Austin, Texas, with over 16 years of experience helping adults over 50 move better, get stronger, and live pain-free. He’s the founder of Stowe Personal Training, creator of the GET STRONGER LIVE LONGER Program, and author of Revitalize at 50+, a best-selling book on strength, longevity, and reclaiming your body after middle age.
Over the past two decades, Nate’s training system has helped hundreds of everyday adults avoid surgery, reduce chronic pain, and get back to doing the things they love—without needing a medical degree or spending hours in the gym.
Don’t worry—he saves the third-person talk for bios, not your training sessions. Sixteen years in, he’s still awkward when writing about himself.
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