These should work for most people in most situations. They require no equipment and have a lot of feedback given to you from the floor and wall respectively to help make sure you are “doing them right”. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions at all! 4 Best Exercises… [Read More]
Susannah
My name is Susannah. I am a fifty-eight year old retired teacher. I began working with Nathan in July of 2011. My back was aching, I was having degenerated disc problems, and my hands were starting to show signs of arthritis. Luckily for me, during the registration process, Nathan just happened to walk by and the salesperson stopped him… [Read More]
James
Severe, lower back pain is truly debilitating. I had been dealing with back pain most of my life, stemming from a childhood injury. In 2010, despite having worked with numerous physicians and physical therapists, I was experiencing unbearable pain which consistently interrupted daily activities. I had become bed ridden, and in desperation, I sought nerve block injection therapy…. [Read More]
Mulu
When I started with Nate,I had a lot of back and hip pain and on pain meds. .I was not able to use the foam roller without going through a lot of pain, I have been working with Nate over a month now and I don’t have as much pain in my back and hip… [Read More]
Eric Denner
“Before starting with Stowe Training Systems I was afraid that I would never lose my gut, that the trainers wouldn’t know what they were doing, and that I was too old to build muscle, lose weight, get stronger, and get fitter. The team has proven that they do indeed know what they are doing…. [Read More]
Stuff You Should “Probably” Be Doing – Reverse Lunge into Single Leg RDL
Welcome back to Stowe Training Systems and thank you for being here. Today I would like to take you through some stuff that you “probably” should be doing. I say “probably” because I like to stay away from absolutes – The world is quite a large place and there just always seems to be… [Read More]
Stuff You “Probably” SHOULDN’T Be Doing – Stretching Your Lower Back
I get asked on a regular basis about stretches for the lower back. People seemed confounded when I tell them that this is “probably” a bad idea. [youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG-2-7nyNzM[/youtube] What most folks fail to realize is that there are a TON of nerves running through the lumbar region and that these nerves… [Read More]
Stuff You “Probably” Should Be Doing – Field Goal Angel on Foam Roller
Mobility Monday – Field Goal Angel on a Foam Roller Welcome back to Mobility Monday at Stowe Training Systems. Mobility Monday is where every Monday I take you through some super awesome exercises that are easy to do and offer a very high risk vs. reward ratio. With proper mobility can we help alleviate… [Read More]
Stuff You “Probably” Should Be Doing – Band Alphabet
Hi there! Welcome back to Stowe Training Systems and Mobility Monday. I hope you have been enjoying the content so far. Today I wanted to introduce you to an exercise that produces a whole lot of bang for your buck. This Exercise Will Allow us to Simultaneously Work On: *Anti-Rotation – especially useful if you… [Read More]
Why Would I Hire a Personal Trainer?
I recently hired a personal trainer as of December 2014. Most people find this extremely surprising….. They wonder why with all of my knowledge and experience of writing super effective programs I would want to spend my hard earned mula on someone else to train me. Well there are several reasons but I guess the… [Read More]
Stuff You “Probably” Should Be Doing – Hip Flexor Mobilization with Band Distraction
Hey there! Welcome back to “Mobility Monday” where I promise to continue bringing you the most cutting edge techniques that one can use to enhance their mobility. Last week I introduced you to the hip flexor mobilization with a resistance band. For those of you who missed it here is the video: [youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]… [Read More]
Why I Lift
I’ve been on a bit of a Bret Contreras kick lately. I love this post as it motivates me to want to go to the gym immediately. No matter who you are and no matter where you are starting from there are some compelling reasons to start LIFTING. – Nate Lifting weights is good for… [Read More]
Stuff You “Probably” Should Be Doing – Band Resisted Hip Flexor Mobilization
Today I thought it would be fun to start a “Mobility Monday”. Basically each Monday I will bring you a “Mobility” exercise of the week. Before we begin let’s 1st define exactly what mobility is. To me Mobility is a combination of Flexibility AND Stability. A lot of folks are very “flexible” and can touch… [Read More]
What Physical Therapists and Doctors Could Learn From BioMechanics
I ran across the article from Bret Contreras and it really resonated with me. I was thinking of one of my clients who was training with me after a major back surgery and how she was instructed to “not lift more than 50 lbs” and to “add 10lbs” to that total each month. Now; this seems like great… [Read More]
Foam Rolling versus stretching
For any of you that have had the opportunity to train with me; you know that I am a huge proponent of “Foam Rolling”. I have personally witnessed a staggering amount of people get rid of chronic joint pain with this simple method over the years. However, it always begs the questions – why and… [Read More]
Living with Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is all too common and often very misunderstood. Today’s post from precisionnutrition.com does a great job of outlining the best strategies to cope with Fibromyalgia. Enjoy the read! -Nate How nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle strategies can help alleviate the pain. By Ryan Andrews Millions of people (including a staggering 3.4% of adult women) struggle with fibromyalgia,… [Read More]
The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Where Pain Comes From
The following article that I ran across at theptdc.com could totally change your life. With a better understanding of pain we will be able to better cope with those nagging joint issues that can crop up. Please feel free to share with anyone you know who have issues with chronic pain as this could be… [Read More]
Common Mistakes with Static Stretching
Today’s post comes from one of my heroes in the strength and conditioning world a one Mr. Eric Cressey. He outlines some of the common mistakes that folks make while stretching. I hope this helps y’all out. – Nate One of the most debated topics in the strength and conditioning world in recent years has… [Read More]
How Strength Can be Corrective
An article originally published on DeanSomerset.com but written by “the glute guy” Brett Contreras. I feel that this article illustrates my sentiments toward strength training and corrective exercise to a “T”. I hope y’all enjoy the read. – Nate Today I’ve got a guest post from Bret Contreras on how he’s used strength to recover… [Read More]
A More Effective Way to Fix Forward Head Posture
Forward head posture is no joke. Besides being unsightly; forward head posture can lead to literally having a pain in your neck, mid, lower, and upper back as well as headaches. It is generally caused from sitting on ipads, laptops, or just reading a book for extended periods of time – hour after hour, day… [Read More]
Why Do You Still Have Back Pain?
This article was originally published on www.ThePTDC.com. It is geared towards personal trainers; however I felt that the information was written in a way that even average Joes and Janes should be able to follow along and learn. I hope you enjoy it! – Nate “Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is… [Read More]
Understanding Chronic Pain
The following article was originally published on www.BrettContreras.com. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did – Nate By: Anoop Balachandran of ExerciseBiology.com Just like many fitness professionals and lay people, I used to believe that pain comes from an injury or damage caused by misaligned joints, weak and tight muscles, ruptured disks,… [Read More]
Mr. Burn’s No More
Yo! Mr. Burns! If that made you look then you came to the right place. Not only are rounded shoulders an unattractive look but they can lead to a host of joint issues ranging from shoulder pain, neck pain, or even mid to lower back pain. If you currently look like Mr. Burns and are… [Read More]
A Smart Man Makes a Mistake and Learns from it – A Wise Man Just asks a Smart Man 1st and avoids the Mistake Altogether
Ok. Let’s address the elephant in the room. Can we do anything about poor posture? Is it possible to fix? If you want to skip the nerd section – short answer is yes. We will start with some facts. “It takes 500 hours to invoke a motor pattern before it becomes unconscious. It takes 25-30… [Read More]
Should You Balance on a Bosu Ball?
2009. I had just become a personal trainer. Weightlifting, running, and all that jazz had had a profound effect on my life. I had crushed Mark Wahlberg’s bicep workout, read a copy of Arnold’s encyclopedia of body building, and of course I went through the 300 workout. Obviously, I knew everything about losing fat and… [Read More]
Is Muscle Confusion a Good Thing?
Chest Day. Back Day. Shoulder Day. Leg Day if I didn’t skip it. Arm and Ab day because I would NEVER skip that! My o my, what a solid plan I was on.
The Truth about Cardio Machines
“Hey Nate, we need your help.” Of course, what’s going on? “We have a member here and his knee is hurting him. Could you talk to him?” No problem, that’s what I do! I approach the member and exchange some small talk at first covering such fascinating topics such as the Saints being awesome… [Read More]
