Stivers Strength

It’s so cold outside you have to open the refrigerator to heat the house…

And our joints do NOT like it!

We need to pay extra special attention to our warmup prior to strength training the colder it is.

A warm joint lubricated by lots of bloodflow and synovial fluid feels better and is safer to begin loading with resistance.

You don’t just want to walk into the gym and start loading up your working weight under normal circumstances much less when it’s cold.

My favorite method to warmup on these super cold days is 5 minutes on your cardio machine of choice, a very brief dynamic warmup consisting of no more than 3 movements (one legs, core and upper body) followed by extra warmup sets of whatever your first exercise is.

For example, just recently, I was doing hack squats and my knees just didn’t feel warm and ready to go. So instead of bailing on the exercise I just simply did multiple sets of the empty machine. After 5 sets of 10-12 reps with no weight my knees felt warm and ready to go and I was able to start adding weight until I got to my planned work sets.

If a joint isn’t painful but it just doesn’t feel quite ready to train hard, try flushing the area with blood and warmth before deciding whether or not to shut it down.

You may be surprised to find that your joints feel great with just a bit more lovin’ before you start loading them down.

If you need help learning how to strength train safely and effectively as you age, reach out and let’s chat.

We have in person coaching at Stivers Strength Gym, online coaching AND in home coaching where we come to you 🤙

People don’t quit because they’re weak or lazy.

They quit because they don’t see progress…

It’s incredibly frustrating to diet and exercise only to not see changes in your body.

And most people simply cant tolerate it and quit.

“Why bother if it’s not even doing anything?” they reason.

They need to SEE and FEEL the changes and progress from their efforts.

This is why tracking both inputs and outputs is essential.

You want to give yourself as many reasons to celebrate and congratulate yourself as possible along your journey.

Tracking bodyweight, bodyfat percentage, muscle mass, how your clothes fit, taking progress pictures, recording progress on your gym exercises, having more energy, better digestion, better mood, etc are all examples of outcome progress.

And it’s incredibly motivating to see changes in these areas.

But if these are the only variables you allow to bring you motivation or satisfaction in your journey, you’re severely limiting yourself.

We also want to track and celebrate our consistency of inputs.

Celebrate simply doing the things required to see the outcomes we want.

Completed a workout? Win
Hit your protein target? Win
Stayed within your calorie budget? Win
Avoided alcohol consumption? Win
In bed by 10pm? Win
Managed a craving? Win

Once you associate positive emotion with both completing the inputs AND seeing the results you’re giving yourself the opportunity to see progress almost constantly.

If you’re struggling with motivation then do your best to string together as many actions as possible to build momentum towards your goals.

Celebrate every single input to create positive emotion for yourself to get you to your first evidence of progress (weight loss, strength etc).

Then let that positive feedback spiral into more action and celebrate the actions.

This process is already hard enough, dont starve yourself of positive emotion by only celebrating results.

If you need help with motivation, accountability and taking action then reach out and let us help you build the lifestyle and mindset required to see lasting change.

DM me if you’re interested 💪

I learned something alarming recently…

And it makes it even more urgent you begin strength training as soon as possible.

You see, starting in your 30s and 40s, the neurons that innervate your fast twitch muscles fibers start to die off.

These fibers are responsible for speed, power and fall prevention.

Nearby slow twitch neurons sprout branches to re-innervate the abandoned fiber which preserves muscle mass but you lose strength and power.

And, what’s alarming is that you cannot regrow dead neurons. You can only strengthen the ones you have left.

Without heavy loading or high velocity training, fast twitch fibers receive no survival signal and continue to atrophy.

This is why “just walking” or endurance training alone will not prevent this.

Strength training sends signals to the motor neuron which prevents this dying off of fast twitch fibers.

Heavy loading slows the rate of loss of strength by about 300% compared to non-lifters.

It is imperative that you begin a regular practice of strength training and build up a reserve of strength and power in case you ever need to make a withdrawal.

Think of this like your body’s 401k.

Your quality of life and independence as you age will largely be determined by your muscle, strength, balance and power.

And while it’s never too late to begin, the earlier you begin the better as prevention seems to be the best treatment in this case.

Don’t wait until the last minute to try to reverse this decline.

Start NOW and hold onto as many fast twitch fibers as you can for as long as you can.

Your quality of life literally depends on it.

If you need help training safely and effectively DM me to take advantage of a completely FREE trial week of coaching at Stivers Strength Gym.

We work with clients in their 40s all the way up to their 80s to build strength, bone density, balance and mobility.

We’d love to help you too 💪

*It’s not too late to take advantage of our Black Friday deal. The only deal we offer on coaching all year long. Contact me before Nov 30th and you’ll be eligible. Once you purchase you can redeem anytime within the next calendar year ;)

Lifting 3lb dumbbells in your living room is NOT going to build muscle and bone density and maintain your independence.

You need to build the capacity to lift heavy weights that make bags of mulch, shoveling snow, and moving your own bodyweight EASY by comparison.

You need to learn to use barbells, dumbbells and machines in the gym that allow you to safely and effectively build bone density, muscle mass and strength.

2-3 times per week you need to carve out the time to go to the gym to squat, hinge, push and pull against heavy weights.

The human body does not build the kind of functional strength that you’re looking for without hard effort.

The good news is that we specialize in meeting you where you’re currently at and finding the appropriate level of challenge for you.

We learn your health and injury history and create a plan specifically for you to safely progress your capabilities and body composition.

We coach you every session to make sure you’re performing exercises safely and effectively so you actually see results.

There’s no reason to fear the activity that will actually create the freedom, confidence and independence you’re after when this much care and attention is devoted to you.

Our mission is to help you build strength, bone density, muscle mass and endurance to live life on your own terms as long as possible.

Whether you’re currently quite frail and don’t have confidence in your movement OR you want to avoid becoming so, we’d love to speak with you.

Right now we’re offering a completely free week of coaching for you to try out the difference Stivers Strength can make in your journey.

DM me to learn more.