Strength is for Everyone

Stivers Strength is a private training facility in Lexington, Kentucky dedicated to empowering its members to achieve their goals and improve themselves both physically and mentally. We create strong, lean, healthy bodies and have fun while doing it.  Because it’s easy to become lost in a crowd, we are here to offer you small group and online coaching, as well as one-on-one personal training.  Come join our family today! 

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Our Mission

Our mission is to provide an environment of authenticity, hard work and fun, where individuals can reap the benefits of strength training. We create this environment with high caliber, individualized coaching that creates strong, lean and capable bodies.

Our Vision

Our vision is to create a community of people living bold, healthy, and fulfilling lives. We believe strength training and the lessons it teaches are invaluable in creating a strong and capable person. And we believe strong, capable people change the world.

Simple. Hard. Effective. Fun.

Small Group Coaching Schedule

Monday: 9am-1pm | 4pm-7:30pm
Tuesday:9am-1pm | 4pm-7:30pm
Wednesday: 9am-1pm | 4pm-7:30pm
Thursday:9am-1pm | 4pm-7:30pm
Friday:9am-1pm | 4pm-7:30pm
Saturday: 9am-12pm

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All Gains, No Pain. A lot of people suffer from low back pain from time to time which can make deadlift variations uncomfortable to perform. Enter, the single leg RDL. This is a great exercise to groove the hinging pattern and train the same muscles as the regular deadlift without putting nearly the amount of strain on the lower back. You can use dumbbell(s), kettlebell(s), a trap bar, or a Landmine attachment for loading but even just bodyweight is great for warming up the hip joint and glutes/hams before heavier loading. Try to put as much of your weight on the stance leg and just use your other leg as a kickstand for balance. Keep abs braced while you inhale on the way down and exhale as you come up. You’ll get lots of glute and hamstring out of this exercise while not putting undue fatigue on the lower back which means all the gains and none of the pain 👌 DM me if you want to become proficient at all 8 of our foundational patterns to keep yourself strong and healthy for the long haul!
Trying to figure out which diet to choose to lose weight can be incredibly frustrating. ⁠ ⁠ There’s just so many damn options and they all claim to work! ⁠ ⁠ Intermittent fasting, paleo, carnivore, whole 30, warrior diet, atkins, weight watchers, low carb, no carb, low fat, eating raw bull testicles because that one guy said it was PRIMAL bro! ⁠ ⁠ Literally WTF 🤦‍♂️⁠ ⁠ Here’s the real truth. ⁠ ⁠ All diets work for weight loss provided they create a caloric deficit. ⁠ ⁠ What the hell is a caloric deficit? Simply eating fewer calories than you burn in a given day. ⁠ ⁠ That’s why all these diets can claim to work and technically not lie about it. ⁠ ⁠ When you work with us either online or in-person we demystify all these diets and help you focus on the big picture. ⁠ ⁠ Slight caloric deficit, 0.8-1 gram protein per pound bodyweight and consistency consistency consistency. ⁠ ⁠ The real things that should determine your choices for what you eat are what foods allow you to satisfy the calorie and protein requirements AND you digest well. ⁠ ⁠ Let us walk with you through this journey and teach you how to eat and never to fall for the bullshit again. ⁠ ⁠ Your time and mental peace are too valuable to waste on confusion. ⁠ ⁠ DM to get clarity on all things fitness and nutrition! ⁠ ⁠ #nutrition #howtoeat #whatsfordinner #doyouevenlift #BARBELLTRAINING #momswholift⁠ #active #fitspo #healthyrecipes #healthyrecipe #mentalhealth #recovery #strength #cleaneating #healthyeating #healthysnack #health #healthyliving #healthandwellness #muscle #fitness
What an amazing night full of wine, friends and awesome information, this is gonna be the first of many ladies events at Stivers Strength and we are so excited that we got to kick it off with such amazing women. Special thanks to @sarahmartindptphd for bringing a wealth of knowledge on the issues women face getting back into the gym, and @vineandbranchlex for the wine tasting! Let’s do this again so soon!! #winenight #winetasting #winelover #gymmotivation #fitnessmotivation #pelvicfloor #pelvicpain #pelvicfloorphysicaltherapy #ladiesnightout #momsnightout #sahmlife #workingonmyfitness #selfcaretips #gymprogress #barbellsforboobs #barbellworkout
Nathan Stivers: Pantry Raider It’s late. The kids are asleep and your spouse is upstairs watching a show. You’ve eaten well all day. You deserve this. No one will know 😈 Time for a pantry raid! You tell yourself you’ll just have one and then sixteen delicious little debra’s later you’re brushing your teeth and avoiding eye contact in the mirror. The strive, reward, shame cycle is well in place. Why can’t you control yourself? Most of us overestimate our own willpower. We all get tired and stressed and fall to our base level habits we’ve created. The trick is to uplevel the habits you fall back to over time. If your base level habits slowly become more conducive to your goal than your current habits then you are well on your way! In the meantime, you have to create an environment in which you don’t NEED as much willpower. There are some foods you just simply can’t keep in the house. Chips, cookies, fig bars whatever your kryptonite is. And don’t be using the excuse “well those are for the kids.” Why are you giving your kids something to eat that is sabotaging your health and derailing your efforts. If you’re trying to lose weight and haven’t built up your self control you don’t need to be constantly tested every day. Get that shit out of the house! Up your protein to increase satiety throughout the day, increase fluid intake to make sure you’re hydrated and create an environment you can succeed in! DM me next time you’re about to raid the pantry and I’ll be over with a steak!
The Most Important Dietary Habit You can’t quite make it up the stairs as easily as you used to. Simply standing up from your chair feels challenging these days. What the hell happened to you? Nature and time have taken their course and the muscle you once had is diminishing by the year. I guess it’s time to hang it up and play sodoku and watch shitty TV until you die. NO! I’m pretty sure you can get your ass kicked for saying something like that around here. ‘Round here we want to travel and move and work and enjoy our time on this earth! What you need in your life is a little protein and iron! And by a little I mean a lot! Protein is the building block of muscle tissue and muscles are what you need if you want to live a long and vibrant life. And our old asses don’t digest protein as well as when we were younger so we need to eat even more of it as we age. Aim for 0.8-1.0 gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight and hit the gym 2-4 times per week to tap into this fountain of youth. Research shows that you can reverse muscle loss and build strength at ANY age. In no time you’ll be taking those stairs two at a time and you won’t think twice about bending over to hoist the grandkids into your lap. DM me to take your life back
Just Do ONE exercise. You’re tired. It’s been one hell of a day and all you wanna do is drive home and pour yourself a glass of red. But you promised yourself this year would be different. Wine for social occasions and not for stress relief you told yourself. The gym is on your way home but you’re thinking of going the long way just so you don’t have to pass it. I’ll tell you a secret. A trick I’ve used on myself for years when I find myself in this mood. Just do one exercise. That’s it. Walk in. Pick your favorite exercise or one from your workout and just do that one thing. Nothing else. Give yourself permission to go home after you perform this exercise. And mean it. Sometimes, I’ll walk in to the gym, deadlift a big top set and leave. Other days, I’ll hit 3-4 sets of Tricep extensions and walk out. But most of the time, I feel so damn good after that first exercise that it snowballs into a whole workout. And by the time I leave the gym I feel fkin amazing. Remove the mental hurdles you’ve placed in front of your success. You have my permission to show up, hit one exercise and go home. And I will high five you on the way out because you did the damn thing when you didn’t want to. And I respect the hell out of that. DM me for more help on how to make this lifting thing part of your lifestyle for the long haul.
Group training is by definition inappropriate for the individual. And I don’t care how much you say you individualize it. It ain’t freaking happening. It’s impossible to individualize workouts for a group of 20-30 people without having a conversion and getting medical & training history on every person in that room. Everyone has a threshold of volume they can tolerate. A minimum effective dose and maximum recoverable volume. It takes time to figure out these doses and they change over time with training. Does a doctor prescribe the same dose of meds to every patient they see? Hell no. You also have to account for past injuries and joint limitations. Not everyone has access to full joint range of motion. Asking them to perform an overhead press, for example, when they lack the requisite humeral flexion is negligent at best. At Stivers Strength, we gather full medical history, injury history and assess joint range of motion for each individual when they sign up. Then, we begin with a conservative amount of lifting and assess the persons soreness and recovery. The best coaching is reactive and we adjust the training stimulus week to week to account for the persons ability to recover and make progress. If you want to lose fat and build muscle without jacking yourself up in the process, an individualized plan is the way to do so. DM me to have us build one for you. #liftothersup #liftheavy #lifestylelifting #stiversstrength #liftingover40 #fitnessoverfifty #fitnessover60 #fitnessover40 #silversneakers #fitnessgoals #fitnessmotivation #weightlosstransformation #ltkunder50 #findwhatfeelsgood #findwhatmovesyou
Once lifting weights becomes a regular practice in your life that’s as engrained as brushing your teeth, you won’t need motivation or willpower. Until then, accountability, motivation, willpower, fun etc all have their place in developing your habitual physical practice. Use whatever means necessary to build as much consistency as possible and over time it will simply become part of who you are.
Play the Long Game The realization that the weight loss is going to take longer than you thought is setting in. What started out as a new and exciting process now feels a whole lot like work. You’ve seen the before and after pics so you know it’s possible but they made it seem so easy, so effortless. Why does have to be this way? You’re human. You want results now. We’re wired to seek instant gratification. It takes a mature mindset to override this short term focus and start playing the long game. The interesting paradox here is that the best way to do this is by focusing on the daily habits that will get you to your goal. Yes you want to keep the overall goal in mind but you want to be ruthless with your execution of your daily habits responsible for reaching that goal. Head in the clouds, feet firmly rooted in the dirt. This is going to take work. This is going to be hard. But you are capable. You have it within you to accomplish the task at hand. So pick your head up, fix your eyes on the horizon, put one foot in front of the other and own the day. DM me to make a plan for which habits to tackle first. #habit #habitossaludables #habitos #changeyourhabits #changeyourmindset #changeyourthoughts #changeyourhabitschangeyourlife #startsomewhere #hardworkout #hardworkpays #hardworkpaysoff💪 #healthylifestyle #sahmlife #onlinetraining #onlinetrainer
Please welcome John Norman to the Stivers Strength coaching staff! Ive known John for several years now and I continue to be impressed by how he has carved himself into a fighter, a lifter and now a coach. He truly embraces his role in service to others and we’re proud to have him on staff. Welcome, Brother. John is a NASM accredited personal trainer and nutrition coach specializing in strength and conditioning and group fitness. He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.S in Health Promotion in 2019 and has worked with a wide range of clients ranging from MMA fighters to busy parents. John’s mission in fitness is to educate and empower others to build stronger, healthier bodies that will allow them to live this life to the fullest. #welcometothejungle #welcometothefamily #stiversstrength #heyimnewhere👋 #imnewhere #barbell #barbellworkout #barbellclub #personaltrainer #trainerslife #trainers_gym_ #trainforlife #onlineboutique #onlinecoaching #onlinecoach
The Hips Don’t Lie Hinging at the hips while keeping the knee stable is a foundational movement we teach everyone who works with us. A lot of folks are afraid of bending over and hurting their backs but avoiding this movement is the wrong solution. You want to build up tolerance and competence with this pattern to improve your strength and resilience. Over time you can go heavier but initially developing coordination with just bodyweight or very light dumbbells is a great start. Make sure to keep your core braced, back flat, chest out slightly and push this hips back as far as you can with soft knees. If you have some reservations about beginning a routine because you aren’t sure if you’re performing exercises properly then let us coach you into being a master of your movement. DM me to take all the guesswork out of exercise and nutrition.
Strength Training is the Fountain of Youth Betzy is an absolute delight to have training with us at the gym. She’s a great example of what 75 years old can look like if you prioritize strength training. I mean look at those back muscles! 🤯 Staying functional and independent for as long as possible isn’t her only goal but it’s the final goal. To march into your later years with as much strength and vitality as you can is the goal that’ll be with you long after you’ve lifted your heaviest weights and posted your best run times. This is one of the best parts of my job. To help people like Betzy stay strong and healthy for the long haul so they can experience the highest quality of this gift we call life. Betzy didn’t start training until her mid 60s. It’s never too late for you. Message me today to schedule your complimentary consultation
My 3 Favorite Glute Building Exercises For thousands of years, strong, well developed glutes have made the world go round. Not only are these muscles visually pleasing but they also help support the lower back and make for a more resilient human. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to develop some fine assets. Perform these exercises as part of a total body program or place them all together on a lower body focused session. 🍑Glute Bridges 2-4 sets of 15-20 reps 🍑FFE Split Squats 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps 🍑DB RDLs 2-4 sets of 8-12 reps DM me if you want us to develop a smart, sustainable plan to build a stronger, leaner more capable you.
"[I] have loved the things I've learned and how I am continuing to build strength and confidence in my strength training journey. the family-like community has been a huge blessing to our entire immediate family-- highly recommend Stivers Strength for EVERYONE!⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #trimthewaistline⁠ #strengthdesign⁠ #fatlossworkouts⁠ #quickworkoutsathome⁠ #gymadvices⁠ #circuitworkouts⁠ #workoutroutinesforyou⁠ #strengthtrainingathome⁠ #strengthtrainingforfatloss⁠ #fatburningworkouts⁠ #workoutprogramming⁠ #fitnessroutineoftheday⁠ #trainingprogrammes⁠ #exercisetipsoftheday⁠ #bellyfatworkout⁠ #weightlossroutine⁠ #gymplans⁠
Navigating a Busy Schedule & Prioritizing Yourself You know you need to be exercising but the thought of adding yet another thing to your schedule just seems impossible. Between work obligations, kids activities, running a household all while trying to have a life you’re already stretched to the max. Its easy to think you don’t have time to exercise. But I’d like to push back here. People generally make time for what’s important to them. Why don’t you feel like you’re important? Are you not important enough to set aside some time for a couple sessions of lifting and a bit of walking each week? Do your loved ones not need you at your best? If you want to become stronger and healthier you must set aside the time to do so. And in order to do that you must place exercise high on your list of priorities. To me, lifting weights is just as important as a meeting with a prospective client or a doctors visit. I will block off time for those things and nothing else will get in the way. It doesn’t have to be a full hour either. We have plenty of plans that make use of 30 minute segments of training. That is the beauty of working with a coach. We can identify the big rocks to focus on and create a plan that works around your busy schedule. With our hybrid and online coaching we can set you up with training at our gym, at a public gym and/or at your home for maximum convenience. Once we sit down and create a plan specifically for you, you’ll have confidence in knowing that the time you do set aside will be put to the best use and will get you to your goals. Because your time and energy are valuable and you are important. DM me to start prioritizing yourself
You’ve been going to the gym for a while but you just haven’t seen much progress lately. At first you may have noticed some changes but that was short lived and now you’re starting to get frustrated. It’s understandable. Who wants all their hard work to produce no meaningful benefit? You’ve probably unknowingly fallen into the trap that so many find themselves in. Going through the motions. Doing the same weight for the same number of reps for the same number of sets for weeks and weeks and possibly months. Sometimes people get stuck here for years 🤦‍♂️ No thank you. In order to make progress in the gym and with your body composition you MUST be utilizing progressive overload. Put simply, you must ask your body to do more over time. More weight, more reps, more sets or a mixture of all three. With the Stivers Strength Method, progressive overload is built into the system to ensure you’re both making progress and recovering properly to maximize gains and minimize risk. After training with us you’re going to have a calm confidence that you are doing exactly what it takes to make progress. You’ll know exactly when to ask for more weight or when to stick at the same weight and hit more reps instead. DM me today to get out of fitness purgatory and start building a strong, resilient body for the long haul. #stiversstrength #livelongandprosper #lifestyle #fitnesslifestyle #strengthforeveryone #liftingover40 #liftingover50 #barbellworkout #barbelltraining #barbellworkout #withbarbellson #gymmotivation #womenwholift #fitnessfun #barbellclub
Consistency is King It is imperative that you do everything in your power to be as consistent as possible in your training when you are a beginner and are first establishing the habit of training. In order for this to stick you have to psychologically view yourself as a person who lifts weights. You must become a life long lifter. But, at first, you’re not. And your mind knows this. You have to show your mind who you are by your actions and slowly over time you will begin to identify as a regular exerciser. And what do people who regularly exercise do? They exercise on a regular basis no matter the situation. Travel presents a tricky situation for a lot of folks as equipment is limited or nonexistent. With the Stivers Strength Method you’ll learn all 8 foundation movement patterns to build a solid workout for yourself no matter the situation you find yourself in! Here’s a sample dumbbell only push/pull day you can perform next time you’re out of town! •Single Arm DB Row 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps •Single Arm DB Floor Press 2-4 sets of 8-15 •Chest Supported DB Row 2-4 sets of 12-20 •DB Floor Press 2-4 sets of 12-20 Let us know in the comments what the biggest obstacle to your consistency is! #consistencyiskey #consistency #hotelworkout #gymmotivation #dumbellworkout #dumbellworkouts #fitnessmotivation #gymprogram #progressnotperfection
They are watching you. You are their world. These little beings of infinite potential. What will they learn as they observe and experience the world you create for them? It’s often said that we become who we are because of or despite our parents. Well I want my daughters to become the women they will be because of their mother and I, not despite us. I want to model for them how to live, what to value, how to treat people and how to take care of yourself. I want to teach them of the world in which they will find many beautiful and terrible things. But to not be afraid. And not to let it harden them. This is the strength that I want to give them. The strength to say NO The strength to say YES And the heart to know the time for both. Life is hard. You will need to be strong. Your body and mind must be honed to the task. Do not let your demons visit upon your children. Get your physical and mental health in order so you can model for them a life of joy and warmth and promise. Take up your burdens with a glad heart, hoist your children upon your shoulders and let them gaze upon the future with hope. #girldad #girldads #fatloss #masculine #masculinity #strongdad #father #musclebuildingtips #musclebuilding #strengthtrainingforfatloss #strengthtraininglifestyle #strengthtraining #twinstagram #fyp #viral
You’ve heard for years that you need to be lifting weights if you want to take care of your body well. ⁠ ⁠ The bone density, body composition and confidence building effects are undeniable. ⁠ ⁠ But you’ve never set foot in a gym and frankly it looks incredibly intimidating. ⁠ ⁠ Where should you even begin? ⁠ ⁠ The path to confidence is to build competence at something. ⁠ ⁠ Anyone who now trains regularly stepped foot into a gym for the first time. ⁠ ⁠ And I guarantee there was a certain amount of fear and trepidation at being in a new environment and also not knowing what the hell you were doing. ⁠ ⁠ At Stivers Strength, we teach you exactly how to perform every movement in your program to both maximize results and minimize risk of injury. ⁠ ⁠ After training with us you’re going to feel like you belong in the gym and you weren’t sure what you were ever worried about to begin with. ⁠ ⁠ You’ll be able to navigate any gym you might find yourself in and you’ll be able confidently ask that scary looking gym veteran ⁠ ⁠ “You mind if I work in?” ⁠ ⁠ DM me to set up your comprehensive introductory month. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #gains #fitlife #active #fitnessaddict #strength #fitnessover50 #fitforlife #fitfam #StiversStrengthFam #gymmotivation #doyouevenlift #fitnessmotivation #fitnessover60
#GoogleReview alert! We love how our clients excel to be a better version of themselves!⁠ ⁠ Nathan and his staff have the dedication, knowledge, and experience to help you achieve your goals. They helped teach me how to lift heavy with proper form, adjust the intensity of my workouts to maximize my results over the long run, and work through pain to stay on track without making my injuries worse. I would recommend Stivers Strength to anybody who is ready to better themselves and their lives through strength training.⁠ ⁠ -Ville Tiitto, Stivers Strength Client⁠ ⁠ #realreview #customerreview #happycustomer #reviews #testimonial #strong #customerfeedback #fitnesslifestyle #gym #gymlife #fitnessmotivation #fitnessaddict #fitnessgoals

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