What are the opening hours?

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

http://www.stiversstrength.com/

Stivers Strength, 356 Longview Plaza Suite 150A, Lexington, KY (2026)

01/21/2026

When it comes to training I have two general categories of exercises I do.

Exercises that get me stronger.

And exercises that keep me healthy enough to keep doing the exercises that get me stronger.

I love deadlifts. But they also create a lot of fatigue especially when done heavy and/or high volume.

So, I typically perform 2-3 sets of deadlifts or some variation and then accumulate the rest of my spinal erector, glute and hamstring training using accessory work that’s less fatiguing.

For the spinal erectors especially I want to make sure I’m isolating them specifically using a back extension machine like you see here or a Jefferson curl or 45 degree back raise.

A lot of people lack spinal erector strength and even though they perform deadlifts this area is neglected and lags behind.

This was me for years.

Now that I’ve been incorporating direct low back (spinal erector) work I feel so much more resilient to low back fatigue.

I’ve done Jefferson curls with 275lbs and I can max out the back extension machine for sets of 30+ (if anyone wants to donate Matt Wennings $5000 standing good morning machine to my gym I’ll be your best friend) and my traditional deadlifts are finally starting to move again AND don’t beat me up like they used to.

I like to keep my ribs down throughout the exercise and not extend my spine at the end of the movement. Same with Jefferson curls, I’ll round over as much as possible but maintain ribs down at the top of the lift. I’ve just found this feels better on my back.

As with any new exercise, start light and work up slowly over time as you see how you respond to the exercise. Put these at the end of the session as once you have a massive low back pump the workout is basically over 🤣 IYKYK

Questions about balancing strength and health or individual program design? hit me up. I love to talk training.

01/20/2026

I’ll turn 40 early this year. The second half of life will begin. Middle age.

I feel good. My wife and I have a great relationship. I spend a ton of time with my girls. And I’m more certain of my purpose and direction in life.

I’ve spent the last several years focusing on bodybuilding and just being healthy and balanced in my training.

It’s worked well. My body feels great and I feel strong and durable.

Lately, the siren song of the barbell has been calling to me once more.

With my 40s approaching I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with my time. What I want to accomplish. What I don’t want to leave undone.

And one thing that has answered has been the thought that I still have more potential in me.

That my best lifts might not be behind me but lay ahead.

So, I find myself taking my training even more seriously as I begin to chase some numbers that I’d like to hit before my strongest days are behind me.

Or to at least know that I gave it absolutely everything I had in the attempt.

Follow along with me as I share my journey of balancing strength and health as I pursue these big white whale goals I have.

You’ll find a blend of the things that make you stronger along with the things that make you healthy enough to engage in the heavy training.

Men in their 30s, 40s and 50s will gain a lot of valuable insight into how to balance staying healthy and strong as they age.

This is just my path. You’re welcome to walk along with me for as long as you’d like. It’d be an honor for you to join me. 👊

12/17/2025

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 🤙

12/16/2025

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 💪

11/29/2025

Lifting through a full range of motion with a lighter weight is superior to lifting through a partial range of motion with a heavier weight in almost every instance.

There’s inherently less risk due to the lighter weight involved.

You’re strengthening the entire range of motion vs only part of it.

You get a loaded stretch on the muscles involved which research has shown to be just as, if not more, effective as static stretching for increasing mobility/flexibility.

You’re placing less strain on tendons and ligaments which take longer to adapt than muscle tissue.

Basically you want to lift through the greatest range of motion you can control AND you don’t feel pain with.

The only cases where we purposefully choose to limit range of motion are:

•when a person simply isnt strong enough yet to use full range. We start a lot of clients out with box squats to the depth they can currently control and then work the height down over time.

•when a certain range of the lift is slightly uncomfortable but the rest of the range feels fine. Sometimes it doesnt feel good initially for someone to lock their knees out fully on a hack squat OR it doesnt feel good to extend the elbow all the way on a bicep curl. Oftentimes this improves with warmth and joint lubrication due to movement in the workout and over time. If simply lowering the weight doesn’t provide relief here then you can try limiting range of motion.

•if youre a lifter trying to work on a weak spot on a competitive lift like a squat or bench press then partial range of motion can make sense as supplemental work to your main lift. This isnt applicable to almost all general population clients but if someone has been training a long time things like rack pulls, pin presses, and pin squats at various heights can be fun and provide somee novelty and variety in training.

Sure, if you limit the range of motion you’ll be able to lift more weight but unless you have a valid reason for doing so this is more often than not just ego lifting.

Lower the weight on the bar, control the entire range of motion you’re moving through and get the most muscle and neural adaptation you can from an exercise.

11/28/2025

I’m incredibly grateful for the team we have at Stivers Strength Gym.

You couldn’t ask for better people to partner with you on your life’s dream.

I told my high school guidance counselor that I wanted to workout for a living.

She told me I should probably be more realistic…🤣

Opening a gym, lifting all the time, and helping other people learn this practice that has brought so much to my life were my only aspirations.

I never would’ve imagined what this could all turn into.

I have a passion for training and passing it on to others. I truly think everyone’s life would be better if they lifted weights.

But, I was only able to take things so far by myself.

I believe these two incredible individuals were sent to make a good thing truly great.

Our mission is so much bigger than my potential but it is a pure and good one.

Kaitlin has been the leader and manager I never knew we needed. (What? Ya’ll don’t just fly by the seat of your pants?)

She has organized the chaos and set the standard for attention to detail, client care and follow through.

She takes initiative, takes great pride in her work and just genuinely cares about people and their health and well being.

I hope my daughters grow up to have such a good head on their shoulders as Kaitlin.

Zach impressed me from the beginning when despite having a broken leg in a cast he hobbled around the gym and still loaded plates and helped out.

He didnt complain or ask for anything. I knew everything I needed to know about his work ethic right then and there.

He’s genuinely interested in other people and got to know our members right away.

He just actually cares about other people and thats just so damn refreshing to see.

Without these two I’d just be some guy lifting weights, practicing armchair philosophy and helping a few people here and there.

But with this team, we’re going to change hundreds and hundreds of lives, build an amazing gym community, give back to local charity, provide a good income in an industry notorious for huge turnover, and help people age with strength and dignity for years to come.

Kaitlin, Zach, Thank you, truly 🤝

11/27/2025

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 ;)

11/26/2025

I’m at a public gym lifting right now and what I’m seeing is dumbfounding…

Everyone over the age of 60 spends more time wiping the machines down than actually training.

They move from one machine to the next like they’re just haphazardly crossing off a to-do list.

They’ll do one maybe two sets of a weight that is far too easy and then move on to the next machine like they somehow accomplished something.

It saddens me honestly.

Because while they ARE at the gym this sort of training is NOT going to build muscle and bone density.

This is not the type of training that improve your quality of life, dignity and independence as you age.

You have to (safely) challenge yourself in the gym and strive to lift heavier and heavier over time and take your sets closer to failure (2-3 reps away).

No wonder most people are frustrated with their lack of results from going to the gym.

They just simply don’t know.

This is why Stivers Strength Gym exists.

We ensure that you are safely challenging yourself enough to see bone, muscle and strength increases while avoiding injury.

If you currently go to the gym but aren’t seeing the results you’d like OR you simply don’t know where to start, we’d love to help you out.

We offer a FREE trial week of training for you to test drive working with us to see if it’s a good fit for you.

If you contact me before the end of November you’ll still be eligible for our Black Friday deal which is the ONLY deal we offer on coaching all year long.

DM me if you’re interested 💪

11/11/2025

Can you get up and down off the floor unassisted?

As you age, the ability to get up and down from the floor unassisted is a crucial indicator of overall independence and health.

This ability is linked to a lower risk of falls and a greater likelihood of living a longer, more independent life.

A lot of the videos online demonstrate a method that many people I’ve coached simply do not feel comfortable or confident with.

This is the method I teach that even clients in their 80s have been able perform.

Give it a try and see how it works for you.

If you’re not comfortable trying it on your own schedule a FREE session with us to teach you exactly how to perform it and spot you doing so.

Don’t forget our Black Friday deal on coaching is available all month long.

For every 3 months of coaching you invest in you get a month completely free.

DM me Black Friday for more info.

10/17/2025

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.

10/16/2025

“Before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that other men stop seeing you as dangerous…” -Act of Valor

Men want to age with dignity.

We want to be able to carry our own weight and shoulder the responsibility of others in our care.

We don’t want to have to be cared for by someone else.

Time and age are coming for us all.

But you dont have to just lay down and let it.

You can fight to the last for the strength and freedom to live life on your own terms as long as you can.

To squeeze as much juice out of this gift of life we’ve been given.

Lifting, hiking, swimming, running, martial arts; Pursue challenges and push yourself until the end.

You can rest easy when you’re in the ground.

Right now, there’s work to be done and you’re in the game whether you like it or not.

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” -Dylan Thomas
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Right now we’re offering a free week of training at Stivers Strength Gym for you to experience how we safely and effectively build strength, muscle, bone density and longevity.

DM me to learn more 💪

10/08/2025

I just had a business owner contact me to sign up for coaching.

When I asked him what made him reach out he said it dawned on him that he had a business coach to help him with his business and it only made sense to hire a fitness coach to help him with his fitness.

So many people fail to realize how much a coach can accelerate your progress, save you time, energy, frustration and help you unlock your potential.

We don’t become who we’re capable of in isolation.

Mentors, coaches, friends (hopefully) bring out the best in one another.

A good coach can look at your situation and quickly identify the big rocks to address to get you the biggest return on your time and investment.

Athletes at the top of their game have coaches.

Business owners doing millions in revenue have mentors and guides.

You could spin your wheels going it alone and try to sift through a mountain of conflicting nutritional information on the internet…

Or…

You can hire a coach to help you reach your goals in significantly less time and less frustration.

If you’re tired of not making the progress you want to make or you don’t know where to start, reach out and let’s talk.

My FREE 7 day challenge is a great way to get started at absolutely no risk to you.

DM me, let’s chat 💪

Stivers Strength

01/21/2026

01/20/2026

12/17/2025

12/16/2025

11/29/2025

11/28/2025

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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