When I first starting working with Kevin Nathan at 24
Hour Fitness in 2010 I thought he was a good trainer. We met my goals and that
is all you can ask from your trainer.
But then, everything changed.
.JPG) |
| Kevin Nathan and me after a tough training session. |
Kevin moved over to
Bodies by Amorim (with Travis Amorim) and I was coming off a few surgeries, not
having full mobility of my left arm, and both arms were very weak. I had done
some physical therapy to gain more mobility, but wasn’t nearly ready for my next
surgery. We had a month to get strong and were limited to training twice a
week. So, we had 8 to 10 actual training sessions to move the needle. Any
improvement from where I was would be a small win.
However, we were both unprepared for what happened next.
I actually got so strong that my recovery was much easier. And, when I got back
into the gym after a few months, it didn’t take as long to ramp up.
We didn’t achieve a small win; we achieved a big
win. One that has stayed with me the past year-and-half and motivated me to
accomplish even more.
And a win that made me recognize that Kevin isn’t just
another good trainer. Kevin is an extraordinary trainer. He has helped me get
back to normal and take these big and small wins to propel me even further.
I sat down recently with Kevin and he shared his
perspective on training.
PJ:
How did you get started as a trainer?
Kevin: For years my only goal was making it to the
NHL. When I was growing up in California it was nearly impossible for a kid from
here to make it to the NHL. So, reality was that maybe I won’t make it, but I
can make it to the league in another way…take another path.
My mom has worked at Palmer College of Chiropractic for
30 plus years. I never wanted to be a chiropractor, but being around them, I
thought this wasn’t a bad path. I saw the application. One of the guys (at
Palmer) was active in sports, had seen injuries, remembers the process with his
injury, and decided to pay it forward and help someone else. My situation was
similar. I thought maybe I could help someone else, another athlete. Then it
all clicked when I saw one of my best friends, Craig, working at 24 Hour
Fitness. I saw all the things I could do….I could have fun doing this…I could
see my path.
PJ: So for you it always comes back to hockey.
Kevin: Yes. Hockey is a huge part of my life. I can’t
remember it not being part of my life. When I learned how to walk my dad had me
on skates. The bond I have with my dad is from hockey. No matter what happened
during the day or if I was in trouble, if hockey was on, we dropped everything.
Hockey taught me leadership, how to have balance in my life, responsibilities,
etc. This passion for hockey translates to the gym. I can do something and
truly be happy.
I want to be part of keeping hockey in California. I
want to develop a training center for kids to get better on and off the ice. I
don’t want these kids to be at a disadvantage because they can’t just water the
parking lot and play.
PJ: Let’s talk about how you’ve helped your clients
come back from setbacks. Tell me about working with your client who had the
stroke.
Kevin: For me it was something different than I had
experienced in my 10 year career. He crashed his car and at the same time blacked
out. He tried to get out of the car but couldn’t move his left side. The funny
part was that the first thing he said to his wife when he woke up in the
hospital was…you have to get a hold of
Kevin and tell him I cannot make the session.
He’s 6-2 or 6-3 and when we first started working
together, before the stroke, he couldn’t do sit ups on the ball…his knees would
hurt. When he came back after the stroke he was a changed person…his
priorities. His reality was…I am lucky to
be here. The most important thing was to go back to the basics. To
understand what his body was allowing him to do. First, it was, how do we get
him through the day—get out of bed in the morning, go to work. How do we get
him to have a normal life? Weight loss was not a part of it.
Trust was a big thing. Anything I told him to do was in
his best interest and he knew that…that I would be there if his arm couldn’t do
something. He wasn’t big into lifting heavy, but as a male there are certain
expectations. He was under that level and he wanted to at least get to this
level. Now he is back to normal, which is great. For me, my success is when my
clients can do what they want to do. It’s about how good they feel inside
accomplishing certain tasks. His measuring stick was going to the Dish to walk.
He is able to do this now, and that is a big thing. You could see this brought
him joy. This was one of my biggest journeys.
PJ: How did you help JJ Ambrose, a professional
athlete, come back from an injury?
Kevin: The opposite spectrum is JJ. He is ready to go
and sometimes I have to pull back the reigns. If I would to tell him to eat glass,
he would, because he trusts me. When someone that motivated needs to pull back
it’s hard to explain to an athlete you
can’t do this. I try to create a program to go around it or word things
differently. When he can’t do certain motions and he wants to, it’s about how
do you trick him into not doing it. I need to distract him so he doesn’t get
hurt more.
PJ: What was your plan when I came to you after my
surgery?
Kevin: You trusted me and that was key. As I said
before, it doesn’t work without trust. I knew that you would do what I asked
and you knew that I wouldn’t injure you. It might hurt a little, but those were
the steps you needed to take. I trust you to know when you say it hurts you are
not trying to get out of doing it.
We were looking to wake up your muscles. After looking
at your limitations, I did a backwards program. The idea was to start and
progress forward. Progression is the key. With surgery you were limited to
certain movements and some muscles were helping others to recover. The
supporting muscles needed to be strengthened. So I thought about what we could
to do work on those supporting muscles. Then, we could work on the progression
from that point.
PJ: What was your plan to strengthen my arms prior to
surgery?
Kevin: I looked at your limitation and time was a big
factor. We only had a month to work. So I decided that what was best was to do
function with resistance moves with bands and balls and adding weight…to do
every day movement. We surprised ourselves. When you came back from surgery it
was huge! You had exercised enough where your body had strength and your
muscles had started to activate again. We couldn’t have done it without the
resistance bands. It worked wonders in one month. Your recovery was better. So
when you came back your muscles woke up, you didn’t have to start from scratch.
Function and daily movements are big.
PJ: Helping your clients come back from injuries,
surgery, and a stroke, is a relatively new thing for you. How do you like this
aspect of training?
Kevin: Physical therapy is a great field. What I like
about it is that my mind is active, it’s exciting. How do I make it fun for you
and me? At the end of the day, how do I make you come back? It’s about doing a
lot of functional moves with balls and bands. It’s intricate. To the outside
person it just looks like throwing a ball. But to me, it relates to every day
functional things. Can you reach up into the cabinet to get a glass with no
pain and not reinjure yourself? That’s the everyday side of it.
* * *
Check out Kevin on Twitter @meshKappaDoobie
Contact Kevin at meshkappa@gmail.com
