http://www.sustainable-strength.net/

Sustainable Strength, 2412 River Road, Missoula, MT (2026)

11/01/2021

I am very proud to be a personal trainer; helping to incorporate a healthy coping mechanism and watching each client grow and change, physically and otherwise is incredibly rewarding. That being said, I also understand that in-person training is not for everyone. It can get expensive, coordination and planning can be an issue, and it often doesn’t fit into our lifestyles. Not all of us have the time, the disposable income, (even though I would make the argument that having a trainer can easily save you money), or the right location to have a personal trainer. If you prefer to exercise on your own schedule, have a location where you can exercise, and want to save some money, you might not feel the need to have a personal trainer. And hey, you might not be wrong.

Regardless of your fitness experience or level, you still need to have a plan if you are going to be successful and avoid injury. Incorporation of a solid strategy, the right movements and exercises, and a routine that is sustainable within your own life is what will allow you maintain participation. Fitness is a use it or lose it activity, after all. That’s where my program comes in handy. With a personalized plan for each individual, taking into account equipment available, physical limitations and past injuries, as well as preferred exercises, I can build a workout routine that fits within your life, and allows you to focus on doing the work, and getting results.

The basics of how this program works is straightforward. Instead of using a confusing or sales-based fitness app, I program my workouts into a shared google spreadsheet, accessible on all platforms and programmed to be convenient to use and access on your phone. In the spreadsheet, the workout is mapped out, with a video link and personalized notes for each exercise, how many sets and repetitions to do, and a section where you can put in how much weight or resistance you used during the workout. All that is required of you is to show up, do the workout, record the resistance used, and I will do the rest.

In essence, this program is a simpler, more streamlined and more personal alternative to fitness apps and programs out there as well as being more cost affordable than in-person training, while giving you access to an experienced and qualified professional trainer.

10/07/2021

I want to start this by saying that I have nothing against athletes or sports. What athletes do is impressive and enviable. The issue with emulating the way an athlete trains is relatively simple, however. An athlete will train his or her body to not only be competitive in their sport but also to keep pace with his or her peers who are also vying to for the chance to succeed and prove themselves. Cognizant of that, the athlete will always train to be fit, strong and viable in the short-term, knowing that his or her professional life and career is at stake. For the athlete, the risk is worth the reward, and whatever injuries and physical limitations that arise from their preparation and their occupation will be managed to the best of their abilities. That’s the contract that you agree to when you are an athlete, the responsibility that you shoulder. And honestly, for most athletes, it’s worth it.
There is, however, no sense in training like an athlete if you are no longer in the arena, and don’t plan on stepping foot inside that world again. For nearly all of us, fitness is either a coping mechanism, a vehicle to stay healthy and keep up appearances, or functional strength and movement so we can do the things we want to do, whether that’s outdoor recreation, keeping up with our children, the rigors of our job or just having the energy to be active and healthy. With that in mind, our training should reflect that, and we should be training for the long-term, instead of imitating those who are primarily concerned with their short-term success. Slowing down our progression, building habits and routines that flow within our lives and not getting sucked into extreme and unsustainable exercise and dietary regiments will allow our bodies to be operational for a lifetime, instead of a small window of extreme fitness when we were younger.
You can be strong, fit and healthy without engaging in risky, damaging and destructive exercise routines and movements. That’s what it means to be a non-athlete.

08/09/2021

As covid rears it's had again, I want to reassure everyone that this studio is as safe as it can be. This is a private studio, with only one trainer, (I hear he is great), so the only people that will be sharing your space are the ones that you allow to join you. I am fully vaccinated, as are all of my clients to my knowledge. Covid does not spread rapidly via surfaces, and there is great ventilation in the studio. If you are worried about covid and its new variants, I want to help assuage your fears as best I can. Come workout!

07/20/2021

Just a reminder that health and exercise doesn't always equate to the number on the scale, and that weight loss is better with muscle added. (Come workout).

06/28/2021

Deadlifts have become a foundational exercise in resistance and strength training, due to the popularity of CrossFit, the (often over) emphasis on glute training and a huge push of pseudo-science driven by influencers and “gym bros”, who will tell you that deadlifts are the best strength building exercise of all time. I find it likely that I will get some pushback for this, but I am going to make the argument that most of us should not be deadlifting.
A simple reality of the deadlift is that our anatomy is poorly designed to deadlift, especially repetitively. You always hear that a deadlift is only dangerous when the back is rounded or the form is poor, and besides the fact that no matter how careful you are, you will experience a break in form, the fact is that the wear and tear from perfect deadlifts is just too costly. All deadlifts, even those that are perfectly performed, put pressure on the disks, (often reaching thousand of pounds per square inch) of the lower spine that are too damaging to ignore. Since every repetition of a deadlift places a strain on the lower back multiple times higher than the lifted load, excessive deterioration is inevitable. And if you break form, you run the risk of serious injury.
You can also question whether or not deadlifts are necessary to the fitness goals that you are after. Deadlifts are touted as an exercise that builds back, glute, hamstring, legs and overall strength gain and development. And while, yes, deadlifts can build strength in those areas, the fact is that there are superior and much more sustainable exercises for each of these muscle groups. If you are a powerlifter or CrossFitter and can wrap your head around the inevitable physical consequences, go ahead. If not, it might behoove you to rotate deadlifts out of your routine.
To build your back, incorporate pulldowns, pullups, pullovers and hyperextensions in an assortment of combinations. For glute and hamstring development, incorporate donkey kicks, fire hydrants, lunges and step ups.

In summary, if you have a specific reason to deadlift, go for it. If not, stop. Now.

06/25/2021

To show appreciation for those who are making a difference or hope to make a difference, I offer a 30 percent discount per session rate, good till the end of time, no gimmicks included. Doctors are excluded from this, as I can't wrap my head around giving high earners big discounts. You should still train with me though.

2h

06/16/2021

Everyone knows this exercise, it’s a staple of modern fitness after all. Every time we go to the gym, it is inevitable that we see someone doing a barbell bench press, and while not everyone does them improperly, there are reasons to avoid the exercise altogether.
First and foremost, doing a bench press with a barbell isn’t even a good builder for your chest. The primary function of your pectoral muscles is to move your arms across your chest, which simply does not happen with a fixed bar bench press. Your pectorals never get a complete contraction, and your triceps and anterior deltoids end up taking most of the load during the exercise. This leads me to my next point, that the barbell bench press is destructive towards the tendons, ligaments and cartilage inside the shoulder joint, in particular the rotator cuff and the labrum. Your shoulders were simply not designed to load up that much weight and be the primary driver of a motion like a barbell bench press. Another factor in avoiding a barbell bench press is simply your anatomy. Most of those who lift extremely heavy on the bench press are built similarly, you know the type: shorter arms, barrel chest and no neck. Your anatomy is going to factor into the exercises and lifts that you perform, and the barbell bench press is certainly no exception; the more space between the bar and your chest, the harder it will be to move the weight. This will increase the tension and stress on your shoulder, and just speed up the inevitable shoulder pain and injury.
If you are looking for a good chest builder to replace the barbell bench press, I would advise doing a dumbbell chest press instead. Using dumbbells, you have more control, your chest is activated properly and built more effectively, and since your pectoral muscles are more engaged in the motion, your joints in your shoulders and elbows are spared. Spare your body the stress and switch out the barbell for dumbbells. It will not disappoint.

06/14/2021

The average American lifespan is 77.8 years, which is impressive, considering the average lifespan at the turn of the 20th century was around 50.6 years. We have come a long way, no question, with the rise of modern medicine, advances in farming and agriculture and personal hygiene contributing to our extended longevity. There are flaws in looking at longevity as the benchmark of success as it comes to aging and health however. A better way of approaching health is to prioritize an individuals “healthspan” or the period of one’s life that one is healthy, free from serious diseases and other complications that require medical intervention.

In America, the average Americans HALE, (healthy life expectancy) is 63.1. That is a staggering number, considering the average lifespan is about 15 years higher. That means that we, on average, live up to 20% of our lives unhealthy. That is not a trivial number, and it is something we should improve on. How do we do this? Maintaining a healthy balanced diet with moderate, regular exercise and without smoking and drinking alcohol is the surest way to promote one’s healthspan and limit the onset of most diseases. If getting rid of alcohol in your life isn’t something you are willing to do, you can lower your consumption, if necessary. What we consume, the exercise we engage in, and what we indulge in will directly impact how we age, the quality of life as we age, and our checkbook, considering that the average American spends around eleven thousand dollars a year in health-related spending.

Lets choose health, yea?

05/31/2021

In addition to 1 on 1 personal training, another service that I offer is a personalized exercise prescription plan. This is a good option for those that either have the motivation to exercise on their own, don’t want to worry about scheduling, or desire a more affordable option to traditional training, or all three. The program itself consists of a shared spreadsheet, updated after each workout is completed, presenting the pattern, breaking down each specific exercise with a video link and description of exercise, as well as how many sets and repetitions of each exercise to do. Each program is unique, tailored to the individual client based on injury history, personal goals, access to equipment and preference. This program works very well for those who have access to a gym, or the ability to work out at home with minimal equipment. If you are looking for a sustainable program that will get you to where you want to be and want the expertise and the programming from a professional, but don’t feel like you need the 1 on 1 element, I would highly recommend this program, and it has the track record and testimonials to support it. You will not be disappointed.

05/28/2021

I opened my studio here in Missoula in July 2019, and while I refuse to believe 2020 was a real year, I have been lucky to have some devoted and great clients. Here is a testimonial from a new(ish) client.

I am so grateful to have found sustainable strength! Matthew has been an amazing trainer and I cannot say enough good things about him! Love the workouts and feel challenged at each one. Love the progress I am seeing. My body feels stronger every week and that has been such a great confidence booster! I highly recommend Matt, he’s very flexible with scheduling, the workouts are fun, he’s very knowledgeable and practical. Such a great investment!

Thank you for not giving up on me in the beginning :)
Ladea

05/27/2021

One of the most important and fundamental keys to sustainable strength training habits is to reduce the stress and load put on your knees, lower back and shoulders. If you do not pay attention to that basic rule, the shelf life of your fitness lifestyle will decrease dramatically.
In many bodybuilding and weight-lifting regiments, your shoulders are viewed as a symbol of your physical strength and treated as such, often with disastrous consequences. Don’t get me wrong, having defined and well-muscled shoulders is appealing, but you do not need to sacrifice your long-term performance for aesthetics. If you are exercising your upper body, whether it is a press motion such as a chest press, or a pull motion such as a pulldown or row, or a biceps or triceps isolating movement, your shoulder is involved, stabilizing and loading during that exercise. You literally cannot take your shoulder out of play during any upper body exercise even if you wanted to. The most common injured location in weightlifters is the shoulder, accounting for 36% of injuries reported. Knowing that, let me ask you a simple question: Why would you further isolate this vulnerable ball and socket joint with load bearing and resistance exercises when they are already worked each time you perform an upper body exercise? There are some good restorative and specific movements to strengthen your shoulder, such as rotator cuff and band work, but as a rule, you can build and strengthen your shoulder simply doing the upper body work, (so long as the correct technique, movement and progression is there), that you are already doing. So, ditch the shoulder presses, front raises and upright rows, and save your shoulder the stress. They will thank you; I guarantee it.

Sustainable Strength

11/01/2021

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08/09/2021

07/20/2021

06/28/2021

06/25/2021

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