Stephen Hall- I Died, I Revived, I Thrive

Hey I’m Steve and I am heavily interested in exercise, nutrition and everything that goes with it. I love science, it provides the backbone for us to grow and develop from. I use science in combination with my own experiences, to give everyone the best chance of success.

Sporting background: football (at a fairly high level), rowing, running and now a Natural Bodybuilder with my first competition next year.

Education: BA 2:1 (Hons) Nottingham University Graduate, CYQ Level 2 Gym Instructor, CYQ Level 3 Personal Trainer, Precision Nutrition Level 1.

The below is how my interest in health and fitness spawned into a passion.

I Died

I went to University and studied Geography with Business and during my second year I was on a run, and I was on track for a new personal best. I came to some traffic lights,  that were flashing amber and not wanting to slow up I went for it, next I knew, I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital. I suffered a major blow to the head which seriously damaged my hormone function. It took the next two years for my body to recover. Here I learnt how fragile and adaptive the human body really is. I lost a lot of weight, self confidence and was ready to give up on life. However, I somehow I managed to pluck up the courage and energy to try and change for the better.

I made myself a diet plan and got it screened by people on forums, it was ‘clean’, I had frequent meals and it was extremely high in protein. I made sure to always have my post workout protein shake with ‘high GI’ carbs, not to eat carbs after 6pm and never miss a meal. I was putting on weight far too quickly and within a year I had put on over three stone. I was even more unhappy with my appearance and was suggested to go on a keto diet (very low carbohydrate), I did this for 4 months and lost a stone. Again I was unhappy with my body, on top of this I had a crazy food obsession which resulted in a poor social life and a bad relationship with my family. I wanted to gain some more mass but knew I had not done it effectively in the past, I did some more digging and educated myself properly.

I Revived 

After reading Lyle McDonald’s online articles about three times over I learnt more than I had in all my years of researching online. The man is a genius, well maybe thats taking it a bit far, but he is definitely one of the top in the field. From there I found Alan Aragon, now at first I disagreed with what they were proposing but after trialling their methods for myself I realised how this was really the way to go. The long and short of it was that the more I learnt the more I realised that things can really be a lot simpler, and that all it takes is some dedication and patience. Now I could enjoy time with family, eat the food I wanted and not be tied down to rules. Since then I have made sure to educate myself in every area of fitness and health, whether it be technique, energy systems, mobility or even the psychological aspects.

I Thrive

There is definitely an educated movement in the fitness industry, and I want to help push it forward. One area is personal trainers, I believe there is a new breed brewing, those who are as Bret Contreras puts it ‘Mixed Fitness Artists’ (MFAs). This means I understand biomechanics, I read journals, I know training adaptions and use these to make educated decisions regarding programming for clients. I can see the merits of both training like a bodybuilder, powerlifter, sprinter and strongman. I am not closed minded and make sure to read with breadth and depth. I hope to use this knowledge to build an experience of working with those who are currently couch potatoes to those who are at the pinnacle of their physical fitness. I respect that everyone is unique, in terms of their personal preferences, lifestyle choices and genetics. Yet I remain confident I can cater for everyone, providing personalised programmes which will deliver outstanding results for anyone.

Furthermore, not only do I have a great deal of knowledge but I am hungry to learn more. I am willing to try new things and grow stronger from my mistakes, I look forward to difficult clients and thrive from developing strategies to get results. Fitness and Health is my passion and to help others to achieve their goals is my mission, Revive Stronger together.