I am SO PSYCHED to introduce our September Client Rockstar, Nathan Gerratt! Nathan and I have been working together for almost a year and his progress in strength, endurance and flexibility has been incredible.
It's been been awesome to see Nathan go from hamstrings so tight he had trouble moving through squats or deadlifts to loading up the weights and executing them with perfect form.
Nathan is a network engineer at the University of Maryland, which means he’s part of the team that keeps the internet running on campus. It’s a huge responsibility and can get super stressful and it’s a lot of sitting and typing at the computer. A recipe for good health LOL! He spends a lot of time sitting and sometimes hunched over the computer (like so many of us!)
Fitness has been an important outlet for Nathan's work stress. The mental rewards are especially noticeable when he has a problem he’s working on that he just can’t get to the bottom of. After our morning sessions, he’s found that even though his muscles are tired, he’s become more energized and things are clearer - he can think differently about things.
“Just in general I don’t think I really realized how energizing physical motion can be. Before working together, I did 30 minute videos, but usually at the end of the day when I was already tired. And just I think the motivation of starting in the morning -both having the accountability and in these sessions having your encouragement of ‘yes, we’re going to do this and yes. you’re being awesome!’ - has been really great.”
Nathan loves to ride his bike, hike, and be outdoors. We started working together a little less than a year into COVID and he was definitely feeling trapped indoors (even though he also loves to stay in and read!). “I was losing strength, I was losing flexibility, and I was starting to feel like a lump! Knowing that as we recover from all this - I’m gonna want to go hiking, I’m gonna want to go and run, and get back on my bike. I need to be strong and have endurance enough to do that!”
Recently Nathan went back to in-person work and got on his bike for the 12 mile ride to his office for the first time in a year and half. “Usually the first time I ride to work after a long break, I’m exhausted, I feel like my legs are gonna fall off, and it takes me quite a long time to get there. This time I got on my bike and said 'oh yeah, I have these muscles and it felt great! (Except for my butt from sitting on the bike saddle!)' ”
Thinking about the kind of future and the life that Nathan wants…He wants to be able to retire and do a day-long bike ride or hike a section of the Application trail. He wants to set up the baseline of what his body is capable of so that as he gets older he can continue to maintain that level of fitness as much as possible.
“Now I can do things like a series of pushups, and my arms are still attached, and I’m not in pain and it feels awesome to do!”
Nathan lives in Silver Spring with his spouse, Jo and cats (who love to work out with us) Ada and Charlie...obviously a network engineer's cats are named for Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage. He brings intention AND intensity to every session and I'm so thankful to be able to work with him!