Numerous scientific studies support the many benefits of strength training including:

• stronger muscles & bones
• reduced neck & back pain
• weight control
• lower blood pressure
• improved memory
• reduced anxiety
• reduced muscle loss, among others

You can learn about these benefits down the page and make up your own mind.

S+ clients will tell you...

Members of the S+ community provide testimonials to the success of the S+ method of “high intensity” strength training (HIT). 

A progressive program personalized for you.

Don't be put off by the term “high intensity”. The S+ method is simple and adapted to your capabilities. With my constant support , I will guide you through a program of progressive strength training (using body weight or resistance equipment) that gradually challenges your muscles to gain strength, increases your capacity for health-giving metabolism, and gives you the energy to do the things you love to do.

When you are stronger, you are more vigorous and more energetic...

...and able to go about your daily life with greater confidence. You are also healthier, with energy reserves stored in your strengthened muscles that will protect you against the effects of aging, including :

• metabolic disorders such as diabetes

• cardiovascular conditions

• weight gain

S+ does not offer tricks or fads in pursuit of your fitness and wellness goals. The HIT (high intensity training) method I use has been around since the 1970s. My own S+ HIT method is based on a proven, well-grounded approach to exercise that has worked for decades.

The S+ method offers an effective, efficient, and safe program of strength training to those who can make a sustained commitment to a highly enjoyable and rewarding fitness experience.

Most important, the S+ method is not only effective at building your muscular, health-giving strength; it also takes less of your precious time to develop new-found strength so that you can live the life you want—and do the things you love to do.

READY TO GET STARTED?

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Read more about 

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM S+

The Health you want

The Strength you need

The one Exercise you should do

In less Time than you might think

THE HEALTH YOU WANT

Everyone wants to be healthy throughout their life. Good health makes life more enjoyable, and makes us more hopeful and more successful in all our endeavors.

Good health is part of our happiness and is a key part of the foundation we build for living life to the fullest.

So, what is health?
Believe it or not, the notion of health—as central and important as it is to our lives—has not been easy to pin down and usefully define. Physical health? Mental health? Emotional health? Spiritual health? A passive state? A dynamic proactivity?

The World Health Organization (WHO) first defined “health” in its 1946 Constitution. Since then, the term has been discussed, studied, and worked over to improve the word’s usefulness when it comes to both setting health and related policies and communicating a useful, common understanding to the world’s populations.

Our health is ours to build, maintain and improve.

Health – The Ability to Adapt

In a 2009 discussion paper (“What is Health? The ability to adapt”), The Lancet proposed a refined and complementary notion: Health is the ability of a body to adapt to new threats and infirmities. This introduced the notion that one can be proactive in facing, interpreting, and addressing one’s own environment to pursue and ensure one’s own health.

How should we do that?

The drive to promote and improve our health continues. In their attempt to frame a better understanding of how we can achieve health and wellbeing (physical, mental & emotional, including personal fulfillment and satisfaction), the Global Wellness Institute defines wellness this way:

“The active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health”, where holistic includes physical, mental, spiritual, environmental, social and emotional aspects.

Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, defines wellness as “…the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you’re thriving.”

Think of it this way:

We actively strive through intentional, individual actions in our daily lives to achieve health and wellbeing. This allows us to thrive in the enjoyment of life and the things we love to do.

Start building the health you want

and add more life to your years

THE STRENGTH YOU NEED

…and why are our muscles so darn important?
Skeletal muscles—those attached to our bones—account for the vast majority of the muscle mass in our body. (The other types of muscle are “cardiac” muscle—the heart—and “smooth” muscles—that are found in the walls of our hollow organs, the walls of the circulatory system, and in other parts of our body.)

Skeletal muscles permit movement and functionality for our day-to-day activities. And strong muscles facilitate greater vigor and more confident movement.

How do our skeletal muscles work?

In order for our muscles to contract, they require energy. The source of that energy is called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is created from the food we eat, which provides protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

This is all normal. So far, so good.

What can go wrong?
If illness or disease attacks our body or we fall into a malnourished state, amino acids are converted into glycogen (stored glucose) for energy, and are drawn directly from skeletal muscle to meet our metabolic needs.

These abnormal conditions can have serious consequences. 

• loss of muscle mass
• weakness
• more serious illnesses
• diseases
• eventually, frailty and wasting

A natural form of muscle loss—Sarcopenia

There is also a natural form of loss of muscle mass called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass and function that occurs with aging or the lack of use. Beginning as early as our 40s, our skeletal muscle tissue and strength begin to diminish in a linear fashion. By our 80s, up to one-half of muscle mass may have been lost.

See the change from figure A to B on the left below.

This process can lead to loss of function, disability, and frailty.

In addition, not only do muscles lose mass, they are also subject to fat infiltration (see the change in the figure on the right). As our metabolism slows with advancing age, glucose from our food is processed less efficiently, and more of what we eat is stored as fat.

We must actively, intentionally, use our muscles in order to counter (and reverse!) the effects of sarcopenia. This is part of striving to achieve health and wellbeing so that we can thrive and not merely survive.

“Use it or lose it!” as the old adage says.

Have you been sitting a lot lately?

Good Nutrition

The key role of nutrition

In addition to exercise,  good nutrition—including the right mix of protein, carbohydrates, and fats—is critical to the maintenance of strength and whole body metabolism.

An imbalance in the menu of food sources and nutrients can lead to a range of risks including weakened muscles, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, among others.

Nutrition and exercise are two success factors for health!

Strength training and good nutrition go together!

S+ Nutrition Coaching

In addition to strength training, S+ also offers high-value nutrition coaching. This service is perfectly paired with strength training for those who are looking for a balanced approach to regaining form and energy to meet the ordinary and extraordinary challenges of daily life.

If weight management is on your “to-do” list, or if you simply want to ensure that you maximize the benefits of strength training with foods that guarantee an increased “healthspan” (adding more healthy years to your lifespan), nutrition coaching may be an advantage for you.

S+ is a good place to start

THE ONE EXERCISE

YOU SHOULD DO

Strength Training

The S+ Way
Whether you’re new to fitness and strength training, an occasional enthusiast, or a devoted buff, we’d like to convince you that high-intensity strength training is the one exercise you should do, especially the way S+ helps you do it.

What is strength training?
Strength (or resistance) training is exercise designed to improve your muscular and skeletal strength and endurance. Strength training can involve the use of simple free weights (for example, dumbbells of different sizes), sophisticated resistance machines (designed around weight plates or pneumatic systems), but it can also be conducted with just your body weight, with or without simple fitness tools.

With professional guidance, strength training can provide significant health benefits including:

• stronger muscles and bones
• stronger tendons and ligaments
• improved joint function
• reduced potential for injury
• improved metabolism

The Science That Supports S+

Evidence-based Benefits of Strength Training
The benefits of strength training are well known. That’s why it is recommended by health and fitness authorities across the world. Health Canada recommends that both younger (16-64 years) and older (65+ years) adults should engage in muscle and bone strengthening activities 2 days per week.

I can help you do this—easily, safely, and in less time than you might think. And, believe it or not, in even less than 2 times per week!

The benefits of strength training have been proven for many years and continue to be the subject of rigorous research. I follow the research constantly so that I can share with you the good news about new discoveries and lessons-learned.

I keep up to date with on-going research and findings that are reported by the most respected sources, including, among others:

• McMaster University and the
• University of British Columbia in Canada
• New York Times’ wellness columnist Gretchen Reynolds
• Harvard Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic

I also follow a range of peer-reviewed journals like PubMed, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, The Lancet, and the International Journal of Exercise Science, so that I can draw on the latest scientific findings.

Here are some evidence-based conclusions about strength training for a range of life-enhancing benefits.

(Click on the link to access the research study.)

1. Increased Strength (in little time)
“Marked increases in strength and endurance can be attained by resistance-trained individuals with just three 13-min weekly sessions over an 8-wk period, and these gains are similar to that achieved with a substantially greater time commitment.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

2. Stronger bones
“Of the several exercise training programs, resistance exercise (RE) is known to be highly beneficial for the preservation of bone and muscle mass.” Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism

3. Weight control
“Among nearly 1.7 million US adults, meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise guidelines was associated with a lower obesity prevalence, and associations were more pronounced for higher obesity classes.” Obesity

4. Lower blood pressure
“Endurance, dynamic resistance, and isometric resistance training lower SBP [systolic blood pressure] and DBP [diastolic blood pressure], whereas combined training lowers only DBP. Data from a small number of isometric resistance training studies suggest this form of training has the potential for the largest reductions in SBP.” Journal of the American Heart Association

5. Decreased risk of diabetes
“These data support the inclusion of muscle-strengthening exercises in physical activity regimens for reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, independent of aerobic exercise.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

6.Reduced depression / Improved Memory
“Resistance exercise training (RET) significantly reduced depressive symptoms among adults regardless of health status, total prescribed volume of RET, or significant improvements in strength.” JAMA Psychiatry

7. Reduced Anxiety
“Guidelines-based RET [resistance exercise training] significantly improved anxiety symptoms among young adults.” Nature

8. Improved metabolism
“Individuals with a higher baseline in systolic blood pressure…derived greatest benefit from the resistance training intervention, regardless of how many times-a-week they trained [with] no evidence that higher training frequency would induce greater benefit regarding inflammation markers or glycemic profile in healthy older adults.” Frontiers in Physiology

9. Breast cancer survivor rehabilitation
“We conclude that a supervised, high-intensity strength training program seems to be an effective means to improve muscle strength, cardiopulmonary function, and HRQOL [health-related quality of life] and should be incorporated in cancer rehabilitation programs.” Acta Oncologica

10. Reversal / reduction of sarcopenia for a longer, more active life
“Progressive strength training in the elderly is efficient, even with higher intensities, to reduce sarcopenia [progressive skeletal muscle and strength loss], and to retain motor function.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

Lots of Science Supports S+

Strength Training and HIT

High Intensity Training (HIT)

The S+ strength training program uses the High Intensity Training (HIT) method to help you make impressive gains in:

• strength

• fitness

• health

...all with a small investment of your time.

The evolution of HIT

High Intensity Training was introduced in the 1970s by Arthur Jones, a pioneer in the field of physical exercise and strength training. Jones was an inventor and businessman who developed the Nautilus strength training equipment and was the founder of Nautilus, Inc. and MedX, Inc.

HIT in a nutshell

High Intensity Training is a method of progressive resistance exercise. HIT is characterized by a progressively challenging level of anaerobic effort with brief and infrequent workout sessions.

(“Anaerobic” means “without oxygen”. Practically speaking, anaerobic exercise improves your conditioning in a shorter period of time by working your muscles with greater intensity as compared to aerobic exercise—such as jogging—that requires more oxygen and takes longer to have a conditioning effect.)

HIT is governed by 5 essential principles:

Load

The amount of weight or resistance used in an exercise to give you maximum personal results. The load is initially adapted to your start-up capability and then progressively increased as desired and required.

Volume 

The amount of “work” you do in your strength training sessions. This is measured in the number of sets and repetitions that are required to fatigue your muscles. Typically, the volume is a single set of a limited number of repetitions. The volume is adapted to your capability, just sufficient to intentionally tire your muscles.

Cadence

Slow and deliberate movements. These will produce maximum personal results in a limited amount of time.

Duration

The time required for a set of repetitions to fully fatigue each major muscle group you exercise. Durations are typically short due to the slow cadence and the challenging loads.

Frequency

Once or twice per week to ensure recovery—so that muscles have time to rest and rebuild.

In a nutshell, the HIT method is built on:

• A load adapted to your capability that progressively challenges you and builds your strength…
• A limited volume of work that, along with the load, brings you satisfying muscle fatigue in limited time…
• A slow cadence designed to maximize the challenge to the muscles exercised...
• Infrequent workouts to permit recovery, rebuilding, and new-found strength.

Start making impressive gains in your strength, fitness and health 

H.I.I.T vs. H.I.T: What's the difference?
You may also have heard of High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. HIIT is different from High Intensity Training (HIT), and it’s important to understand the difference.

The main purpose of HIIT is to improve your physical condition by increasing your capacity to absorb oxygen and improve your cardiovascular function, including glucose metabolism.

HIIT involves alternating periods of high and medium intensity exercise that may last 30 minutes or less: brief bursts of all-out, high (near-maximum) intensity exercise followed by medium (or low) intensity exercise.

Typically, HIIT is done on a stationary bicycle, although it can be done without any equipment, including vigorous and rapid push-ups, squats, burpees, and lunges, among others.

HIIT exercise was made popular in the 2010s at a time that exercise science ramped up its research into the question “How little time is required to get benefits from exercise?”

The New York Times Wellness columnist, Gretchen Reynolds, published “The First 20 Minutes” in 2012, bringing to the public consciousness how relatively little time was required to bring real benefits to those who were willing to put in the effort.

Many programs and books followed with titles like “The 20 Minute Body”, “Short Workouts for Beginners”, “10 Minute Workout”, “7-Minutes Body Plan”, “4-Minute Workout”, and others, as enthusiasts and promoters got on the “intensity” exercise bandwagon.

Remember: This relatively recent surge in interest in briefer, more intensive, exercise came about thirty years after Arthur Jones first introduced his notion of high intensity training that is the foundation of S+’s strength training program!

In Summary…

High Intensity Training is a method of progressive resistance exercise, characterized by an increasingly challenging level of effort, with brief and infrequent workout sessions.

You have found a safe exercise program proven to give you a strong and healthy body, with only a small investment of time.

The S+ Method and Program

As the founder of the S+ program, I specialize in creating an exercise program that is tailored to your specific needs and objectives, is effective and safe, and will take little of your time.

A personalized, progressive strength training program

S+ is a personalized, progressive strength training program, especially designed for non-athletes. (Body-builders need not apply.) Professionally guided by me as your personal trainer, S+’s program is based on the time-tested principles of strength training that are continually confirmed by scientific research.

S+’s strength training program is based on decades of health and fitness science…not current trends or passing fads. With the S+ strength training program, you get results, safely, in less time than you might think. Your sessions are short, intense, and enjoyable.

S+ gives you a strong and healthy body and makes no false claims and no empty promises. I will help you set realistic goals to make you the healthiest and strongest you can be!

With a small investment of time in the S+ strength training program, you will achieve the strong and healthy body that permits you to do all the things you love to do with the rest of your time.

No Tricks. No fads. Just The Real Thing—Proven.

With S+, I guide you through a progressive strength training program based on your own personal objectives and your own personal starting point and abilities. From there, I will help you get stronger and fitter and healthier.

There is no magic and there are no tricks involved in the S+ strength training program. And the program doesn't change with fads that pop up every year or so. The S+ strength training program is based on the proven principles of building life-enhancing strength established by Arthur Jones in the 1970s.

S+ strength training is built on rock-solid evidence. I'm in it for the long haul, and I hope that you will be too.

Does this sound like exercise that you will be willing to do and stick with?

S+ is here for you! Even during a pandemic!

The Covid-19 pandemic has slowed us all down, but S+ and my clients are still in the game!

Sign up for my online weekly program: one-on-one live, in-person coaching prepares you and guides you every step of the way.

Get the fitness and health that you want, using safe strength training exercises along with nutrition advice and other health and lifestyle information—all tailored just for you!

S+ Lifestyle and Fitness Advice

In addition to the personalized strength training program, S+ clients receive regular access to our latest advice about nutrition, fitness, health, and the results of on-going scientific research on relevant topics.

The S+ Community

S+ clients are committed to health, fitness, and the ability to do those things in life that they love to do. This long-term commitment to self-care and wellness developed through dedication to their strength training routines, makes them members of the S+ community. S+ holds occasional demonstrations, and clients have the opportunity to tell others about the difference that the S+ program has made in their lives.

If you start with S+, you'll stay with S+!

The best exercise program is the one you will do! 

IN LESS TIME

THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

The S+ strength training program uses the High Intensity Training (HIT) method to help you make impressive gains in strength, fitness, and health, all with a small investment of your time - 20 to 30 minutes per session.

This is possible because the HIT method is based on strength training sessions where:

• The load (the amount of weight or resistance) is adapted to your capability
• The volume (number of sets/repetitions) and cadence (pace of movements) are low and slow
• The duration (length of sets) and frequency (workout sessions per week) are short and infrequent.

Exercise science provides abundant evidence that short, supervised strength training workouts can produce results that are superior or equivalent to high volume, high frequency sessions.

Single set of limited reps
“The same muscular strength and endurance adaptations can be attained by performing a single set of ~8-12 repetitions to momentary muscular failure…for most major muscle groups once or twice each week.” Medicina Sportiva

Answer to “lack of time” barrier to regular exercise participation
“ A growing body of evidence demonstrates that high-intensity interval training can serve as an effective alternative to traditional endurance-based training, inducing similar or even superior physiological adaptations in healthy individuals and diseased populations, at least when compared on a matched-work basis.” The Journal of Physiology

Big gains with short sessions
“Marked increases in strength and endurance can be attained by resistance-trained individuals with just three 13-min weekly sessions over an 8-wk period, and these gains are similar to that achieved with a substantially greater time commitment.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

Holding metabolic syndrome at bay
“Relatively smaller amounts of resistance exercise, less than one hour in 1–2 sessions per week…resulted in the highest reduction in the risk of developing MetS [metabolic syndrome], compared to no resistance exercise.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Don’t you think it’s time?

WHY A PERSONAL TRAINER?

So, now that you know some of the secrets of a long and healthy life, how to strive with purpose to thrive with wellbeing, moving confidently about your daily life, and doing the things you love to do...

What’s next?

The next step is to act! To commit to investing a small amount of your time that will bring you the benefits that come from greater strength, more confident mobility, better health, satisfaction, and happiness.

Do you need some help to take the next step?

Many say no. They learn the secrets to health and wellbeing, and then they decide to go it alone—perhaps part of their New Year’s resolution for better fitness.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of folks who set fitness resolutions abandon them shortly after making them.

Honoring fitness commitments 

Here’s another secret we can share with you: It’s those of us who are willing to stick with our own promise AND who ask for help to do exactly that.

It’s not always easy to set the right objectives, commit to the regular—if infrequent—discipline of exercise, push yourself to your personal limits, remain motivated including tracking your progress, and ensure your own nutritional habits.

This may require some help. And this is where the personal trainer is ready to help you do all these things.

Scientific Evidence

The benefits of a qualified personal trainer

There is plenty of evidence about the effectiveness of using a qualified personal trainer:

“Strength gains for both lower- and upper-body muscles are greater in subjects training under higher supervision ratios, and this is probably because of higher exercise intensity. These results confirm the importance of direct supervision during resistance training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

“We have demonstrated for the first time in a fitness club setting that members whose training is directed by well-qualified PTrs (personal trainers) administering evidence-based training regimens achieve significantly greater improvements in LBM (lean body mass) and other dimensions of fitness than members who direct their own training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

“Clearly, there are numerous benefits to working with a qualified personal trainer, including a personalized exercise program, increased motivation and support in achieving fitness and wellness goals, increased consistency due to keeping scheduled appointments, and a source of knowledge and referrals for health and fitness challenges.” Personal Training and Fitness Coaching: Do They Really Work?

“The results suggest that one-on-one personal training is an effective method for changing attitudes and thereby increasing the amount of physical activity.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine

“Directly supervised, heavy-resistance training in moderately trained men resulted in a greater rate of training load increase and magnitude which resulted in greater maximal strength gains compared with unsupervised training.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

I am dedicated to providing you with the professional support you need for the most effective and successful strength training experience available. This is my commitment and my promise!

Do you know a personal trainer who can help you achieve your fitness goals?

Who is Randall?

Randall Lightbown is the founder, head trainer, and the face of S+.

As a certified personal training specialist (PTS) and certified masso-kinesitherapist, Randall combines his expertise in the movement arts with a deep understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body. He dedicates his life to helping people across a broad range of ages achieve health and wellbeing and to reach their greatest potential for healthy living, satisfaction and personal fulfillment.

With 20 years of experience in the health and wellness industry, Randall applies his deep knowledge and experience in practicing and teaching tai chi and other Chinese martial arts to the world of therapeutic bodywork, body movement, and strength training.

Guided by the science that is the foundation of exercise, movement and nutrition, Randall carries on the conviction established by Arthur Jones in the 1970s that high-intensity training (HIT) is the most effective, efficient, and economical method to ensure commitment to life-enhancing exercise.

EXPERIENCE
● Teaching Tai Chi (since 2006)
● Masso-kinesitherapist private practice (2005-2015)
● Masso-kinesitherapist, Espace Santé medical clinic (2012 to 2015)
● Founder and head trainer of S+ (since 2015)

Before you book a free trial session, here are three things that are important to know:

• The Price
• The Schedule
• The S+ Values

The Price

As the old Mastercard ad had it, the true value behind your purchase is “priceless”.

Full disclosure: The S+ strength training experience does come at a cost. But the true value of that cost is…priceless.

Here are the current S+ strength training packages and their prices.

CURRENT PRICES

S+ Trial - $475 ($499 as of January 2024) - Strength training only :  After the free introductory session, the Trial set of 5 sessions will get you accustomed to S+’s progressive approach, and you'll be able to choose the right program or programs for you. We will have established your baseline for building a healthier and stronger you.

S+ Rapid Weight Loss Program - $599$

Blends a targeted Rapid Weight Loss Diet with the short but potent S+ High-Intensity Strength Training sessions.
Has weekly in-person efficient workouts with me (in-studio or by Zoom)
Combines this with a 3-minute at-home routine (that you'll get to try) that you only need to do few times a week.
Has 2 parts : Part 1 that starts with a 2-3 day rapid weight loss phase, smoothly transitioning into
Part 2 which is for continued steady weight loss. 
Is for you, if you want to lose weight now, and lose it fast – and then keep it off!

To put yourself on the Rapid Weight Loss Program list, click here.

Training only Packages - $290-$525 / month: Following the trial sessions, or the Rapid Weight Loss Program, you have a choice of continuing your personalized program with Nutri-Health+, or the 40+ or 80+. These sessions can be completed according to your schedule and availability. It’s up to you to decide when you want to do the sessions over 12 months.

BONUS recorded sessions: In addition, with the Nutri-Health+, 40+, and 80+ packages, you have access to 1 or 2 complimentary recorded sessions per week, according to the package you have chosen. 

Nutri-Health+ $150 / month: Nutri-Health+ is a nutrition coaching package that takes a moderate approach to better health through proper nutrition. The program combines the sound principles of nutrition paired with strength training for maximum health results as well as weight management.

The Schedule

S+ provides you with the best strength training experience—the most effective, efficient and safest—you have ever had.

I am available to work with you on your personalized, progressive strength training and nutrition coaching program Monday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and select evenings.

Martin, is available on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

The S+ Values

“At S+ we believe that a balance in life is important. This is one of the reasons we are champions of HIT. It allows you to achieve better health in less time…leaving you more time to do the things you love to do.

One of the things that I love to do is to spend time with my family. I spend my evenings and weekends with my family—cooking healthy meals, helping with homework, playing games, watching funny shows, going for walks…enjoying life!

We hope to be able to serve you now. But if not now, we hope to see you soon!”

Randall Lightbown, S+ founder and head trainer

Are you ready to try a free session?

If you are, then please provide the information requested below.

There is no obligation. This will help me know your interests and needs a bit better. Then we can talk about how to move forward…to help you have a stronger body with more energy to do the things you love to do!

Questions marked with an asterisk (*) are required fields