Facing Surgery? Learn How One Trainer Maintained and Rebuilt Strength

By Amanda Nemade

Athletic and active all his life, Steve Stoles had been running and lifting heavy at the gym but was experiencing sharp pain in his right leg and lower back from degenerative disc disease. Back in 2017, Steve walked by the P20 EMS studio for three months before trying it out, and he’s “been hooked ever since.” Exercising with the electrical muscle stimulation “feels like a workout and a massage at the same time.” EMS seems to “relieve the tension in his back and keeps the pain at bay.” Not only did EMS help Steve’s lower back pain, but it also produced significant results within six weeks—his arms alone grew by an inch and he “wouldn’t have an ass without EMS.”

Steve loved doing EMS at the P20 studio so much he joined the team as a trainer in 2022. About three years ago, Steve noticed tingling and numbness going down his right arm that became more painful over time. This began his journey from diagnosis to, ultimately, neck surgery.

Stemming from seven car accidents starting in his youth, the wear and tear in his neck became too much despite working with a chiropractor and physical therapist. After struggling with the pain, Steve scheduled neck surgery for this past August of 2025.

“I could’ve lost all feeling in my right hand. My discs were so compressed that had I been in a car accident I could’ve ended up paralyzed,” explained Steve. After several years of terrible pain in his right arm, Steve finally went for an MRI to discover he had two herniated discs in his neck (C5 and C6). They were basically “bone-on-bone,” and he needed surgery.

His chiropractor advised him only to walk—no lifting because it could cause more damage to the spine. This is where P20 saved Steve’s muscle tone: “I leaned on EMS because I didn’t have to use weights. I could do most of the workouts.” Using more TRX and standing core exercises, Steve believes “EMS allowed me to keep my muscles so I didn’t lose everything, which was great.”

While EMS helped Steve maintain his muscle mass prior to surgery, it really helped him lose the weight he gained during his recovery and rebuild the muscle he lost. Steve gained 16 pounds after his initial diagnosis and knew he had work to do. Starting at P20 after only four weeks post-surgery, Steve was only allowed to lift things under 10 pounds. Again, EMS to the rescue. He started doing EMS once a week and slowly reintroduced basic movement patterns using the TRX. For Steve, “when they say don’t lift after neck surgery, they really mean it. P20 was fine. I could stand there and do TRX, and I wasn’t dropping all my muscle.”

After three months, Steve increased to two P20 sessions per week and started our HIIT program after five months to accelerate weight loss. Despite his many years as both a client and a trainer, Steve had only tried the P20 HIIT program once or twice. P20 offers has a mix of different client programs to meet their individual goals. While the P20 Strong program focuses on general strength and muscle toning, the Power program accelerates strength gains. The P20 HIIT program improves cardiovascular health, burns more fat and increases metabolism.

Steve confessed: “I stayed away from it because I was old school and just lifted weights, but I knew I had to force a change, so I pushed myself to do something out of my comfort zone.” He lost three pounds in two weeks, and it felt strenuous, improved his mood and “got the blood flowing.” He loves the way P20 HIIT only takes a few minutes whereas a normal HIIT session takes around 20 minutes. For Steve, HIIT is something so aggressive that it “gets you out of breath and creates fireworks for your brain. You’re so happy you did it.”

Now Steve is back to lifting heaving again at P20 and aims to do one Power session for strength and one HIIT session for fat loss and cardio per week, which he considers “a great formula.” In his experience, EMS offered the only avenue to work out because he could still activate his muscles without risking injury. For anyone thinking of surgery, Steve advises: “come to P20 twice a week prior to activate your muscles so they don’t wither away,” assuming your doctor’s approval. Then, again with your doctor’s knowledge, start coming back to P20 after surgery even for deep muscle recovery, which acts as a deep muscle massage. This will help wake up your muscles sooner, so you’ll be ready to return to your regular EMS workouts once cleared. Consider EMS as your asset in a faster, stronger recovery.

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