Chris Ownbey | Personal Trainer for Men & Women 40+ in Dallas

Fitness has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

My journey began with bodybuilding and strength training, which eventually led me into the Marines, mixed martial arts, powerlifting, and later the world of golf fitness and performance training. For more than 30 years, I’ve dedicated my life to understanding how the body works, how it breaks down, and more importantly — how it can rebuild.

Like many people, I believed hard work alone could overcome almost anything physically.

Then life humbled me.

In 2020, I underwent back and neck surgery that unfortunately did not go as planned. Over time, I began experiencing significant muscle atrophy in my legs, increasing weakness, pain, and a gradual loss in my ability to walk normally. Things that once felt simple became daily challenges.

By 2024, my condition had progressed to the point where I required another major operation — a full lumbar fusion procedure known as a “360 fusion,” along with an additional neck fusion surgery.

The first year of recovery was one of the hardest experiences of my life.

Every day became a process of rebuilding.

Relearning movement.

Managing pain.

Fighting frustration.

And refusing to mentally give up.

For the first time in my life, I truly understood why so many people never fully recover after major back or neck surgery.

What surprised me most was realizing that many of the traditional rehabilitation exercises I was told to do actually made my condition worse. While I respect the medical and physical therapy community, I learned firsthand that recovery is not always one-size-fits-all.

For me, healing began when I shifted my focus toward more individualized movement, recovery, mobility work, positional therapy, controlled strength training, breathing, walking, and restoring the body gradually instead of aggressively forcing it.

Western medicine helped stabilize me.

But the principles of Eastern recovery, movement restoration, consistency, and nervous system healing helped me rebuild.

Today, a year and a half later, I am not trying to become the man I was in my 30s.

I’m focused on becoming the strongest, healthiest, and most capable version of myself for this stage of life.

Every week I continue to see progress.

Less pain.

Better movement.

More hope.

What I’ve learned is this:

Healing is not about perfection.

It’s about consistency.

It’s about having a strong enough reason to keep going even on the hard days.

My “why” is simple.

I want to walk the golf course again.

I want to play with my boys.

I want to be present for my future grandchildren.

I want to stay active, independent, strong, and capable for the people I love.

That is why I created the “Stay Strong to Live Long” philosophy.

Because strength is not just about muscles.

Strength is freedom.

Strength is confidence.

Strength is quality of life.

And no matter your age or your setbacks, I believe the body can improve when given the right plan, the right mindset, and enough consistency over time.

Stay strong.