Mindful Strength

This episode from Kathryn and Chris is a recap of what they have been doing in their training lately, changes they have made, silly little mistakes and evolving goals. Hint - it's not always about progressing in every season! Chris is moving through our Strength & Conditioning program, Kathryn is taking her running programming into her own hands and training for hiking season. Both are always work...

In this episode Kathryn talks about her 10km race at the St Lawerence Marathon, what it was like to do this race for a second time and what she learned about herself in the process.  She talks about the weeks leading up to the race being a struggle and although training and performance were fine, the experience of the race was not what she expected.  Kathryn and Chris also share a conversation abo...

Today Kathryn and Kyle are talking about their approach to meal prep. Meal prep has been a big part of their lives over the last two years especially as two very active people. When people imagine meal prep they might think of perfectly crafted meals or eating the same thing every day, and that's not what we are suggesting you do. Kathryn talks about things she preps daily, weekly and even bi-week...

In this episode Kathryn and Kyle are talking about their Strength & Conditioning program. If you have been curious about this system and wondering why Kathryn has created a multi-block program this is for you.   Topics they cover… -        Why Kathryn created this program in the first place -        The importance of doing BOTH progressive lifting and cardio -        Why cardio isn't so bad when i...

Today we are hear from Kyle (Kathryn's husband) about balancing his carpentry work with training to support and revitalize his body. Kyle has a long history in strength and conditioning, which gave him a great base for construction.  Initially he felt like training on top of his job would be a bit much, but after his first year in the new field his body start telling him otherwise. With everyone p...

In this episode Kathryn and Adam talk about what corrective exercise is, why we see some movements as faults and others as safe, and how to assess whether something actually needs to be corrected.   Take this as an example... a client walks into the gym and they stand with their feet turned out. We might have been trained to look at that as an imbalance, a movement fault, something that should be...

Kathryn recently participated in the Fat Ass Trail Race in Bay of Quinte, Ontario as a 16.5 (which was really 17km) runner. Listen to hear why she chose this race, how she trained for it and how she found it on the day of. This is a great story of trying something new and realizing how much of your life can shift before your eyes. You start running 30 sec intervals and two years later you are runn...

We do so many podcasts on pain because pain is a part of human life, which means it's bound to come up in training at some point or another (or all the time). Most of what we have been taught about pain is that pain = damage, pain is not normal, pain shouldn't be happening. Avoiding anything painful can really hold people back, limit movement and keep us stuck in sedentary patterns which arguably...

Today we welcome Jules Mitchell back to the podcast for a 5th or 6th time, we have lost count! Jules and Kathryn have been colleagues and friends for a number of years, and today they are talking about stability and proprioception training.  The big question they keep coming back to is why do some exercises get labelled in research as stabilizing, or for proprioception, while others don't? What is...

We welcome back Dr. Stephanie Carter Kelley for a third time! In this episode Kathryn asks all about pain, and why it can be so complex and about more than just mechanics. Stephanie sheds light on how the brain creates pain as a protection response and how the immune system get's involved as well. They talk about stepping back to look at the whole ecosystem of the body, not just the joints or musc...

Today we are talking about our 10km race last weekend. Kathryn and Kyle talk a little bit about the lead up, balancing training and recovery, and a break down of the run itself. They talk about pacing, why they kept their start pace even when everyone was blowing past them, pre-race carb loading, the taper week and how to challenge what's possible in a really sustainable way. We hope you enjoy lis...

Welcome to our third solo episode of 2025. Today Kathryn is talking about rest intervals, and why we need them between heavy compound exercises.  She also talks about super sets and which exercises you can link together with less rest. We hope these episodes help you understand strength training in more detail and help you become more successful with your training. Episode addition: in this episod...

Welcome to our second solo episode of 2025! If you have not already listened to episode 255 we suggest you start there. In todays segment Kathryn is talking about the value of writing down your lifts and keeping track of your numbers over the long term.  When you write down your lifts you collect valuable data about yourself, your patterns, and you gain a lot of context. If training isn't going we...

Welcome to Kathryn's first solo episode of 2025! In this segment Kathryn talks about the big mistake a lot of people make when it comes to strength training, which is rotating the exercises too frequently. Building strength means repeating the same exercises over long periods of time. There is a lot patience involved with strength training. Kathryn talks about certain exercises she plans to train...

In this episode Kathryn and Laurel talk about how they both got into running and what they have learned about cardiovascular exercise. We want to emphasize that you do not need to begin running, there are many ways to build up your cardio including the bike, rower, elliptical machine. In this episode you will learn why strength training and cardio are the perfect match and why it's essential to ha...

Today we welcome dietician and body image coach Deb Benfield for a conversation about finding strength and joy in midlife. Deb talks about the main times in many women's lives that their bodies change quickly, puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. She speaks about how these are moments when we are at higher risk for developing disordered eating behaviours as a means to control our naturally changing...

Today we welcome Chantal Lalonde for a conversation about exercise in general. So many people fall into the trap of hyper specialized exercise, correcting movement patterns or setting lofty unattainable goals. In this episode we unpack the physical activity guidelines and how to focus on more consistency and less on doing things perfectly all the time.  Learn about the balance of cardiovascular ex...

In this episode we welcome exercise physiologist Raphael Bender for a conversation about a few popular topics where we often see mixed messages and sometimes even misinformation. If you are a person who loves to learn about how muscles fire, how strength is built, and what current research is saying about certain topics, this is for you! Kathryn and Raphael talk about how muscles fire and whether...

Today we welcome award winning journalist and life long athlete Christine Yu to talk about the menstrual cycle tracking craze that we have seen in recent years. Christine will walk you through the different phases of the menstrual cycle, some of the physiological changes that happen week to week and why these fluctuations can effect our exercise. She also dives into some myths about cycle tracking...

Today we welcome dietician, coach and strength athlete, Em Palmerton for a conversation about nutrition and why carbs are so important for strength. We hear so much about protein intake, but what about carbs? Em talks about fitness trends, how carbs have been demonized in many circles, and why healthy exercise is about more than just being lean. Kathryn and Em talk about why carbs are specifically...

This week we welcome physiotherapist, educator and researcher, Greg Lehman. Kathryn and Greg tackle a few topics that require a lot of nuance, like, is technique important for preventing injury and spinal flexion across different demographics including people with osteoporosis. Greg shares insights on what we know from the research, and topics where we don't have enough evidence (yet) to make blac...

In this episode Kathryn and Gina talk about perimenopause and why strength training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) are really helpful in this phase of life. Gina also shares quite a bit about pre-exercise fuelling and why starting exercise with extra energy is incredibly powerful. Perimenopause is a confusing time, there's no test to say you are in perimenopause, and it can start earl...

Our interview with Dr. Stacy Sims was a banger! We got numerous emails and messages from our audience expressing how powerful the conversation was. Kathryn and Chris sat down to recap a handful of the main points that really stood out and give more practical context for those of you wanting to integrate this knowledge further. If you have not yet listened to Ep. 245 go do that now, then come back...

Today we welcome one of our favourite researchers, teachers and speakers, Dr. Stacy Sims! In this episode Kathryn and Dr. Sims talk about what makes female physiology so unique and why strength and conditioning are essential for longevity. They tackle popular topics like intermittent fasting, 10,000 steps a day, exercising on an empty stomach and the keto diet. Dr. Sims speaks about the importance...

In this episode Dr. Caitlin Casella and Kathryn talk about what osteoarthritis is, and how you can use progressive exercise to help manage pain, inflammation, and feel more robust in daily life. Most of what we have been taught about osteoarthritis relates to "wear and tear" but as you will learn in this interview, there's so much more to the story.  Main points you will learn about... Pain scienc...