I am fortunate to have the amazing opportunity to coach a wide variety of athletes who compete in a number of different sports. Since I don't specialize in any one sport, all my athletes have their own sport/team coaches and whether it be hockey, boxing, martial arts, rugby, baseball, football or [...]
Saturday night we were treated to one of the most anticipated sporting events in history! The fight may or may not have lived up to all the hype for you but beyond the simple exchanges of punches, I wanted to share what I really took away from this historic moment featuring two [...]
Have you ever eaten 4 apples in a row? I will bet that you haven't! However, I can almost guarantee that you've eaten 4 pizza slices in a row... I know I have (to be honest I've eaten a lot more than 4 pizza slices in a row and I'm [...]
CROSSFIT OPEN – 17.2: DONE – AGAIN, AND THEN AGAIN Week 2 of the CrossFit Open is in the books! If you haven’t been following, this last challenge was a 12-minute AMRAP of: 50-foot weighted walking lunges 16 toes-to-bars 8 dumbbell power cleans 50-foot weighted walking lunges 16 toes-to-bars 8 [...]
One down and four to go! For the first time ever the dumbbell made an appearance in the CrossFit Open. The community was made aware of this a couple weeks ago and we were all left guessing at what HQ had planned for us. What would it be -overhead lunges, [...]
Ok it's time to reveal our secret to muscle growth... You ready for it? Well actually it's pretty simple, the secret to muscle growth is following a professionally designed training program that's been developed specifically to help you build more muscle! The secret comes in the program, and the magic [...]
This month we’ve been focused on the keys to more muscle growth and today we’ve arrived at the final piece of the puzzle: supplements. While there are a ton of hyper-marketed products on store shelves these days, at Strong Athlete we like to keep things simple. Our criteria for using [...]
Road to the CrossFit Games Pt. 4 Lately I feel like my life is a never-ending version of the movie Groundhog Day. Wake-up, eat, work, eat, train, eat, work, train, eat, recover, eat, sleep, and then repeat. Where some people become overwhelmed by repetition, it’s in my daily routine. My [...]
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been focused on the Laws of Muscle Growth. In week 1 we covered the importance of calories, week 2 was all about protein and in week 3 we learned about HARD vs SMART training. Now, picking up heavy objects and putting them down repeatedly [...]
“If you learn from a loss you have not lost.” — Austin O’Malley Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn. Most of us spend a tremendous amount of effort trying to avoid the remote possibility of failure. Indeed failing is hard; it can hurt us, it can humiliate us [...]
Around here we love protein and we love pancakes so you can imagine how much we LOVE protein pancakes!!! As you know, protein is the building blocks for muscle recovery and growth as well as keeping your metabolic fires stoked so we say eat up! I swear we've tried at [...]
This installment of our series on muscle growth starts with a question. Are you training H.A.R.D. or S.M.A.R.T? By HARD I mean Hopeless, Archaic, Reckless and Dangerous! Unfortunately, many athletes fall into this category and it really hurts their progress. Let's break things down further. Hopeless A HARD training athlete simply goes into the gym [...]
What Doesn't Kill You ... By Kathleen Mitchell, Team Strong Athlete I truly appreciate those things that don’t come easy. If it isn’t going to change me or challenge me, I probably don’t want it. You know the phrase “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?” It’s about competition. I [...]
I call it ugly flamingo texting neck for obvious reasons! Could you imagine coming across a Viking from back in the day looking all weak and submissive like that?? What an embarrassment to mankind. We used to be the ultimate predators and now we are becoming flamingo neck prey. So [...]
One of the most important pieces of the puzzle to help you reach your musclebuilding goal is protein. Protein is essential for repairing and rebuilding muscle tissue, as well as for overall good health. Some of the key benefits of optimal protein intake include: Increased muscle growth Increased strength and [...]
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them." Michael Jordan Solid, jacked, beast, swole, ripped, “Chick Norris” are some of the adjectives people at the gym use to describe me – but I don’t think of myself in that way. My name is Kathleen Mitchell. I’m [...]
If I had a dollar for the number of times I’ve been asked “How do I build more muscle?” I would be retired on a beach and spending 8 hours a day learning the guitar with my son :) The musclebuilding conversation between athlete and coach usually goes something [...]
If you want 2017 to be the year you achieve your physique and/or athletic goals, then you need to keep one thing in mind: Keep. It. Simple. Smarty. If you make things too complicated, you won’t GSD (get $hit done), and you’ll get frustrated, burnt out and ultimately quit. Yes, [...]
Once again my girlfriend was in the kitchen the other night experimenting with some goodness and what she made was simply amazing! She calls them PHAT FAT BOMBS... and I am totally addicted! Now I know it doesn't sound so delicious but let me tell you I can't get enough! [...]
By now, everyone knows how insanely hard elite athletes train and how disciplined they are with nutrition. And as important as these elements are, they pale in comparison to the importance of a proper mindset. The right mental outlook can often mean the difference between success and failure, between winning [...]
Learn what intervals we use for improving metabolic conditioning, building cardiovascular endurance and burning fat fast!
One of the most common questions I get from athletes, professionals, family members, and literally strangers on the street is “What should I eat for breakfast?” From personal experience and feedback from many of our physique competitors, a high fat, high protein breakfast is one of the absolute best ways [...]
You’re probably thinking that I’ve gone a bit crazy saying this but… STOP FRIGGIN’ DIETING AND EXERCISING! Let's be honest, tell me who really looks forward to, or gets excited about “dieting or exercising”? NO ONE! That’s who! It’s stupid and you don’t want to do it anyways. Feel [...]
Minerals are essential to ensuring that your body can function at superhuman levels. Most people do not get enough minerals in their diets, so in many cases it is necessary to add mineral supplements into your daily protocols if you want to be incredible. I want to let you in [...]
My two and a half year old son has become one of my greatest teachers. Here are a few pearls of wisdom this pint-sized Tasmanian devil has taught me that I’d like to share with you:
Learn how you can burn body fat all day long, getting leaner and more defined without having to spend more time in the gym!
I had to share this awesome article about Michael Jordan that I came across this week written by Luminita D. Saviuc from PurposeFairy.com. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
In this post, I’d like to share with you a few of the books that have really impacted me as an athlete and coach over the years. Add one or all of these to your collection – you’ll be happy you did. Enjoy!
In this Strong Athlete blog post, I’d like to focus on five key areas where establishing a consistent routine can make you more successful and achieve your goals faster:
In this article, I’m going to give you my favourite exercises for maximum glute development along with a great workout to build muscle and strength.
