Mindful Strength

Kathryn Bruni-Young

  • 48 minutes 31 seconds
    263 Adam McAtee: Do we need corrective exercise?
    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 corrected. But is that person's natural position actually a problem, or does their body just not conform to the alignment we were taught in our textbooks? This podcast is for the movement teachers, anatomy nerds, trainers and coaches who want to challenge the way they think about exercise. Adam is a pilates teacher, teacher trainer, physical therapist and business owner who is passionate about bringing better evidence into the studio and gym. To learn more about Adam's work click here. To listen to Adam's podcast click here. To listen to Episode 222 with Adam on motor learning and teaching, click here. _____________ If you want to start strength training our Mindful Strength Membership is an incredible place to begin! We have tutorials, classes you can work out along with, and a monthly program that takes the guess work out of strength training. Click here to learn more and try the Mindful Strength Membership! We currently have a 3-month special, $99 for 3-months of training!
    29 December 2025, 2:20 pm
  • 35 minutes 4 seconds
    262 Kathryn & Kyle: Trail Race Recap

    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 running up big hills with an incredibly athletic group of people!

    To learn more about Mindful Strength and join our email list click here.

    Our next Strength and Conditioning program begins in the coming weeks, if you want to be on the waitlist for that, click here!

    To reach out to us or say hello email [email protected]

    24 November 2025, 6:13 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    261 Joe LaVacca: How to keep training through pain and injury, advice from a physical therapist

    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 makes everything worse.

    In this episode Kathryn and PT Joe Lavacca talk about helping people keep moving and training, while managing pain. They talk about pain medication, where cardio fits into the picture, and of course strength training in the gym as rehab.

    To learn more about Joe and his Strength in Motion rehab practice click here.

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    Want to get into some progressive strength training this summer? Our Mindful Strength Membership includes a monthly program that will teach you the basics of progressing to heavier weights. Follow along with our recorded class, fill out your PDF program and feel the benefits. Click here to learn more about our Membership.

    28 July 2025, 11:57 am
  • 45 minutes 35 seconds
    260 Jules Mitchell: Do we actually need stability and proprioception training?

    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 a deadbug giving you for stability that a deadlift isn't?

    This podcast gets into the weeds of language, philosophy, and will have you questioning the common narrative on stabilization.

    We hope you enjoy listening!

    To learn more about Jules Mitchell, her mentorship, classes and YTT click here.

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    Our annual Membership sale is on now!! If you want to start strength training with Kathryn and the Mindful Strength team, get signed up for an entire year of strength programs.

    Click here to learn more about our Membership and All-Access Sale!

    9 July 2025, 4:05 pm
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    259 Dr. Stephanie Carter Kelley: Pain is more than mechanics

    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 muscles affected. Kathryn asks about menopause and why pain can become so intense at this time in life. Stephanie shares about her own personal journey through menopause and how stress management is often sidelined.

    Click the links below to listen to Stephanie's previous interviews on our website...

    Ep 243 on back pain specifically

    Ep 214 on osteoporosis, lifting and impact training

    To learn more about Dr. Stephanie Carter Kelley and her work click here

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    To learn more about Mindful Strength and our online platform where you can follow programs and build your strength click here!

    16 May 2025, 12:09 pm
  • 41 minutes 38 seconds
    258: 10km Race Recap with Kathryn and Kyle

    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 listening!

    To sign up for our upcoming Squat Stronger 6-week program click here.

    29 April 2025, 4:15 pm
  • 16 minutes 30 seconds
    257: Rest intervals and super sets

    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 episode Kathryn talks about CNS activation being a main reason why we need rest intervals, but there's more. The energy systems that fuel lifting also need time to recover, and recovery is aided by the cardiovascular system. More on this in an upcoming episode!

    If you have not yet listened to the previous two episodes, definitely catch up on them soon.

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    To start strength training with us from wherever you are, join the Mindful Strength Membership click here to learn more.

    Each month we release a new strength program for you to follow, to build up with consistency. In addition to a monthly program you can browse our other classes i.e. mobility, plyometrics, cardio, stretching and choose a few to round out your training week.

    Members also get access to our mobile app. Click here to learn more about the Mindful Strength Membership.

    18 February 2025, 1:43 pm
  • 15 minutes 30 seconds
    256: Why writing down your lifts and training is a game changer

    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 well or feeling great, you have a log to look back through which will help you make strategic changes.

    Tracking your lifts over time also shows gaps in the training, shows where you might need more consistency, more or less volume etc...

    Listen to this episode to learn more about writing down your lifts and why it's so useful.

    To join our next strength program in January, Pull-Up Club click here!

    If you are newer to strength training and want to browse our many classes and equipment tutorials, click here to check out the Mindful Strength Membership

    Thanks for listening!! If you are loving this podcast and listening on Apple, scroll down and leave us a review. We appreciate you being here.

    4 January 2025, 1:48 pm
  • 20 minutes 38 seconds
    255: Which exercises should always be in your program, for your goals

    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 forever, and how to make those decisions based on your goals.

    She also talks about how most people underestimate how much they are capable of lifting, what to do when you can lift your goal weight, and why you won't be able to add more weight to your lifts forever.

    To learn about Kathryn's upcoming Pull-Up Program click here.

    To learn about the Mindful Strength Membership and how you can take a range of our different strength, mobility, and relaxation classes click here.

    Thanks for listening everyone, if you are loving this podcast and listening on Apple, please scroll down and leave a review!!

    4 January 2025, 1:11 pm
  • 1 hour 15 seconds
    254 Laurel Beversdorf: Combining lifting with cardiovascular training, and why we recommend you do both!

    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 have both in your weekly routine.

    They talk about how adding cardio has changed their lifting routine, their relationship to carbohydrates, and the practical elements of doing varied training consistently.

    Both Kathryn and Laurel do running and lifting, but they each excel in different areas which makes this conversation even more interesting.

    To learn more about Laurel click here.

    To follow Laurel on Instagram click here

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    To learn more about the Mindful Strength classes and programs click here.

    To follow Mindful Strength on Instagram click here

    27 November 2024, 7:25 pm
  • 41 minutes 56 seconds
    253 Deb Benfield: Enjoying food and nourishing yourself in midlife and beyond

    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 bodies. Kathryn and Deb also touch on internalized agism, the longevity movement, the importance of strength and nutrition for muscle and bone strength, and our culture's strong emphasis on macro and calorie tracking.

    Deb mentions the following resources in this podcast...

    Briefly Imperfectly Human By: Alua Arthur

    Ashton Applewhite Ted Talk: Let's End Ageism

    To learn more about Deb Benfield click here to follow her on Instagram and click here for her website

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    To check out our library of classes and strength programs click here!

    To follow Kathryn on Instagram, click here

    7 November 2024, 12:40 pm
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