About John Paul

John Paul Catanzaro, BSc Kin, CSEP-CEP, CSEP-HPS, is a CSEP Clinical Exercise Physiologist and a CSEP High Performance Specialist with a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Health Science. He owns and operates a private training facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario. In 1996, John Paul opened a personal training studio at his home in Toronto, Ontario. With vision and passion, the business quickly grew and the word got out: “If you want to get in shape, go see this guy!” Now located in Richmond Hill, Ontario, the business boasts a state-of-the-art training facility and a waiting list of clients. John Paul founded The Catanzaro Group in 2004 with divisions in fitness, nutrition, supplements, lifestyle, seminars, and publishing. In 2010, Catanzaro Supplements was introduced, a new line of nutritional supplements with the objective of providing high quality supplements in a convenient form at an affordable rate. Over the years, John Paul has appeared on television and has written articles for several publications, including American Academy of Health and Fitness (AAHF) Gamut eJournal, Bodybuilding.com, Bodybuilding Italia, canfitpro Magazine, Coaching One-On-One, Dolfzine, FitCommerce, Fitness Business Canada, Fitness Professional Online, Fitness Trainer, Flare, grrlAthlete.com, Intense Fitness, Men’s Health, Mercola.com, MuscleMag International, Olympian’s News, Personal Trainer Development Center, Personal Training on the Net, Planet Muscle, Quest For Advanced Condition, SelfGrowth.com, SpotMeBro.com, Testosterone (aka T-Mag.com and T-Nation.com), TheGymLifestyle.com and Wannabebig.com. His newsletters are informative and entertaining, and he has provided reviews for numerous publications, including the inaugural edition of Sport First Aid in Canada. John Paul has authored six books, The Elite Trainer (2011), Mass Explosion (2013), The Business of Personal Training (2014), The Warm-Up (2016), Lean and Mean (2017), and Invincible (2022), and has released two DVDs, Stretching for Strengthening (2003) and Warm-Up to Strength Training (2005), which have sold copies worldwide, featured in several magazines, and been endorsed by industry-leading experts. John Paul has also released four webinars, Strength Training Parameters and Program Design (2013), Body Composition Strategies (2013), The Business of Personal Training (2014), and Injury Prevention Strategies for Aging Athletes (2016), providing the latest cutting-edge information to fitness professionals. Throughout his career, John Paul has consulted for various corporations. He’s worked with law enforcement personnel and has contributed to the Toronto Police Service health and wellness program. John Paul has worked with bodybuilders, fitness models, athletes, and coaches ranging from amateur ranks to national-level caliber. John Paul is one of the premier trainers in Canada. Building a reputation for getting his clients in top shape quickly, his expertise has not gone unnoticed by other health practitioners who attend his private studio regularly for instruction. John Paul has attracted the attention of various fitness-related organizations seeking lectures and workshops. The list includes canfitpro, Certified Professional Trainers Network, Granite Club, Masters Swimming Canada, Ontario Kinesiology Association, Ontario Society for Health and Fitness, Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, and more. Those who experience his presentations have dubbed him “the man with an encyclopedic mind.”

When you’re young and resilient, falling off a balance board may not be a big deal. But that’s not necessarily the case as you get older. Take actress Brooke Shields, for example. Earlier this year, she fell off a balance board at a New York City gym, broke her right femur, and spent weeks in…

Here are two effective ways to perform negative-accentuated lying leg curls: Method #1 Method #2 In both methods, the key is to lower the weight slowly and under control for a count of 8 seconds, maintaining a smooth, uniform tempo from top to bottom. If you find yourself unable to control the descent and it…

This may come as a surprise, but muscle doesn’t grow in the gym. You can follow the best training program in the world, but if you don’t recover properly, your progress will stall—and injury is just around the corner. Proper nutrition and some light activity are important for recovery, but quality sleep trumps them all….

Stretching, foam rolling, and mobility drills may feel like a chore when preparing for a workout—but using a massage gun? That’s a different story. Just a minute or two with one of these tools and you’ll be ready to crush heavy deficit deadlifts with no deficit in performance! Sure, you can make your own homemade…

Here’s a great way to emphasize the top range during pull-ups. In the Wide-Grip Side-To-Side Pull-Up, your chin must stay above the bar as you move from one hand to the other. And don’t cheat the bottom—lower all the way down until your elbows are fully extended and your shoulders are elevated. Take a look…

With recent gym closures, many people have been forced to train at home. You can target most major muscles with limited equipment—except for the soleus, one of the primary muscles of the calf. The calf consists mainly of two muscles: the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The gastrocnemius is heavily involved when the knee is extended….

Curcumin is a supplement often recommended to weight lifters because it helps reduce inflammation and supports overall joint and muscle health. Guys in the iron game tend to experience iron overload due to high red meat consumption. As I’ve mentioned before, curcumin can help reduce the build-up of iron in the blood (see here). Supporting…

Dr. Fred Hui is an integrative medicine practitioner in Toronto, Ontario, and I’m one of his biggest fans. Since my early interest in intravenous vitamin therapy and chelation, Dr. Hui has played an instrumental role in my career. His complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments have been a game-changer for many of my family members,…

If you don’t know where you’ve been, you won’t know where to go! Without a training log, how can you truly gauge progress over time? Start one here. The goal of training is progression. That’s what separates those who train from those who simply exercise to sweat and burn calories without purpose. Doing the same…

It’s not how much you lift, but how you lift it. Controlled pin-touch reps on the bench press are far superior to those uncontrolled, momentum-driven “bounce-off-your-chest” reps. With pin-touch reps, you lower the bar until it just taps the pins—pausing briefly—before pressing it back up. This method ensures control, consistency, and proper form under load….