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.”

On January 19, 2015, I posted the first blog entry of the year, and here we are today—12 months and 225 posts later. Our readership has grown considerably over the past year. The number of newsletter subscribers and social media followers has increased steadily as well. On LinkedIn, for instance, we started the year with…

As we wrap up another year, let’s take a look back at some of the most popular and insightful articles we published in 2015. These ten articles covered everything from injury rehabilitation to Olympic lifting, flexibility training, and advanced strength techniques. If you missed any of them, now’s the perfect time to catch up! The…

Over the years, I’ve explored various injury prevention and treatment strategies for aging athletes. What I discovered was quite interesting—mainly that a high degree of the aging process is controlled by the brain. As mental function starts to decline, your body starts to fall apart. Boost the brain, and you’ll boost the body! One of…

I have three days of feasting ahead of me, and it all starts tonight. You can bet my workout this morning is going to be a good one! Before I train, I’ll get my Rocky IV fix, and when the session begins, this will be the first song I listen to: The holidays are a…

Wouldn’t it be nice to pop a can of spinach and gain instant strength like Popeye? While that may be a fantasy, there are ways to enhance your strength immediately. After years of researching strength training and learning from top experts, I’ve identified six unique methods to increase pushing and pulling strength instantly—no spinach required!…

The type of protein you consume after training can have a major impact on your results. Weight training breaks down muscle fibers and connective tissue. You then need to build that tissue back up and animal protein does a much better job than plant protein since it provides a greater spectrum of the raw materials…

Today’s workout reminded me of a very important lesson: Listen to your body! You’re probably expecting a sermon on how it’s best to hold back a bit in training to make continual progress and reduce the chance of injury. Nine times out of ten that’s true, but not always. Once in a blue moon the…

Mixing powerlifting-style heavy training with bodybuilding-style moderate rep work is a proven strategy for building size and strength simultaneously. Below are four effective methods to structure your training for maximum results. HEAVY EARLY, MODERATE LATE IN A WORKOUT MondayA. DeadliftB. One-Arm RowC. Pulldown WednesdayA. Back SquatB. Leg PressC. Leg Extension FridayA. Incline Bench PressB. Flat…

Elevating the front or back of the feet during lower body exercises can significantly impact range of motion, body position, and muscle activation. Take squats, for example—raising the heels on a wedge, weight plates, or a 2×4 shifts more emphasis onto the quadriceps and helps those with tight hip flexors and calves squat deeper while…

It’s been well over a decade since I read How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb, yet I still practice the art of journaling that I picked up from that book. Unlike traditional journaling focused on emotions, my approach is centered on information gathering—a method that has become invaluable to me. Why…