About

Alex McLaren is an Edinburgh-based Strength & Mobility Coach who works with active people navigating injury or chronic pain - helping them get back to running, lifting, hiking, or the sport they love, while building trust in their own body along the way.

The approach is built on a simple idea: training should be a partnership with your body, not a dictatorship. Pain is feedback, not something to fear or push through blindly. Alex's clients don't just get a programme - they get taught how their own body works, so they can keep training well long after the coaching relationship ends.

That means real strength work, grounded in a deep understanding of joint health and sustainable movement (Alex is Edinburgh's only provider of Functional Range Conditioning and Kinstretch), combined with a coaching style shaped by continual study under leading names in biomechanics, rehab and performance - including David Grey, Alec Blenis, Zac Cupples, Quentin "Q" Willey, Dr. Andreo Spina and Dewey Nielsen.

Alex has coached Scottish Premiership and former Premier League footballers, dancers, stuntmen, and professional ultra runners - but the work that matters most is the same for everyone: raising the baseline, restoring trust in a body that's stopped feeling reliable, and building the kind of independence that means clients don't need Alex forever.

Alex’s background is as a former international-level swimmer for Canada. During his athletic career, he was plagued with injuries and had to throw up his goggles shortly before the 2012 London Olympic Trials, where Alex was trying to earn a spot on Canada’s Olympic Team.

Since then, Alex has been on a mission to find the best, most sustainable ways to train for long-term health and success. He has a deep understanding and empathy for people who suffer from injuries that hold them back from their passions, whether they are training for sports, or for life in general.

Alex’s passions include running, wild-swimming and eating local organic food, and the odd gin-based cocktail (former bartender), amongst many other things!

Part of the story that lead Alex to where he is now, is that (in 2014) he experienced acute gastrointestinal inflammation that forced him to take nutrition and diet very seriously. Initially having had to take 4 pills/day to manage his symptoms, Alex has now made it to the point where he no longer needs to use pharmaceuticals.

Alex sees his past history with injuries and gut problems as a blessing that has helped guide him to a place where he can help others take ownership of their own health.