Instead of my normal ramblings this week, I wanted to share a few podcasts that I've been fortunate to be a part of.  My good friend and former coworker, Jon Carroll, has been hosting and producing The Pillars of Health podcast.  It focuses on the four pillars of health - sleep, stress management, nutrition, and exercise - and how you can maximize them to live your best life.

(And for my fellow "Bachelorette" fans, yes, former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay can learn something too. Even though she's already claimed she's "living her best life." Insert the laughing, crying emoji.)

The first episode I'd like to highlight was released earlier today on iTunes.  Titled "Optimizing Your Strength and Exercise Goals," Jon and I expand on my previous blog post about novice and advanced lifters. We also discuss some of my favorite programs for the general population, as well as many of the mistakes I've made earlier in my career, so you can enjoy more gainz without the pains.

I never paid much attention to conditioning.  I thought it was an easy concept to understand.  Do some cardio once a week, hard intervals if you can, and you'll be in shape in no time.  Except if you wanted to build muscle - then don't do any cardio, ever.

And now?  I'm eating my hat.

Thanks to people like Joel Jamieson, our industry has actual science to combat the #broscience.  It's this actual science that's made me change my mind on everything above - we actually need much less interval work; more long slow cardio; and that a proper conditioning plan is incredibly detail oriented.

Below are the three biggest takeaways that anyone can implement immediately into their own programs.

I've never been someone who struggled with the overhead press.  I might be terrible at other press variations - namely, the bench press - but I'm somewhat of a freak when it comes to putting heavy weights overhead.  

So when I fell short of completing the Beast Tamer in August, I finally realized what the overhead press is like for normal people.

But becoming a Beast Tamer is one of my lifetime strength goals. I decided I could 1) give up or 2) work to press the 48k (106 lb) and make it look easy.  Naturally, I chose the latter. 

I spent yesterday afternoon giggling and nodding in agreement as I reread my Myers-Briggs personality result.  What's the Myers-Briggs personality test?  It's a self-report questionnaire designed to indicate how people perceive the world and make decisions.  Or as I like to call it, the "get out of my head!" test.

While I've known my result for a while - an INTJ - I like to read the description every few years as it's a humbling and affirming tool.  For example, INTJ's tend to challenge traditional ways of thinking and have very high self-confidence (would it be too ironic to say that I agree?).  On the flip side, INTJ's can also be seen as arrogant and judgmental.

Why is that important?  Because you may believe I'm all four qualities after reading my thoughts below on Crossfit.