Learning about heart rates is not sexy.  I think that's why I avoided it for so long.  If a topic wasn't about getting stronger or giving me abzz, it wasn't at the top of my priority list.  It's myopic but it's true.

I was also confused with the different types of heart rate data - resting heart rate, heart rate variability, working heart rates, anaerobic threshold, etc.  While obtaining this data is easier than it's ever been with various monitors and FitBits, it's only valuable if you know what to do with it.

What changed? I learned why someone's resting heart rate is directly tied to their ability to get stronger and in better shape.  It's true what they say, "When the student is ready, a teacher appears."

Every time I hear a new Flo Rida song I go through the same pattern of emotions.  Initially, it's anger and confusion.  After the 15th time, it becomes strangely endearing.  After the 30th, I need to listen to it every day and sing it under my breath for the next 2+ weeks.

After going through this pattern - without fail - since "Low" came out in 2008, you think I would've learned.  But as I was singing "My House" to an empty apartment this past week, I realized that listening to Flo Rida mirrors my emotions with half kneeling exercises.

And to answer the elephant in the room: yes, I am an exercise and physiology nerd.

I've hit my share of plateaus.  They're frustrating.  They make you question what you know.  In a sense, they provoke the same reactions as seeing Donald Trump run away with the GOP nomination.

On the flip side, my most rewarding workouts have been those where I've busted through to the other side.  I've also learned much more from missing my goals than I have from achieving them. But seeing the forest through the trees is easier said than done.

If you think your program is the reason you're stuck on your squat/deadlift/press, there are plenty of general programs that'll help get you over the hump.  I'd highly suggest 5/3/1 or some Westside Barbell templates.  They might appear different but they're based on a simple principle - more practice, at varying weights, will help you improve.

That said, programming often gets too much credit for breaking plateaus.  In reality, the secret for 99% of us comes down to good coaching and great execution.  Below are three tips to help exactly that.

The final episode of "MythBusters" aired this past weekend.  I don't know about you, but I'm going to miss their epic goatees, pursuit of science, and blowing things up for pure enjoyment.

This week I'd like to pay homage by putting on my own science cap, requisite goatee, and busting one of the strength and conditioning world's myths.  The problem is that there are a ton:

• Lactic acid isn't what makes your muscles burn, it's an excess of hydrogen ions from the Krebs cycle.  
• Sit-ups and crunches aren't going to give you a six pack, they may actually hurt your lower back.  
• Heavy weights won't make you bulky, but overeating might.

All three of those truths aren't just #broscience but actual science.  Yet I'd like to focus on one particular problem commonly seen in runners: IT Band pain.

I never doubt when people are in pain, but for a tiny piece of fascia on your outer thigh, it sure is the target of a lot of frustration.  What if I told you that the pain in your IT band wasn't actually your IT band?  Rather, it's the result of a badly positioned pelvis.

I'm not a politician.  Nor do I play one on TV.  And being that it's Super Tuesday, I'm happy to be as far away as possible from anything political.

I'd also make a terrible politician as I'm a big fan of the saying, "When the facts change, I change my mind."   Label me a flip flopper, but I'm constantly questioning if I'm doing everything I can to make people move better and be more physically resilient.

The three topics below aren't sudden changes of heart, they're refined approaches to my own system of training.  Ironically, now that I sound like a politician I only have one thing left to say: enjoy!