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've had a hard time considering myself a novice.

When I ordered my first Captains of Crush grippers, I ignored the recommended starting point. "I can almost deadlift three times my bodyweight," I remember thinking. "Why would I need a 'Trainer' set?"

Thirty minutes after the grippers arrived? I was on Amazon, choking down my inflated sense of self, ordering the "Trainer."

It was far from the first time I've made that mistake, and I've been as guilty as the next person thinking I'm "advanced." After all, novices are people who have never sniffed a weight, still use the term "kettleballs,” or think "arm day" involves hundreds of tricep kickbacks. Right?

Wrong.

You could have a blog solely dedicated to the Turkish Get-up.  Granted, not many people would read it - besides myself, obviously - but there are so many intricacies and variations that it's hard to learn them all.  If you've been around kettlebells and heavy get-ups for any significant period of time, you know what I'm talking about.

(Unless, of course, your idea of a get-up is to stand up "any way possible."  Because that's a terrible idea.)

While StrongFirst has plenty of content on the difficult steps of the get-up, I'd like to highlight one of the more underutilized steps: the hinge. And if you a) are shaking your head vigorously in agreement, or b) had no idea there's a hinge in the get-up, you're going to want to read below.

I never thought I'd be a staunch advocate for kettlebells.

For one, they look like cannonballs.

Second, if I learned anything from "Rocky IV," don't trust the Eastern Bloc.

And third, nothing makes my ears sing like the melodious crashing of heavy barbells.

But here I am, penning (er, typing) exactly a post on that. How did I get here?

Pavel Tsatsouline has written a great post on the relationship between mental toughness and strength. In short, the phrase "mental toughness" usually conjures up images of endurance - a marathoner on mile 20+, a cyclist battling the steep climbs of the Tour de France, or a boxer surviving the late rounds.  But Pavel argues that mental toughness is just as present during maximal expressions of strength.

And as someone who is notorious for my grind-it-out style of lifting - once performing an exhausting 14 second deadlift during a Tactical Strength Challenge - I conveniently fit Pavel's argument. :)

But I'd like to add to what Pavel has already written - mental toughness isn't only present during the attempt, it's most important before the attempt. In a sense, it's what goes on before the camera app is opened and Instagrams are posted.