Steel and Sage Podcast

Six moves. One kettlebell. Zero wasted time. This workout strings together an offset squat, front-rack lateral squat, overhead reverse lunge, thruster, snatch, and windmill into a flowing 30-second-per-move sequence that hits your whole body while quietly exposing exactly where your core stability breaks down. Spoiler: it’s usually the overhead work. This isn’t about lifting heavy. It’s about trai...

Every exercise in this circuit asks the same thing: can you produce power without losing your center? From renegade rows on the bench to band-assisted push-ups, this is a workout built around the principle that strength without stability is just chaos. Breakdown, coaching cues, and modifications included. Thanks for reading Steel and Sage! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my wor...

This 10-minute routine was built for runners in midlife who want to train smarter, not just harder. Using a fabric resistance band and light to medium weights, we focus on the stability and strength work that actually supports your running — the stuff most people skip. We move through single-leg lunges at the clock face to challenge hip stability and balance, lateral raises with intentional should...

There’s a reason the squat shows up in virtually every strength program ever written. It’s foundational — a full lower-body press that, done well, builds quad strength, stability, and functional power. Done carelessly, it tweaks your back, loads one leg unevenly, or just quietly reinforces bad habits over time. In this week’s video, I walk you through the squat from the ground up. We start by dist...

If you’ve ever watched someone deadlift and thought, I could never do that — this is where we start. Not with a barbell. Not even with dumbbells. Just with your own body and a curtain rod. The hip hinge is the movement underneath the deadlift, the Romanian deadlift, the kettlebell swing, and a dozen other exercises you’ll encounter in strength training. Get this one pattern into your body, and a w...

Forget crunches — the most important core muscles are the ones you can’t see. In this video, we’re going deep beneath the surface to strengthen the muscles that actually stabilize your spine and protect your body as you age. These deep core muscles are supposed to fire before you even move — but over time, most of us lose that connection. We’ll rebuild it with simple floor-based exercises you can...

This quick cardio-core circuit uses a modified Tabata format—30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest—to deliver a surprisingly intense workout with minimal equipment. Designed to challenge your heart, legs, and core while staying simple, adaptable, and efficient, it’s ideal for days when time and energy are limited but movement still matters. Movement & Safety Disclaimer: This workout is for educat...

Most of us stretch and strengthen our hips regularly—but that doesn’t always mean we’re aware of how they’re actually functioning. In this gentle, supine practice, we slow everything down. You’ll explore subtle leg lengthening, pelvic shifts, and internal and external hip rotation while noticing how the core, inner thighs, and pelvis respond. Nothing dramatic. Nothing forced. This is the kind of a...

If your body is exhausted but your mind won’t switch off, Yoga Nidra offers a different way into rest. This guided practice uses breath awareness and a slow, structured body scan to help downshift your nervous system, release tension, and create the internal conditions for sleep. Rather than striving for relaxation, you’re invited to simply lie down and follow the guidance as the body softens natu...

So much fitness content pushes you to go harder, faster, and heavier—without asking whether your body can actually handle it. This Smart Strength circuit workout is built differently. Instead of chasing exhaustion, this session focuses on: * Full-body strength that works with your joints * Core stability that protects your spine and hips * Power training balanced with control and recovery * Unilat...

As we head into a new year, it’s tempting to overhaul everything at once — bigger goals, harder workouts, stricter plans. But often, what our bodies actually need is much simpler. In this walking reflection, we talk honestly about aging, recovery, stubborn tension, and the quiet ways our bodies compensate when joints and tissues get tight. We explore why many of us train like we’re still in our 30...

In this episode, I break down new research on high-fat diets and liver health and place it in a broader context of fad diets, metabolic stress, and long-term sustainability. We look beyond testimonials and short-term weight loss to ask a harder question: Can extreme diets support health as we age—or do they quietly increase risk over time? If you care about evidence-based nutrition, liver health,...

Headlines love to stir outrage—especially when it comes to food. In this episode, I unpack a recent study that may spark people to claim that plant-based diets are just as bad as eating meat , and explains why that framing misses the point. Drawing from decades of nutrition research and a new large French cohort study, I explore how ultra-processed foods—whether plant-based or animal-based—are the...

What if most health headlines aren’t written to help you at all? In this episode, I share what I learned working inside a high-traffic health media site—how SEO formulas, clickbait headlines, and ad revenue often shape “wellness news” more than science does. From miracle vegetables to recycled diet trends, this is a behind-the-scenes look at why so much health content misses the mark—and how to re...

This walking podcast begins with an ordinary morning: coffee sweetened with a little eggnog, a packet of oatmeal, and the assumption that these familiar foods are “healthy enough.” But a quick glance at a glucose monitor tells a different story. As I walk, I reflect on how small food choices—especially ultra-processed convenience foods—can quietly spike blood sugar, even in people who exercise reg...

In this windy, wandering morning walk with Charlie, we explore what the research actually says about walking for brain health — and why the “right” kind of walking depends on much more than pace and heart rate zones. In this episode, I talk about how different types of walking affect different parts of the brain, including regions responsible for navigation, spatial memory, stress regulation, and...

In today’s walk, we explore what TikTok gets wrong —and what the research gets right —about so-called “Japanese walking.” While viral creators promise it can “take 10 years off your life,” the truth is both more grounded and more impressive. Two major studies—one published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2007) and one in Cureus (2024) —tested whether adding short bursts of fast walking to your rou...

On this early-morning walk, we reflect on a simple North Face jacket that’s been with me for more than 30 years—and the surprising story that unfolded when it went missing. What began as a moment of frustration and “bad luck” slowly revealed itself as something else entirely: a reminder that compassion still moves quietly through the world. In this meditation, we explore: * How easily we mislabel...

On this chilly morning walk, we notice how often progress seems stuck at “zero”—just like a sluggish Apple Watch—yet real change still begins with a single step. As we move through the cold, we reflect on how easily we aim too high, chase flashy goals, or follow someone else’s idea of success without asking what we actually want. Through stories from endurance training, marathon prep, unexpected f...

In this first episode of the Holiday Sanity Challenge, we take a mindful walk together—early morning, slow, and intentional. You’ll learn why even a simple 20-minute walk can calm holiday stress, support your immune system, stabilize glucose spikes, and help you reconnect with your own inner compass. We talk about circadian rhythm, wearable data, overtraining tendencies, and why gentle movement is...

Are you tired of fitness influencers telling you there’s one secret to losing belly fat after menopause? In this video, I take aim at the oversimplified (and often mansplained) advice that floods YouTube and social media—like “just lift weights” or “just do HIIT.” As a former Ironman athlete, bodybuilding competitor, and health writer, I’ve seen firsthand how menopause changes the game. In this ca...

Fitness marketers promise huge calorie burn from weighted vests—but research tells a more nuanced story. From minimal calorie differences to surprising benefits for obesity, hiking prep, and bodyweight training, this video explores when weighted vests are actually useful—and when they’re just extra baggage. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...

Here’s a surprisingly easy way to support bone health—especially for women navigating perimenopause and beyond. While it's normal to lose around 20% of bone density in the first 5–7 years after menopause , incorporating just a few minutes of plyometric (jump-style) movements daily can help your body stay resilient. What You’ll Learn: * The silent bone loss that happens around menopause and why it’...