The Mental Game
The Reality and Psychology of the Racing Slump
Bad races are tough to witness as a coach, and even harder to experience as an athlete. The feelings of despair, hopelessness, and confusion are ever present. We do our best to put it behind, move onto the next one. But if we aren’t careful, they’re effects can linger, far after the race is complete.…
Read MoreWhat You Say Matters: How The Post-Race Debrief Influences Performance
The race is over, the games done. You have a moment to collect your thoughts before you have a chance to make one instantaneous impression. Do you drop a word of wisdom, try to get in a quick correction, say nothing, or give a simple pat on the back and a “good job.” Fast-forward fifteen…
Read MoreDoping, Lying, and How Your Brain Adapts to Everything
Our brain adapts to everything– regardless of whether it is good or bad. When something we say, hear, or do doesn’t fit with the reality we know, our brain lets us know. A subtle blip, a wave of electrical activity, goes off in our brain, signaling that something isn’t quite right. That an error we…
Read MoreOvertraining- Why a little perspective matters
“It’s better to undertrain than to overtrain” This phrase is ingrained in every coach’s mind. It’s cliché to say, but like many clichés the truth rings loudly. Take a glance at our modern world: early specialization, 10,000 hour rule maxims, emphasis on miles run per week or number of gut-wrenching intervals completed. It’s no wonder…
Read MoreStrength Training, Dating, and Models- How our beliefs impact us as coaches
Over the past week, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time with Strength Coaches. It started with Vern Gambetta’s fabulous GAIN conference in Houston which brings a diverse group of coaches, trainers, and educators. Following the fire hose of information shot at you that is GAIN, I got to experience a different kind of education.…
Read MoreNewsletter- Turn Nerves and Anxiety into Triumph
When I first got into coaching, I would read every book imaginable on the subject. I started with the classic training texts like Lydiard, Coe, and Wilt, before venturing into the latest science and physiology from Brooks or Costill. As someone who was known for reading the picture books of the assigned classics in English class, the…
Read MoreRecovery Addict: How overemphasizing recovery creates dependency
On my glass shower door is a message scrawled across in black marker in my distinctly illegible handwriting that says “Look the other way.” It’s not some cryptic paranoid message, but instead it’s a daily reminder to consider other possibilities. I’ve found that, whenever we see everyone jumping on the bandwagon and all nodding in…
Read MoreWhy you should change your mind: The power of letting your Ego go and cognitive dissonance
A strange phenomenon happens on our journey towards perceived expertise: we get stuck. To figure out coaching, or well anything in life, we take the complexity that is life and break it down into a practical, and usable, one. Or as Philosopher Daniel Dennett in his book Intuition Pumps states, “Oversimplifications…cut through the hideous complexity with…
Read MoreCigarette Smoking Enhances Endurance- The dangers of narrowing focus
If I had to pinpoint one skill that I’m good at in an academic setting, it’s that of coalescing information. I love the feeling of sifting through all of the academic research available, making sense of it, and then connecting it to the practical world. The feeling of connecting disparate ideas is something that I’ll…
Read MorePsychology of Doping- Why we’re fighting a losing battle-
We’re fighting a losing battle is a phrase that is thrown around far too frequently. It’s meant to show despair but also to inspire a change of direction. When it comes to performance enhancing drug use in sport, sadly this cliche phrase is applicable. We are losing a fight that needs to be won, if…
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