The Mental Game

What do you think of when you hear the world adrenaline? Some of you might think of an adrenaline junkie, someone who needs to skydive out of planes to feel alive. Something that feels good to some or may even allow us to perform at our best. Others, might think of fear or feeling overwhelmed.…

She started in the back, where she expected to be, but something changed halfway through the race. She was moving up, and gradually passing one runner after another, keeping a steady rhythm as others slowed. My excitement and enthusiasm grew with each passing lap. “You can PR big! Keep it going!” I’d yell as she…

We all know the clutch athlete when we see them. The Michael Jordan’s of the world who seemingly will their team to victory. The quarterback who comes through time and time again, engineering winning drives as if they’re routine. The athletes who rise to the occasion, improving their performance when the game is on the…

Why power posing works A motto I try to live by is: “Look the other way.” Whenever everyone reaches consensus or heads off in one direction, I remind myself to take a peek over my shoulder and see what the opposite direction offers. I’m not trying to be an intentional contrarian; instead, I’m just building…

The Stress of Life Pain is the name of the game when it comes to performing. We’re all used to dealing with a large amount of effort during our workouts and races. Generally we attribute this to pain coming from the muscles themselves and the effort that it is taking to generate our speed. More…

When it comes to performing at just about any task, what holds us back isn’t our coach or teacher. It’s not our training and practice. It’s often ourselves. When we are in the middle of a performance, our mind almost always searches for an out. A rock to step on during a race, an excuse…

I first came across Dave Hamilton’s work when presenting at a conference put on by the Seattle Sounders. At the time, he worked with USA field hockey, after serving a similar role with British field hockey for the 2012 Olympics. As Dave stood at the lectern presenting his findings, my inbuilt skepticism dissipated into a…

  Think back to a recent poor performance. What was the cause? Maybe you were sick, had poor sleep leading up to the race, overcooked the workouts leading up to the race, or simply ‘gave in’ when the pain set in. Chances are you have an answer to why you ran poorly. It might not…

Self-Improvement Science in the Real World Our ultimate goal for each of these newsletters is to leave you with a better understanding of a performance practice that can help you in your daily life. In service of that goal, we tend to combine academic research and personal experience. We are especially big on the research…