Mental fitness and psychological resiliency are the final frontiers in performance. The potential for your running is stunning…
When most of us think about peak performance (for runners, the ability to run a Personal Best), we usually think about training.
After all, that’s what prepares our bodies for a big race. The training includes:
- The total mileage of your entire training cycle
- Every workout and set of strides
- The strength training that’s helped keep you healthy
- Each tune-up race en route to your goal race
You can’t race well without getting the training right. That’s for sure.
But as Agent Smith asked Neo in The Matrix, “Still using all the muscles except the one that matters?”
The muscle that matters the most is our brain. It’s the “central governor” that controls how we think, feel, and respond to adversity.
Your mind is what helps you leap out of bed in the morning, excited for a long run (or makes you hit the snooze button too many times and miss your workout…).
Improve your mental skill set and you’ll improve your relationship to running, giving you:
- More motivation to train (and to stay motivated)
- Resiliency in the face of setbacks
- The ability to set challenging but appropriate goals
- Confidence to believe in your capabilities
There are countless other benefits of being more mentally fit (reduced anxiety before big races, mental toughness, more focus, etc.).
But today, I want to explore practical ways of boosting your psychological skills.
And to help, I’ve brought on Dr. Marc Bubbs who’s written the new book Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports.
How to Attain Your Peak Mindset
Dr. Bubbs’ new book covers ground in many areas, including:
- The microbiome and how to resolve gut problems
- Sleep hygiene and circadian rhythms
- Endurance nutrition and refueling
- Emotions and mindset
We’re going to focus on that last topic: the mindset solutions to common psychological problems that runners experience.
As he notes in the book, the brain is your “ultimate performance resource.” Let’s make sure we’re getting everything we can out of our best resource for improvement!
Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND, CISSN, CSCS is a former strength coach and the current Performance Nutrition Lead for Canada Basketball.
He regularly presents at health and medical conferences around the world and has consulted with the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL professional sports leagues in the United States.
On the Strength Running Podcast, we’re discussing a host of issues related to mastering your mindset:
- How to use mindfulness to improve your running
- Mindfulness tips & tricks (not so easy in today’s social media culture)
- Strategies for addressing negative self-talk
- How mental and emotional health drives performance
- Easy ways to get started with sports psychology concepts
Subscribe to the Strength Running Podcast in iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or Google Play.
Show Links & Resources:
- Marc’s new book Peak
- Dr. Marc Bubbs’ website
- Follow Marc on Twitter
- Mental Training (an interview with Dr. Justin Ross)
- Running motivation secrets
- How to build confidence and intrinsic motivation
A big thank you to Dr. Bubbs and our sponsor for making this episode possible!
Thanks TAGALONG
Today’s podcast sponsor is TAGALONG. They’re bridging the gap between professionals and the rest of us. This is a fascinating company that brings you to elite athletes – letting you train right next to them as they give you feedback right then and there in real-time.
TAGALONG is essentially in-person coaching with a professional or Olympic-level athlete – an experience many of us would treasure for years.
And they have more than 50 pro athletes in 6 different sports from running, cycling, triathlon, and more. Their athletes include hurdler Jarret Eaton, Olympic 800m runner Nick Symmonds, and Olympic steeplechaser Aisha Praught-Leer.
If you’re looking for an edge and want to learn from the best, our sponsor can help get you there. Find, hire, and train with a professional athlete with TAGALONG. You can also download the TAGALONG app on the Apple app store.
