excellence, actually1 Feb 2024

009 - Mental & Physical Skills of the World's Best Athlete (with Damian Warner)

Over the course of two days, Olympic decathletes participate in ten different track and field events, ranging from pole vault and shot put to long jump and a 1500-meter run. It’s a grueling competition that requires speed, strength, explosiveness and technical ability, which is why, in addition to receiving a gold medal, the winner is also crowned the “best athlete in the world.” Right now, that title belongs to Canada’s Damian Warner, who took home the gold in Tokyo in 2021. On today’s episode, Warner opens up about his journey to becoming a world-class athlete: how he was introduced to the decathlon by his basketball coaches (who became, and are still, his decathlon coaches); how the very same year he started training, 2010, he won silver at the Canadian championships. He also goes deep on his mental and physical approach that has helped him sustain success for over a decade: why stacking consistently good days is more important than having great days; how to focus in a two-day, 10-event competition, including how to move on not just from an event that goes poorly but from an event that goes really well; how he uses visualization and pre-competition routines to anchor himself; and what training during a Covid and having a kid taught him about the importance of being flexible.

Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(368)

The Sports Psychologist Who Taught MJ and Kobe How to "Manage the Moment" (Rerun)

(This week, we are revisiting a conversation from last year that Brad and Clay had with George Mumford. It's one of our most popular episodes and one we personally have come back to many times — so we...

27 Aug 39min

Peptides 101: Evaluating Hype, Risk, and Reward

Peptides! They're everywhere in the health and performance world (and, increasingly, outside of it, too). So... what is a peptide? Are they safe? Should you be taking them? We're going to get into all...

20 Aug 33min

How to Not Turn Into a Robot

This week, we're reacting to an article about the rise of souped-up A.I. baby monitors, and a video from popular podcast host Chris Williamson responding to the anti-optimization movement. Both hint a...

13 Aug 34min

How to Reset Your Focus

Why is it so hard to focus these days—and what can we do about it? On today's episode, we talk about the science behind our collapsing focus and fractured attention. (If you're feeling frazzled, foggy...

6 Aug 41min

The Ten Commandments of Coaching

Coaching is one of the most meaningful and valuable jobs out there. Which is why it's all the more important that it's done the right way. Today, Steve and Brad—who have more than 30 years of sports a...

30 Jul 45min

World Cup & Mile World Record: Consistency, Joy, and Calling Your Shot

Brad and Steve are solo for a throwback episode. First, they discuss Josh Kerr's mile world record: Kerr called his shot four months ago, named the time, named the meet, and then went and did it, fuel...

23 Jul 41min

Don't Get Rid of Anxiety. Use It.

It's natural to want to get rid of anxiety. It's uncomfortable, we worry that it holds us back from being our best, and we believe that those who perform at the highest levels have figured out a way t...

16 Jul 38min

How to Endure, According to a 4-Time Tour de France Cyclist

What is it like to race 21 days across France wearing little more than underwear, going over 50 miles an hour, burning 8,000 calories a day, in the shadow of the ever-present threat of a violent pelot...

9 Jul 46min