Eighty Percent Mental

Dr Pete and Hugh find out everything you’ll ever need to know about resilience, with help from Dr Mustafa ‘Resilience’ Sarkar , a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, and Wendy Searle , the 7th woman in history to ski 700 miles, unsupported, from Hercules Inlet to the geographic South Pole. If you want to know what resil...

This one is long! Just to mix things up a little, we decided to get you, dearest listeners, to come up with the questions for Dr Pete and Hugh to answer. “Ask us anything,” we said… and you did. From tips on imposter syndrome to getting in ‘The Zone’ to the greatest crisps of all time, Pete, Hugh, and special guest Elliott Newell  talk for what turned out to be bloody ages, answering your question...

There are some sports for which athletes might spend a lifetime preparing for one shot, one opportunity. Other sports require a long push through a season, competing day in, day out, for months, only to start again the next year. The EVENT and the GRIND.   Dr Pete and Hugh are joined by  Dr Karen MacNeill , who has experience of preparing athletes as a performance consultant and psychologist at fo...

In this episode, Dr Pete and Hugh consider the psychology of injury with special guest experts, Dr Monna Arvinen-Barrow , a Chartered Psychologist, Mental Performance Coach, and Associate Professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Dr Damien Clement , Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology/Athletic Training at West Virginia University. From exploring the link between stress a...

In this episode, Dr Pete and Hugh think about how to work with and how to be good sports parents. Dr Camilla Knight , Associate Professor at Swansea University and a specialist in parental involvement in youth sport, and Andy Bradshaw , Senior Coach Developer at UK Coaching and a coach with over 30 years’ experience, talk about the positive and negative influences that parents can have on their ch...

If you’re part of a team, you do not want to miss this episode. Dr Pete and Hugh talk to two absolute legends to find out how to get team culture right. Performance psychologist, Rebecca Levett , and culture coach, author, and Global Chief Culture Officer at Right to Dream , Dr Pippa Grange, talk about defining success, the benefits of creating an environment where people can freely express themse...

In the opening episode of Series 2, Dr Pete and Hugh talk to chartered sport and exercise psychologist and lecturer, Dr Darren Britton , and registered sport and exercise psychologist, Matt Cunliffe to find out how to think straight about psychology. In a world full of Instagram experts and 'media psychologists', we explore how we might separate the pseudoscience from the evidence-based practice,...

Dr Pete and Hugh were invited onto the No Lift Podcast , hosted by Arthur Lynch, to discuss burnout and drop out in athletes specifically powerlifting athletes.  Arthur Lynch is a bit of an enigma. Having competed at multiple IPF World Championships representing Ireland, he knows a thing or two about strength. But he's not just a very strong dude; he has a PhD in muscle physiology and BSc in Sport...

Danny Lennon claims on his Instagram to be an expert at nothing and curious about a lot. We think only one of those things is true. Founder of Sigma Nutrition and head of content creation for the company, Danny hosts top-ranked podcast, Sigma Nutrition Radio, and is a respected educator in the field. Dr Pete and Hugh were invited onto the Sigma Nutrition Radio Podcast to discuss Dr Pete’s speciali...

In this festive edition of Eighty Percent Mental, Dr Pete and Hugh look back at Series One, look forward to Series 2, and try to spread some festive cheer at the end of what has been... well let's just say a memorable 2020.     

Welcome to EPM Extras! In this mini-podcast episode, you can hear some of the extra bits from Episode 1.02, where Dr Pete and Hugh talked to Prof. Dave Collins , Director at  Grey Matters Performance Ltd ., about the controversial idea of a 'Winning Mindset'  Dave Collins on Twitter:  @DCGreyMattersUK   Grey Matters: www.greymattersuk.com  

In this, the final episode of Series 1, we talk to one of the world’s leading experts on Mindfulness, Joe Mannion , to find out just what all the fuss is about. What is mindfulness really, and perhaps more importantly, what is not mindfulness? What’s the theory, and is there actually any evidence to show that it’s helpful? Who shouldn’t do it? We answer all of these questions and more on Episode 1...

In this episode, we learn how to practice bobsleigh in the bath! We discuss the idea of mental rehearsal and see what the benefits of using it might be. Along with special guest Eoghan McNeill , a PhD researcher from the University of Limerick in Ireland, we explore the differences between imagery, visualisation, and mental practice. We talk about how imagery is thought to work, and what the poten...

In our first ever EightyPercentMental Sidecast, Dr Pete and Hugh take over the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast. You don’t have to be into rugby to enjoy this one though! Hugh is asking the questions, while Pete, and guests, Ross Shand and Dr Andrew Wood discuss how they would solve real-life problems. The catch? They don’t know what the questions are going to be, and they each have to give a different...

Dr Pete and Hugh find out everything we need to know about setting goals by talking with performance psychologist for British Para-Swimming, Charlotte Hinchliffe , and chartered sport and exercise psychologist Hannah Brooks . In this episode, we discuss what setting goals actually does for us, talk about some of the reasons that we often find goals so hard to stick to, and think about how athletes...

Dr Pete and Hugh explore the importance of confidence. In this episode, we interview two athletes: Britain’s number 1 shot putter and World Championship finalist, Sophie Mckinna , and Rio 2016 Paralympic Silver medallist (Para Powerlifting) and Crohn’s disease warrior, Ali Jawad . We get some fascinating insights into what confidence means to them, how they build and maintain confidence when thing...

Welcome to EPM Extras! In this mini-podcast episode, you can hear some of the extra bits from Episode 1.05, where Dr Pete and Hugh asked Dr Josie Perry and Jo Davies why we get nervous and what we should do about it. If you've listened to that episode already, you know what else you're going to find here too! Dr Josie Perry on Twitter: @Josephineperry Performance in Mind website: https://performan...

In this highly competitive and somewhat musical episode of EightyPercentMental, we talk with Dr Josephine Perry , a sport psychologist who literally wrote the book on Performing under Pressure , and Jo Davies , who runs a private practice consultancy focusing on sport psychology, wellbeing, and personal development. We try to get to the bottom of why it is that we get nervous, what anxiety actuall...

The Mental GOAT conversation continues. In Part II, we talk more about the qualities that make up mental ‘greatness’ – whatever that is – and how we can develop them in practice.  With Dr Chelsi Day , a specialist in clinical psychology at ‘The’ Ohio State University,  Todd Cauthorn , ex-professional Basketball player, and  Dr Leah Washington a professor of Sports Medicine and Sport Psychology, wh...

This week, Dr Pete and Hugh are joined by  Dr Chelsi Day , Sport Psychologist at ‘The’ Ohio State University,  Todd Cauthorn , ex-professional Basketball player, and  Dr Leah Washington , a professor of Sports Medicine and Sport Psychology. In this episode we try to determine, once and for all, who - mentally speaking anyway - is the greatest athlete of all time.... Who is the Mental GOAT?  Dr Che...

We talk to  Prof. Dave Collins , Director at  Grey Matters Performance Ltd ., about the idea of a ‘winning mindset’. Dave has worked with over 70 World or Olympic medalists, coached to national level in three sports, is a 5th Dan black belt in Karate, and an ex Royal Marine – and that’s not even the half of it!  In this episode, we explore the concept of the ‘winning mindset’ and what such a thing...

In this episode, Dr Pete Olusoga & Hugh Gilmore talk to  Dr Jonathan Fader,  a clinical and performance psychologist, best known for his work in Major League Baseball and the NFL. We discuss what sport psychology is (and what it isn't), and some of the ways that psychology might help athletes and coaches take their performance to the next level.  Dr. Fader is the co-founder of Union Square Practic...

Just a short introduction to the Eighty Percent Mental podcast. In three minutes, Dr Pete Olusoga explains what this podcast series is about, and what you can expect from each episode. 

Welcome to Eighty Percent Mental. This is just a short preview of what you can expect from this brand new podcast all about the psychology of sport and performance.