Mental Training Lab

In today’s episode we’re joined by Dr. Ashley Cranney . Ashley is a licensed professional counselor and certified mental performance consultant, employed at West Virginia University as Assistant Professor of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. She has been consulting with athletes and performers for nearly fifteen years, sharing her passion for performance enhancement with anyone who will...

Today’s episode is about unpacking a bit of well meaning and ultimately bad advice. It’s advice that puts us in a no-win position where we are spending a ton of energy and attention on forcing our internal experience to fit into a narrow window of conditions. It’s also advice that inadvertently tells us we can’t expand that window to create more grace under fire and a sense of freedom within uncon...

Today, we’ve got Dr. Adrian Ferrera ( @dradrianferrera ) in the lab, and I couldn’t be more excited. As you’ll hear soon - Adrian and I go way back, and it was amazing to get to hear so many amazing and applicable tools from an old friend. Adrian spent a lot of time unpacking the power of self-regulation, how awareness acts as the first step of the mental training journey, and how he gets parents...

Today’s episode is going be a short exploration of our most important resource, which is the combination of time and attention . We’ll start with a short thought exercise, talk about the implications of low quality attention, and then wrap up with how you can be training your attention starting today.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Learn more about The Mental Training Lab Connect with Pet...

My guest today is Dr. Jesse Michel . Jesse helps lead the Performance Psychology Program at Deloitte, where his team provides support and services to over 8500 principals, partners, and managing directors across the US. Previously, he spent four years as the mental skills coordinator for the Houston Astros, and another four years before that as the Lead Master Resilience Trainer at the Army’s Comp...

Mace and Travis Macy join me today for a really special episode. Their new book, A Mile at a Time , is a well-written and unapologetic look at one family’s experience with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Travis and Mace use humor, vulnerability, and channel their willingness to do the hard, important things, to share the highs and lows of their journey. Oh… and in case you didn’t know, both...

In today’s episode, Raymond Prior ( @bts_mindset on twitter) comes back to tackle some of the common myths we hear in the performance psychology world. Honestly, one of my favorite games it so poke the bear and see if I can get Raymond riled up, and so I tossed him some cliches to see what would happen. I tried - and failed - to make this a lightning round… and the truth is there was a lot to dig...

Throughout the ages, there are a number of myths that invoke this image.  A commander and their army step onto foreign soil, and knowing that they are outmatched by the enemy, the commander makes a daring choice.  The army is ordered to burn their boats, leaving only two choices: victory or death. Today's short episode examines the relationship between commitment and trust and how they'r...

This is part 2 of my interview, Cam Smith ( @camfromcb ). If you missed his first episode, it’s definitely worth checking out, and as a quick refresher, Cam is a world-class ski mountaineer and trail runner. He’s an 11 time US Skimo national champion, and 5 time north American ski mo champion. Cam holds the course record for the three largest skimo races in the US, the Power of Four, the Grand Tra...

Today’s guest is Cam Smith ( @camfromcb ). Cam is a multi-sport monster, especially in ski mountaineering and trail running. A quick list of his accomplishments. He’s an 11 time US Skimo national champion, and 5 time north American ski mo champion. Cam holds the course record for the three largest skimo races in the US, the Power of Four, the Grand Traverse, and the Gothic Mountain Tour. He’s the...

Today I’m going to spend some time looking at why challenge, or difficulty, or discomfort, is an essential ingredient for both performing our best under pressure AND continuing to improve relentlessly. I’ll also break down the concept of the Zone of Tolerable Discomfort , what gets in the way of getting uncomfortable on purpose, and what you can do to leverage challenge more effectively as a perfo...

This episode is round 2 with Dr. Raymond Prior ( @bts_mindset on Twitter). This is an extension of our marathon recording session, and builds off of episode 22 . During this portion of our chat, Raymond spends a lot of time clarifying The Three Pillars of Mindfulness : Intention Groundedness Acceptance (specifically why acceptance is a superpower) We also discuss two specific mindfulness practices...

For today’s show I want to take a trip way upstream and look at a couple of high level, universal states of being. Each of us is either in a state of doing or a state of being , all day, every day. In this episode, I explain what each state looks like, the implications of getting stuck in a state of doing, and of course, I’ll close with some recommendations for how we can navigate these states to...

Today’s episode with Dr. Raymond Prior ( @bts_mindset on Twitter) was so packed that I needed to split it into multiple episodes. Here goes round 1! Raymond has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology and as a performance consultant has worked with a wild range of performers, including pro, college, and olympic athletes, pop stars, actors, and high performers in the financial space.  In this first...

Today's episode is another solocast - although a little shorter than previous editions. I wanted to explore what happens when an athlete falls under the spell of doing too much. First we’ll look at some examples of when athletes get hijacked by the urge, then we’ll spend some time looking at why it happens. And of course, we’ll wrap up with a few skills you can be working on to help you fight...

Today’s episode is with Kirsten Cooper ! Who is Kirsten? Well, she’s a badass, and let me tell you why. She’s dedicated a large part of her career to supporting athletes as they transition out of sport. Kirsten was a professional alpine ski racer, competing for the United States Ski Team, and won a national championship with the University of Colorado. As you’ll hear, her experience leaving the sp...

For today’s episode I got to sit down with Dr. Nicole Gabana ( @DrNicoleGabana ). Nicole is a licensed psychologist and certified mental performance consultant who specializes in helping athletes and individuals maximize their mental game in performance and life.   She currently works in private practice, specializing in a holistic approach to performance, with an emphasis on seeing athletes as wh...

Today’s deep dive is going to be aimed at unpacking a phenomenon I call ‘holding your best performance hostage’. The idea was touched on briefly in my interview with Dr. Ashwin Patel, and is worth exploring with a bit more time and space.  We’ll start with what I mean by ‘holding your best performance hostage’, then we’ll talk about why it is our brains and our minds go to this place and build the...

This episode is part 2 of a reverse interview with episode 10's Jean Laurenz ( @jeanlaurenz on IG). We close out the conversation by unpacking the value of redefining success in terms that you can control, we deep dive into the power of breathing as it relates to practice and performance, and we close with a few miscellaneous questions, including how booze helps and hurts performance! For mor...

Today, episode 10's Jean Laurenz ( @jeanlaurenz on IG) interviews ME, on a wide array of topics. After having her on the show, we realized there was still a ton of ground to cover, particularly as mental training relates to musicianship. Jean takes the reins and fires away on questions regarding: - What Triggers Flow - The Why and How of Balancing Challenge and Skill - Practical Embodiment Fo...

Today’s guest is Ashwin Patel. Ashwin is a Professor and Program Coordinator for the Sport Management and Recreation and Leisure Services programs at Humber College. He is also the co-founder of Sport and Wellness Consulting with Dr. Noah Gentner. Ashwin received his Ph. D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Tennessee and upon graduating, Ashwin spent seven and a half years as...

Today’s guest is Ashwin Patel. Ashwin is a Professor and Program Coordinator for the Sport Management and Recreation and Leisure Services programs at Humber College. He is also the co-founder of Sport and Wellness Consulting with Dr. Noah Gentner. Ashwin received his Ph. D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Tennessee and upon graduating, Ashwin spent seven and a half years as...

In today’s deep dive, I’m going to dig into the concept of awareness. Awareness is the master key that opens the door to purposeful, sustainable change, and so it’s worth a little extra time and energy to deconstruct it and consider how we can train it on purpose.  I start with why awareness matters, talk about the two different components of awareness, and finish up with two (familiar) skills and...

For today’s episode, we’ve got ultrarunner Addie Bracy ( @addiebracy ) in the lab. Addie ran track at the University of North Carolina, and is a three time qualifier at the US Olympic Trials. Since 2016, she’s embraced the world of trail running, winning three US National Championships and helping Team USA to gold and silver medals at the World Championships. Addie represent Nike Trail, and at ult...

Today’s guest is Dr. Aimee Kimball ( @AimeeKimball ). Aimee has worked in a variety of peak performance settings, starting with the UPMC center for sports medicine, and her own private practice in Pittsburgh. In a decade as the mental training consultant for the Pittsburgh Penguins, she was a part of two Stanley Cup winning teams, and is currently the Director of Player and Team Development for th...