Sport Psychology & Mental Training

Polarized training is most successful when your body is ready to undertake high-intensity sessions. Understanding how your autonomic nervous system works can help you time it right.

As a coach, you are in a privileged position to have a great impact on your athlete's development. Learn how to use this wisely.

Joe Friel addresses the problems that athletes most commonly face en route to their goals: training plateaus, inconsistent training or lack of motivation, inadequate sleep, and prioritizing performance at the expense of health.

There's a fine line separating performance and athletic potential—and ambition can easily blur an athlete's judgment and decision-making. This case study highlights an athlete hoping to qualify to compete in triathlon's debut at the Olympic Games. It illustrates the real consequences of overtraining, the road back to racing, and how training load can be better managed to avoid the high-stakes gamble altogether.

Every coach will be involved in athletic performances that fall short of expectations, leaving both the coach and the athlete dissatisfied. What is the best way to handle these situations? In the aftermath of failure and disappointment, the coach needs to gather and analyze the available evidence, thinking through exactly what led to the poor performance, and then make decisions about how to get the athlete back on track before the next competition.

All athletes reach a point where progress depends more on the skills they can build between their ears, more than the strength of their legs or lungs. The very best athletes are as strong mentally as they are physically. Grant Holicky, Dr. Stephen Cheung, Dr. Simon Marshall, Lesley Paterson, Julie Emmerman, and Julie Young help us explore these critical and often overlooked mental skills.

Joe Friel describes a time when his coaching method and philosophy were put to the test—and how he recognized the challenge and refined his approach.

Coach Julie Young explores the science, mental skills, and strategies that help us manage the stress of racing.