Eighty Percent Mental

Less than a week after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 2021 Olympics, Dr Pete and Hugh are joined, once again, by Dr Chelsi Day, Sport Psychologist at ‘The’ Ohio State University, and Dr Leah Washington, a professor of sports medicine and sport psychology, to chat about literally everything that happened at the Games. We discuss our favourite moments and yours, the twisties, the impact of the new sports, and the need for more sparkles all round… and a whole lot more too. Enjoy!

• Dr Chelsi Day on Twitter: @sportpsychmind

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 resilience is, what it isn’t, how to demonstrate and build resilience in individuals and teams, and how to make a tube of pringles last for several weeks, this is the episode for you.

• Wendy Searle on Twitter: @betweensnowandsky

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 questions. It’s good though. You’ll like this one!

Elliott Newell is a Senior Performance Pathways Scientist at the English Institute of Sport, and a BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist specialising in Psychological Support. He’s particularly interested in performance communities, talent development practice, and philosophy of sport, and his favourite sweets are not what you’d expect!

• Elliott Newell on Twitter: @ElliottSportPsy

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 four Winter Olympics, but also of competing on the world stage as an international hockey player. Pete, Hugh, and Dr MacNeill explore the differences and similarities of the EVENT and the GRIND from the perspectives of player, coach, and psychologist, in what turned out to be a right Bobby Dazzler of an episode! 

• Dr Karen MacNeill on Twitter: @DrKMacNeill 

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 and injury, to thinking about how we can understand and work with injured athletes more effectively, this episode has everything you need to know to appreciate the role that the mind can play in managing the injury experience.

• Dr Monna Arvinen-Barrow on Twitter: @MABSportPsych

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 children’s sport experiences. We discuss what coaches and clubs can do to engage parents in positive ways, and what parents might do to support their children through their sporting journeys.

• Dr Camilla Knight on Twitter: @cjknight

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 themselves, and the potential dangers of romanticizing ‘winning’ cultures.

There’s something for everyone here, so whether you’re an athlete, coach, psych, or just someone who’s interested in how to do team culture well, get this episode in your ears!

• Rebecca Levett on Twitter: @SportingSuccess

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, and talk about how to tackle the problem of the relentless positivity that seems to invade our social media feeds. 

• Dr Darren Britton on Twitter: @DrDarrenBritton

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 and Exercise science. Arthur coaches’ competitive lifters and those interested in just getting stronger as well as being a thoroughly inquisitive fellow.  Arthur is well respected in the field of strength and we thoroughly recommend you take a look at the No Lift Podcast.

• Arthur Lynch on Instagram: @arthurlynch

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 specialist research area, burnout and coaches.

Find more on Danny Lennon and check out the coaching and nutrition services services offered by him and his employees at Sigma Nutrition.

Website: www.sigmanutrition.com

Twitter @NutritionDanny