Mental Training Lab

Scott Stallings is a PGA Tour golfer who stepped off the green and ran right into the Boston Marathon - with no experience. In this episode of the Mental Training Lab, I’m joined by Scott and performance expert Steve Magness to explore this athletic and psychological journey.

Inspired by Steve’s groundbreaking book Do Hard Things, Scott stepped completely outside his comfort zone, confronting challenges that tested his resilience, self-awareness, and mental adaptability. We hear what Scott learned about balancing response and reaction under pressure, how embracing vulnerability unlocked new insights, and why sometimes the most valuable performance lessons come from being willing to feel completely lost.

This episode challenges traditional ideas about mental toughness, performance, and embraces the power of a beginner’s mindset. If you’re looking to push your limits or redefine what you’re capable of—whether in sports, business, or everyday life—this conversation is packed with evidence-based insights and relatable wisdom to help you thrive.

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
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This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

How can subtle changes in your physical awareness dramatically improve your performance and well-being? Today on the Mental Training Lab, I’m thrilled to welcome Mary Bond—renowned author, Structural Integration practitioner, and expert in physical intelligence—to discuss the power of posture and embodied movement. Forget the stiff, uncomfortable posture teachings of the past. Mary helps us reframe posture not as rigid alignment but as dynamic, playful, and deeply connected to our internal sensations and external environment.

In our insightful conversation, Mary reveals how you can leverage simple sensory practices to reconnect with your body, enhance your physical intelligence, and ultimately boost your overall performance. We explore groundbreaking concepts like tensegrity, grounding, fascia’s role in sensory feedback, and how integrating these subtle shifts can significantly impact your movement, resilience, and adaptability.

Join us and learn how becoming attuned to your body’s subtle signals can unlock more effortless performance, reduce tension, and provide a richer experience of embodiment in everything you do.

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Ever wonder how elite performers consistently achieve peak results without burning out? Today I'm diving in with Alex Auerbach, performance psychologist and CEO of Momentum Labs, to unpack his powerful three-stage framework: understanding yourself, becoming your best, and producing maximum results. Alex brings his expertise from working alongside world-class athletes in the NBA, NFL, MLB, Olympians, elite military units, and Fortune 5 companies to share practical insights on how to optimize your strengths, embrace discomfort, and use recovery as an investment in long-term success.

We discuss why relentless effort isn’t enough—why self-awareness, intentional recovery, and identifying your "signature strength" can propel you further, faster. Alex offers actionable strategies, like utilizing the VIA Character Strengths test and effectively seeking feedback. If you're ready to understand how sustainable excellence is built from the inside out, this episode’s got you covered.

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Today we’re working through the dynamics of team culture with Dr. Kensa Gunter. Does the culture shape the team, or do the people define the culture? Join us as we explore how these elements interact like a living, breathing organism, constantly evolving and influencing one another.

With Dr. Gunter’s experience as a licensed psychologist and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), we’ll dive into how creating a supportive, inclusive environment is not just beneficial but essential for nurturing psychological safety and fostering peak performance. Tune in and discover how you can cultivate a thriving team culture that champions well-being and development alongside success. 

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Unlike resilience, antifragility is about growing stronger from challenges and proactively seeking them out. To learn more about this tool, I went straight to the experts: co-founders of Antifragile Academy Adam Wright and Nick Holton. They share practical strategies for fostering psychological and behavioral flexibility, the importance of supportive environments, and how these principles can be applied to achieve not just survival, but thriving success.

Tune in to learn how to turn life’s stressors into fuel for personal and professional growth, and learn actionable steps to cultivate an antifragile mindset in your own life. For anyone looking to dive deeper into the principles of antifragility and how to apply them, I highly recommend visiting The Antifragile Academy’s website. They offer a range of resources from courses to coaching that can guide you on your journey to becoming not just resilient, but truly antifragile.

Learn more about The Antifragile Academy

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Today we’re stepping onto the course with PGA Tour pro Scott Stallings, a master of resilience who's turned his recent injuries into opportunities for personal growth. In this episode, Scott takes us through his intense rehab journey following a labrum and bicep tendon tear, and his ambitious goal of running the Boston Marathon. He also shares how his role as a coach for the University of Tennessee golf team has kept him deeply connected and engaged with the sport.

Scott also unpacked how he’s continued to adapt to evolving golf technology and shares training regimes that have significantly shaped his approach to both sport and life. He underscores the impact of mentoring young athletes, explaining how this experience has rejuvenated his love for the game and enriched his perspectives on performance and leadership.

Whether you're an athlete, coach, or anyone navigating through personal and professional challenges, Scott's insights on embracing discomfort and leveraging adversity for growth are incredibly enlightening. Get ready for a conversation filled with actionable insights on embracing discomfort, mentoring, and making the most out of every situation. Let’s get into it and find out how to play through the change and come out swinging!

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Perfectionism is a double-edged sword. It drives us, and can also derail us. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Marina Harris, a former Division I gymnast turned psychologist and performance consultant, who’s mastered the art of turning high-pressure expectations into healthy, high performance.

Marina brings a unique perspective from the front lines at Bloom Psychology Group, where she works with anxious and perfectionistic high achievers striving to balance their mental well-being with their ambitions. Today, she’ll share transformative insights on how closely mental health and performance are intertwined, and why a flexible, compassionate approach can be your greatest asset in managing perfectionism.

Whether you’re an athlete, coach, or anyone who’s ever felt paralyzed by the need to be perfect, this episode is tailored for you. Tune in to discover how you can start embracing your imperfections and transform the way you approach challenges—both on and off the field.

Let’s head into the lab and unpack these insights to forge a healthier, more sustainable path forward in our quest for excellence.

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Ever wonder how groundbreaking discoveries like penicillin, Post-it Notes, microwaves, and Teflon came to be? Believe it or not, they all started as accidents. But it wasn’t just luck—it was the mindset behind the scenes that transformed these unexpected outcomes into revolutionary innovations. Today, I’m going to equip you with tools to make this mindset a consistent habit.

We’re diving deep into how cultivating a spirit of curiosity and embracing incremental gains can lead to massive improvements in both your personal and professional life. I’ll discuss the importance of feedback loops, self-reflection, and the necessity of staying playful and experimental, even in the face of rigid expectations.

By adopting a laboratory mindset, you can foster creativity, resilience, and experience the compound interest effect of small, regular improvements—transforming them into significant long-term successes. So, in the true spirit of The Lab, let’s learn how to turn your life into a playground of possibilities and accelerate your growth.

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Al Lattell is a trailblazer in athletic leadership at Georgetown Athletics who is breaking the mold by pushing beyond basic leadership drills into something way bigger—building a culture that cultivates leaders for the long haul. He joined me on the show to share how he’s helping craft team cultures that set athletes up for success on and off the field.

We’ll cover everything from the power of visualization to why continuous learning and honest reflection are game-changers in leadership. So, whether you’re coaching a team, leading in the boardroom, or just hungry for some solid growth tactics, this chat’s packed with insights you won’t want to miss. So, get ready to unpack what it takes to craft a winning culture and develop true leaders, both in sports and beyond.

Al Lattell on LinkedIn

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.  

Today, we’re zeroing in on the power of transitions—those seemingly small moments when we switch gears from work to home or task to task. Ever wondered how a simple routine could drastically enhance your day-to-day presence and focus? We’re diving deep into how mindful transitions can transform your daily effectiveness and reduce stress.

I share a clever trick my godfather used to separate his work and home life during the pandemic, and a breakthrough moment with a sprinter struggling to find his focus. Plus, I'll unpack a straightforward three-step process to master your transitions: Identify the shift, ramp up your present-moment awareness, and set a clear intention for what comes next. Whether you’re an athlete, professional, or anyone in between, you’ll discover how these small adjustments can lead to significant improvements in both performance and personal satisfaction.

Get ready to learn how to bring more intentionality and ease into every part of your day. It’s time to make those transitions work for you, not against you.

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Learn more about The Mental Training Lab
Connect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.