The seventh and final installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story as a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea, turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert, and eventually slowing down her participation in sport as she entered her motherhood era. It’s an inspiring message that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.

For Part 1 click here.

For part 2 click here.

For part 3 click here.

For part 4 click here.

For part 5 click here.

For part 6 click here.

In this episode, Tawnee ties it all together with a pivotal moment in 2016 in which she rather suddenly fell ill with an autoimmune disease, which prompted her to take an even deeper dive into her healing, discovering even more roots of wellness and being free of dis-ease in the body. Her work put this condition into remission, for good. After wrapping up some races such at the Boston Marathon, and then getting married, so began a journey into fertility and pregnancy. After a brief struggle, she became pregnant in mid-2017 and had a wonderful, happy, healthy pregnancy, but it would end tragically two days before their baby’s due date…. We end with her closing thoughts on this series and a message to everyone out there.

The post OMM 21: The Autobiography Series, Part 7 (Finale) first appeared on Endurance Planet.

Sponsor:

Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for  Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.

Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on  Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..

As we announced recently, we are pausing the Endurance Planet podcast and this is the final episode of Ask the Coaches after more than 13+ years of Tawnee and Lucho at the mic together (this episode’s photo is them together for Ragnar in 2015). Join us for a moving, and inspiring conversation with some thoughts and tips we’ve put together that combines over a decade of research, podcasting, talking and working with athletes; these are the things that have a lot of power to help you and that you’ll want to consider incorporating into your training and life, including:

1. Use the MAF Method as a baseline in any plan
   1. Clearing up a critical mistake/incorrect statement we made on ATC 294, our MAF Method Guide episode (one of the most popular downloads of all time). The correct statement is that MAF HR using metabolic cart testing is determined with FATMAX not the crossover point.
   2. Why and how MAF works as part of any training plan.
   3. But also, maybe MAF is really about the intuitive nature and not so much lab testing and data collection.
2. Always strength train
   1. It can’t really hurt but it certainly can help; just don’t go crazy with it if lacking experience because then you might get hurt lol, seek professional guidance at first or as needed 
3. Your health has a direct correlation with performance
   1. You can do your thing with sub-par health and/or chronic health issues, but eventually it catches up and hinders performance and zest for life in some way so it behooves all of us to take charge of our wellbeing!
   2. And if you are really suffering, heal first then go get back to training and go for it—it’s very hard to do both at the same time, it’s ok to take a step back!
4. Intuitive training has a role in any training plan
   1. Do any training plan you desire, but always allow yourself those intuitive workouts or sessions where you can learn your body, listen to your body and honor your body’s needs without the data feedback.
5. “You can make incorrect training correct (if you use it correctly)”–Lucho
   1. Make it work for you and keeping you fulfilled. You don’t always have to fit in a box with training; e.g. if you want to make speed work apply to ultra running, it can be done. 
6. Have fun!
   1. If you’re not having fun why are you doing it?
   2. Ok, so maybe it’s not all fun, and some sessions have to be done, and boxes need to be checked, but overall ask yourself if there is that spark, that joy, that enjoyment? And if it’s not there, reevaluate what you might need.
7. It depends….

The post ATC 365: The Last One – Signing Off With Our All-Time Top Takeaways and Tips For Athletes first appeared on Endurance Planet.

The sixth installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story as a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea, turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert and more. It is a cautionary tale but also one full of hope and that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.

For Part 1 click here.

For part 2 click here.

For part 3 click here.

For part 4 click here.

For part 5 click here.

In this episode, Tawnee comes off a season of revelations and enters a phase of inner conflict—she is finally pursuing deep, intentional healing but also finds it hard to let go of racing and the pace of life that she is used to pushing. Something has to change, and her mind and body need to come into alignment. She also needs to find the fun in it again!

The post OMM 20: The Autobiography Series, Part 6 first appeared on Endurance Planet.

Sponsor:

Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.

Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!

So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!

On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us for one final episode as EP winds down. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.

We are continuing our series, “When Things Don’t Go As Planned,” that dissects your health and injury issues that come up when you least want them and can negatively affect your training and race season–how to heal, prevent and overcome going forward of common (and not so common) issues that athletes face. Listen to No. 1 of the series here, and No. 2 here.

When Things Don’t Go As Planned

Part 1: Sciatica, Sciatic Pain—Or A Misdiagnosis?

• A lot of people think they have it but they really don’t.
• Pain in the glute or down hamstring doesn’t automatically mean sciatica.
• Sciatic nerve is really more from back of the knee down.
• Sensory innervations of the sciatic nerve is really only beyond the knee (distally–knee to foot), according to some research.
  • But this is debated and some disagree.
• Common to misdiagnose sciatic pain (when it’s in fact something else).
  • Sclerotogenous pain– this is a type of referred pain from lumbar spine/sacral area in the glute area or even hamstring that can get mixed up with sciatic pain.
  • Whereas sciatic pain is more like numbness, tingling, sharp-stinging-type pain all the way down into calf and foot
  • They both can come from lower back issues or piriformis, muscle imbalances, etc.
• If you do have sciatica—the #1 muscle involved is the piriformis muscle, in which the sciatic nerve can be in different places even going through this muscle in some people.
• Who is susceptible? What are contributing causes?
  • Whether it is sciatic or something else, a lot of the causes and treatments are similar; don’t get too wrapped up in terminology if the roots to healing are all similar.
  • Hormonal connection, i.e. sex hormones and stress hormones—muscles of pelvis can be affected when over-stressing the body in this way that leads to hormonal imbalances.
  • Those with better hormonal status have better core strength and thus likely to have better performance.
  • Or also an inflammatory condition or lack of offsetting inflammation in the body, including dietary stresses.
  • The role of biomechanics and form in all of this.
• Path to healing
  • Steps to healing will depend on the patient you may not need to dive into in-depth testing right away, and maybe you start with the mechanics and then see if influence with hormones.
  • Assess the person: some are more hormonal based and others more mechanic based.
  • Correlation between sciatica with menstrual cycle? Not so clear compared to hip pain for example.
• Trigger point therapy
  • No static stretching, usually just irritates things more (despite temporary pain relief).
  • Trigger point work in hip area: under the sacrum, piriformis muscle; this can even help balance things out for back pain relief.
  • Beyond that, depends on level of pain.
• Why is it sometimes we flare up and sometimes we’re not only fine but perform so well? Because there are a lot of things that go into this beyond the obvious, e.g. were we really stressed leading up to the issue/flare up?
• Piriformis or sciatic pain could also be an issue on the OPPOSITE side of where the pain is being felt—work on that opposite to relieve and relax the side in pain.
• Supplements
  • Healthy fats, animal-based fats.
  • Vitamin A & E—main precursors to reproductive hormones which inadvertently helps these issues.
    • Timestamp: starts at 28:00
    • Types and IU vs mcg of Vitamin A, conversions and confusion cleared!
    • Eg) 1,000 IU D is 25 mcg
    • Vitamin E is in milligrams, 400 IU of E is 268 mg
    • Vitamin A is RAE 2000 IU of A is 600 RAE (0.3 multiplication)
    • It’s also about building nutritional status over time
• Usually with sciatica it’s something brewing for a while, such as pelvic floor dysfunction, poor breathing technique (mouth/shallow breathing).

Part 2: Healthy Perimenopause and Menopause

• What is a normal age and timeframe for perimenopause/menopause?
  • Is it normal for someone in their late 30s early/ 40s to be experiencing this transition? Not so much.
  • 40-45 years old is too young to be starting to experience symptoms and changes in one’s menstruation.
  • Late 40s to 50 years old is about the normal time.
• Common and not-so-common symptoms & cycle changes
  • The biggest thing is that you don’t ideally want to experience drastic changes in how you feel, e.g.
    • Hot flashes, mood swings, body aches, low libido, vaginal dryness.
  • The problem is when one’s menstrual cycle changes ALONGSIDE these other symptoms, e.g. longer cycles or missed periods.
  • Often, worse symptoms are seen in those women who start this transition at an earlier age.
  • Possibly a stress correlation or some underlying
  • If there are menstrual cycle changes without (perimenopause-type) symptoms that could be something else.
• “Normal” perimenopause/menopause
  • Late 40s to early 50s
  • More often when self-care and overall health is present, this is when symptoms may be subtly present but not drastic, very manageable.
  • This also is usually when women start this transition later in life rather than too early and things tend to progress more smoothly, in his experience.
• Hormone levels (before and after)
  • You still make these sex hormones just less of them.
  • Health of adrenal glands through your cycling years can help determine how early or late you go through menopause and how you actually feel.
  • If your adrenal glands are stressed out and you’re burnt out this could make perimenopause/menopause feel much worse.
  • Progesterone/cortisol connection; relative estrogen dominance.
  • Estrogen & receptor issues.
    • May need to detoxify estrogen, may need to supplement with progesterone, balance takes time.
• Stalling or reversing perimenopause/menopause? Possible?
  • If you’re young and experiencing this you may be able to do something if you catch it very early and ease symptoms.
  • Hot flashes have to do with liver detox (1-3 AM timeframe).
  • Sulfation, glucuronidation
  • Estrobolome
    • Focus on gut health, nutrition, stress balance, supporting detox pathways, etc.
• Supplements
  • Vitex aka chaste tree berry for progesterone support and hormonal balancing.
  • Black cohosh (but NOT when pregnant).
  • Jerusalem Artichoke–break down estrogen, PMS, breast tenderness, prebiotics, no side effects, etc.
  • Cruciferous veggies, broccoli sprouts
  • But if you always have to take an herb, you’re not getting to root causes or via lifestyle and nutritional support.
  • Some people may just need extra nutritional support via diet, we’re all individuals!

Steve’s Top-3 All-Time Tips

1. Go barefoot
   1. Podcast with research that Tawnee mentions on minimalist shoes/barefoot with injury prevention and resilience.
   2. Not a fad! Being barefoot and comfortable without shoes or in minimalist footwear is a reflection of health and well-being (if it hurts that’s a red flag).
2. Don’t believe all the hype (that you read online or elsewhere)
   1. Don’t believe everything you see; we can’t always trust random stranger person who’s promoting x, y, z fads.
   2. Extremes usually aren’t all they are stacked up to be (e.g. zero sugar, zero caffeine).
   3. Striving for things that just aren’t possible and therefore it’s hard to sustain and we fail.
3. Consistency over time
   1. And keep it simple.
   2. Realistic goal-setting, lifestyle and nutritional approaches (moderation)—this lends to more consistency.
   3. Small changes over big overhauls (i.e. what toothpaste or bodywash are you using? Maybe a simple change there can be more realistic and beneficial over major biohacks.)
   4. Eating, sleeping, exercise are top here—be consistent!

The post Sock Doc 22: Sciatica (Or Is It?), Supporting Healthy Perimenopause/Menopause, And Steve’s Top-3 All-Time Tips first appeared on Endurance Planet.

The fifth installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story as a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea, turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert and more. It is a cautionary tale but also one full of hope and that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.

For Part 1 click here.

For part 2 click here.

For part 3 click here.

For part 4 click here.

On this episode:

Tawnee chronicles years 2011-2013. It begins with meeting her future husband John, starting as host of the Endurance Planet podcast, befriending co-host Lucho (and hiring him as her coach) and more business success. All the while, she experiences a peak in her triathlon/endurance racing, followed by downfall(ish), something Dr. Phil Maffetone has alluded to as a red-flag warning sign of overtraining syndrome. In late 2013 she had a horrible race at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships followed by an Ironman DNF two weeks later at Lake Tahoe, and with the way she felt and symptoms she was experiencing, she saw the writing on the wall: It was time to commit to her healing and health above all.

Links mentioned:

Tawnee’s (old-school) blog – tritawn.com

Ironman Lake Tahoe ’13 Race Report

The post OMM 19: The Autobiography Series, Part 5 first appeared on Endurance Planet.

Sponsor:

Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for  Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.

Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on  Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..

On this episode of Ask The Coaches with Tawnee and Lucho, we have a special announcement for our fans and more.

Intro Banter

• Why Lucho doesn’t own a snow blower (yes, he was still under snow at time of this recording, in spring).
• The value of manual labor like shoveling your own snow.
• Lucho learns to snowboard… and also how he met and fell in love with his wife during an early-life era that involved skiing.
• Tawnee’s love for snowboarding.

End Of An Era

First, we announce the end of Endurance Planet, or, perhaps… a pause… for now. Tawnee shares her thoughts behind this difficult decision and what went into it. We also share our reflections as co-hosts of Ask The Coaches (and the multiple variations the show has had) for more than 13 years and what it’s meant to us. Stay tuned as Ask the Coaches #365 (the next show) will be our last and it’s a great show we have planned!

Also, the podcast episodes will still be up for our fans and audience to listen to and go back into the archives to re-listen to past shows or recommend them to people who you think may benefit.

If you have enjoyed this show, please leave us a positive review on the podcast app!

Also, on this episode we followup to our mental toughness question from the last show, ATC 363. We had a lot of great feedback, comments and thoughts from that episode so in this one we cover a couple questions/comments:

Anonymous Writes:

Is It Ego, Discipline or Mental Toughness That’s The Driving Force?

G’day Tawnee and Lucho,

Thanks for the great shows you guys put together. I loved the recent episode on mental toughness and have really appreciated Tawnee’s recent series on her life and eating disorder (note: OMM 15 was the first installment of this series for those interested). Thank you for being so open and vulnerable. One of my favourite shows was Lucho’s wrap up of his last Ironman. Amazing to hear both of you being so honest. On the mental toughness episode Lucho said pushing past pain was foolish but I seem to remember Lucho talking throughout ATC about running through plantar fasciitis pain and other niggles or injuries. Was this driven by ego or your need/want to race? Just wondering how you justified this at the time and if you’re opinion on it has changed. I agree that David Goggins probably shouldn’t have turned his knees into dust but there has to be some middle ground? I recently trained a lot of swimming and decided to see if i could do 25km in the pool, I’d only ever done 10km in the pool before this. About 7 hours into my 9.5 hour swim my shoulders started to hurt… I didn’t know it was possible for someone’s shoulders to feel like they did. I weighed it up and didn’t think i was doing permanent damage to my shoulders so kept going. Do you think this was my ego, discipline or  mental toughness ?

I don’t think i have a huge ego, I’ve never had any social media and usually keep goals/achievements just to my family but then again if i didn’t have an ego i wouldn’t have mentioned the swim above. Obviously i’d love to hear Lucho say “That’s awesome” or Tawnee say “Wow, that’s a great effort” I’ve completed a few ultra runs and have a couple of 100 mile runs completed in the “Last one standing” format. I often wonder what’s driving me, of course i like the challenge and i hope i can inspire my kids, and my niece and nephews but if i’m going to be honest it’s probably also about proving people wrong. I’ve got a significant vision impairment so sometimes i feel like i can’t do many things but i can do these endurance tests. Not sure if this is a long term fuel source and these feelings of insecurity probably have lead me to abusing alcohol in the past.

Anyway, just wanted to say I love these type of discussions from you two so please keep it up. Thanks again for the great shows, we really appreciate it.

What the Coaches say:

• Bringing vulnerability to this show and all the growth we can all gain from it.
• Why ego isn’t all evil and we can use it as an ally and channel it for good especially as athletes—something we discuss in detail with Jess Gumkowski in this episode.
• Context, nuance and experience when training or running through niggles. Ask: What do you have on the line? What’s the issue and how bad could it potentially get?
• Not pushing through something that you’re incapable of; still doing that which you’re capable of within your fitness realm.
• Seeking advice from professionals or experts.
• What Steve Magness suggests in his book.
• If a pursuit or goal is unfolding before you and looking unattainable, be willing to re-engage and modify for a new goal. Reassess and re-evaluate—that is mental toughness. Bring self-awareness to the situation.
• Revising goals on the fly.
• What are the thoughts, reasons, etc, that are driving behavior?
• Know your personal boundaries and limits.
• The only dumb workout is the one that gets you injured.
• Motivation from within vs seeking motivation from external factors. A healthy balance of ego vs internal factors not related to ego.
• David Goggins is in no way wrong but his approach may not be for everyone.
• For some of us, the mental toughness can be the ability to not do the “thing” and hold back to not overdo it.
• Embracing differences.
• So what was it for him? Depends on what was going through his mind at the time, i.e. his why… but, that said, probably a combo of ego and discipline.

Laura Writes:

Discipline vs. Mental Toughness From a Behavioral Analyst

I am Tawnee’s single mama with two kids who also stroller runs friend. I found the conversation on mental toughness very interesting and while I thought you both made good points, I wanted to give my perspective being a behavior analyst and studying behavior for over 20 years.  But first here is my conclusion from your conversation.

When you have a choice, it’s discipline, when you have no choice it’s mental toughness.

Here’s why.

Behavior is a product of its function meaning everything learned is for a reason. Simplified those reasons are either the behavior is  met with intrinsic reinforcement meaning it feels good to us OR its met with extrinsic reinforcement meaning it is socially validated. Additionally, there are setting events or what I call motivating operations involved in one’s decision to engage or not engage in a behavior. A motivating operation is a circumstance that either increases or decreases the effect of the reinforcer (satiation and deprivation).

When it comes to endurance events and training it is ALWAYS a choice. Each of my choices will result in either punishment or reinforcers both intrinsically and extrinsically. The environment that is existing at the time of my choice is purley a setting event that its going to increase or decrease the value of the reinforcer. If I have to go out and run 20 miles in the pouring rain (environment) and I do it (choice) I will be met with a high level of intrinsic reinforcement. If I do it and I do it faster than anticipated or I get a strava segment I now have extrinsic reinforcement piled on which is what creates runners high. I have made these choices because im disciplined and motivated by either positive reinforcement which is the addition of a stimulus that increase the future likelihood of behavior ( faster time, did something hard, strata segment) or negative reinforcement which is the removal of a stimulus which increase future behavior (escaping self doubt and self punishment for not doing the activity)

If its pouring down rain (envornment) and I dont run (choice) I could be met with punishment (negative self talk, negative coaching feedback) that will make me not skip a run in the future or reinforcement (nice cozy bed and sleep) which will make me likely to skip runs in the future. Its simply the choices we make based on environmental factors and the consequences of those choices. Im not taking away from the difficulties of the completing the choice but thats where discipline is different then mental toughness in my option.

Now, take away the watch, the data, the race, the coach, social validation, social media, all of it. you’re left if solely intrinsic motivation. This in itself can fuel behavior or choices for certain people but not all people. Again, discipline. there is always a choice. If I do it im great and feel good (positive reinforcement) if I dont do it and feel shitty about myself (negative reinforcement)

But what about when you have no choice and this concept expands far outside of endurance racing and training. You must engage in the behavior because you have to there is not choice. Things that may seem minimal like having to wake up 5 times a night every night for months to feed my son and doing it while also maintaining a household and working full time with no other help. Losing a family member and still showing up for the others, All the way to soldiers being forced to fight in war and coming home where they are required to function like a normal human being. All circumstances where we have no choice and the people that prevail, in my opinion demonstrate mental toughness.

To me, this is my experience with mental toughness verses discipline. In my past life, I was disciplined when I was trying o qualify for world championships. I did all the hard training, I did multiple workouts a day, I trained as hard as I could and guess what I qualified. That was also met with a lot of social validation and reinforcement. It filled my bucket. I was very disciplined and it paid off. In my current life, I have not slept more than 2.5 hours at a time for 9 weeks now, I still have to be a parent, go to work, cook all the meals, clean the house, do all the things. Im so sleep deprived that I dont think straight. But, I dont have a choice. doing all of this with a smile on face and in hindsight, loving every minute is mental toughness. I want to be angry in the middle of the night but I can’t. I want to lose patience but I can’t. I want to sleep until I wake up but I can’t. Mental toughness.

What the Coaches say:

• A fresh, concise, educational perspective on these terms.
• Empowering to better understand ourselves and how we tick and how we can thrive.
• Learning these things helps us gain better inner control and thus have the potential for better race outcomes with more self-awareness.
• No regrets, but reflecting back on what was possibly going through our minds during certain race experiences in the past and with what we know now how we could have done things differently, perhaps, using mental toughness and wisdom that we’ve gained through the years.
• Mistakes make us better coaches.

The post ATC 364: The End Of An Era (An Announcement), Plus Mental Toughness Part 2 first appeared on Endurance Planet.

Sponsor:

Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.

Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!

So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!

We are excited to welcome back Jess Gumkowski to the show, with a profoundly impactful conversation exploring what it is to live as an Awake Athlete. Jess is head yogi, wellness coach and podcaster over at YogiTriathelte along with her husband BJ, and has years of experience in endurance sports, meditation, yoga, teaching and much more. She authored the book, Awake Athlete: When Mastery Is Your Only Option, which was published in 2023 and is part memoir part guide through life, its struggles and its beauty.

On this episode, Tawnee and Jess take a deep dive on several related topics, though this does not make up or substitute the rich content found in her book.

Our Brain & Meditation

• Thoughts, and their relationship to the brain;
• Monkey mind
• Chimp vs professor brain (a la Dr. Simon Marshall)
• Limbic (instinctive), prefrontal cortex (conscious), and neocortex (unconscious) brain
• Why there’s no substitute for sitting in silence
• Walking meditations, etc, have their place but not the same as quiet, stillness in a sitting meditation
• Helpful tips for when you’re down on your pace, performance, training, etc
• Using MAF training as an example here
• Visualization and imagining the athlete you want to be
• Being present and at peace with what is

Ego Is Not the Enemy

• How to direct it from a small and limiting reality to assisting in positive change 
• Identity: ego and identity also go hand in hand, how to have a healthy approach to this
• Leverage your ego toward your performance goals and away from the pain and suffering and fear that ego and cause us
• Considering our identity as an athlete

Karma & Mistakes

• Fulfilling our personal karma, the good and the bad
• Everything is here to help you (also a book by Matt Kahn that is titled the same)
• Finding the lessons and gifts in EVERYTHING

Emoting and Feelings

• Clinging to joy
• Clinging to really anything and why this does not serve our wellbeing
• Things like nostalgia and the familiar make us feel good so we gravitate toward that
• Moving away from reactionary emotions, and toward more calm temperament
• The Ho’Oponopono prayer to make things right

And much more!

The post Jess Gumkowski: The Awake Athlete Mindset – On Thoughts, Ego, Emotions, Karma, Mastery and Much More first appeared on Endurance Planet.

The fourth installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story of a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert and more. It is a cautionary tale but also one full of hope and that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.

For Part 1 click here.

For part 2 click here.

For part 3 click here.

On this episode:

The years 2008-2010, when Tawnee stepped it up in the world of triathlon and endurance sports, chose a new career path in fitness & endurance coaching—which began with a grad school program—and more work. This, all while she was racing more frequently, longer distances and relentless training, plus involvement in the tri scene. In this phase she was very much past the worst of her eating disorder but still had demons of disordered eating, and a new slew of health issues involving gut, hormones, and more. She did what many 20-somethings do: burn the candle at all ends and “ignore” one’s true needs, and in this show she reflects on the intensity of her life at that time and also the many flaws in her mindset and approach back then.

Link for ATC show referenced.

 

The post OMM 18: The Autobiography Series, Part 4 first appeared on Endurance Planet.

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Lucho and Tawnee are back on for Ask the Coaches episode 363.

Anonymous asks:

Mental Toughness 101

How would you define toughness? (Admittedly, this is inspired by my recent start to reading Steve Magness’ book Do Hard Things).

What the coaches say:

Listen to OMM 17 in which Tawnee outlines how mental toughness can certainly be a great thing; however, it can also be tricky and certain types of toughness can even do more harm than good in certain cases like those with eating disorders who may also be “good athletes,” which is highlighted in a landmark study here.

We also reference Steve Magness’ new book Do Hard Things which has some amazing and refreshing insight on the topic of mental toughness, redefining what we’ve always thought toughness to be.

Tawnee also wrote an article on this topic way back in 2016, below are some quoted highlights from that piece, which intertwine with our answer on this show:

“Many experts and articles will tell you mental toughness is about going outside your comfort zone. I agree, and at some point I’ll recommend this for you, but it doesn’t always start with that act alone. Of course, doing those uncomfortable acts contribute to building a strong mind—no one will deny that—but, sorry, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re a mental badass. Mental toughness starts from within with self-confidence. Before you even do the physical acts that build mental strength, first you have to get real with yourself and take control of your mind. Don’t worry if you had it backwards. I did too.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always been a tough person starting when I was that little tomboy who kept up with the neighborhood boys when other girls wouldn’t even dare. Into adulthood, I’ve always been willing and able to do things that put me outside my comfort zone, whether toeing the line in a freezing cold triathlon, bombing down a black diamond on my snowboard or the scariest of all: public speaking. I may come across as very mentally tough because I’m able to push myself into these uncomfortable situations, but there’s another side to it—a side of me that ignored what mental toughness really meant for all too long.

“You see, outwardly I have always done ‘badass’ feats. But internally, I was living distressed for many years due to a faulty mindset. I lacked self-confidence and self-love, and never bothered to develop these things properly, instead choosing just to “be tough.” My exterior appeared tough indeed, but on the inside there was turmoil, anxiety and (irrational) fear. What you didn’t see were all those panic attacks I had and a life consumed by worrisome thoughts. Choosing to be tough on the outside doesn’t make these underlying issues just disappear. I put on façade to fool myself, and others. A life of going hard and “no pain no gain” was the easy part. But getting real with myself? Not so much. It took years.”

“Question 1: Do you feel reoccurring anxiety, worry and fear even over the smallest things?

“Eventually I realized worry, panicky feelings and fear had crept into my daily life and I’d be full of anxiety at the drop of a dime, no chance to react any differently because I didn’t know any differently. It led to many unhealthy habits and behaviors. Finally I realized my definition of mental toughness was missing a huge component: self-confidence and self-love. Truthfully, anyone can figure out how to race a marathon (or replace that with anything that makes you uncomfortable). But often, this is not the solution to our problems; rather, it’s an escape for what really needs to be addressed—our mindset and our relationship with ourselves.

“So while having the mental ability to go outside your comfort zone can be a very positive trait, it can also be used for ‘evil’ against yourself and doesn’t always get you closer to self-actualization and mental toughness.

“Question 2: Is it easier for you to push hard in a workout rather than sit down and get real with your emotions or personal issues?

“What about fear? Fear is tricky. On one hand, it’s totally ok to be afraid when you’re doing crazy things and admit your fears! Fear is a normal, healthy feeling, and nothing over which to be ashamed. Ask big wave surfers, for example. The best ones will fully admit they have fear, but they also have immense power over their minds and can channel that fear into focus, resiliency and respect for the situation allowing them to do the impossible. The fear response is there for our survival and can kick us into proper action. However, fear can become irrational and for those of us who lack a healthy relationship with fear we may mentally lose it in those pressing times. In other words, if we let our mind run amuck, it will. We have to learn to reel it in.

“Other things to ask yourself and consider in your healing and development of mental toughness:

“Question 3: Do you avoid uncomfortable situations?

“Question 4: Do you go outside your comfort zone but experience panic attacks or freeze in the process?

“Question 5: Have you ever allowed a behavior to continue chronically even though you know deep down it wasn’t the healthiest for you?

“Question 6: Have you ever lost control over an unhealthy habit and let it rule your life in some way and cloud your mental space? (i.e. food logging, overtraining?)

“There’s a difference between rational fear and irrational fear. Irrational fear can drive irrational thoughts and behavior. There are many manifestations. Some may avoid the uncomfortable situations all together and develop fear avoidance. Not me. Personally, my irrational fears were a motivating force that drove me to push myself very hard in a multitude of ways. I had an attitude of “no pain, no gain.” I’ve done “amazing” things but not necessarily with the healthiest mindset. I was not addressing nor solving some bigger underlying issues. I was just running from those things—literally and metaphorically. I’m sure many athletes can relate.

“Question 7: Do you exercise/train or do your sport for stress relief or to avoid a problem in your life?

“This “no pain no gain” ignores our true needs and puts our external image at the forefront (i.e. what we want others to see and perceive of us). In fact, “no pain no gain” is actually the epitome of mental weakness in my opinion because it is an example of succumbing to social stressors and following the “herd.” It’s our way to try and gain acceptance and prove to others we are tough. “No pain no gain” is a cop-out in my opinion and it doesn’t solve any problems; rather, it’s an easy way to run away from your issues without fully addressing them and just jump on a bandwagon. Eventually it all catches up to where you simply can’t push like that anymore. In my own case, ultimately I had to take a step back to work on me because I wasn’t being true nor kind to myself. Yes, there is some pain involved in that process, but it’s not defined by this “no pain no gain” mantra.

“Question 8: Do you post your workout stats (mileage, volume/time, intensity, etc.) on social media?

Maybe you’re like me: You think doing the act is enough to be mentally tough. I had not problem putting myself out there, and building an impressive resume of accomplishments. But on the inside? Anxiety, fear, worry all dominated. I’ve had my share of breakdowns where my mind just wasn’t strong enough to prevail: panic attacks, doubt and worry for days on end, or pushing myself so hard that it had a negative effect on my physical wellbeing and health. Mental toughness means knowing the right things to do for your own wellbeing, thus being “tough enough” to rest for example. Most athletes will relate: It’s easy to train day in and day out, it’s the rest days that are the hardest.

Question 9: Do you workout even when you’re physically exhausted and sore? If you have a coach, do you “fib” to show you’re more recovered than you really are?

“The point is: Our mental toughness starts with gaining control over our minds; it’s not defined by how hard we can push or how often we can go outside the comfort zone. Those latter variables are important, but if the foundation is lacking—control over our minds—the end goals won’t be actualized.

“I see many people who have the physical strength and talent to execute amazing feats but they’re a wreck on the inside. I empathize and am not bashing, but rather want to provide another solution. Instead of signing up for a 100-mile race as the answer, how about working on YOU first.

“I am certain that I never got to my potential in triathlon because I lacked proper mental toughness and confidence, and was often fueled by fear of failing (or what I perceived as failure) and what others would think of me. In the sports psych world, we talk about motivation and there are two main motivators: 1) motivation to succeed even at the risk of failure, aka the “need to achieve,” or 2) motivation to avoid failure, aka the “need to avoid failure,” with failure often defined by extrinsic variables. The former are more task-oriented and are motivated based on their own achievements, i.e. setting personal bests. The latter, on the other hand, usually related to ego-oriented people who measure success based on rankings and comparisons to others. It probably is not rocket science that the latter—the need to avoid failure—is what we want to avoid. If you’re motivated to beat someone else or to avoid failing, it will certainly result in disaster at some point, even if that means living in mental angst.

“Meanwhile, don’t feel like you’re either one or the other. You may have intrinsic and extrinsic motivations—I was motivated intrinsically and extrinsically. But for a long time I let the ego rule, and that kept me training in a state of fear because god forbid I lose my competitive edge in the field.

“Question 10: Do you consider your ranking and/or end result in a race or competition as main driving factor?

“Furthermore, this doesn’t have to just be about sport, it can be anything in your life. Another common example is body composition. Are you motivated intrinsically to build a health body no matter what that ends up looking like as long as you know you’re super healthy inside? Or are you motivated to build a body that can be categorized under this idea of aesthetic perfection—in other words, do you define your satisfaction with your body based on other “fit” bodies you see?

“Question 11: Have you ever restricted your eating to control the “shape” of your body?

“Question 12: Do you feel better about yourself the leaner or ‘more fit’ you are?

“I say screw society’s standards and be true to yourself. Build health not aesthetics. Same for sport: Build fitness appropriate to what’s right and healthy for you—whether that puts you in the front, middle or back of the pack.

“Use these questions above to be introspective about where you’re at and what you may need to nourish your well-being and true mental toughness!”

Lastly some definitions from the research:

You would think that mental toughness is pretty simple to define and figure out, but in reality it’s not. Even research shows that mental toughness is one of the most overused yet misunderstood elements in sport.

From researchers Graham Jones, Sheldon Hanton, and Declan Connaughton:

“Mental toughness is having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables mentally tough performers to:

• Generally, cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer
• Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, and in control under pressure.”

Jones et al., also researched the common personality traits among those who were considered mentally tough: 

12 traits that are found in those who are mentally tough:

1. Having an unshakable self-belief in your ability to achieve your competition goals.
2. Bouncing back from performance setbacks as a result of increased determination to succeed.
3. Having an unshakable self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents.
4. Having an insatiable desire and internalized motives to succeed.
5. Thriving on the pressure of competition.
6. Accepting that competition anxiety is inevitable and knowing that you can cope with it.
7. Not being adversely affected by others’ good and bad performances.
8. Remaining fully focused in the face of personal life distractions.
9. Switching a sport focus on and off as required.
10. Remaining fully focused on the task at hand in the face of competition-specific distractions.
11. Pushing back the boundaries of physical and emotional pain, while still maintaining technique and effort under distress (in training and competition).
12. Regaining psychological control following unexpected, uncontrollable events.

Research by Clough, Earle and Sewell also simplified mental toughness into a model consisting of four categories denoting personality traits:

1. Confidence
2. Challenge
3. Control
4. Commitment

Additionally, Clough et al., created the following brief list of traits and behaviors associated with mental toughness (you will see overlap with the 12 traits listed above):

1. Persistence
2. Self-belief
3. Insatiable desire to succeed
4. Ability to remain focused
5. Pushes self to the limit
6. Handles pressure
7. Maintains emotional control
8. Involves self at all times
9. Influential among team

So, now think about yourself. Do you possess any, most or all of these traits listed above? Make a list of traits you already believe you have, and make a list of traits you desire to have!

The post ATC 363: Foundations of Mental Toughness: It Starts Within – Self-Awareness, Confidence, Boundaries and More first appeared on Endurance Planet.

The third installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story starting with her eating disorder and entry into endurance sport.

For Part 1 click here.

For part 2 click here.

On this episode:

Tawnee recaps the years of ED recovery and finding and falling in love with triathlon, which ended up being very healing but also was not that simple with still some big issues she was facing and would face.

Study chat: “Good Athlete” Traits and Characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa: Are They Similar? 

• 1999 study – a classic!
• Similarities identified:
  • Mental Toughness // Asceticism 
  • Commitment to Training // Excessive Exercise 
  • Pursuit of Excellence // Perfectionism 
  • Coachability // Overcompliance 
  • Unselfishness // Selflessness 
  • Performance Despite Pain // Denial of Discomfort 

The post OMM 17: The Autobiography Series, Part 3 first appeared on Endurance Planet.

Welcome to episode 39 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, a holistic health & endurance coach, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach and personal trainer, who you can find over at wildandwell.fit. There is so much goodness in this episode that we’ve decided to split it into two parts, today is […]

The post HPN 39 (Part 2): Wrapping Up Our Top 10 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine and Roots of Wellness first appeared on Endurance Planet.