Psychology and triathlon performance with Stuart Holliday | EP#364
That Triathlon Show
Endurance and the Toolbox
The first thing before delving into the toolbox is more self-awareness. You don't want to be having like a personal commentator inside your head for 12 hours because that will absolutely exhaust you in an Ironman competition. I think we could all improve from courses on what's going on inside our minds understanding about and meta thinking, learning about how our emotions work.
Stuart Holliday is a Chartered psychologist working primarily with endurance athletes. In the past, Stuart has been working with Olympic and Paralympic squads, as well as with the Liverpool FC Academy and the England Netball team. In this interview, we discuss sports psychology in a triathlon context.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT:
-Self-talk, and having an "inner coach" that is both instructional and motivational
-Goal setting in your sport and in your mental performance
-Visualisation
-Mindfulness meditation
-Dealing with pre-race anxiety
-Improving your self-confidence
-Having the mental skills to perform through the tough moments in a race
SHOWNOTES:
https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts364/
SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON AND THAT TRIATHLON SHOW WEBPAGE:
www.scientifictriathlon.com/podcast/
SPONSORS:
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LINKS AND RESOURCES:
- Focused Mind Coaching (Stu's practice) website, podcast, and Instagram
- Recommended books: How Bad Do You Want It (Matt Fitzgerald), The Comeback Quotient (Matt Fitzgerald), The Chimp Paradox (Dr. Steve Peters), Run Like a Pro (Even If You're Slow) (Matt Fitzgerald and Ben Rosario)
- Sports psychology and applied neuroscience with Simon Marshall, PhD and Lesley Paterson | EP#282
- Functional Mental Toughness with Bradford Cooper, PhD | EP#228
- Practical application of sports psychology for triathletes with Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter | EP#108
- Mind, body, and the curiously elastic limits of human performance with Alex Hutchinson | EP#101
- Mental skills and the psychology of suffering with Carrie Cheadle | EP#97
RATE AND REVIEW:
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CONTACT:
Want to send feedback, questions or just chat? Email me at mikael@scientifictriathlon.com or connect on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
SPONSORS:
- Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout.
- Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial.
- Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership.
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