A deep dive on performance psychology with Dr. Bhrett McCabe

Explicit content warning

07/17/20 • 71 min

Some of the greatest obstacles posed by any challenging pursuit are the ones that exist in our own minds. This is a concern at the center of High-Performance Psychologist Dr. Bhrett McCabe’s work and today he joins us on the show to share his perspectives on the subject. Dr. McCabe works with both professional and amateur athletes, focusing on mental strength and keys to success, and together with him, we take a deep dive into what it takes to perform optimally and some common challenges that stand in the way. Dr. McCabe weighs in on the idea that different people are motivated by different things, sketching out five personality types and a variety of psychological games that athletes have played with themselves to help themselves perform better. He talks about the need to commit fully and get out of our comfort zones if we wish to grow, and how he approaches training his clients and students to elicit this from them, which requires that they trust him first. We cover some interesting terrain around beating common mental stumbling blocks like negative thinking, impatience and using sub-par performance as a buffer against the fear of failing. Dr. McCain talks about internal versus external motivators, the minimum amount of struggle needed for a task not to become boring, the role of reflection in perception, and the importance of social dynamics in the performance of teams. Other big takeaways are Dr. McCabe’s thoughts on beating addiction, the five things we have to do each day to perform at our best, and the content to be found in our guest’s amazing coach training program called the Catalyst School.

Thank you to our awesome show sponsor, makers of Ben’s favorite grass-fed collagen and powdered MCT: BUBS, a company making just a few extremely high-quality products and giving back a whopping 10% of their sales to charity. Ben uses their powdered collagen and MCT in his coffee every morning. Use the code MUSCLE for a full 20% off your purchase HERE.

Timestamps

Introducing our guest, Dr. Bhrett McCabe, and his work on performance psychology. [0:16]
The value of a gratitude practice focusing on things we usually perceive as negative. [3:30]
How Dr. McCabe discovered the power of mind while playing major league baseball. [5:59]
Mental difficulties like negative thinking and impatience, and how to treat them. [9:57]
Dealing with the stress of uncertainty by seeing it as an opportunity to grow. [14:23]
Five daily categories of tasks that everybody should do to perform optimally. [16:15]
Why Dr. McCabe’s approach to consulting amateur or pro clients is similar. [20:53]
Achieving goals and growing through a fully committed rather than an ‘if-then’ attitude. [23:11]
Our tendency to use our habit of not committing fully as a scapegoat if we fail. [25:15]
A story outlining Dr. McCabe’s approach to getting students to perform optimally. [27:00]
Getting past external things that validate us internally to true internal validation. [30:38]
The minimum amount of struggle necessary for a challenge to remain interesting. [33:00]
How Dr. McCabe earns the trust of his clients by using a non-judgmental approach. [35:39]
Five types of people categorized by the types of things that drive them to succeed. [43:45]
How to manufacture the emotion or state that drives you to perform at your best. [47:00]
Identifying and optimizing what makes you special in order to win. [49:36]
‘Fear the proud’: true buy-in and what makes UA’s football team the best. [52:42]
Getting past addictions and how the risk is highest when we think there’s no risk. [55:01]
The interplay between the psychological, neurological, and immunological. [59:07]
How detrimental stress is; book recommendations from Dr. McCabe on this topic. [1:00:39]
The Catalyst School and how it helps coaches be better at what they do. [1:02:18]
Dr. McCabe’s workouts; exercise is about internal as much as external rewards. [1:05:54]

Timestamps

Introducing our guest, Dr. Bhrett McCabe, and his work on performance psychology. [0:16]
The value of a gratitude practice focusing on things we usually perceive as negative. [3:30]
How Dr. McCabe discovered the power of mind while playing major league baseball. [5:59]
Mental difficulties like negative thinking and impatience, and how to treat them. [9:57]
Dealing with the stress of uncertainty by seeing it as an opportunity to grow. [14:23]
Five daily categories of tasks that everybody should do to perform optimally. [16:15]
Why Dr. McCabe’s approach to consulting amateur or pro clients is similar. [20:53]
Achieving goals and growing through a fully committed rather than an ‘if-then’ attitude. [23:11]
Our tendency to use our habit of not committing fully as a scapegoat if we fail. [25:15]
A story outlining Dr. McCabe’s approach to getting students to perform optimally. [27:00]
Getting past external things that validate us internally to true internal validation. [30:38]
The minimum amount of struggle necessary for a challenge to remain interesting. [33:00]
How Dr. McCabe earns the trust of his clients by using a non-judgmental approach. [35:39]
Five types of people categorized by the types of things that drive them to succeed. [43:45]
How to manufacture the emotion or state that drives you to perform at your best. [47:00]
Identifying and optimizing what makes you special in order to win. [49:36]
‘Fear the proud’: true buy-in and what makes UA’s football team the best. [52:42]
Getting past addictions and how the risk is highest when we think there’s no risk. [55:01]
The interplay between the psychological, neurological, and immunological. [59:07]
How detrimental stress is; book recommendations from Dr. McCabe on this topic. [1:00:39]
The Catalyst School and how it helps coaches be better at what they do. [1:02:18]
Dr. McCabe’s workouts; exercise is about internal as much as external rewards. [1:05:54]

Previous Episode

Talking strength, business, and personal evolution with Stefi Cohen and Hayden Bowe

Joining us on the show today are Stefi Cohen and Hayden Bowe, the creators of Hybrid Performance Method, a virtual gym that provides accessible, affordable, and effective online workout programs to athletes of all skill and experience levels worldwide. Stefi is also a world champion powerlifter and today we speak to her and Hayden about self-development as it pertains to training, diet, and mental wellbeing. We take a deep dive into the evolution of Hybrid as well, talking about their systems, services, and core principles! Stefi gets into her journey as an athlete, covering the many sports she experimented with before finding powerlifting. We touch on the difference between quitting and knowing when to let go, the pressure society puts on women to look good and how training can remedy this, and mindset shifts Stefi went through as she grew mentally and physically. We explore ideas about good health being the foundation of fitness, the problem with myopic training programs that go from zero to 100, and how to know whether you have a natural aptitude for something. Stefi gets into some of the challenges she has had to overcome around performance anxiety and owning her femininity as well. We switch gears from there and hear more about Hybrid, and Hayden weighs in about their approach to diet and their philosophy of providing a huge amount of value for the lowest price point, getting into the many programs with dedicated coaches they offer for different learning paths.

Today’s show is sponsored by our favorite source for gut health supplements, BiOptimizers, and they are offering our listeners a FREE bottle of MassZymes (you pay a small shipping fee only) at this link. If you suffer from digestive issues like gas, bloating, and cramping even when you’re eating healthy, nutritious foods then you could probably benefit from a high-quality enzyme. Head to www.masszymes.com/musclefree for a free bottle to try, and use code ‘MUSCLE10’ if you'd like to try any of their other products at bioptimizers.com

Timestamps

Introducing Stefi Cohen, Hayden Bower, and today’s sponsor, BiOptimizers. [0:18]
Stefi’s journey and mindset shifts going from being calorie obsessed to a powerlifter. [3:32]
Society’s obsession with image, how this affects women, and how training can help. [6:51]
Getting in touch with your ‘why’ and not just getting lean or jacked to copy others. [11:47]
Stefi’s process going from running to lifting; quitting versus letting go. [12:48]
Knowing if you have natural aptitude: The skills, talents, and passion checklist. [15:30]
Stefi’s natural aptitude for powerlifting and how it feeds into her attitude toward it. [15:30]
Habits that fed into Stefi’s progress: tracking macros, and shifts in training and diet. [21:33]
The need to base any training schedule on a foundation of good health. [27:00]
Making progress in steps; how training programs aren’t holistic and start too heavy. [28:12]
How Hybrid Performance Method helps their students understand how to eat right. [32:47]
Struggles Stefi has had with performance anxiety as she got more well known. [37:50]
The role of Stefi’s accomplishments in allowing her to step into her femininity recently. [40:42]
How celebrities can help people accept themselves more by showing vulnerability. [44:07]
Core tenets at Hybrid and their variety of affordable fitness and nutrition programs. [46:14]
Optimizing communication and systems: aspirations for Hayden and Hybrid. [51:30]
The process of going virtual and adding different programs to the roster at Hybrid. [53:09]
Stefi’s non-negotiable habits around learning, being uncomfortable, and self-reflection. [56:44]
The value of being innovative; the innovation lab system Stefi is working on. [1:03:12]
How to find Stefi and Hayden online and learn more about Hybrid. [1:06:10]

Next Episode

Q&A: Want to build strength? Start with a stable foundation

There are a few fundamentals we need to perfect before hoping to maximize our progress in any kind of physical pursuit, and in today’s show, we explore what that means. As Ben explains, this project starts with learning what functional movement is and making sure we are doing it correctly. Functional movement, contrary to what we might think, actually refers to nothing more than breathing and walking. Ben drills down on the point that the movements we experience while breathing and walking are the foundation for any other movement, and so if we can’t do them correctly all else suffers. These two movements form the first parts of Ben’s ‘Breathe, Walk, Meditate’ mantra, and so naturally the conversation progresses into the third foundation for optimum wellness. We learn what meditation is and how to do it by using its predecessor, breathing. Toward the end of the show, Ben reveals that we can learn to incorporate all three of these most foundational building blocks of optimum performance into one simultaneous activity, so there is no excuse not to do them! Wrapping up, Ben implores us all to give this foundational trio a try as well as get involved with the Muscle Intelligence community, a place where we can all come to share our knowledge and learn from some of the greatest minds out there. Today’s episode was sponsored by BLUBlox. Get 15% off and free worldwide shipping for Ben’s favorite blue-light-blocking glasses and sleep masks from BLUBlox at https://blublox.com/muscleintelligence using the code MUSCLE.

Timestamps

Introducing today’s topic: Ben teaches us how to build muscle on a stable foundation. [0:18]
What real functional movement is, its importance, and how people get it wrong. [2:07]
Developing deep, expanded breath cycles as a foundation of all movement. [3:00]
The muscles that are lengthened and fill with oxygen when we breathe deeply. [6:45]
Which movements of the body get limited if we don’t breathe deeply enough. [8:58]
A description of what happens to the body as we go through a deep breathing cycle. [10:07]
Manifestations of dysfunctional breathing patterns: Trouble building pecs and more. [11:42]
The possibility of one side of breathing under-functioning and the effects of this. [14:08]
Breathing affects the muscles, and the muscles affect the skeletal system. [14:58]
Aerobics and yoga, two ways to expand breathing and work on breath retention. [15:27]
The negative effects of not walking properly and how to be mindful of foot functioning. [16:33]
That if we can’t hold one thought in our brain for long, we aren’t performing optimally. [19:44]
How to learn to meditate by honing in on our breathing, which helps to breathe too! [20:04]
What meditation looks like: Having interoception and a single point of focus. [21:17]
All the stability and mobility-related positive effects of having a breath practice. [21:43]
Turning a walking practice into one of breathing and meditation too. [23:03]
Ben’s asks us to try the ‘Breathe, Walk, Meditate’ trio and give him feedback! [24:26]
Thanks given to this episode’s amazing sponsor: BLUBlox. [26:26]