sports psychology

Coach: teacher, friend, mentor or the “more experienced other” (in memoriam) – part 2

coaching, culture, elitefts reprint, mental health @en, sports psychology, sports sociology / By

(Originally published on elitefts, authored by me) This is the 11th day after my young friend and athlete’s passing. It’s a lot of time but not time enough to elaborate on my questions. They remain unanswered. I only coached him for a couple of months but the darkness in our continued private conversation kept me […]

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Coach: teacher, friend, mentor or the “more experienced other” (in memoriam)

coaching, elitefts reprint, mental health @en, sports psychology / By

Today I won’t share someone’s program. It doesn’t make sense anymore. He’s gone (as in deceased). (originally published at elitefts – authored by me) I was informed of his passing Monday, two days later. I still can’t explain my inner paradox: I had been engaging in mental rehearsals, “auto-biographical function” or just entertaining random trains

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The Role of Mental Toughness in Sport Performance

brain, culture, education, elitefts reprint, high performance, sports psychology / By

“Have the courage to choose the future rather than the past.” — Dr. Salvatore Maddi  “You must unlearn what you have learned.”— Yoda Introduction: Another Brick in the Wall A while ago, I wrote a series of articles about motivation. My goal was to offer an evidence-based introduction to the concepts involved in motivation. The terms that expressed

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The Role of Grit in Sport Performance

achievement, behavior, culture, health education, physiology, sports psychology / By

Introduction: Picking Up Where We Left Off A while ago, I wrote a series of articles about “motivation”. My goal was to offer an evidence-based introduction to the concepts involved in motivation. The terms that expressed these concepts have been misinterpreted, misused, and presented with a judgmental, moralistic, and emotional tone in the fitness industry

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Discipline and Sacrifice

Leave a Comment / bench press, competitive planning, high performance, performance, politics, power, powerlifting, sports politics, sports psychology, violence / By

(to Cody) I was talking to a friend, Cody, and we were laughing at the “tough” talk on “sacrifices”. Not to mention the embarrassing “alpha male”, “warrior” and “beast” embarrassingly stupid imagery. I did good both academically and in sports. Nope. Can’t remember any sacrifice. Let’s see what I remember as being an extreme sacrifice:

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The endless cycle of grief: the day powerlifting died

Leave a Comment / bench press, bipolar, culture, health, mental health @en, power, powerlifting, sports psychology, stress, violence / By

The process of letting go is a slow and painful one, but it brings some relief. As if with each flake you shed, you become a lighter and a more genuine version of yourself. I just now opened the book manuscript I was supposed to hand in in 2012 and never did. It is in

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Intimidation and the Fitness Industry

Leave a Comment / elitefts reprint, health, performance, power, sports psychology, violence / By

(This article was originally published at www.elitefts.com – link below) “Your compliance will be rewarded.” (Hydra, Marvel Pictures) This article is in sequence to my previous article. Its target audience is primarily the gym owner but also health professionals working in physical training in general, sports and fitness environments, and institutions. I hope it may be a tool

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Crazy dialogue with outsider explains autotelism and sport

Leave a Comment / communication, culture, philosophy, powerlifting, sports psychology / By

‘- Young man, would you care to explain to me why you are lifting those weights – Sure ma’am, no problem: this is an autotelic activity, which means those who engage in it do so motivated by a self-referenced end. In other words, the purpose of lifting is itself. Did that help? – A little

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Hiatus from competition – how long, I don’t know

Leave a Comment / competitive planning, federation wars, high performance, powerlifting, psicologia esportiva, sports psychology / By

Today, I took down any mention of competitive powerlifting prowess from Twitter. That is probably just the beginning. Some say it might be relevant to point out that I lift nicely and sort of heavy, for professional reasons. After all, competitive results are seen as a confirmation of a coach’s familiarity with strength training. This

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