👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #181 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
😰 We're doing "hard work" wrong
We’re doing "hard work" wrong.
We see athletes in the Aus Open giving it their all. Digging deep in the 5th set. In the 30°C humidity.
A performance. And a marvel to watch.
We glorify this effort (and rightly so).
This kind of hard work is based on intensity.
It's on show. It's easy to witness.
We see it on tele. We hear the commentators applauding their ticka. We see the rewards they get when it pays off. The podium. The trophy. The block of cheese.
And so we’ve been conditioned to believe sweat = progress.
And so we, everyday athletes, find ourselves with 45 minutes to get out for a run, or get to a gym class.
And we go balls to the wall. Empty the tank. Finish spent.
But flooded with endorphins. Proud of ourselves for pushing hard, getting it done. We leave buzzing.
But then we’re sore and a little flat the next day. We don’t have that motivation to train. Another day rolls by, and like that, we’ve lost our momentum. It’s then 4, 5 days, maybe longer, before we make the time to get back at it.
And because we haven’t trained for a week, we feel we need to maximise the session. We go flat out again.
The cycle continues. Inconsistent blasts of intensity.
We feel great for it in the moment. But we start to get niggles. Injuries flare up. We start feeling a bit flat, rundown, and find ourselves getting sick every few months.
So...
Tomorrow morning. When we watch Scotty James land a Switch Backside Double Cork 1260 and take gold at Milano Cortina, we’ll celebrate his effort.
But what we don’t see is the other type of effort that allows him to perform at that intensity.
A different kind of hard work.
Done in the years and decades leading up to this performance.
Showing up, day after day (particularly when it gets hard, when he didn't want to).
This kind of hard work is consistency.
Which for us, might look like doing a meaningful session today. But feeling fresher walking out the gym than when we walked in. Without draining the tank to the point that we’re keen to get up tomorrow and do something else. Same the day after.
Not saying we don’t need these intense sessions occasionally, we do. Push it up, test the spirit.
But build your base on consistent effort.
And occasionally dose with intense effort.
That’s how we show up in a couple decades time as the best version of ourselves. The strength, energy and capacity to do the things we love, with the people we love, and enjoy it as much as possible.
🩸 The early dementia risk blood marker
A study of over 200,000 adults showed higher levels of omega-3 in the blood were linked to a ~35–40% lower risk of early-onset dementia (before 65).
Get in those omega-3s. And track levels through bloodwork.
🧠 Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Two people can walk into the exact same situation: a big presentation, a tough training session, getting a bit close to that lioness' cubs...
One walks out cooked.
The other walks out energised. (Maybe not so common in the lion example).
Same event.
Different experience.
Psychologists call it Cognitive Appraisal Theory.
Here's how it works:
🦁 Potential stressor → 🧬 nervous system activation → 🧠 brain decision
So we've got a potentially stressful event (🦁).
Then our nervous system fires up (🧬). It doesn't know the difference between excited and terrified. Our heart rate, adrenaline, breathing start to pump either way.
Only then does our thinking brain step in (🧠).
It asks:
Is this a threat, a challenge… or irrelevant?
Then:
Can I handle this?
That second question is everything.
Because if our brain interprets the moment as a threat...
We get high cortisol, tightened blood vessels, anxious.
It's draining stress.
If it interprets it as a challenge?
We get better cardiovascular efficiency, more DHEA, sharper focus.
Same activation. Different chemistry.
It's energising instead of exhausting.
And it's not just these acute, potentially stressful moments.
See, potential stress is everywhere, always. Our brains are constantly scanning the world.
We also choose stress.
And when we choose stress that fits us: training we enjoy, work that aligns with our strengths, projects that mean something to us...
Our brain is far more likely to interpret it as a challenge.
Because we have:
- 🫵 Autonomy (we chose it)
- 💪 Competence (we're capable of it)
- 🫶 Meaning (it matters to us)
Same activation.
Different story.
So if you constantly feel fried… it’s worth asking:
Is this stress wrong for me?
Or am I interpreting every hard thing as a threat?
Because when you choose stress that energises you, your physiology will follow.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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