Dr Tim Noakes Podcast on the brains impact on endurance sports
Dr Tim Noakes Podcast on the brains impact on endurance sports.
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/3-ha...-body-fun/
The more I read / listen about this guy, the more I think many of his ideas have value to our sport. He is an interesting combination of world class researcher and a endurance athlete. He is a lifelong runner with 71 marathons and ultra-marathons. He has worked with many of the best runners in the last 30 years. He has also worked with Paul Newby Fraser and Mark Allen.
The interviewer needs to get another job! Knoakes does a good job of giving useful answers to some marginal questions.
What is Covered
- Why your ability to go faster and handle pain is controlled by the brain.
- The central governor theory and how it relates to sports and regular life.
- Why bonking is all in your head.
- How super athletes recover between races like the Tour de France.
- Why you should focus on building confidence instead of training your muscles.
- How your brain is keeping you from reaching your full athletic potential.
- How to train your mind and body to resist pain.
- The workouts and advice you need to build an unstoppable mindset.
- Why you’ll never reach your fastest times without high intensity training.
- Real world examples and research behind the Central Governor Theory.
- Anticipatory thermogenesis and weight loss.
- The secret to Dave’s ability to eat 4500 calories a day and not get fat.
- Tim Ferriss’s recommendation to put ice packs on your shoulders to aid fat loss.
- Dr. Noakes’ new book Challenging Beliefs.
- How you can train your brain to overcome fatigue in all walks of life.
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Comments
That said, if the muscle physiology isn't there, no amount of belief is going to get you there. I can convince myself that a 4-minute mile will happen, but not tomorrow!
Loved the discussion on weight loss.
Can't wait to listen to the podcast.
I plan to listen to it during today's bike ride. Hopefully the workload will be such that I can pay attention to the interview.
[EDIT] -- Well that was interesting....Agree that the interviewer could use some work in his style.
One thing I took away from it with respect to EN is the pacing guidance we get/give here. Until last year, I never had, nor would have, attempted to run a HIM at anywhere near my Half-Marathon pace. With the team and the coaches saying that it is possible, I was able to push myself to a new level of performance. So, in that sense, I think we engage in some of that 'mental stuff' here to override our Central Governors.
Key quote: "What you believe is what the outcome will be."
Noakes is a strong believer in the reality of both the positive and negative placebo effect. (Calling Dr. Norman Vincent Peale - "The Power of Positive Thinking") I learned about the reality of the negative placebo last year at IM CDA. Before all my other IMs since 2005, I've had very positive and public goals with a real stretch to them. For this race, even though I secretly thought I could do well, I went around telling everyone that I was just there to test my fitness, to finish the race, and to "start my comeback" after an accident. And I was convinced that my recent training had been compromised by all sorts of factors. When looking back, my FTP, VDOT, and volume were sufficient for a 12-12:30 time (I went over 13:30). In reality, I could have gone a hour faster, but I had convinced myself I wasn't ready to, so (naturally) I didn't. Then, in November at IM AZ, after telling everyone for a year I was going to "race to win", funny thing, I did...
Of course, it's not as simple as just annoucning a goal. Noakes tells a story about a 15 y/o Jim Ryun, the first person to run under 4 minutes for the mile as a high schooler. Ryan was asked by his coach what he thought his potential was. "4:10" was the answer. The coach told him by the time he graduated, he could go under 4 minutes. Ryun knew he was fast, and had potential, and 4:10 was reasonable and possible. What he didn't know was the value of setting a goal which, while within his universe of fitness, was still a slgihtly mind-blowing stretch for him. The fear of failure can have a strong negative placebo effect.