What is the New Science of Sport?
After reading his new book, Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports, Get-Fit Guy couldn’t wait to do a deeper dive into habits and mindset with author Dr. Marc Bubbs.
Brock Armstrong
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What is the New Science of Sport?
As the guest on today’s podcast episode points out in his new book, there’s a revolution going on in the world of sports these days. More and more athletes are spending more and more time focussing on a game-changing combination of recovery and mindset rather than just training alone. The notion of “no pain, no gain” is losing favor in the sport community. It’s being replaced by a more sensible and well balanced approach. I find this idea both intriguing and encouraging.
Champion’s Mindset
A while ago, I wrote about a study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine called Lifestyles and mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and world champions: is an integrated approach the key to elite performance? It examined how factors other than training affected a sample of world-class, champion athletes. The study concluded, “Championship performance is likely to occur at the intersection of psychological prowess, interpersonal support, effective performance strategies and lifestyle.” In other words, there’s more to being a champion than simply nailing all of your workouts.
There’s more to being a champion than simply nailing all of your workouts.
Marc Bubbs’ book, Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports, explores some similar fundamentals of high performance (among many others.) It focuses on the importance of consistency (not extreme effort), and the value of patience (not rapid transformation).
About Dr. Bubbs
My guest, Dr. Marc Bubbs, earned his Bachelor Integrated Medical Science (BSc) from The University of British Columbia and completed a post-graduate Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine degree at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM). He has successfully completed international licensing board-exams (NPLEX). He has gone on to become the Performance Nutrition Lead for the Canadian Men’s National Basketball Team. He’s also a certified member of The International Society of Sports Nutritionists and The National Strength and Conditioning Association.
I really encourage you to listen to the podcast because in this episode we cover some wide ranging topics, such as:
- Why Dr. Bubbs decided to focus on Integrated and Naturopathic Medicine and sport
- How the activities of professional athletes are often misinterpreted
- The importance of consistency
- How we can use habits to replace the need for motivation or discipline
- How to use contextual cues to build habits (both good and bad)
- Why even Serena Williams needs to focus on her self-talk
- The power of carefully choosing the words and tone that we use when we talk to and about ourselves
- How to do the Stopwatch Challenge: set a timer for three minutes and repeat a mantra of “This hurts, other people are struggling too, be patient, I am _____”
- Analyzing the qualities of elite leaders in sport and fitness to learn from them
- Why the shiny new toys aren’t as important as focussing on the (evidence based) basics of training, recovery, health and nutrition
In our conversation and in his book, Dr. Bubbs explores the worlds of mindset and exercise and turns out actionable guidelines and solid advice.
You can find Dr. Bubbs on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and you can buy his book on Amazon and and his website.
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About the Author
Brock Armstrong was the host of the Get-Fit Guy podcast between 2017 and 2021. He is a certified AFLCA Group Fitness Leader with a designation in Portable Equipment, NCCP and CAC Triathlon Coach, and a TnT certified run coach. He is also on the board of advisors for the Primal Health Coach Institute and a guest faculty member of the Human Potential Institute.