Podcast #35 – The Dirty Little Secret Behind Mental Fatigue
When it comes to getting through a week, nothing is more exhausting than being mentally spent. There are numerous articles and videos out there addressing how to offset muscular fatigue, but during podcast #35, Coach Robb takes a look at the big 10-pound muscle on top of your shoulders – your brain – and helps you get a clear understanding why mental fatigue sneaks up on you when you least expect it!
During the first half of the podcast, Coach Robb drills down on the question “What is the last thing you wrote down and created a strategy to achieve in the last thirty days?”. After answering this question, he challenges listeners to identify what rewards were attached to the achievement. Over the last 35 years of working with individuals and athletes, Coach Robb has never had an individual answer this question with a definitive answer.
When it comes to the physical signs of fatigue such as tired muscles, cramping, slower speeds, less strength, etc. we know what to do – eat and sleep to recover. But, when it comes to mental fatigue, many of us are stumped. The symptoms are obvious – feelings of being lazy, frustrated, aggravated or even depressed, but the steps to turning around the symptoms are not quite so easy. Coach Robb looks at three critical components of mental frustration: not having a quantified and/or detailed achievement; never feeling like your results are “good enough”; and, constantly feeling dissatisfied (i.e. thinking it’s cool to be pissed all the time – “that sucked”) because you keep moving the target identified as “good enough”.
During the second half of the podcast, Coach Robb does a deep dive into the four quadrants of life that we all balance on a daily basis (sometimes not even realizing it) – Personal (food, sleep, sexual intimacy), Professional/School, Financial, and Health, Wellness & Performance. Though we get on the daily hamster wheel, we rarely stop to answer questions like What does my perfect day look like? What is my definition of perfect result? and, What is my reward for accomplishing my desired result? The result is the vicious cycle of never being satisfied (or achieving a quantified achievement) which begins to wear the brain out – literally.
By the end of the podcast you will understand the difference between physical and mental rejuvenation and what you can do to offset the negative effects of mental exhaustion. You will also be equipped to take an intangible feeling or emotion and create a tangible achievement. This is something your brain can resonate with and feels rewarded when implemented correctly.
Listener questions include: What should I eat during my races to avoid getting physically sick? What do I do about a know in my rib cage that keeps me from breathing deeply? What do I do to avoid getting up 2-3 times a night to urinate along with struggling to fall back asleep when I am finished? What is the ideal sleep cycle? and, What do I do when my schedule keeps me from completing today’s workout – discard or move to tomorrow?
Here are the Amazon links to Coach Robb’s books on Kindle and Paperback:
Coach Robb’s Smoothie Recipe Book – on Kindle and in Paperback
Coach Robb’s Healthy Meals Recipe Book – on Kindle and in Paperback
Coach Robb’s Additional Websites:
