Austin O'Brien

Certified mental performance coach and competitive distance runner from mile to marathon. 2020 Marathon OTQ | 2021 Iowa 10 mile State Champion.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Normal is relative. And you can change it.

When I was running 4 miles a day, 8 sounded impossible.

When I was running 8 a day, 16 seemed insane.

When I was running 16 a day, 4 was a break.

So much of what you think is "crazy" is dependent on what you make normal...

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@elonmuskADO 39

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@stevemagness Olympic 1500 will be fun! Kudos to Ingebrigtsen for racing when he is vulnerable. Too many top pros wait until peak fitness to race which, in my opinion, is bad for the sport! Kerr is fit and confident. Would love to see Nuguse be more competitive in the final 100m.

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@taggartvanetten Conflict of interest perhaps? Lol when I was super fit and ran my best marathons, I only consumed 2-3 gels the whole race 😅

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@JasonFitz1 I have run similar performance levels (14:20’s 5k) on wildly different approaches: (1) polarized 90+ mpw, (2) 45-55 mpw on a more pyramidal structure, and (3) 25-35 mpw of mostly quality + cross training. Sometimes more is not always better!

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

💯 👏🏻

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Focus on the effort, not the outcome.

Effort is within your control. The end result is not.

Make the goal to get the most out of yourself, to see how you can navigate discomfort to keep the effort there.

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

Why I always do a 3 minute build up at the end of my warm up!

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

If you feel sluggish on race day, try a harder end your warm-up.

Research shows a longer harder stride can "rev" the system, enhancing race performance

A 30-60sec stride at race pace (depending on event) ~10min before the race can work wonders.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Don’t mistake the category for the adaptation.

You don’t have to run V02 intervals to improve vo2max.

You don’t have to be in zone 2 to develop general aerobic abilities.

You don’t have to run at Lactate Threshold to improve threshold.

The adaptation is what matters.

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@stevemagness Everything in life seems easier after training for and racing a few marathons 😅 🤝 🏃🏻‍♂️

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

A foul is a foul regardless of when it occurs! Good call.

[Stanley @IowaSportsGuy1]

Blast this video to everyone on earth.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Clutch states occur when an athlete feels pressure but is able to increase their focus and physiological arousal so that they can perform when the game is on the line.

Normally, increasing arousal causes us to fall off a cliff when under pressure.

We catastrophize.

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@stevemagness I love this graphic! I think where it gets tricky is in how we define these parameters… what is high volume? What is high intensity? How does it vary by sport?

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

What's it mean to be a competitor?

Is it ruthless, obsessive, win at all cost?
Cooperative, lifting others up, even keel?

You tell me

Please fill out this quick survey about your competitive experiences in sport, business, or life

It would help a lot:
https://t.co/c42q8rCpiz

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

Focus on the process! What can you do each day to get a little bit better?

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

A new meta-analysis on the impact of goal setting on performance found:

1. Process goals had a large effect on performance
2. Performance goals had a moderate effect
3. Outcome goals had a negligible effect

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@bettTFXC That’s awesome! It’s so fun too - I wish I had started this a few years ago. Would have saved me from some wear and tear of high mileage!

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

@Alan_Couzens I’ve replaced a significant portion of my running with ElliptiGO cycling and I feel pretty good! Most runs are quality sessions, supplemented by a lot more time at low intensity on the ElliptiGO. Excited to see how this translates to upcoming races!

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

The better the athlete, the more likely they are to always leave reps in reserve in training.

It's that confidence that comes with experience.

#ProveItInTheRace

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

We over rely on supplements.

They aren't well-regulated.
Too often they are contaminated.

And most of them don't work.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Stop grinding.

If you think of the work as a grind...it becomes something that you are trying to just get through.

The best performers see the work as a path of development.

Sure, sometimes it might be tedious, but you want to, and are choosing to work on your craft!

[Austin O'Brien @AOB_33]

💯

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Stop trying to prove fitness, and start trying to do what is best to get you to the starting line fit, healthy, and ready to go.

The need to prove oneself comes from insecurity. It’s a lack of trust in the plan and the process. https://t.co/lEIfKVig6Z