Happy Monday,
The other day I was shooting baskets and just could not make a shot. If you had been observing me that day, you would have thought I had never played basketball before.
Just a few days before, I was on fire. I couldn’t miss a shot.
But not this day.
Same place, same ball, even same basic weather. So what changed?
Why we feel on fire some days and “off” the very next is a mystery that scientists and performance psychologists are always trying to unravel.
There’s no one simple answer, but there are reasons why you might feel great some days and not so great others.
For example, if you’re feeling off, ask yourself the following:
- Have you gotten enough sleep lately?
- Have you taken enough time to recover (both your body and mind?)
- Are you dealing with more stress, or are you feeling more caught up in your emotions today?
If any of the above has changed, then you’ve probably got your answer as to why you’re feeling off.
Everyone has off days. They’re part of the process, so learn to expect them and don’t get too discouraged when they do happen.
Shake it off and come back another day.
What I’m listening to —
Dr. Andrew Huberman — A Neurobiologist on Optimizing Sleep, Enhancing Performance, Reducing Anxiety, Increasing Testosterone, and Using the Body to Control the Mind on the Tim Ferris Podcast
You all know by now I’m a big fan of Stanford neurobiologist Dr. Andrew Huberman, and this interview with him on the Tim Ferris podcast was just awesome. This episode was full of actionable science-backed tips on how to sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, supplements that can help optimize performance and health, self-hypnosis, how to use the body to control the mind, and more.
A cool app I’m using —
Dr. David Spiegel is a hypnosis expert at Stanford with over 40+ years of clinical experience. This app is his team’s attempt at making self-hypnosis techniques available to the public. It’s very user friendly, simple, and free to use and download.
A quote that inspires me —
“Perhaps we’ll never know how far the path can go, how much a human being can truly achieve, until we realize that the ultimate reward is not a gold medal but the path itself.” ― George Leonard
What I’m training —
Line sprints.
Anyone who ever played organized sports in high school probably remembers running “lines,” also called suicide sprints. To do these on a basketball court, you’ll start at one end line, run to the free throw line, touch the line and return back to the end line. Repeat this process to the mid court line, the opposite free throw line and the opposite end line. I’ve been doing a few sets of these after shooting baskets a few times a week.
Three new workouts —
Strength + Stamina Sandbag HIIT Workout (12 minute, sandbag or dumbells)
Bar Blaster AMRAP Workout (AMRAP, pull-up bar)
Speed Demon Sprint Challenge Workout (Time challenge, equipment-free)
And here’s a travel-friendly workout using a couple of chairs I posted on Instagram.
Remember, you can get these and all future workouts right in the 12 Minute Athlete app when you subscribe as a Super Athlete (this is WAY cheaper than joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer! In addition, you’ll be helping to support the site and making future features to the app possible.).
As always, I value your feedback, so please feel free to reply directly to this email if you have any questions or comments (yes, I am a real human). I get a lot of emails and messages, so I can’t reply to all of them, but I do read everything you guys send me!
Here’s to feeling on fire,
– Krista Stryker