The Strength Coach Podcast Optimize Mindset, Maximize Performance with Dr. Haley Perlus
Jan 23, 2026
Dr. Haley Perlus, a sport and exercise psychologist and author of 'Personal Podium,' shares her expertise on optimizing mindset for peak performance. She discusses transforming anxiety into energizing focus, overcoming mental blocks, and changing perceptions of pressure as an opportunity to excel. With insights from legendary moments in sports, she emphasizes the importance of self-awareness over tech devices, offers practical strategies for injured athletes, and redefines mental toughness as sustainable discipline.
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Thoughts Drive Body States
- Thoughts shape emotions which alter biology and determine performance readiness.
- Aligning thoughts to fuel desired emotions lets trained skill express at peak performance.
Reframe Anxiety As Usable Energy
- Reframe anxiety as energy and place it into a useful pattern like an inverted V to conserve and direct effort.
- Use that energy to optimally prepare your body for performance instead of letting it swarm and disrupt you.
Caddying At Shinnecock: 'Don't' Kills Performance
- Anthony recounts caddying at the 1995 U.S. Open where repeated "don't" warnings created a collapse in performance.
- The player's mind filled with avoidance cues and fear, producing a mental block and poor results.
