Playing Speedgolf Championships In Oppressive Heat: Striking A Healthy Balance Between Competitive Intensity And Self-Preservation (Breather Episode with Brad)

(Breather) I talk about my favorite subject of Speedgolf and reflect on the battle between positive and negative thoughts when pushing your body to its limits, as well as the delicate balance between unleashing your competitive intensity to kick butt in life and being sensible with your goals and pursuits such that you protect your health, and that your endeavors are appropriate and fit into your current life responsibilities, fitness level, and age.

Instead of buying into the fanaticism and romanticizing of extreme goals, perhaps you can choose things you really love without regard to how they stack up tonpeer and cultural judgements.

But what about when you take on a tough physical challenge and you’re confronted by the difficulty of being torn between positive and negative thoughts regarding your performance? I flash back to a hike Mia Moore and I went on one sunny day in Lake Tahoe. It was challenging, and it was pretty hot out, which prompted me to ask her, “are you doing ok?” so many times that she said, “don’t ask me that anymore - because I don’t want to distract my mind.” Sometimes, the constant checking in can open up a whole can
of worms and lead you down what feels like a never ending spiral of negative thoughts: maybe I am feeling tired...maybe I am feeling dehydrated...maybe I can’t do this after all….

It was in this spirit that I chose to soldier on through the oppressive heat, a tough course I had never played before, as well as my own body’s symptoms as I committed to sticking it out to the very end with my Speedgolf game that day. However, as I learned the hard way, you never want to ignore how you’re feeling, and I experienced first hand exactly why it’s so dangerous to push yourself past your limits. Even though the balls were going
long and straight, I myself could barely see straight. My arms were tingling and starting to feel numb; yes, it was that bad. While the entire ordeal was tough, so tough it had me feeling like I was hovering over the edge of death, it was also an extremely rewarding
lesson to learn.

One thing’s for sure though, I would have felt a lot better had I just used an RTX Cooling Glove. Sure, I felt proud of myself for finishing such a difficult course in such challenging conditions, but I also just really felt like crap for the next 14 hours. So please, do yourself a favor, and be careful about exercising in hot weather - it is the single most profound performance limiter. When striving for peak performance, make sure you do so in conditions that are both sensible and optimal for your body.

 

TIMESTAMPS:

Brad uses the example of a recent speed golf tournament to talk about passion and competitive intensity. [04:29]

It’s a battle between positive and negative thoughts. [07:06]

The “Barbarian” workout is pure torture. [09:16]

What your mindset is, can determine your strength under such circumstances. [10:11]

Athletes need to be careful performing in heat. [11:59]

Brad talks about thinking sensibly about what you do with your time and energy. [16:34]

The concept of one and done has some good points. [18:07]

 

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