The Mental Aspects of Peak Athletic Performance (Part 1)

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Education, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 13.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2014

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When I use the word “best” in reference to my guests, I mean it. Today's guest truly earns the adjective. If you follow the sport of competitive swimming, then this woman needs no introduction. Quite simply put, Rebecca Soni is one of the most accomplished athletes in the world, period. Here are just a few of her notables: 2-time Olympian (2008 / 2012) 6-time Olympic medalist Multiple world record holder 1st woman to earn back to back Olympic Gold Medals in the 200-meter breaststroke Broke the World Record in the 200-meter breaststroke in consecutive Olympiads (2008 / 2012) First woman in history to break the 2:20 barrier in the 200-meter breaststroke 6-time NCAA Champion at USC 2x “World Swimmer Of The Year” (2010 & 2011) In other words, don't mess with Reb. But meet her on the street and you'd never know just how badass she is — her sweetNESS and genuine humility simply won't allow it. If you know me, you know swimming is my first love. So anytime I get the chance to talk on the subject, it’s going to be long — sorry just can't help it. This conversation holds true, running at around 2 ½ hours. So I'm breaking the interview up into 2 parts. Part 1 today (Sunday night — 6.1.14); Part 2 will post sometime Thursday — 6.5.14. Good stuff. A compelling journey through the the ups and downs of Rebecca’s unparalleled career, we dig deep into: The mental aspects of peak performance, including Rebecca's personal struggles; Rebecca's early years as a young swimmer in New Jersey raised by Hungarian immigrants; The important role of coaches have played in her career; Social media pressures on the global Olympic stage; Her perspective on being a positive role model for young women; Her evolving perspective on nutrition & new found embrace of the plant-based lifestyle; The performance impacts of different modalities of training (volume vs. intensity); Her transition from celebrity athlete to civilian retirement; and Atlas Ventures- Rebecca's start up with fellow Olympian Ariana Kukors devoted to “brain training” the next generation of champion athletes. “Legend” is a word that gets bandied about all too loosely these days. But Rebecca more than earns the mantle and the respect the term truly deserves. She is a legend in the truest sense and her legacy in sport will more than stand the test of time. Plus, she's super cool. After the show she hung out at our house with my kids and her dog Cody (you can hear him hanging around the pod in the background), let us play around with her gold medals and was basically just a delight. It was an honor to spend a few hours with her and couldn’t be more pleased to bring this conversation to you. I sincerely hope you enjoy it! Peace + Plants, Rich

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Rich Roll Podcast episode 88, part one of my conversation with
0:05.5	Olympic swimmer Rebecca Sony.
0:19.2	Hello audience, how's it going? Thanks for tuning in, welcome to my show, I am your host Rich
0:25.6	Roll and I'm so glad you dropped by today. Last week I made a deal with you and because I'm
0:32.2	such a good open-hearted soul, I'm going to extend that deal and the deal in case you missed
0:38.8	it last week goes like this. On a weekly basis and for free I might add, I will bring you the
0:46.1	best most forward-thinking paradigm, busting minds and wellness, fitness, athleticism, creativity,
0:50.8	diet, nutrition, art, entrepreneurship, personal growth and spirituality, the tools, the knowledge,
0:57.6	the inspiration you need to take your life to the next level, in exchange you are going to do the
1:04.0	following, you are going to take all of it in, you're going to synthesize it, ruminate on it,
1:08.7	ponder it, write about it, dream about it, share it with others, then you're going to put it to work.
1:13.9	You're going to use it to uncover, discover, unlock and unleash your best most authentic self.
1:19.6	That's the deal. I think it's a pretty good deal. I think it should take the deal.
1:24.7	So when I use phrases like the best and the brightest in reference to my guests,
1:30.7	I damn well mean it. And a case in point is today's guest, Rebecca Sony. If you follow swimming,
1:37.6	the world of competitive swimming, this woman needs absolutely no introduction as she is one of the
1:43.2	most accomplished athletes in the world in her chosen discipline. She's a two-time Olympian,
1:49.5	2008 and 2012. She's a six-time Olympic medalist. She's a multiple-world record holder.
1:56.5	She is the first woman to earn back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 200 breast, breaking the
2:02.2	world record both times I might add. She's a six-time NZ2A champion from USC and she was voted
2:09.2	World Swimmer of the Year in 2010 and 2011. In other words, she's an absolute dominant force to be
2:15.5	reckoned with. And if you know me, you also know that swimming is my first love. This sport holds
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