In this episode, Ben and Tim speak to Rachel Vickery. Rachel spent her formative years as a national level gymnast and Commonwealth Games representative for her native New Zealand before training as a respiratory physiotherapist. Drawing from this unique background, Rachel now works to help people increase their performance in domains ranging from NBA basketball to the boardroom. Rachel shares her thoughts on how to deal with stress, both in your daily life and at ‘go time’ and provides a unique insight into some of the pressures faced by athletes and coaches at the elite levels of sport. And to wrap it up, she gives us not just one, but four power songs!
05:11 As customary in season five, the boys bang on about how hot their podcast studio is – and ask Rachel is “Bikram Podcasting” is good for recovery?!
06:30 Rachel’s background – personal, sporting and professional, including her exploits as a national level gymnast
10:40 Good for a Girl – excellent book by US middle distance runner Lauren Fleshman
11:15 The pressure of ‘Growing Up In Lycra’ – training and competing in aesthetic sports, particularly as a female and particularly during puberty
16:00 The devastating impacts of RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport)
24:24 A discussion of the importance and impacts of menstruation on female athletic development
28:30 Rachel’s work on a report into the cultural problems inside NZ gymnastics
33:30 We’ve heard of athletes being bullied, but coaches are not immune from bullying either
39:50 The importance of maximising the buffer between steady state and ‘go time’ by lowering your steady state stress – and the potential for ‘fear of success’
44:00 How do we lower both steady state pressure and ‘go time’ arousal state?
48:30 Rachel talks to the negative impacts of alcohol on athletic performance – and Tim offers a powerful counter-factual!
49:30 Shifting the narrative from fear to gratitude – and the importance of doing the common uncommonly well
51:40 Getting rid of toxins – dietary and otherwise – from your life
54:00 Rachel’s three point ‘get out of jail card’
56:20 The ‘three dickhead rule’ (…or how to check if you’re the dickhead!)
57:30 Rachel on the shortfalls on the current ‘breathwork’ fad
1:12:30 What does Rachel do for herself? Including long-distance travel thoughts
1:18:00 The importance of conducting experiments on yourself to work out what is going to help your recovery
1:20:30 Rachel’s power song(s)!!
External Links
Rachel’s website – https://rachelvickery.com/
Gymnastics New Zealand Independent Report – co-authored by Rachel
Rachel’s LinkedIn
Rachel’s Breathing Baseline Reset & Habit Breaker
Contact Us
www.unforgiving60.com
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
Music …. With thanks to:
The Externals – available on Spotify
S1E26- General Jim Molan, AO, DSC - No Backward Step
@RV10 – On Susan Saleeba and Chris Collard, Servant Leadership, Psychopaths and Ben’s Leather Vest
S1E25- Chris Collard- No Barriers! From Jail to World Champion in 5 Years.
S1E24- Susan Saleeba- All Give, No Take: Inspiring Hope for Kenyan Children
@RV9- On Phil HSC & Sans Tattoo, Alaskan Real Estate Deals, Junior Leadership and Life without Consequences
S1E23- Marc Wohling- Movement is a Story
S1E22- Conversations with Mandela ... and Subsequent Corporate Combat - Sans Tattoo
S1E21- The Entrepreneur's Entrepreneur: From Little Things... with Phil HSC
@RV8- On Jess Dane, Greg Wallace, Andrew Leigh's Interview of Ben, Art and Playing Music on Operations
Special Episode- On SAS Leadership, Elite Fitness and Why Specialisation is for Insects- Ben Pronk, DSC Interviewed by Andrew Leigh, MP (via The Good Life Podcast)
S1E20- More Than Just a Surfboard! Greg Wallace- Building Surfboards but Rebuilding People
S1E19- Motorsports IS for Girls! Jessica Dane- Red Bull Holden Racing Team & Triple Eight Race Engineering
@RV7- On Matt Hall, the 2nd Battlefield, Supposedly Irrelevant Factors and Recent Travel
S1E18- (Extremely!) Top Gun- Matt Hall- Australia's (Only) Elite Red Bull Air Race Pilot
S1E17- The 2nd Battlefield! Applying the Principles of War to the Battlefield of Business
@RV6- On Two Andrews and SAS Band The Externals. Questions from Listeners
S1E16- Who Sings Wins! The Stories and Music of the SAS Rock Band- The Externals
S1E15b- A Tale of Two Andrews – Two Federal Politicians / But No Politics! Andrew Hastie (MP) and Andrew Leigh (MP)
S1E15a- A Tale of Two Andrews – Two Federal Politicians / But No Politics! Andrew Hastie (MP) and Andrew Leigh (MP)
Special Episode- SAS Leadership with Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis (via Life on the Line Podcast)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
HCI Leadership Revolution
Human Capital Leadership
The Power of Music Thinking
BusinessWISE
Business Wars