CTS: So Hush, Already

To Improve Your Training Stop Saying These Four Things
Syd Schulz, CTS Sponsored Athlete/


We all know negative self talk is bad, but how many of us are actually successful at stopping it? I know I often succumb to being my own worst critic, and just telling myself to “cut it out“ and “be positive” is rarely helpful. Ultimately, wrestling with your mind is just not productive — but there are some things you can do to set yourself up for success BEFORE you get bummed out. And they’re pretty darn simple. Even when it seems impossible to control the thoughts running through your brain, you CAN control what you do with them and what comes out of your mouth, and that’s a good start.


Here are four decisions I learned to make that have immeasurably improved my training and approach to sport. I’ve also included the things we say that keep us focused on the negative, and some examples of how you can reframe those responses. I’m leading with mountain biking lingo because that’s my sport, but the ideas apply to ultrarunning, road cycling, triathlon, and pretty much all endurance sports...


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CTS: So It's Mind And Matter After 40

Are You Just Getting Soft? Mental Toughness and Performance Decline in Athletes Over 40
Chris Carmichael/CTS, June 10, 2017

I spoke at two book signings this week and during both Q&A sessions I was asked about the impact of age on declining endurance performance. It’s one of the most common questions I get, and I’ve written about it previously. I’ve also been reading about mental toughness and the connection between hard training and pain tolerance. Somewhere in this milieu of information I suddenly remembered Muhammad Ali’s quote: “A man who views the world at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” That’s when it clicked.

Now, before I can get to what clicked I have to give some background on what we’re talking about...

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