Summary

(01:55) How Justin ended up being the youngest performance coach in the National Ice Hockey League

• He worked with Mark Fitzgerald, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Anaheim Ducks

• ‘What it takes to succeed in life is obsession’

• Justin reflects on his time in the National Hockey League as his ultimate failure, given that it was success without fulfilment

(03:48) Justin’s academic studies in Sports Performance, Human Biology and Functional Medicine

• His studies lacked independent thinking

• ‘School teaches you what to think ‘ it doesn’t teach you how to think’

• Justin likes to continually question things

(07:26) The biggest influence Justin’s father had on Justin’s career

• At aged 12, Justin played hockey and it was his dream to become a professional hockey player

• After playing poorly in a tournament, Justin’s dad said: ‘talent will get you noticed, but consistency will get you paid’

• It takes a deep level of intellectual ability to adapt to different situations, different environments and different people

(10:14) The 8 Controllables Framework

• We tend to focus more on the things that we can’t control

• There are two things that happen in the body: stress and stress adaptation

• There is a four-quadrant model that helps map out the four different types of stress we all experience ‘ when you are in the ‘ownership’ quadrant, you are invigorated, confident and consistent

(19:49) On incremental improvements

• Have a simple process and be consistent with the process to regulate the outcomes

• It’s important to ask better questions to develop better systems

(24:56) The interaction between a coach and an athlete

• Dan Pfaff: ‘Good teachers make themselves relevant’

• Everybody needs to have their own unique roadmap and their own unique experiences

(28:42) How do you create good teams?

• ‘The more you can empower your team, the better everybody else is going to perform’

• Harness the skill of self-leadership

(30:57) Tracking Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

• It is a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat

• A high or low variability of those beats in between tell us whether we are more parasympathetic ‘ more relaxed ‘ or more sympathetic ‘ more stressed

• Measuring your HRV helps you to identify when you need to recover

• HRV indicates how your body is adapting to a stress or strain that you’re placing on it mentally, physically, spiritually, or emotionally

(35:05) Inner and outer energy

• There is a clear connection between mind and body, i.e. inner and outer energies

• Outer and inner energies cannot exist independently

(36:58) Understanding behaviour at a cellular level through cellular dysfunction tests

• When looking at DNA, Justin looks at everything that you’re predisposed to, e.g. food sensitivities, certain genetic diseases, different aging processes, different body adaptations to aerobic and anaerobic exercise, etc.

• By understanding this, you can be more conscious of certain things that your body may tend to lean towards, or that you can adapt to a little bit easier

• Sleep is the number one thing that can help get us into a regeneration state

(41:17) How an ordinary person can improve their performance if they don’t have access to data from the cellular dysfunction test

• Start tracking in whatever way you can, then put a guided plan or framework in place

(43:25) Is everything achievable with the right mindset and the right practices?

• It starts with being able to understand what your talent and purpose is

• Be consistent and have a growth mindset

(45:40) Recognising when healthy patterns turn unhealthy

• Justin has spoken openly in the past about his struggle with anorexia after nutrition and exercise became an unhealthy obsession

• Don’t allow the ego to get in the way of receiving feedback

• Learn to listen and communicate

• ‘It’s okay to not be okay’