Welcome to the Critical Oxygen Podcast! In this episode Andy St. Germain and I talk about how we met, Andy's background, and the importance of mental toughness from endurance training and Crossfit.

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OUTLINE:
0:00 – Introduction
0:45 – Andy’s Background
2:29 – Athlete to coach
3:20 – Wrestling and mental toughness
8:20 – Mental Toughness for Crossfitters
10:06 – Different pain for different workouts
12:15 – Does mental toughness trump physiology?
12:52 – The parallels of life and sport
16:30 – Train your mind!
16:49 – Sometimes the best workout is rest or to slow down!
18:08 – The challenge with hustle mentality
20:31 – Why HIIT feels good
21:45 – Reprogramming your brain
24:10 – How to mentally assess your athlete
26:44 – Talk to your athletes!
27:55 – The stress bucket
30:40 – The mark of a good coach
32:51 – The balance of coaching
34:30 – Two types of athletes you coach
35:59 – Why men are less likely to share their feelings
36:49 – Coaching kids
38:56 – How Crossfit teaches mental toughness
41:56 – You don’t have to be perfect
44:00 – What Crossfit is good at
44:56 – Where Crossfit falls short
48:18 – Recap and why scaling is good!
49:17 – Outro