ALL IN with Natalie Allport

Kara Winger is a 4x Olympian, Diamond league final winner, World Championships silver medalist, PAN AM champion, American record holder, and Team USA's flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics. In this episode she shares how loving the daily grind, embracing community, and leading with vulnerability carried her through an 18 year international career filled with highs and lows - including going 12 years without breaking her own record, falling short of her Olympic goals, and going through multiple ACL injuries. She also shares the incredible story of her final season (it will give you chiils!), her work with Parity (an incredible company providing opportunities to pro women athletes to close the gender equity gap in sports), her retirement, and what she has planned for this next chapter in life after sport.

Ryan Lavarnway is a recently retired professional athlete (10+ yr MLB vet, 2013 World Series Champ, Olympian, Yale alumn), broadcaster, and speaker. Ryan talks about his unlikely journey to becoming a pro baseball player, his experience in college and the major / minor leagues, playing for team Israel a the Olympics, building a winning culture and mentality, developing confidence and self belief, and how he knew when it was time to hang up the cleats for good. Lots of amazing mindset tips and takeaways in this episode for anyone pursuing a dream, especially athletes looking to learn what it takes from someone who has been through it and overcome the obstacles.

Cassie Hawrysh is a former Team Canada Skeleton athlete, media personality, and speaker. This episode begins with Cassie sharing her journey of starting new sports later in life, managing mental health on the road, and tips for anyone pursuing their dreams and then dives deep into a conversation on the reality of sport funding and what Canadian athletes go through to represent Team Canada at the highest levels - a conversation that was sparked by the recent strike and protests by the Canadian Women’s Soccer team. We share our thoughts on what is broken within the Canadian sport systems and NSOs, our past experiences, as well as a discussion on how that lead to Cassie walking away from the sport and how she managed that transition into what she does now and more importantly, who she is now.

This week is #BellLetsTalk day and in this episode we hear from top athletes, entrepreneurs, and coaches on mental health awareness, tips, support, breaking the stigma, and much more.  Whether you're an athlete or not, dealing with mental health issues or mental illness or not, this episode provides education and awareness on how everyone is affected by mental health and how things can improve.

Featured guests on this episodes: Jay Thooft (Mental Performance Coach), Reagan Rust (Pro Hockey Player & Mental Health Advocate), Corey Hirsch (Former NHL & Olympic Goaltender & Author), Kim Carducci (Former collegiate athlete & author), Jenna Blasman (Olympic snowboarder), Cory Camp (Former collegiate swimmer & coach), Reid Meyer (Former collegiate athlete & entrepreneur), JT Barnett (Former pro hockey player, content creator & entrepreneur), Ray Zahab (Adventure athlete), Traps (Trainer & Athlete), Annie Guglia (Olympic & Pro Skateboarder), Mikey Taylor (Former Pro Skateboarder & Entrepreneur)

A full recap of my first marathon - from how running the NYC Marathon came to be, my training plan, the experience in New York, and what's next after!

(Watch YouTube for Katherine Switzer speech + bts videos and photos)

Corey is a former NHL goalie, host of Blindsided (a Players Tribune podcast), and author. He also has OCD. In this episode we talk about:

• Corey's editorial in the Players Tribune in 2017
• Opening up about mental health and seeking help
• Corey's hockey journey
• Sports culture around mental health & why Corey didn't share his story earlier
• How we can change the stigma (in and out of sport)
• Advice for athlete's currently struggling with their mental health
• Corey's podcast and what he's learnt from interviewing top athletes on mental health

From extreme asthma, to gang violence, to competing against those on PEDs - Tyree Washington has seen it all. Tyree’s teammates and competitors were involved in a major doping scandal that had world championships taken away from him due to his teammates involvement, as well as coming second in the world to someone who was doping, and then later being awarded the gold medal. In this episode he shares his journey through childhood adversity like severe asthma and growing up around gangs and crime to becoming a world champion sprinter, his experience in the NFL, how to change your mindset and remain hopeful, and we have a deep discussion about our opinions on PEDs and doping in sport.

Connor Emeny is an ironman athlete, ultra runner, and the youngest person in the world to complete an ironman on 6 continents. He shares how he achieved his goal amidst a global pandemic, how to build mental toughness and push through discomfort, the lessons he learnt running 100km, the importance of patience, and much more. 

• How he managed travel and competing on 6 different continents amidst a global pandemic
• His motivation to do this
• His athletic background
• The biggest setback he faced
• Mental toughness
• Connor's ironman training schedule
• 3 lessons from running 100km
• How to build patience
• His next goal / challenge

Manteo Mitchell broke his leg halfway through the opening lap of the men's 4 x 400m prelims at the London Olympics and KEPT RUNNING. His team went on to set a record breaking time, unknown to them that he had broken his leg at the very start of the race. Overcoming adversity is not new to Manteo, which he uses to inspire others. Manteo discusses his track & field comeback, and how he dealt with the mental repercussion of his injury. This interview is packed with motivation and practical tips for anyone dealing with adversity! *Original release date: January 2021

Brett Lorin (former pro baseball player) had his sights set on the major leagues - but after 7 years in the minors, the call never came. In this episode he shares the value of growing up as a multi-sport athlete, having the self-belief to take ownership and make a change while playing college sports, what it's really like playing in the minor leagues, and his experience not making it to the majors and deciding to hang up the cleats and pursue other experiences in life. 

In this solo episode I speak on the importance of rest and recovery days, and my personal rest and active recovery day protocols. Whether you’re a pro athlete, weekend warrior, or not involved in sports as all - I think rest and recovery days are incredibly important, and I tend to even structure my work routine, not just training routine, with the same approach.

Topics:

• Terminology, such as: nervous system, parasympathetic vs sympathetic states, periodization, volume & intensity, cognitive stress
• Why discipline doesn't mean not taking any days off (and toxic hustle culture)
• Why athletes / workaholics often struggle to take days off
• How often I take rest days
• How often I take active recovery days and what I do for training on those days
• Self-regulation and being reactive with your training schedule
• Deload weeks and taking an offseason

April Zilg is a professional paddle boarder, whose journey went from living an unhealthy lifestyle to pursuing professional sport. In this episode April talks about being patient in your pursuit of success and not expecting overnight results, how to build a strong aerobic foundation - including her experience with aerobic deficiency syndrome, and the importance of journalling. We also speak on planning a family as a female athlete, pursuing passion over money, and much more.

Sports are a microcosm for society, and it's important to have diverse representation within communities like these. In this podcast I talk a bit about why I think that matters, a time where I have felt like I didn't belong, and some recent athlete examples.

Dawn Fletcher is the founder of Driven Mind Training, where she works as a mental performance coach for competitive athletes primarily in the sport of CrossFit, as well as other individual, team and action sports athletes. In this (live recorded in 2020) episode we dive into how she practices experiencing discomfort, the important of discomfort variability, some real talk about overcoming fear, as well as discussion the impressiveness and evolution of the mindset of top CF Games athletes such as Tia-Clair Toomey, Matt Fraser, and Katrin Davidsdottir.

Do you ever wish it would get easier? Well, it can, but it might take it getting harder first...

Cory Camp is a former D1 swimmer, and the founder of Forever Athlete. In this episode we talked about going ALL IN with sharing your story, mindful content creation and social media use, how to make friends as an adult / in life after sports, his experience being single for 5 years, learning to love himself, and his #1 secret to happiness.

Justin Su'a is a mental performance coach for the Tampa Bay Rays (MLB). He is an author, hosts 2 incredible podcasts (including a new one with Sports Illustrated), and posts daily mindset tips on Twitter and Instagram. He has worked and mentored numerous high performance and pro athletes and coaches from multiple sports, and is someone I look up to when it comes to mindset and mental performance!

This episode is a throwback, and was originally recorded via IG live on April 16th, 2020. Let me know if you got new insights listening to it again, or if it's your first listen, enjoy all of Justin's wisdom - we'll have him back on the show for a round 2 for sure!

Feeling imposter syndrome? Same. Here are 3 steps I've been using to work through it (and no, it's not "fake it till you make it").

Resources mentioned:

Dr. Ford Dyke is the Director of mindfulness based performance and health optimization at Auburn University, former team USA handball athlete, performance coach & wellness consultant. He holds a PhD in Kinesiology and a masters in exercise science.

In this episode we talk about thinking before taking action, mindfulness practices, the 5 pillars of health and human optimization, how to improve these areas, the mind body connection and much more.

Listen to this if you feel like you’re not deserving of good things happening or find it hard to celebrate when good things happen. This episode will walk through my process for when negative thoughts come up.

Reina Iizuka is the first woman to play Canadian University football. In this episode we talk about growing up playing with the boys, her recruiting and college experience, being a woman in sports, her ACL recovery, transition to pro rugby, nutrition and more!

In this episode Natalie talks about stress management, leveraging stress, finding (or not finding) balance, as well as looking at life like sport seasons. This episode is inspired by podcasts from Lewis Howes, Dr. Andy Galpin, and Huberman Lab. Consider this the cliff notes version of several hours of podcast listening from those experts!

Episodes referenced:

Sophia Jensen is an 8x world champion in canoe and 2024 Olympic hopeful for Team Canada. In this podcast we talk about body image as a female athlete, eating for performance, her training schedule and experience trying to qualify for Tokyo 2020(1) amidst all the lockdowns, how she manages her mental health on the road, and tips to stay motivated and keep pushing for your dreams.

Send this to the men in your life looking to learn how to support women in sport.

From challenging biases, to actionable advice, this podcast is meant to be a guide on how to actually support women in sport, from a woman in sport.

*Trigger warning* this podcast speaks on trauma, specifically eating disorders, substance abuse, suicide & mental illness, & sexual abuse.

Paige Roberts is a performance neuro trainer with a background in social work. In this episode we talk about how athletes can reprocess trauma to heal and train their nervous system for improves mental health and performance. The episode starts with Paige's personal journey and experience with trauma as an athlete, into how she now has turned that into helping athletes of all levels have the tools to handle the mental side of sports. 

Specifically, Paige shares about brain spotting, something she does in her clinic with clients, as well as how you can try brain spotting at home to help process trauma. Paige also shares free / low-cost tools you can use to train & regulate your nervous system to have improves mental health and performance.

We also talk about how athletes can be better educated about what is right and wrong, as well as what HRV is and how you can improve it.

Thomas Markhauser is a CrossFit Games athlete, coach, & former sprint canoer. In this episode we talk about his journey in sport and to the CrossFit games, the importance of emotional intelligence when competing with a team, leading with empathy, the power of community, and his experience leading a program in the gym for women going through Cancer.

In this episode Natalie discusses what she would have done differently when she first started dealing with mental health issues as a teenager competing around the world in snowboarding. She discusses why we shouldn't beat ourselves up for how we dealt with things, because a lot of this has to due with the stigma of mental health, especially in sports and with athletes, as well as the lack of education around it. Natalie also provides advice for those looking to support other athletes, themselves, and create change around how mental health is dealt with and talked about in sports.

Soheil is a soccer player, athlete, and content creator from Ottawa. In this episode we talk about his journey to playing pro, how he sets and attacks goals, how sharing his journey helps him stay accountable, the importance of auditing your environment and more. Soheil also shares his plans for 2022 and how he is giving himself 365 more days to try to sign a professional soccer contract.

In this episode I share how I do cold exposure therapy (cold baths, cold showers etc), why I do it (physical benefits, benefits for athletes and athletic recovery, mental health benefits, energy and focus etc), when not to do them, and more! If you've been interested in learning more about cold exposure therapy or ice baths, but not sure how to start or why it's beneficial, this is a great intro as it's only 12 minutes long and doesn't get into all the complicated science behind it. 

For more on the science behind cold exposure, and really the neuroscience behind everything, I recommend checking out the Huberman Lab podcast.

Jim Afremow is a renown mental skills coach, author of The Champions Mind and several other books for athletes, leaders and those looking to build a more resilient mindset. 

In this podcast we talk about the #1 thing most athletes (and people in general) struggle with, what the difference is between good and great, mental toughness, mental health & more. Most exciting, we try out a new style where Natalie brings up several of Jim's popular quotes to get deeper context and spark discussion on topics like greatness, confidence, failure, self-doubt, & self-awareness.

This is the perfect episode to kick of 2022, especially if continuously working on growing your mindset is a focus for you.

Looking for some amazing habits to add to your routine for 2022? Learn from our amazing 2021 guests of all star athletes olympians, mental coaches, wellness experts and more! In this episode we compile all the answers from 2021 episodes of "what is your SINGLE biggest DAILY game changer habit". Whether you're looking to build a new morning routine, strengthen your mindset, get some motivation, or are just curious what some of the highest performers in the world do everyday, this is the episode to listen to for the New Year! At the end, Natalie also shares her game changer habit of 2021.

In this episode Natalie answers a DM about how to rebuild or find confidence when everything is unknown. With the current pandemic and impending lockdowns over the holiday season, there are so many unknowns - these are some ways to rethink the concept of confidence and how to build it during these tough times.

This week's guest is Robb Wolf - 2 x New York Times best selling author, former research biochemist, founder of the first CrossFit affiliate gym, Palaeolithic diet expert, & founder of LMNT. In this episode we talk about how Robb first got into fitness & wellness, his pursuit of science, and his personal health journey. We then dive deep into anti-inflammatory nutrition (and the misconceptions), his thoughts on various nutrition choices and why not one thing works for everyone, how hydration is more than water, optimal cold bath use, and much more!

We all have likely experienced a time where we were motivated to do something to "prove someone wrong" and although that can be great short-term motivation, it often isn't sustainable or lead to making choices that truly make you happy. This episode is all about how to stop tying your motivation to external events, people, or situations, and instead, find intrinsic motivation.

Reagan Rust is a pro hockey player and the first women's hockey player from Mississippi to play D1. She is also the founder of the Female Athlete Society and has a mission to impact tens of thousands of female athletes. In this podcast we dive into Reagan's path to pro hockey, what it's like playing overseas, how she deals with her mental health, the future of women's hockey & women's sports, and much more!

Whether you're dealing with a physical injury, mental block, or setback, here are 5 tips or steps that may help you trust your body and mind again as you return to sport, work, life, or the original activity. Athlete or not, these tips can help you build confidence and get back to doing what you love!

Reid Meyer is a former D1 athlete and founder of Athletes To Athletes, a college athlete recruiting consultancy. In this episode we peel back the curtains on college sports and the stressors high school and college athletes face in the process. We talk about skills and coping habits for athletes, what to think about when deciding what school to go to, and Reid's personal story of becoming and playing college sports. We also discuss NIL & his business, Athletes To Athletes.

There is no "shortcut" but there are tools that bridge the gap from where you are now, to where you want to be! On today's episode Natalie shares 5 tools / tips to build motivation in the short term which will help you gain momentum towards being disciplined and making those "hard things" a habit and routine.

Kim Carducci is a former D1 athlete, author of I of the Tiger, and founder of Everything Athletes. In this conversation we unpack the concept of athlete identity, how to not become too attached to it, and how to manage when you are injured or retire. We also discuss the traits associated with athletic and competitive success, and how they can both help and hinder us in different situations. As always, this conversation has great takeaways for ANYONE - athlete or not! :)

If you've ever been scared to try CrossFit or functional fitness... THIS IS YOUR EPISODE! We talk about HOW to start, WHY you don't have to be at a certain level or age, WHAT actually causes injuries, and WHO MDV is and how he came to find fitness. Use this episode as your "intro" to getting into CrossFit or fitness, or at least as a conversation to break down some of the misconceptions that are around it, and how to avoid the common pitfalls many new cross fitters or gym goers make.