Chris Hauth is triathlon’s Yoda. Part endurance coach, part mindset coach, he’s sought after for help developing an unbreakable mental game. “Don’t let the mind get in the way of what the body knows,” is something you’d hear him say. And he’d be right. And you’d want to ask him more. And he’d be happy to tell you.
You’ll listen, because he earned his cred by swimming the swim, biking the bike, and running the run. He turned an elite swimming background into a nearly two-decades long triathlon career, in which he won IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene, raced 43 IRONMANs, and raced Kona 14 times. Then he set his sights on ultra endurance events, like Ultraman, and Everesting.
His “classic reason” for becoming a coach? “I was awful,” he says. “I was that guy getting psyched out. I was the one who wasn’t living up to my potential due to mental performance, mindset, inner chatter, nerves, distraction.”
What he figured out over years of high-level competition could help someone else unlock their best performance now. So that's what he does, through AIMP Coaching.
Chris gets stoked on other people’s athletic dreams and helping to make them real. From triathlons to DIY adventures like backpacking the Arabian Peninsula, if you have a wild idea, he’s your logistics guy. The man with the plan to make it happen—and get you physically and mentally up to the challenge.
Below, Chris shares wisdom to jumpstart your mind, no matter where you are on your athletic journey.
Your Athlete Identity is a Gift
Most people aren’t able to share easily in their professional identity, or even with family—anxiety regarding certain things, what their performance blockers are, their inner critic or self-talk. But in their athlete identity, that’s where they're vulnerable and open to learn, to say, I struggle with this.
Whatever it is probably comes up in other areas of life. We’ll work on it in the athlete realm.
Embrace Your Monkey Brain
A common thread I see among athletes is avoiding the inner critic and self talk—the monkey mind—instead of working with it. You want to harness it. To understand it. Because if you’re debilitated by it or avoiding it, it’s gonna show up in the worst ways.
Like at the moment of competition, when you need to step up. If you haven’t done the work, you can’t harness it. You listen to that monkey mind and it’s holding you back. There’s clarity, there’s acceptance when you’ve created a relationship with it and can dance with that devil.
Push Yourself to Discover Yourself
In training a few times a week, you want to get to the place where those doubts and questions arise: I don’t want to push this hard. What am I doing? Why can’t I hold this pace? Whatever it is, that’s where the breakthroughs start.
The Ultimate Start Line Pep Talk
Clarity. Turn everything off. Clear your mind and go do what you’re naturally gifted and capable of doing. You should be walking up to that start line, waiting for the cannon to go off and thinking, It’s all good. There’s nothing I can change right now. What am I doing to harness what’s in me?
The key is the ability to say, Mind turn off, the body knows what to do. Don’t let your mind get in the way of what the body knows. That’s what training is: learning to fire neuromuscularly, subconsciously, so you can just do it. You wouldn’t be here and be able to do this thing if it weren’t for the work you’ve put in.
Let the body take over. You’ll need the mind later on. It’s your governor on the bike, pacing the run, prepping, and feeding.
At the start line, body do your thing. Unleash that thing.
Chill Out
Have fun. This is the ride. You’re never going to be as young as you are right now. This is a privilege. Let’s go and have a blast.
Want to dive deeper? Connect with Chris at AIMP Coaching..
We’re proud to support Chris and his AIMP athletes around the world, and all the athletes and teams brave enough to set big goals and get after them.
