The Mental Weight Room - A Podcast for Athletes, Parents of Athletes and Coaches

In this week's episode of 'The Mental Weight Room,' host and mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc delves into the significance of routines and rituals for enhancing athletic performance. She explains how creating daily routines and pre-game rituals can help athletes stay focused, reduce anxiety, and prepare mentally for competition. The episode features examples from renowned athletes like LeBron James, Rafael Nada...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, host and mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc discusses the psychological challenges faced by athletes during injury recovery and shares strategies to maintain and build mental strength. Coach Antoinette highlights the importance of resilience, setting both physical and mental recovery goals, and embracing patience throughout the process. She shares inspirational stories and actionabl...

In this episode of The Mental Weight Room, mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc explores the critical role of self-belief in reaching peak athletic performance. Learn why unshakeable confidence is what separates great athletes from good ones — boosting performance, resilience, and focus under pressure.

Antoinette shares practical strategies like celebrating small wins, practicing affirmations, adopting a growth mindset, and ove...

Welcome to The Mental Weight Room Podcast! I’m Coach Antoinette, and in this episode, we’re talking about something that can make a huge difference in your game—mental clarity.

Whether you play baseball, basketball, gymnastics, or any other sport, staying focused and calm under pressure is a superpower. But how do you actually do that when your brain feels full of noise and distractions?

🧠 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• What...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, Coach Antoinette welcomes Anderson Salgado, an entrepreneur and Marine Corps veteran who exemplifies the athletic mindset in business. They delve into Anderson's journey from military service to becoming the CEO of Tri Bell, founder of Dali Talia, and co-founder of American Christian Capital. Anderson emphasizes the significance of mental toughness, purpose, and authenticity in achievi...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room Podcast, host and mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc, discusses the importance of mental focus for athletes. Concentration is crucial in high-pressure situations, and it must be trained to avoid mistakes and maintain peak performance. Antoinette introduces focus-building exercises such as 'chaos ball,' a high-energy reaction time drill, and visual focus drills to filter out d...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc, discusses the crucial topic of patience in sports. She dives into the common experience of hitting performance plateaus, emphasizing that they are a natural part of the journey rather than a sign of failure. Coach Antoinette offers practical advice on how to reevaluate your approach, trust the process, and focus on small wins. She also underscores...

This week in The Mental Weight Room, certified mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc takes a deep dive into the often underestimated yet essential role of sleep and recovery in peak athletic performance.

Coach Antoinette unpacks the science of sleep, focusing on the impact of slow-wave sleep (SWS) and the release of human growth hormone (hGH) in muscle repair, recovery, and physical development. She highlights compelling researc...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, host Antoinette Datoc welcomes Michael Bronte, a certified nutrition coach and founder of Guided Nutrition. Michael shares his extensive 35-year journey in fitness and nutrition, discussing how mindset is crucial for forming sustainable health habits. The conversation delves into the mental aspects of nutrition, challenges faced by clients, the importance of baby steps in building good hab...

The focus of this week’s episode is on the crucial topics of nutrition, rest, and recovery for peak athletic performance. The discussion covers the importance of a balanced diet rich in carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and micronutrients, along with consistent hydration. Coach Antoinette also emphasizes the vital role of rest and recovery, including quality sleep, active recovery techniques, and mental health practices and th...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room Podcast, hosted by mental performance coach, Antoinette Datoc, listeners are guided through techniques to develop deep focus in high-pressure situations. Coach Antoinette discusses the concept of cognitive load, shares effective focus drills such as box breathing and visual focus exercises, and emphasizes the importance of pre-performance routines. The episode highlights real-life examples ...

In this episode of The Mental Weight Room, host and certified mental performance coach, Antoinette Datoc, explores the critical connection between thoughts, emotions, and athletic performance. Athletes often focus solely on physical skills, overlooking the mental factors that significantly impact performance. Antoinette breaks down how thoughts influence emotions, emotions affect physical states, and ultimately how this cycle can e...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc discusses the impact of self talk on performance in sports and life. Datoc explains what self talk is—our internal dialogue—and differentiates between positive and negative self talk. She highlights how negative self talk can lead to anxiety and poor performance, while positive self talk builds confidence and focus. The episode offers strategies fo...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, mental performance coach Antoinette Datoc explores strategies for athletes to overcome the fear of failure. By understanding the fear response, reframing failure as a learning opportunity, and taking calculated risks, athletes can transform fear into a powerful motivator. The episode includes practical advice on managing fear and inspirational examples, such as Michael Jordan's journey...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, host and mental performance coach, Antoinette Datoc, examinesthe critical elements of leadership and mental toughness for athletes. The episode covers how athletes can cultivate leadership traits, especially in challenging situations, to elevate their teams and boost morale. Key points include the importance of effective communication, building team cohesion, maintaining positivity, and ov...

In this episode of 'The Mental Weight Room' hosted by Antoinette Datoc, the focus is on addressing the mental health challenges faced by athletes. The podcast challenges the traditional notion that mental strength means never showing weakness and emphasizes the importance of tackling issues like stress, anxiety, and depression. By sharing stories of elite athletes like Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles, the episode aims...

In this week’s episode of 'The Mental Weight Room,' certified mental performance coach, Antoinette Datoc,guides you through the importance of handling mistakes with a growth mindset. Mistakes are framed not as failures but as essential learning opportunities that can propel you toward success. Antoinette provides practical steps to reframe your thinking, such as pausing, breathing, reflecting, collecting data, correcting, and movin...

In this episode of the Mental Weight Room, host and certified mental performance coach, Antoinette Datoc, explores the concept of mindset and its crucial role in achieving success. Coach Antoinette explains the differences between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, and provides practical steps to cultivate a growth-oriented outlook, including reframing failure, practicing gratitude, and seeking challenges. Listeners will learn a...

In this week’s episode of The Mental Weight Room podcast, certified mental performance coach, Antoinette Datoc, discusses the common characteristics of mentally tough athletes (and people). Key points include resilience, performing under pressure, focusing on controllables, positive self-talk, embracing success, maintaining a growth mindset, self-belief, focus, adaptability, emotional control, and goal-setting. She emphasizes the i...