The Coaching Lab: Health, Wellness & Performance (Brad Cooper, PhD)

The Coaching Lab: Health, Wellness & Performance (Brad Cooper, PhD)

Welcome to The Coaching Lab podcast, your trusted source for engaging, evidence-based, thought-provoking health, wellness & high-performance insights for those looking to improve their lives (or coaches/clinicians looking to enhance client outcomes). The Coaching Lab is the evidence-based journey toward better! If you've been looking for a health & wellness podcast that avoids the fluff and the headline-chasing fads while providing practical, real-world guidance, you just found it. We bring together the world's foremost experts, from world-class researchers and best-selling authors to elite athletes and coaches, sharing their insights about how to make the most of your personal and professional life. If you're looking for an entertaining format to help optimize your own health, wellness and performance through such evidence-based practices, this is the place for you! The Coaching Lab podcast is hosted by Dr. Brad Cooper, who brings a uniquely expansive background to the table. He has a PhD in performance psychology along with Masters degrees in both physical therapy (MSPT) and business (MBA) and a Bachelors degree in biology. He is CEO/Co-founder of Catalyst Coaching, an internationally recognized speaker, and elite masters endurance athlete (11 time Ironman, including 4 times at the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, winner of the 2-person 3,000 cycling Race Across America and 2:47 marathoner). Most importantly, he's husband to Suzanna (celebrating 30 years of marriage) and Dad to three amazing kids, now ages 30, 28 and 25. You can tap into Dr. Cooper's "NOT DONE YET!" (Fitness & Life After 50) publication free of charge at https://betterpath.substack.com/

Episodes

March 2, 2026 81 mins

This is the final episode of our special 3-part series on the business of health & wellness coaching. 

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, annual Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium & more via https://www.catalystcoachinginstitute.com/

Best-in-class coaching for Employers, EAPs & wellness providers https://catalystcoaching360.com/

Tap into the home of the (freely available) Not...

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Do you believe in free will? Really? Our answer to that questions influences SO much of our journey ahead. 

Text version available here

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, annual Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium & more via https://www.catalystcoachinginstitute.com/

Best-in-class coaching for Employers, EAPs & wellness providers https://catalystcoaching360.com/

Tap into the home o...

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January 29, 2026 60 mins

In a world of constant noise, endless distraction, and performative busyness, what does it mean to pursue true excellence? Not hustle-for-hustle’s-sake kind—but the kind rooted in values, meaning, and sustainable high performance. Today’s guest is one of the clearest voices on that question: Brad Stulberg—bestselling author, performance coach, and researcher on sustainable excellence. Brad is a rare returning guest to The Coaching ...

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January 19, 2026 51 mins

One of the most common questions among both new and established coaches is how to establish your pricing. In this episode, Leigh, Suzy and Brad provide a round-table discussion on a range of pricing-related topics ranging from how the market affects your pricing to how to land on "your" number, the role of packages and much more.

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, annual Rocky Mountain Coach...

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What is a clear, personal vision? How does it overlap (or influence) goals? Why does it matter? What are the steps to discovering and clarifying a vision? What does this have to do with my life? Why not just set goals or resolutions?

In this special bonus episode, Dr. Cooper shares a range of insights and "how-to's" related to the powerful, life-shifting step of clarifying and creating a clear personal vision!

Accompan...

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The use of saunas is exploding in popularity in the US, but they’ve been a standard part of life in other parts of the world. Finland is the best example, with more than one sauna for every 2 people! What is it about the health, wellbeing and high performance benefits that are driving such engagement? Is it a fad? Or is the trend driven by dependable evidence? What frequency, duration and temperature are recommended for better heal...

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December 8, 2025 65 mins

This special episode, hosted by Leigh Baker, with nationally board certified health & wellness coach (and business owner) Suzy Destarac and Dr. Brad Cooper, takes a deep dive into the business side of coaching.

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, annual Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium & more via https://www.catalystcoachinginstitute.com/

Best-in-class coaching for Employers, EA...

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Are we destined to lose our muscle mass over time? Is protein intake important? If so, what are the best forms of it? Does that amount change as we age? Is it influenced by physical activity? These – any related questions continue to dominate the world of health, wellness & peak performance, and there’s no better source for providing the answers than Professor Stuart Phillips from the school of medicine at McMaster University i...

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Brady & Brad hit record and let it fly! If you're a runner, coach a runner, have considered adding running into your fitness routine or are simply curious about the latest insights and developments about getting the most out of your run, you will LOVE THIS EPISODE!! From saunas to strength training, fueling to rowing machines, avoiding injuries, maximizing time, integration of rest & recovery, scheduling the perfect we...

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If you're a current or future health, wellness & high performance coach, this is an absolute must hear episode! Coaches are helping change the world for the better, and yet we often find ourselves isolated from the world in the process. Experienced coaches Lindsay and Leigh (with occasional insights from Brad) discuss life as a coach, how to find - or build - community and some of their favorite options for doing so in the...

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Deanna Fournier, Executive Director of the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching joins Leigh Baker and Brad Cooper for a deep dive into the past, present & future of credible, quality health & wellness coaching.

Links mentioned during our discussion include: 

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, ...

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Curious about the realities of coaching? Why does it matter? What differentiates a credible coach from someone who's simply charismatic or hosts a popular social media site? What should you look for in a coach (or a coach for your employee team members)? What role does AI play in coaching?

Nationally Board-Certified health, wellness & performance coaches Sabryna Liddle and Leigh Baker are here to pull back the curtain!

For d...

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One of our all-time favorite episodes, with a pair of LEGENDS in our profession and world, Dr. James and Dr. Janice Prochaska.

Here is link to their most recent book

Here is link to the video version mentioned in the intro: https://youtu.be/Vowpa6T4_PA

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, annual Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium & more via https://www.catalystcoachinginstitute.com/

Best...

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What if the research indicated there was an inexpensive breathing exercise device that, if utilized about 5 minutes/day, could significantly reduce blood pressure and improve exercise performance? Resisted breathing – or what the science refers to as “inspiratory muscle strength training” – or IMST - isn’t new. I remember reading about it, but at the time it appeared to be all fluff as our intercostal breathing muscles were almost ...

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There are a lot of voices out there in the world of health, wellness & performance. Some – probably most of what we see on Instagram and Youtube – involve more show than go, more staged than engaged. Too often, it involves charismatic individuals who talk a very good talk but provide little insight into their actual walk. Or worse yet, we discover the healthy lifestyle claims made to sell supplements, exercise equipment or coac...

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This special episode provides you the opportunity to be a fly on the wall during a real live coaching session with a NBHWC nationally board certified health & wellness coach.

Info re earning your health & wellness coaching certification, annual Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium & more via https://www.catalystcoachinginstitute.com/

Best-in-class coaching for Employers, EAPs & wellness providers https://...

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In 2003, I was in New Zealand to compete in the Triathlon world championships. It was an amazing time. I met some amazing athletes from around the world, most notably Champion Barb Lindquist and Sheila Taormina, who went on to become the first person to qualify for the Olympics in THREE different sports. But the most interesting person I met? Today’s guest, Tricia Downing.

Among a sea of mental toughness, resilience and grit, none e...

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I was just thinking...

What if we were to apply Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University concepts to our health, wellness and performance? In this special episode, Dr. Cooper flips on the mic and shares some initial thoughts about how we might help our coaching clients, friends and ourselves by applying the popular 7 Baby Steps provided by Ramsey in relation to our money to our lives. Short episode, but incredibly practical app...

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This is Part II of the intriguing interview with Author, Coach and top endurance athlete Matt Fitzgerald on the subject of Chasing Mastery. If you missed Part I, it is available via any podcast app as the episode preceeding this one. While you'll love this discussion, you might love it even more if you tap into Part I first :-)

You can access Matt Fitzgerald's latest book Chasing Mastery here (and his classic Ironwar menti...

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June 16, 2025 65 mins

Mastery. What does that encompass when it comes to our health, wellness & performance? How does mindset, consistency and growth affect it? What are the keys to making it a reality? In this discussion with renowned endurance sports author, coach and elite athlete, we’ll unpack the concept of mastery: how it's developed, what holds athletes back, and why the pursuit itself can be more fulfilling than the finish line. Whether...

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