EPISODE 3 — DESIGNING YOUR COGNITIVE YEAR

Why Flat-Out All Year Is a Losing Strategy
Season 2 · Week 3 of the 10-Week Cognitive Athlete Training Cycle

Most people don’t have a performance problem.
They have a design problem.

In Episode 3, Clint Rahe zooms out and asks a simple but confronting question:

👉 What’s your season?

In sport, high performance works because there are defined seasons, training blocks, peak moments, and recovery periods.
In work and leadership, the unspoken plan is often the same:

Be flat-out all year and hope for the best.

This episode marks Week 3 of the 10-week Cognitive Athlete training cycle, where the focus shifts from reacting week to week to designing performance properly.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “flat-out all year” quietly destroys cognitive performance

• How the brain actually responds to sustained pressure

• Why rhythm isn’t balance — it’s intelligent sequencing

• How high performers alternate push and recovery to sustain output

🧠 Key Insight:
Your brain works in cycles.
When intensity never drops, performance eventually does.

🎯 Week 3 Training Focus:
Design the next 10 weeks — not the whole year.

You’ll be guided through four actions:

• Define your next 10-week training block

• Identify one or two peak demand periods

• Deliberately plan a lower-intensity window

• (Optional) Use the periodisation planning tool to create rhythm, not chaos

⚠️ Important rule for Week 3:
Do not aim for balance.
Aim for intentional imbalance.

Flat-out all year isn’t strength.
Rhythm is.

Grab your copy of The Cognitive Athlete — Out Now

👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ⁠⁠⁠

Visit ⁠thecognitiveathlete.com.au ⁠for free tools and resources to help you improve your energy, focus, and performance.