https://www.facebook.com/293400004496833/

Benny-Fit

ISESA Accredited Sport Psychologist Creating high-performing individuals who are built from the inside out 🧠🏋️

Specialising in:

Personal Training
Psychology/Mental Health
Strength & Conditioning
Injury & Medical Rehab

08/09/2026

Sometimes when an athlete tells me what they’re about to attempt, I struggle to decide whether they’re brave or completely bonkers. Usually, it’s probably somewhere in between!

Real growth comes from stepping outside your comfort zone and Chris has certainly done that more than a few times. This time, it was the UTMB World Series. 170km around Mont-Blanc, through France, Italy and Switzerland, with over 10,000m of elevation gain.

I had the privilege of working with Chris in the build-up to the race, supporting him with the psychological side of taking on such a huge endurance challenge. A big part of our work was preparing for the difficult moments. We knew the hard times were going to come. In a race of this scale, they’re inevitable.

Preparing for them doesn't mean they suddenly become easy. It means they become less surprising. We can anticipate the challenges, plan how we want to respond and, importantly, build confidence in our preparation.

Chris summed up the experience brilliantly:

"Working with Benny in the build up to UTMB was a massive help for me. With a race as big as UTMB there are so many things outside of the physical training that can affect you and Benny really understood that."

"It was never just textbook sports psychology. He listened to what was going on with me as an athlete and helped me find strategies that actually worked for me."

That last part means a lot to me. Sport psychology should be individual. Understand the athlete, understand the challenge, and find what works for them.

If you're an endurance athlete and want to start training the mental side of performance, not just the physical side, let's arrange a chat. 🧠💪

EnduranceSport MentalPerformance

06/09/2026

What a privilege it was to be there last night and witness Katie Taylor in the ring. And what an occasion and spectacle it was in Croke Park. The atmosphere, the occasion, the noise. Genuinely something special 😍 🥊

With so much chaos and negativity in the world and in our own country right now, it was brilliant to be part of something that brought people together to simply celebrate sport, an incredible athlete and an Irish sporting icon.

I’ve watched it all again this evening and it’s hard not to appreciate just what Katie has achieved and the impact she has had.

I find boxing equally challenging and rewarding. There is so much to gain from it physically, mentally and personally. There is so much to be inspired by. I’m very fortunate to work with fighters and I find their mindset genuinely intriguing. There’s something about the courage, discipline and vulnerability required to step into that ring that you don’t see in many other sports.

Unfortunately, I was probably just too much of a nice guy to ever really succeed in boxing myself… but sure, that’s OK. 😂

Outside of my sport psychology work I regularly use boxing with a range of my fitness clients, because there is so much to gain from it. And, sure, isn’t it great to just hit something sometimes? 🥊

As a dad of three daughters, I’m not sure I’d ever want to see any of them on the receiving end of the physical impact of boxing. But the positives Katie has brought to the sport are impossible to ignore. She has shown generations of girls that they can step into a ring, compete at the highest level, dream big and belong in a sport that was once largely seen as a man’s world. Her legacy will go far beyond the titles, medals and victories. Katie Taylor will leave a lasting impact not just on Irish sport, but on female Irish sport.

And I think that might ultimately be one of her greatest achievements. 🇮🇪🥊

20/08/2026

I checked in with one of my athlete’s parents this morning as she headed to school to receive her exam results. The reply attached really summed up why I believe mental skills are so much bigger than sport.

The response really made me smile.

This is exactly what I try to encourage with my athletes and their parents. Take the skills you develop through sport and transfer them into everyday life. One of the simplest, but most challenging, skills is learning to focus on what is within your control.

On results day, the results are no longer in your control. That part was in your control during study leave such as how you prepared, the effort you put in and the choices you made.

Now, what is in your control?

👉 How you manage your nerves
👉 How you respond to the result
👉 Who you talk to
👉 Asking for advice and support
👉 Exploring your options
👉 Deciding on your next step

And that applies to sport, education and life.

We can't always control the outcome.

But we can always focus on our response.

I also think we put an enormous amount of pressure on young people to have their whole future figured out at such a young age.

Choose your subjects.
Choose your course.
Choose your career.
Know what you want to do with your life.

Honestly… I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!

So whatever the results were today, remember that your result is information. It isn't your identity.

Focus on what you can control, talk to the right people, explore the options and take the next step.

The path doesn't need to be perfectly clear yet.

And if the skills learned in sport can help someone navigate days like today, then that's sport psychology doing its job. ❤️

19/08/2026

I absolutely love Ted Lasso. Please tell me that you have watched it?

It’s hilarious. But underneath the comedy, there are so many lessons about life, leadership, relationships and performance.

One thing I’ve always noticed about Ted is how rarely he reacts immediately.

Someone says something difficult to him…

He pauses.

“Hmmmmm…”

He thinks.

Then he responds. Or not at all!

It often reminds me of Steve Peters’ Chimp Pardox.

We all have moments when something happens and our immediate emotional response wants to jump in and react, defend, attack, criticise or make a decision before we’ve really thought it through.

The skill isn’t eliminating that reaction. It’s creating enough space between the stimulus and the response to choose what you do next.

I know myself, this is something I’ve had to work on. There have been plenty of situations where my first response probably wasn’t my best response.

Learning to pause has made a difference.

Sometimes the most powerful mental skill isn’t having the perfect answer. It’s simply giving yourself a few seconds before you respond.

That little Ted Lasso:

“Hmmmmm…”

might actually be one of the best mental skills of all.

And that’s why I love the show.

Comedy on the surface.

Psychology, leadership and life lessons underneath.

I have listed mental skill specific lessons from Ted Lasso, but that one might be my favourite.

What would your “Hmmmmm…” moment look like?

AthleteDevelopment Coaching BennyFit

14/08/2026

Something I’ve noticed working with fighters is that a lot of the mental side gets left until fight week.

But by then, it’s probably too late to start figuring it out.

What happens if you get hurt?

What happens if the game plan isn’t working?

What happens if you gas?

What happens if you’re behind going into the last round?

What happens when you start doubting yourself?

You can’t predict exactly what will happen in a fight.

But you can prepare for how you want to respond.

That’s a big part of the work I do with fighters.

We look at the situations that could challenge them and work through how they want to respond from a mental, emotional and behavioural perspective.

Not trying to eliminate nerves.

Not pretending everything will go perfectly.

Just building some tools and responses that they can rely on when things get difficult.

Imagine how confident you could be if you had a plan for:

“Whatever happens, I’ve got a plan for how I’ll respond.”

That’s something worth training too.

28/07/2026

One of the biggest mindset shifts I help athletes make is learning to focus on what they can control.

When young athletes stop worrying about selection, results, other competitors or what people think, and instead direct their energy towards their preparation, attitude, effort and race plan, something powerful happens. Their worries reduce, their confidence grows, and they're able to perform much closer to their potential.

Every athlete is different. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Together, we find the strategies that work for them, whether that's controlling their thoughts, managing nerves, developing pre-performance routines or building confidence.

I'm also very aware that I'm only one part of the process. My role is to guide, challenge and provide the tools, but real progress only happens because athletes commit to applying what we discuss between sessions. The athletes who improve the most are the ones who put the work in when nobody is watching.

Reading feedback like Callum's and his mum's reminds me why I love what I do. Seeing a young athlete become calmer, more resilient and more confident (not just in competition but in life) is far more rewarding than any medal.

If you're the parent of a young athlete who struggles to perform in competition because of nerves, pressure or self-doubt, I'd love to help.

Feel free to get in touch for a chat.

19/07/2026

It's always nice to share photos of athletes standing on podiums, winning medals, breaking records, or becoming champions. Those moments deserve to be celebrated.

However, as a sport psychologist, that's not the only way I measure success.

Success is the young athlete who rediscovers the joy of their sport after months of pressure. It's the athlete who looks forward to training because they love the challenge of becoming just a little better than they were yesterday. It's the friendships they build, the laughter on the journey, and the confidence they develop that reaches far beyond sport.

Success is also how they respond when things don't go to plan. Learning to cope with disappointment, injury, mistakes, selection setbacks, or poor performances is one of the greatest skills sport can teach. Resilience isn't built when everything goes right, it's built when athletes learn they can handle it when it doesn't.

And sometimes, success is helping families navigate the unique challenge of the parent-coach relationship. Protecting those relationships, improving communication, and ensuring home still feels like home can be just as important as any performance outcome.

Medals tarnish. Records get broken. Championships come and go.

But a young person who enjoys their sport, embraces challenges, bounces back from setbacks, and builds healthy relationships has gained something that will last long after their sporting career ends.

That's the kind of success I'll always be proud to be part of.

Address

An Ómaigh

Telephone

+447745642832

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Benny-Fit posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Benny-Fit:

Want your business to be the top-listed Gym/sports Facility in Omagh?