Older athletes face lowered anabolic hormones, slower collagen repair, and higher baseline stress. They therefore need an even sharper focus on sleep hygiene, protein timing, mobility maintenance, and parasympathetic activation through practices such as breathwork or meditation. Proper recovery converts training from joint-grinding punishment into forward momentum and longevity.

When it comes to athletic performance, training gets most of the spotlight—but make no mistake, your nutrition is the foundation that supports every rep, every sprint, every recovery. You can have the best training plan in the world, but if your fueling strategy is off, you're leaving performance on the table. Over the years of coaching elite CrossFit Games athletes, pros, and everyday competitors, one thing has remained constant: those who eat with purpose, perform with power.

Read more about the key points I emphasize when coaching athletes on how to optimize their food for performance.

In my 20+ years of coaching, I’ve worked with some of the most elite individuals across sport and life—CrossFit Games athletes, military special operations, professional athletes, and high-level business performers. I’ve also worked with everyday people who operate at an extremely high standard, and you start to notice something after a while:

High performers move differently—not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally.

It’s not about talent. Not genetics. Not even just work ethic. It’s about character. The traits that are ingrained deep in their DNA—traits that show up when it’s hard, when no one is watching, and when the stakes are high.

Here are the 10 character traits I see time and time again in high performers.

There’s a big difference between working out and training. I say this often, and I’ll say it again: a workout without purpose is just sweat. But a training session—when executed with clear intention and thoughtful design—is a step forward toward your goals.

At Conquer Athlete, we believe the magic of progress doesn’t lie in fancy programming or random intensity. It lives at the intersection of athlete understanding and coach precision.