Athlete Builder Ep. #140: Midnight Practice, a Broken Wrist, & an All-American. The Justin Baker Story

Athlete Builder Podcast | Episode #140 Midnight Practice, Broken Wrists & All-American: The JB Baker Story He broke a bone in his wrist two weeks before Nationals. Didn't tell a soul. Then competed anyway — and became an All-American. Justin "JB" Baker is an elite hammer thrower, former college football player at Northern Iowa, high school coach in Kansas City, and mental performance coach with the AEA Mental Edge Academy. His story doesn't start with a scholarship or a throws coach — it starts with a belt, an uncle, and a shot put ring where nobody taught him anything. So he listened to every coach on the sideline, stole every cue he could, and built himself piece by piece into one of the best throwers in the country. In this episode, Jim and JB go deep on what actually separates elite athletes from everyone else — and it's not talent. What you'll learn in this episode: — How JB used visualization, kinesthetic rehearsal, and audio cues to train through three simultaneous injuries and still compete at the national level — Why he drove his truck onto campus at midnight, parked in the grass, and used the headlights to practice — and why he kept doing it every year after that — The math behind becoming an All-American: how JB and his coach reverse-engineered exactly what it would take and built the entire training plan backward from that number — Why cracking the national top 10 almost ended his career — and the lesson his coach had to scream at him in front of the whole team — The psychology of pain avoidance vs. reward: why athletes work harder to avoid losing than they do to win, and how to use both levers — What the Blue Angels, Mike Tyson, and Brian Dawkins all have in common when it comes to pre-performance mindset — How to build momentum when everything is going wrong — and why "I'll be right as right" changed JB's relationship with adversity This episode is for athletes, coaches, parents, and competitors who want to understand what mental performance actually looks like when the stakes are real, the body is broken, and quitting would be the easy choice. Timestamps 0:00 — Intro & how JB came to Mental Edge Academy 1:30 — Football or track? JB makes his call 4:00 — The controlled chaos of throwing sports 7:30 — Shot put, discus, hammer — ranked and explained 11:00 — Dr. Zach Riley & the physics of throwing 14:00 — How JB got into throwing: a belt, an uncle, and a ring in Kansas City 18:00 — Career-ending wrist injury — and he still competed 20:30 — From injured to All-American: the math, the method, the mindset 25:00 — Visualization, audio cues & kinesthetic rehearsal 31:00 — The midnight practice story 34:00 — The art of momentum in mindset training 37:00 — Carrot and stick: why people avoid pain harder than they chase wins 43:00 — Stacking wins — from making your bed to breaking records 45:00 — The lesson that cost JB a national championship 50:00 — John Gruden, perfect walkthroughs & building a culture of fundamentals 53:00 — Rapid fire: music, movies, heroes, villains & favorite lifts 56:00 — Rugby, the All Blacks & why the Haka is on Jim's gym wall 58:00 — Book rec, closing quote & where to find JB Connect with JB Baker Instagram: @justinbaker_9010 Facebook: Justin JB Baker TikTok: @justinbaker Connect with Athlete Builder 🌐 athlete-builder.com 📸 Instagram: @athlete_builder 🎵 TikTok: @athlete.builder 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/1athletebuilder ✉️ [email protected] Listen on 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/34QCcodvAqAgj7iwk3tdrj 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/athlete-builder/id1715521920 📻 Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b5583cce-62bc-4611-ab54-ff367f41632d/athlete-builder Athlete Builder Products 📘 Buy the Book: https://a.co/d/9xiGOWQ 🎓 Courses: https://athlete-builder.com/courses🧠 Book a Game Plan Session: https://link.closersoftware.com/widget/bookings/ab-gameplansession 🎤 Speaking: https://athlete-builder.com/speaking 👕 Apparel: https://athlete-builder.printify.me/products 📰 Newsletter: https://athlete-builder.com/newsletter AEA Mental Edge Academy 🌐 https://www.aea-neuro-fitness-academy.com/ Athlete Builder is brought to you by the AEA Institute — Performance Management. Mental Edge Academy summer boot camps are open now. Contact Jim at [email protected] for team and school programs.