Synopses & Reviews
The greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body. Elite athletes have known this for decades and now science is learning why it's true. In his fascinating new book
How Bad Do You Want It?, coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.
Fitzgerald puts you into the pulse-pounding action of more than a dozen epic races from running, cycling, triathlon, and rowing with thrilling race reports and revealing post-race interviews with the elites. Their own words reinforce what the research has found: strong mental fitness lets us approach our true physical limits, giving us an edge over physically stronger competitors. Each chapter explores the how and why of an elite athlete's transformative moment, revealing powerful new psychobiological principles you can practice to flex your own mental fitness.
The new psychobiological model of endurance performance shows that the most important question in endurance sports is: how bad do you want it? Fitzgerald's fascinating book will forever change how you answer this question and show you how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help you push back your limits and uncover your full potential.
Athletes featured in How Bad Do You Want It?: Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Simpson, Greg LeMond, Siri Lindley, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Nathan Cohen and Joe Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine, and last of all John "The Penguin" Bingham
Review
- Media consideration among mainstream health/fitness media; running, cycling, triathlon, swimming, and rowing media; and among daily newspapers.
- Print and online advertising campaign in top endurance sports media.
- Media consideration among mainstream health/fitness media; running, cycling, triathlon, swimming, and rowing media; and among daily newspapers.
- Print and online advertising campaign in top endurance sports media.
Synopsis
The greatest athletic performances take place in the mind, not the body. How Bad Do You Want It? explores some of the greatest moments in endurance sports to mine concrete habits and tactics we can use to cultivate our own mental strength.
Great endurance athletes often seem godlike in their abilities. But no matter how great, their physical abilities can take them only so far. The greatest moments in sports demand that these champions rely on their mind to confront and overpower the same fears we all face in sports and in life: fear of failure, fear of suffering, fear of change, to name a few. When we understand how much mental strength is demanded of the greatest athletes in pursuit of victory, their performances become vastly more inspiring. Behind every glorious win are doubts overcome, personal demons faced and setbacks surmounted.
How Bad Do You Want It? describes a new "psychobiological" model of endurance performance connecting the mind and body through the brain, and explains how athletes are sometimes able to overcome physical limitations with mental might. Each story in the book is viewed through the lens of this model, shedding new light on what science has to say about mental fortitude in sports. With its compelling accounts from triathlon, cycling, running, rowing, and swimming, How Bad Do You Want It? puts readers on the sidelines of more than a dozen epic races while also digging into the science to share the how and why of each transformative moment.
About the Author
Matt Fitzgerald is a certified sports nutritionist and the author of numerous books on running, triathlon, nutrition, and weight loss. His most recent VeloPress books are Racing Weight Cookbook, Racing Weight Quick Start Guide, RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel, Racing Weight, and The Runner's Diary. Matt is a regular contributor to Competitor, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Outside, Runner's World, Bicycling, Running Times, Women's Running, and other sports and fitness publications. Fitzgerald is a featured coach on Training Peaks, Pear Sports, and Active.com. He is a certified sports nutritionist (CISSN) licensed by the International Society of Sports Nutrition. He lives and trains near San Francisco, California.
Table of Contents
Introduction
A Race is Like a Fire Walk: Sammy Wanjiru
Brace Yourself: Jenny Barringer
Chasing the Man Behind: Greg LeMond
The Art of Letting Go: Siri Lindley
I Never Wanted to Swim Until I Couldn't: Willie Stewart
Sweet Disgust: Cadel Evans
The Wrong Body: Joseph Sullivan
Hard Work Security Blanket: Paula Newby-Fraser
Miracle in the Mud: Ryan Vail
The Yellow Jersey Gives You Wings: Thomas Voeckler
Slowing Slower: Ned Overend
It's Worth It: Steve Prefontaine
Appendix