New Book covers the Psychology of Endurance Athletes

February 10th, 2016 4:55pm

Matt Fitzgerald's New Book, How Bad Do You Want It?, Reveals New Strategies for Mental Toughness

Book cover - how bad do you want it.

I found this book interesting in that it defines and gives pyschological explanations to the actions athletes have taken to reach their goals. The athletes covered have some interesting back stories that most people would never know. As a former competitive amatuer athlete I have witnessed or tried many of the techniques that the atheletes highlighted in this book have used. This book defines those. It is an interesting read for parents, coaches ex-athletes and those interested in sports psychology. While the opening 10 pages is a bit slow, it picks up nicely and delivers good insights.

This book will probably have you continually checking in to see if you had done enough in your own endeavors and most importantly; What limitations are you placing on yourself now? It did for me.

I think it is worth the read..

Here is the official Press Release on the book...

Featured Athletes Include Steve Prefontaine, Greg LeMond, Siri Lindley, Cadel Evans, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ned Overend, and Jenny Simpson

Boulder, CO, USA - November 11, 2015 - 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. How Bad Do You Want It? is now available in bookstores; running, cycling, and triathlon stores and online. Read the first chapter at www.velopress.com/howbad

Fitzgerald puts readers 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 athletes approach their true physical limits, giving them 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 anyone can practice to flex their 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 readers answer this question and show them how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help athletes push back their limits and uncover their 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

Paperback $18.95

Matt Fitzgerald is an acclaimed sports journalist, a certified sports nutritionist, and the author of numerous books on running, triathlon, nutrition, and weight loss. His most recent books are Racing Weight Cookbook, Racing Weight Quick Start Guide, RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel, Racing Weight, Brain Training for Runners, and The Runner's Diary. His book Iron War was long-listed for the 2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Matt is a regular contributor to Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Outside, Runner's World, Bicycling, Running Times, Women's Running, and other sports and fitness publications. He is a featured coach on Training Peaks, Pear Sports, and Active.com and is a certified sports nutritionist (CISSN) licensed by the International Society of Sports Nutrition. He lives and trains near San Francisco. Learn more at www.mattfitzgerald.org.