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How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle
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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 ...more
Fitzgerald puts you ...more
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In my quest to gain an "edge" in my fitness goals, I picked up this book. I'm interested in the aspects of psyche that separate those who excel and are willing to put themselves into that dark space of pain and disorientation in order to accomplish their goals, and those of us who try hard, but are just ok, and are, in fact, ok with being ok (if that makes sense). I know enough to know that the mental game is most of it. I wanted this book to include more practical application on how to train th
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I got this book because I hoped that it would contain practical exercises to help gain better control over the mind during competition. Fitzgerald offered little in the way of practical application, but I will still give it four stars. The stories were enjoyable and inspiring.
Not my favorite, but I muscled through. I will say his race descriptions were fantastic and very well written, but ultimately not enough character development for me to care about the athletes I wasn't already familiar with. The "psychobiological” connections to top performers were not at all compelling, kind of obvious, and were more like astrology that could be claimed to apply for many situations, races, and athletes.
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"The essential challenge of long-distance racing, I understood, was mental."
I'm guess I'm into sports. I know the joy of moving your body, of testing your mental strength. And I've enjoyed both scientific as well as more narrative stories about running and yet I had such a hard time getting through this one.
How Bad Do You Want It? explores the idea of how great athletic performance is as much down to mental strength than it is to physical ability – even more so. In this book, Matt Fitzgerald ...more
I'm guess I'm into sports. I know the joy of moving your body, of testing your mental strength. And I've enjoyed both scientific as well as more narrative stories about running and yet I had such a hard time getting through this one.
How Bad Do You Want It? explores the idea of how great athletic performance is as much down to mental strength than it is to physical ability – even more so. In this book, Matt Fitzgerald ...more
I definitely believe that training your brain is a huge part of being successful in competitive sports. That is what the author is arguing. He then takes a case study from a real-life sports example each chapter and gives a strategy or observation that he thinks helped them overcome their mental struggle. I felt like the author drew a lot of cause-effect conclusions that weren't necessarily logical and made his strategy fit the story, but nevertheless there were some worthwhile ideas.
My take aw ...more
My take aw ...more
Part story, part science - Matt Fitzgerald weaves a compelling spell as he makes the argument that "mental fitness" is the key to performance in endurance sports. Conventional wisdom says you can run/bike/whatever as hard as you can for as long as you can efficiently consume and process oxygen ... but conventional wisdom doesn't account for when good athletes choke or conversely, when unexpectedly gritty performances show up and blow "better" athletes out of the water. Fitzgerald argues that you
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Mostly painful getting to the end of the book. But not so bad as to not finish.
I've recently listened to another Fitzgerald book 80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower, which I actually enjoyed way more than this one.
With this book, the title is deceiving.
It doesn't tell you how to master anything.
The book is a collection of inspirational stories of athletes that made it to the top of the ranks. Sometimes failed hard, and made their way back.
The stories are great and the ...more
I've recently listened to another Fitzgerald book 80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower, which I actually enjoyed way more than this one.
With this book, the title is deceiving.
It doesn't tell you how to master anything.
The book is a collection of inspirational stories of athletes that made it to the top of the ranks. Sometimes failed hard, and made their way back.
The stories are great and the ...more
How bad do you want it? The Question should be asked every single day. No matter what do you want in this life. It can be to be a good runner, or a writer or whatever. As long as you give your 100% you will see the results.
I like the examples that were used in this book. They were inspirational! I can see myself re-reading this book. I actually listened to this, which made this book more special!
I like the examples that were used in this book. They were inspirational! I can see myself re-reading this book. I actually listened to this, which made this book more special!
I was looking for a practical advise on how to train the brain for endurance racing and did not get the information that I've expected. Instead the book contains life stories of endurance athletes and descriptions of races. A lot of races. It is motivational but it didn't catch my interest. It reminded me of motivational videos that are typically suggested by youtube :)
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Call me the anomaly because all these reviewers who write how good this book was seem to enjoy someone who takes loads of anecdotal stories as fact or science.
The guy goes on way too long with this story and that story and if you listen or read closely these are not great examples of people overcoming the mind to gain the edge. They are stories you could hear on the radio or read in a magazine.
This is the same formula as many of the genre: a collection of “if they can do it, you can do it” stor ...more
The guy goes on way too long with this story and that story and if you listen or read closely these are not great examples of people overcoming the mind to gain the edge. They are stories you could hear on the radio or read in a magazine.
This is the same formula as many of the genre: a collection of “if they can do it, you can do it” stor ...more
I wish I read this when I was training for my marathon.
When I picked up this book, I thought it would be filled with scientific studies/tools one could implement to push themselves harder. To the contrary, it's actually a book about inspirational stories of athletes persevering.
This book is fun and inspirational read, but definitely not practical "how to guide". ...more
When I picked up this book, I thought it would be filled with scientific studies/tools one could implement to push themselves harder. To the contrary, it's actually a book about inspirational stories of athletes persevering.
This book is fun and inspirational read, but definitely not practical "how to guide". ...more
I’m an ordinary ultra marathoner, and I was eager to read this to develop stronger resilience against quitting, and yes, a few of the stories are vaguely inspirational and somewhat interesting, even as i had not heard of _any_ of these athletes before.
Yet the book felt like a loose collection of (well executed) sporting event result articles. I did not collect anything concrete for my self improvement, nor well summarized conclusions of “psychobiology” related to regulating my own perception of ...more
Yet the book felt like a loose collection of (well executed) sporting event result articles. I did not collect anything concrete for my self improvement, nor well summarized conclusions of “psychobiology” related to regulating my own perception of ...more
It’s not my favorite -
I liked Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance much better...
And was familiar with most of the concepts introduced in there...
But it is a good - and quite easy read - with fun race recaps, in particular the tour de france stuff... I was never into that, but guess I'll watch it at some point...
And maybe I want to get into triathlon...
No seriously, it is about becoming your own sports psychologist, which can only be helpful... and even i ...more
I liked Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance much better...
And was familiar with most of the concepts introduced in there...
But it is a good - and quite easy read - with fun race recaps, in particular the tour de france stuff... I was never into that, but guess I'll watch it at some point...
And maybe I want to get into triathlon...
No seriously, it is about becoming your own sports psychologist, which can only be helpful... and even i ...more
4.5 stars. My sisters and I are training to hike the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. One of them recommended this book, and I can see why. There are some really good principles in it. My biggest criticism of the book is that he uses sports vocabulary that he doesn't always explain. I guess because he was writing to an audience of endurance athletes, he figured they already knew the vocabulary and basic rules of the competitions. I had to get some help understanding all that. However, it wasn't eno
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An interesting book for everyone who is into (endurance)sports and who keeps looking to overcome his/her own physical and mental limits.
Each chapter of the book consists of a story about a professional athlete and his/her psychological struggle in terms of their sport and how they overcame it. In every chapter the coping skill of the athlete is then explained by scientific research and further discussed.
An easy read for sports- and psychology enthousiasts that explains the enormous mental part ...more
Each chapter of the book consists of a story about a professional athlete and his/her psychological struggle in terms of their sport and how they overcame it. In every chapter the coping skill of the athlete is then explained by scientific research and further discussed.
An easy read for sports- and psychology enthousiasts that explains the enormous mental part ...more
In typical Fitzgerald form, this book combines specific, personal stories and complements them with the science and psychology behind them. Each tale of athletic challenges - successes, failures and in between - are inspirational. This is not a how-to book, but one that allows amateur athletes to eavesdrop on a conversation of epic athletic endeavors that provides some insight (but more inspiration) for our own endeavors.
This was surprisingly good and I'd say a must-read for fans of endurance sports. I picked it up the night before running a half marathon looking for inspiration, and I actually did think about some of the things it said as i was heading into the hardest part of the race. Still, in terms of actual actionable advice, I'm not sure how useful it really was, but I really enjoyed all the anecdotes of great moments in endurance sport.
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This book presents great mental tips for endurance athletes. Fitzgerald expertly marries science and storytelling to relate these psychological concepts to the reader. I enjoyed listening to this book and am eager to put some of these tips to use!
This is a fascinating incite into mind vs. body. I am not an ultra marathoner or Iron Man athlete but I do run half marathons. I’m excited to explore these new ways of thinking to try and get faster at my sport. I definitely enjoyed the positive message and it makes me want to try harder to be better not only at running but at every day life.
I love how each chapter focused on a different athlete. There is a lot of interesting stuff. Very motivating and inspiring, but I thought it kind of fizzled at the end. Overall worth the read.
It is rather a simple story about underdogs taking the win, but it was nice to read how some elite athletes use recognizable mental tricks to keep themselves going.
Such an amazing book that I highly recommend to people wanting to improve on their fitness goals. Mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness. It was definitely a much needed read as I prepare for my 100 mile air dyne challenge.
I came back and changed my rating from a 3 to 4, since I am still thinking about the book and that indicates to me it had some impact. I had to plow through it in the early stages, as it had just too many science stats for my brain. I enjoyed the real life stories more, and those stuck with me. I do wish that the author had made some kind of summary of the conclusions with a chart or table or something so for sport you could reference it easily. I would consider reading it again and taking notes
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Another brilliant one from Matt. The collection of episodes across the sporting world to depict the themes of each chapter is so well placed. Great motivational read.
A good Bock to help you push towards and through your traning goals or just life in general.
I very fun book, and helpful to me. I really enjoyed it!
Two weeks until I attempt to reach an enormous personal best marathon goal and this book helped my mental game so much. I will probably think about it all during the race.
An excellent compilation of science-backed psychological principles and mental coping mechanisms for any endurance athlete. I really appreciated the powerful stories illustrating each principle; it really drove the points home. This book has already helped me improve my performance.
I wish i have read this when i started cycling and before a big 300km ride.
Really good approach on developing a mindset that can endure.
Really good approach on developing a mindset that can endure.
I was entertained, and I learned something about myself and my world. That is the measure of a successful book to me. Much more so for a book of this genre. Forgoing platitudes, didactic lessons, and formulas, Fitzgerald provides riveting play-by-play accounts of athletes facing career challenges. My heart beat faster, and I rooted for races that took place years ago. Intermixed, he reports on psychological and biological research behind common concerns that face all of us, athlete or not. He pr
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| Taking the Long W...: April's book review and linkup are live! | 1 | 6 | Apr 15, 2016 03:53AM |
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Matt Fitzgerald is the author of numerous books on sports history and endurance sports. He has enjoyed unprecedented access to professional endurance athletes over the course of his career. His best-sellers include Racing Weight and Brain Training for Runners. He has also written extensively for Triathlete, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Outside, Runner's World, Bicycling, Competitor, and countless
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