How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle

How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle

by Matt Fitzgerald
How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle

How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle

by Matt Fitzgerald

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Overview

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, XTERRA, 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.

How Bad Do You Want It? reveals new psychobiological findings including:
  • Mental toughness determines how close you can get to your physical limit.
  • Bracing yourself for a tough race or workout can boost performance by 15% or more.
  • Champions have learned how to give more of what they have.
  • The only way to improve performance is by altering how you perceive effort.
  • Choking under pressure is a form of self-consciousness.
  • Your attitude in daily life is the same one you bring to sports.
  • There’s no such thing as going as fast as you can—only going faster than before.
  • The fastest racecourse is the one with the loudest spectators.
  • Faith in your training is as important as the training itself.

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

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781937715410
Publisher: VeloPress
Publication date: 10/15/2015
Pages: 296
Sales rank: 74,252
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

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 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. 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. Fitzgerald is a featured coach on TrainingPeaks, 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

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