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

This book explains the latest theory of how the brain regulates endurance performance, the psycho biological model. The thesis is that decisions about pacing or quitting are taken by the conscious brain and that these decisions are primarily based on the conscious decisions of how hard, heavy and strenuous exercise is, a feeling called perception of effort, or body's resistance to the mind's will. Endurance performance is a self-regulated behavior on which thoughts and feelings can have profound influences. Perceptions of effort limit endurance performance. The book describes how conscious self-regulation of thoughts, emotions, and behavior can have a dramatic influence on endurance performance. In other words, mind and body are interconnected with the body distinctly subordinate, or as the great Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi opined, "Mind is everything. Muscles-pieces of rubber." Fitzgerald states the thesis of the book, "One cannot improve as an endurance athlete except by changing one's relationship with perception of effort." The author proceeds to devote the remainder of the book to examples of how athletes changed their relationship to perception of effort. As he states, "the best source of knowledge concerning the most effective methods of coping...is the example set by elite endurance athletes". Subsequent chapters describe how these elite athletes learned to cope. Jenny Barringer demonstrates the need to learn to brace yourself; Greg Lemond the efficacy of time based goals that are targets, not limits, Siri Lindley transcending self-consciousness to become absorbed in the task at hand; Cadel Evans turning low points into turning points, or angry resolve; Paula Newby-Fraser the importance of believing in yourself and ignoring what your competition is doing; the American contingent who participated in the 2013 World Cross Country championships and placed second,the positive effect of running as a team or behavioral synchrony; Thomas Mancebo and the audience and success effects; Ned Overend and the phenomena that if passion endures so will you; and finally, Steve Prefontaine, who wrote that the value of the suffering involved in racing was what you learned about yourself. The author writes that the purpose of the book is to help you become your own sports psychologist, that "in a race the job of the muscles is to perform, the job of the mind is to cope. But here's the hitch: the muscles can only perform to the degree that the mind is able to cope", The author cautions that "The only way to become really good at coping with the discomforts and stresses of endurance sports is to experience them." The value of Matt Fitzgerald, whether you agree with him or not, is that he inspires you to look at subjects in a way different from how you have previously. Matt continues to inspire.

Matt Fitzgerald has written a very interesting and enjoyable book on the role of mental training for endurance athletes. I recommend this book to all endurance athletes and those who enjoy interesting narratives about individuals who have overcome challenges to become successful. The book can truly be enjoyed on 2 different levels: • Stories of Elite Athletes who have achieved their best through development of better mental training skills and mindsets – these are truly inspirational stories of courage, resilience and are very enjoyable to read • A deeper understanding of the psychobiological model – how the mind and body interact for endurance athletes – that can be used to help each person better coach themselves in a true journey of self-discovery to see what they are truly capable of, regardless of their level of athletic ability (these skills are helpful in other area of life as well). I learned a lot in each chapter of the book but would like to share a bit from 2 chapters that I found interesting and compelling: • In the chapter “The Art of Letting Go”, Matt chronicles the story of Siri Lindley (triathlete) and her struggles and triumphs. The chapter has some very interesting information on choking during big performances. Perceived effort is heightened by self-consciousness - which then leads to decreased performance. The solution is to reach a state of flow – complete immersion in a purposeful activity – that allows one to be in the moment. A key passage from the chapter: “Paradoxically, it may seem, Siri had to let go of that dream and find contentment in the moment-to-moment process of chasing it in order to complete the personal transformation that was her deeper ambition.” • In the chapter “The Gift of Failure”, we learn the story of Cadel Evans (Cycling) and secondarily of Nick Symmonds (800M runner) and the valuable coping skill of resilience. There is a cycle of frustration that can cause an athlete to feel defeated or angry. They can use the anger to reach “sweet disgust” – a determination to fight back that fuels positive change. Additionally, the story of Willie Stewart – “The Workaround Effect” - is one of the most remarkable and inspirational I have read. Stewart lost an arm and still became an elite triathlete by using the coping skill of adaptability – you will not want to miss this story! The best part of the book is that the author realizes that the path to mastery is unique to each of us. There are general coping skills that work well but how we fold those into the fabric of our lives is something we must figure out on our own. This book gives stories of how other have done it and insights into the coping skills and mindsets that can help each of us perform at a higher level. I will close with the way Matt explains it toward the end of the book: “The path between you and the best you can be is unexplored territory. You are on your own, to some extent, to discover not only what motivates you to ‘leave it all out there’ but also your special formula for maximum mental fitness. This is what it means to become your own sports psychologist.”

This book was truly motivational and inspiring, seamlessly blending scientific insights with real-life experiences to create a powerful and engaging read. The author masterfully used research-backed concepts to explain personal growth while sharing relatable stories that made the message resonate deeply. It was both educational and uplifting, encouraging the reader to embrace challenges, rethink limitations, and take actionable steps toward success. The combination of science and personal narratives made complex ideas easy to grasp, leaving a lasting impact and a renewed sense of motivation.

Fitzgerald is the reader's writer. This is especially important with clinical and technical topics like sports psychology. "How Bad Do You Want It" combines strong anecdotal and practical examples with clinical studies and references to teach the cornerstones of sports psychology. The result is a rare combination of information and inspiration. Fitzgerald combines inspiration and information to make you faster today. Arguably the best performance bang for your buck, this book will likely make you faster right now because you'll be inspired to think about going faster. You can buy a power meter, a wrist-top GPS and an online training log- and you should- but none of them will make you think differently about your performance. This book reframes the endurance sports experience from participation to competition, taping into resources you carry with you now but aren't using. I love both the stories and the clinically-flavored analysis and examples. They make the book uniquely easy to learn from. Check your GPS- you'll be faster after reading this, and it won't all be in your head.

EDIT 2015-10-20: so, I want to make clear that, as a book, it's a pretty good read. Matt can definitely hold his own as a writer. My main qualm is that the advice parts of the book could have been written about in 15-20 pages, at most, the rest of the book is filled with stories and anecdotes but many of them have very little in terms of scientific rigor to stand on, so it becomes a "well, if it worked for Prefontaine, it'll work for me" (just as an example) type of proposition. I fully understand we have a much deeper understanding about anatomy and dynamics and metabolism than we know about the mind + body connection; this makes the little practical advice provided in this primer as "it might work for you or it might not" which isn't particularly useful. Original Review: This book, unlike Matt's past works, has very little in the way of material, direct practical advice, which is a bit disappointing. This primer is very exploratory and about a very interesting subject for us into endurance sports: mind + body? Mind over body? Body over mind? The book although based on fairly solid scientific grounds, relies too heavily on anecdotes and stories, IMO. This is a stark contrast from his last few works that were science and application thereof to distance running. Training plans, recipes, nutritional advice, energy efficiency, tips and tricks that could help you PR, and so forth. If that's what you are expecting from this book, you'll be, like myself, a bit let down.

Matt Fitzgerald has written another winner, skillfully interleaving inspiring and moving stories with clear explanations of the latest psychology and neuroscience behind behavior and performance. I am reminded of the famous quote from one of the masters of human psychology, the Buddha, who said (and I paraphrase): What we think, we become. While the book does not have tables and charts and step-by-step recipes like some of Fitzgerald's other works, such simple formats for advice do not work where the mind is concerned. There is no recipe for cultivating motivation and very little technique for willing yourself to push harder, but the book does have the raw ingredients of knowledge and example which will help you develop that all-important mental fitness.

I'm mostly writing this review as a brief counter to the reviews saying the book lacks practical advice about the subject matter. I sure didn't see it that way. Every chapter conveyed information I can use to help myself, my kids and kids I coach. As with all of Matt's books that I've read, its well written and researched. I did enjoy the stories. Could have benefited from a once over by a euro cycling nerd (like me) as there are a few trivial errors (Jakob Piil isn't Dutch as an example). Enjoyed it. If you read this book and like it, read Iron War - also by Matt Fitzgerald - riveting.

Fun read and cool insight to some famous athlete’s experiences and thought processes. I’d recommend to any athlete looking to improve their mental fitness.

Claire, méthodique et bien construit. Je le conseillerais aux lecteurs qui ne seraient pas encore familiers avec les concepts de "gouverneur central" de Tim Noakes ou de "modèle psychobilogique" de Samuele Marcora. L'orthographe parfois bizarre, la géographie surprenante et quelques notions de biologie-fiction font un peu sourire.

Leitura obrigatória para corredores e/ou esportistas de quaisquer outras modalidades. Os exemplos do livro são ótimos e realmente nos fazem pensar, "o quão queremos" as coisas que queremos. Claro, o pano de fundo é um esporte, mas como com tudo na vida, temos de realmente QUERER as coisas. Exemplos práticos, narrativa ótima e leve são apenas algumas das boas características da obra. Embora haja bastante informação técnica, estas não são maçantes. Bom livro, com certeza!

Great book and really well written

I value this book highly. It is informative and brilliantly written. The content is mainly racing anecdotes analysed by psychological theories. It tells of distance runners' and triathlon competitors' experiences with novel insight into the motivation for endurance competition. I enjoyed it very much. Highly recommended.

La idea principal es que no importa nuestro límite, si no importa que logremos sacar lo mejor de nosotros para alcanzar a llegar a nuestro máximo potencial, nuestro(límite) . Muy recomendado para mejorar tu resiliencia, perspectiva del dolor, dolor y dureza de mente no solo para deportistas