In 2018 I took on the biggest challenge in my life, a 500 miles bikepacking race. To prepare mentally I relied heavily on the book “How Bad do You Want it” by Matt Fitzgerald. Matt is an endurance athlete himself and has made a career out of the study of endurance. He’s written over 20 books on the subject, coaches endurance athletes, host his own podcast, and is a wealth of knowledge on the topic of endurance sports and athletes.
In this episode we focus on his book “How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle” which as you can infer by the title is all about how our mind is the thing that limits us, not our physical ability. Matt uses real examples of athletes overcoming obstacles to showcase the scientific principles outlined in his book. I found this format to way more digestible and relatable than a scholarly paper. Thankfully, Matt has done the hard work of reviewing and collecting the science and stories of athletes to add context to the science while making more relatable.
My favorite story from his book is about how Greg Lemond went on to win the 1989 Tour de France after being almost killed in a hunting accident in 1987. This story alone is worth the price of the book!
Ultimately, I went on to complete my 500 mile race in 2018 and I credit this book greatly for my success. There is a lot of science to support the principles outlined in his book, but the question “How Bad do YOU want IT” is a simple one. When I woke up on the fourth morning of my race my body was rejecting in every way possible. Crying, shaking, nauseous, tired, and everything hurt and I was 80 miles from the finish. I remember vividly asking myself that morning how do I want it, turns out I wanted it bad enough to keep going.
As we come up on the East Texas Showdown I thought it would be cool to bring Matt in to give participants a mental edge as they set out on their journeys and anyone else who is facing challenges in this athletic life and even your daily life.
How Bad do You Want it? It’s a simple questions, that only YOU can answer!
This weeks episode is brought to us by the Sponsors of The East Texas Showdown
Rockgeist
Wren Sports
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Quad Lock
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Big thanks also to our newest Patrons!
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Thomas Buttery
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