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The Champion Mindset: An Athlete's Guide to Mental Toughness
An in-depth mental motivational book for all athletes from Olympian Dr. Joanna Zeiger that offers game-changing strategies for programming your brain to achieve physical excellence.
Champions, as the familiar adage preaches, are not born―they're made. Reaching the top of any sport, or any aspect of life, takes years upon years of dedication and proper preparation. But if there's a huge pool of individuals who have undertaken the same commitment and steps towards becoming the best, what truly separates the winners from everyone else? Joanna Zeiger believes proper mental preparation is the answer.
The Champion Mindset is a much-needed and long overdue look into how to program a competitor's mind to achieve optimal success. Changing behaviors and ways of thinking are never easy, but the chapters in this book aim to simplify this process to make it manageable and achievable. This book is for every athlete―from the weekend warrior, who wants to complete in his or her first 5k running race, to those who have aspirations of one day becoming Olympians and world champions.
The Champion Mindset is a compendium of Zeiger's own personal journey from struggling novice swimmer to Olympian and World Champion. Through steps Proper Goal Setting, Keeping it Fun, Building Your Team, Intention in Training, Improving Motivation, Promoting Self-Confidence, and Mind/Body Cohesion, among others, Zeiger uses her decades of personal experience, doctoral-level research, and professional success, to prepare readers to go all-in with their mental game.
Champions, as the familiar adage preaches, are not born―they're made. Reaching the top of any sport, or any aspect of life, takes years upon years of dedication and proper preparation. But if there's a huge pool of individuals who have undertaken the same commitment and steps towards becoming the best, what truly separates the winners from everyone else? Joanna Zeiger believes proper mental preparation is the answer.
The Champion Mindset is a much-needed and long overdue look into how to program a competitor's mind to achieve optimal success. Changing behaviors and ways of thinking are never easy, but the chapters in this book aim to simplify this process to make it manageable and achievable. This book is for every athlete―from the weekend warrior, who wants to complete in his or her first 5k running race, to those who have aspirations of one day becoming Olympians and world champions.
The Champion Mindset is a compendium of Zeiger's own personal journey from struggling novice swimmer to Olympian and World Champion. Through steps Proper Goal Setting, Keeping it Fun, Building Your Team, Intention in Training, Improving Motivation, Promoting Self-Confidence, and Mind/Body Cohesion, among others, Zeiger uses her decades of personal experience, doctoral-level research, and professional success, to prepare readers to go all-in with their mental game.
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2017
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505 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 16, 2017
agree with other reader, little emphasis on mental toughness. I'm not an athlete. but I'm picked up some relevant wisdom from the book.
1. focus on what you can control
2. intention and behavior relationship.
3. training to race or race to train.. as long as it works for you
4. have patience.. slow and steady consistent training. don't be impatience.
5. shortcuts usually don't work.
6. improvement is gradual built upon layer and layer of training. and training doesn't lie.
can apply in other aspect of life.
1. focus on what you can control
2. intention and behavior relationship.
3. training to race or race to train.. as long as it works for you
4. have patience.. slow and steady consistent training. don't be impatience.
5. shortcuts usually don't work.
6. improvement is gradual built upon layer and layer of training. and training doesn't lie.
can apply in other aspect of life.
December 29, 2017
This is an awful book. I'm sure she had the best of intentions but this book is terrible. In a book about mental toughness the concept isn't even mentioned until about halfway through the book. Instead of stories supported by evidence or research, we get a ringside seat to Zieger telling us her athletic biography and detailing the many issues she had following her 2009 bike crash. It seems as if she still has unresolved issues with this incident and it dominates the book. That crash or its aftermath is mentioned in almost every chapter. Most of the advice she provides here is simply good training practices (not about mental toughness) although she fails to dig deep enough for this to be a solid book on training. The tools she claims to be providing as part of a champion mindset are not revolutionary. Things like confidence and ownership seem too obvious. What really is this books downfall is the failure to provide concrete exercises or tools to develop this mindset. She does mention meditation and mantras as useful tools but still does not provide enough details on how to actually implement those practices into your training.
I was sorely disappointed. There is much more value in Fitzgerald's How Bad Do You Want It in terms of actual tools for mental toughness for endurance athletes.
I was sorely disappointed. There is much more value in Fitzgerald's How Bad Do You Want It in terms of actual tools for mental toughness for endurance athletes.
November 21, 2019
I first came across this book after doing Joanna Zeiger's mental toughness online quiz. (There's a sport I want to get better at, and the mental game is a big part of improving.) Anyway, in the quiz I came in at a "white belt", i.e. not mentally tough...which got me interested in the book, because I always thought of myself as being pretty strong-willed, so maybe there's something I don't know.
The book is about her life experience as a professional swimmer, triathlete and runner, and what it takes to drive yourself mentally and follow through to a win. And while the sport I'm interested in is not an endurance sport and I have no experience or even much interest in competitive endurance sports, I felt that what she talked about can be applied to any discipline.
Some takeaways that made this book worth it: figuring out if you're the type of person who trains to race or races to train, the evidence that giving yourself corny pep talks actually improves your results, and that making sure you're really enjoying it all the time, even when it's painful, can keep you going. I recommend reading her polls of other racers with and without these qualities, and her own experiences. You definitely get the sense that she speaks from grueling experience...which is a lot better than hearing someone's theories on the topic.
(I'd also recommend the quiz...the results might surprise you.)
The book is about her life experience as a professional swimmer, triathlete and runner, and what it takes to drive yourself mentally and follow through to a win. And while the sport I'm interested in is not an endurance sport and I have no experience or even much interest in competitive endurance sports, I felt that what she talked about can be applied to any discipline.
Some takeaways that made this book worth it: figuring out if you're the type of person who trains to race or races to train, the evidence that giving yourself corny pep talks actually improves your results, and that making sure you're really enjoying it all the time, even when it's painful, can keep you going. I recommend reading her polls of other racers with and without these qualities, and her own experiences. You definitely get the sense that she speaks from grueling experience...which is a lot better than hearing someone's theories on the topic.
(I'd also recommend the quiz...the results might surprise you.)
November 18, 2017
pretty enjoyable read, though nothing really amazing. don't give up, don't make excuses, use positive self-talk, know the difference between normal wear and tear you fight thru and an actual injury, and so on. As she occasionally acknowledges, most of what happens in competition is dictated by your actual training and genetics. if you slack in training but do mindfulness meditation, imitate Deena Kastor by reminding yourself "defne yourself today" on the start line, and commit to racing with a joyful smile and grateful attitude........you'll still race poorly because your body isn't ready for it.
lots and lots of triathlon examples and many anecdotes from her own eventful career plus those of a few of her friends (Colleen De Reuck comes up more often than a random sampling of great endurance athletes would imply for instance). Makes some effort to connect with regular people, but occasionally lapses into assuming everyone is a pro -- detailed tips on how to lead your "team" of rehab people, massage therapist, chiro, personal coach, etc. etc. suggest a target audience with high SES and a lot of time to devote to their sport.
lots and lots of triathlon examples and many anecdotes from her own eventful career plus those of a few of her friends (Colleen De Reuck comes up more often than a random sampling of great endurance athletes would imply for instance). Makes some effort to connect with regular people, but occasionally lapses into assuming everyone is a pro -- detailed tips on how to lead your "team" of rehab people, massage therapist, chiro, personal coach, etc. etc. suggest a target audience with high SES and a lot of time to devote to their sport.
October 21, 2020
I rarely ever cannot finish a book, but I just couldn't do it. I guess I don't have mental toughness...
In all seriousness, on the foothills of reading "Endure" by Hutchinson which is evidence and science-based, I had high expectations for this book. But this book was not science or evidence-based, which is strange for an author with a PhD. The book was an autobiography, hands down, as the author uses self examples and personal anecdotes to support almost every thesis (which cannot really be discerned, as it was never articulated clearly). A few instances of personal reference in a book are fine, but when it makes up the bulk of a book that is not supposed to be an autobiography it comes across as shallow and self-interested. Mental toughness wasn't even really addressed in any way that the reader could take anything away from it. It actually felt like reading a personal training journal where the author was still struggling with her own mental issues and writing for catharsis.
I have no issue with autobiographies, but when a book is marketed as a book about the topic of mental toughness, I just find it hard to get behind this one. Very disappointing.
In all seriousness, on the foothills of reading "Endure" by Hutchinson which is evidence and science-based, I had high expectations for this book. But this book was not science or evidence-based, which is strange for an author with a PhD. The book was an autobiography, hands down, as the author uses self examples and personal anecdotes to support almost every thesis (which cannot really be discerned, as it was never articulated clearly). A few instances of personal reference in a book are fine, but when it makes up the bulk of a book that is not supposed to be an autobiography it comes across as shallow and self-interested. Mental toughness wasn't even really addressed in any way that the reader could take anything away from it. It actually felt like reading a personal training journal where the author was still struggling with her own mental issues and writing for catharsis.
I have no issue with autobiographies, but when a book is marketed as a book about the topic of mental toughness, I just find it hard to get behind this one. Very disappointing.
August 6, 2022
At first I was going to give this book a five star review. I think she shares a valuable, practical perspective on preparing yourself in every way for endurance competition. It's worth reading the first half.
But around the halfway point, I got pretty tired of her rehashing her accident, going over the same anecdotes again and again. The book could have been much shorter, it feels like, if she wasn't writing it as a way to process her feelings about the accident. And all of her exploratory surgeries!?! That got to be a little much. Her favorite surgeon is the one who keeps going back in. It's hard not to think that she's the victim of a predatory surgeon, and some very real TMS pain, caused by the trauma of her crash.
But around the halfway point, I got pretty tired of her rehashing her accident, going over the same anecdotes again and again. The book could have been much shorter, it feels like, if she wasn't writing it as a way to process her feelings about the accident. And all of her exploratory surgeries!?! That got to be a little much. Her favorite surgeon is the one who keeps going back in. It's hard not to think that she's the victim of a predatory surgeon, and some very real TMS pain, caused by the trauma of her crash.
March 15, 2021
While I found some aspects of the book useful and all the feats described stunning, I couldn't connect with the book. I felt she was trying to teach a very personal lesson- something you hear from a close friend, mentor, coach who you've known a while- in a very impersonal way. The book was also full of contradictions that cannot be sorted out without a proper coach to tell you which side of the contradiction you need to work on. It rendered the whole thing kind of pointless. It also surprised me how seemingly toxic the sport of triathlon is, athletes racing on broken bones or fevers doesn't seem smart or healthy.
September 11, 2017
This book was recommended by my coach when I asked about a good read on developing mental toughness. Written by a professional athlete for athletes and weekend warriors alike this book offers a true wealth of hands-on practices of how to set and achieve your sports goals, how to dream big without setting yourself up for disaster, how to deal with setbacks, restlessness of a taper, finding meaning and purpose when going gets tough and many other big and small issues that every athlete encounters and deals with in the course of his or her sports life. A must-read for all sports enthusiasts!
May 22, 2018
I really like the book! Don’t give up. No excuses. Don’t blame others. Positive mantras. Do your best.
The author is a world-class triathlete and Runner. I listened to the audio version of this book and thought it was read well by the author.
You may find for much of the book you’re thinking, I knew that. Every time it encourages better thinking it helps you improve performance.
Some may say it’s more about positive thinking than mental toughness. Zeiger would say accept the difficult issue and continue to give best effort. Sometimes it is hard to stay focused when trouble occurs.
The author is a world-class triathlete and Runner. I listened to the audio version of this book and thought it was read well by the author.
You may find for much of the book you’re thinking, I knew that. Every time it encourages better thinking it helps you improve performance.
Some may say it’s more about positive thinking than mental toughness. Zeiger would say accept the difficult issue and continue to give best effort. Sometimes it is hard to stay focused when trouble occurs.
October 19, 2018
Lots of good advice from someone who has been both near the top of the endurance sports world as well as the absolute bottom after a horrific bike crash, and also brings a coaching perspective. The chapters cover topics like "Proper Goal Setting," "Keeping it Fun," "Building Your Team," "Improving Motivation," etc. I found a lot of it very helpful (and honestly I probably need to read it again at this point.)
May 30, 2017
This is an outstanding book for athletes, regardless of level of activity/competition, for how to mentally and physically deal with the entire process, outside of training/competition and inside of it. I found quite a few of the mental aspects to be very helpful for non-athletic parts of my life, including work or any other challenge. Well written, and very instructive!
June 2, 2020
This book provided some very useful tips for a new runner like myself. At times, it felt like she was talking directly to me, and I appreciated the parts of the book that called for self-evaluation. I definitely think this book gave me key points to help build a stronger mind when it comes to endurance sports, and I'm glad I read it.
August 20, 2017
A couple of good nuggets, otherwise, eh...nothing groundbreaking in sports psych.
February 24, 2020
More of an autobiography rather than a book to help the reader. Make sure you read it for the right reason!
October 25, 2020
A lot of practical tips for endurance sports.
August 29, 2023
This book had ok messages but a lot of it was all about her and what she went through, considering i’m not an Ironman runner, biker or swimmer, I found it really hard to relate.
October 19, 2017
So negative, didn't enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews