The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

by Simon Marshall, Lesley Paterson

The alternate cover edition for this book can be found here.

The Brave Athlete solves the 13 most common mental conundrums athletes face in their everyday training and in races.

You don’t have one brain—you have three; your ancient Chimp brain that keeps you alive, your modern Professor brain that navigates the civilized world, and your Computer brain that runs your habits (good and bad). They fight for control all the time and that’s when bad things happen; you get crazy nervous before a race, you choke under pressure, you quit when the going gets tough, you make dumb mistakes, you worry about how you look.

What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don’t want? What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? You can.

The Brave Athlete from Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson will help you take control of your brain so you can train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport. Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, they offer this innovative, brain training guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes.

That means you won’t find outdated “positive self-talk” or visualization gimmicks here. No, the set of cutting-edge mental skills revealed in The Brave Athlete actually work because they challenge the source of the thoughts and feelings you don’t want. The Brave Athlete is packed with practical, evidence-based solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face. Which of these sound like you?

· Why do I have thoughts and feelings I don’t want?

· I wish I felt more like an athlete.

· I don’t think I can.

· I don’t achieve my goals.

· Other athletes seem tougher, happier, and more badass than me.

· I feel fat.

· I don’t cope well with injury.

· People are worried about how much I exercise.

· I don’t like leaving my comfort zone.

· When the going gets tough, the tough leave me behind.

· I need to harden the f*ck up.

· I keep screwing up.

· I don’t handle pressure well.

With The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, you can solve these problems to become mentally strong and make your brain your most powerful asset.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Fitness, Audiobook, Health

360 pages, Paperback

Published June 29, 2023

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - I almost didn't push past the first few chapters because the style of writing rubbed me the wrong way. It reminded me of when a parent tries to be "down with the kids" - swearing and telling unfunny jokes to show how cool they are. The authors might have done this because they actually don't care, or because they thought it's what would sell more books than the next sports psychology author; whatever the reasons it was annoying and nearly made me quit.

The number of times the authors mention their credentials or successes is also a little excessive. Although I may be biased against people who introduce themselves and include the "PhD".

It's kind of ironic that I was applying some of their techniques to not quit reading this book.

I'm really glad I didn't because overall there is some sound advice and good training material in this book. Whilst they're just giving no-frills information and tools it's really quite useful.

Reader be warned: swearing, needless innuendos and stale humour lies here.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speaking as a mental health professional, I think the authors do a fantastic job of communicating complex, evidence-based brain-wrangling techniques in a hilarious, easily digestible manner. They call out hogwash pseudopsychology and offer practical, actionable skills to deal with anxiety and other crappy situations that drive people to quit anything. They acknowledge that some athletes desire to white-knuckle through hard stuff by “hardening the fuck up” and counter it with research and empathy rather than feeding some masochistic or machismo-driven approach. I highly recommend this to endurance athletes at any level, particularly because the authors offer good strategies for building the habits you need to get started in training. Finally, the audio version of this book, read by the British and Scottish authors, is delightful.

Proposed alternate title: The Proper Care and Feeding of Your(self, the) Triathlete.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some interesting advice on dealing with stress, anxiety, and training as an athlete. However, the writing felt like they were trying too hard to be funny and cool.

Note: this is most relevant to triathletes or endurance athletes who run, cycle, or swim.

[John Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine posted an online comment about this book that caught my attention so I decided to read it. My friend is a much better athlete than I am and competes in marathons and triathlons throughout the year, so I expected this book to be aimed at elite athletes. I was a little intimidated, but decided to read it, anyway. I'm glad I did. I believe this book can be very helpful to athletes at all levels; not just elites.

The authors explain that you are controlled mentally by three parts of your brain that each influence your decisions differently. They call the first your 'chimp brain' which is your limbic system and makes fight or flight decisions to help you react to situations immediately. Next is your professor brain, which is your frontal cortex and waits to gather facts before making decisions. The third is your computer brain, which uses many regions of your brain, including memory, to help determine the best decision. When you try to motivate yourself to get out and train or race, deal with injuries, or when you actually get out to race, your different brains fight each other for control. Your decisions are based on which brain wins. This book goes into detail about how to tell which brain is 'winning' and how to ensure you are making the best decision. From my description, you might think it is best if the computer brain always wins. That's not really always the case, though, and this book explains why. It's a great book for any athlete who ever thinks about what they're doing.

As you might expect from the title, this book is full of 'adult language.' That, to me, is its one drawback. Maybe the authors thought the language would make their book more conversive or 'cool.' I just think that was unnecessary and could turn some readers off. That's the only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five.

[Pierre Fortier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voici le meilleur livre que j'ai lu sur la psychologie de l'athlète et les problèmes qu'il fait face quotidiennement: La tentation de sauter un entraînement; délaisser les séances de renforcement du centre du corps (core) parce qu'on aime pas cela, éviter les étirements et la torture du rouleau parce que, le mot le dit, ça peut être difficile et douloureux; se dévaloriser par rapport aux autres qui s'affichent sur Facebook après chacun de leurs entraînements. Bref, le couple Marshall (psychologue) et Paterson (triathlète) réussit à nous faire comprendre le processus cérébral qui peut amener l'athlète à douter, se dévaloriser, ne pas se considérer comme athlète ou, à l'inverse se surestimer. Non seulement nous apprenons ce qui se passe dans la tête, mais on nous propose des exercices pour corriger certaines habitudes, rehausser notre estime de soi et à devenir un "Brave Athlète".

J'ai écouter l'audio book pour ensuite me procurer le livre beaucoup plus pertinent dans ce type d'ouvrage. Un livre pour modifier des habitudes de vie, réaliser l'importance du moment présent et de la méditation en pleine conscience et à devenir une meilleure personne et un meilleur athlète. C'est efficace et ça fonctionne si on y met du temps et de la bonne volonté tout en se retirant la tête dans le sable. Un must pour les triathlètes et ultra runners.

[Léonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book. 100% recommend. Already on my re-read list. Educational, funny, well written and well structured.

I feel better equiped to deal with anxiety as an athlete, while being well aware that « there is no quick fix for meaningful change above the neck ».

Let the Chimp wrangling begin !

[Kat Schuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! You can translate this from Athletics to other aspects of your life. It's not JUST about mental mindset to be a better athlete. It's about knowing and understanding how our primal brain interacts with our rational brain. You can use this and apply it to addictive behavior, bad habits, or any kind of self image. Great read.

[Isabel Petri Bere · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I’m gonna read self improvement books I want them to be written like this. The metaphors are funny (for the most part, but I also know I sometimes have a bad sense of humor), and a lot of the explanations are dumbed down and easy to understand and apply to situations. I like that they have a bunch of exercises and processes you can use.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally useful. Not totally my style in communication, and there was a big block in the center of the book about having difficult conversations with loved ones who might need professional help (counseling for addiction, etc) that felt a bit out of place with the rest of the book. The areas around goal setting, building grit, and managing motivation were helpful.

[Jana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good ideas
They missed the boat by focusing on the triathlete/endurance athlete.
I get that that’s what they know, but they could’ve easily extrapolated into other sports and held my attention more… Found that I was getting annoyed. I marked it as red, but I actually couldn’t finish it.

[Janessa Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

There isn't anything that I don't love about this book. It has been an incredible reference since I'm just getting back in to working out this year and I refer to it again and again.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every endurance athlete [except those competing in my age bracket :-)] should read this book!

[Shannon Enloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a ridiculously competitive athlete this book was a really interesting read. Lots of new info to digest. I feel like I will reread this closer to my next Ironman race to remind myself of a lot of good tips and tricks and insights into why we do the things we do and how to trust the process and scientific data that backs up so much of the info in this book that does deal with the “happy bullshit motivational quotes” but instead tells it like it is. Which is right up my alley!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great tool for dealing with all the obstacles you might encounter as an athlete; from self-doubt and body image to negative self-talk and race day anxiety. I wouldn't recommend reading it from cover-to-cover. Instead, go directly to the chapter that addresses the issue you want to resolve. I found the assessments, exercises, and action plans to be highly effective.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! Some of it reiterated concepts I’ve read about before, but good to hear again. And hey, some of the ideas must be working—I’ve scouted out a local open water swim group after being terrified for years at just the thought. Baby steps!

[Maciek · Rating 4 out of 5]

They said themselves "it's our first book and it shows". I like the material and their approach to things. But they need to figure out better structure to it all.

[Sabrina Crothall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every athlete needs to read this book. A manual for life

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good combination of practical advice on the mental and physical side, with a bias toward mental training (not a bad thing).

The writing was great - sarcastic, tough love style.

[Henrik Regitnig · Rating 3 out of 5]

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

1. Heart: Honing your passion, motivation, and identity
2. Wings: Dealing with obstacles, setbacks, and conflict
3. Fight: Getting stuck in with new battle skills to deal with life

📒 Summary + Notes

While this book is all encompassing about triathletes and long distance athletes in particular, it can very easily be related to all other sports as well as the difficulties in life. I found it to be a pretty good all around book diving into the intricacies of athletics as a “One stop shop” for the mental side surrounding performance. If you have read similar topics then a lot of it probably isn’t anything new, but I did enjoy the personality that Simon and Lesley worked into it and the spins that they were able to create that make it easier to relate/remember. Below are my notes on things I pulled from the book whilst reading that I felt were well put and can directly be implemented.

The difference between your “Chimp” and “Professor” when speaking about your brain and how it reacts to different things. The Chimp being more so of primal reactions of danger and putting yourself in a panic just based on whats going on. The Professor being the more analytical side where you can fully digest what exactly is going on. Daniel Kahneman in [Thinking, Fast and Slow] would call this your System 1 and System 2 brain.

*The Definable You*:

Taking your pure statistics/facts without any bias’ (Weigh 90kg, 6% body fat, won 3 awards etc) These are the facts that are simply there if you are truthful, no lying. This is the Definable You. Also know as the Chess Board. Will always be there regardless of if the game is being played or what you think of yourself. The pieces on the chess board however, are your thoughts and emotions surrounding yourself.

“The thoughts and feelings you experience are not actually you at all because you are a chess player, not a chess piece. You experience your thoughts but you are not actually them. You are the carrying container of the experience; you are not the experience itself.” (Pg. 41)

### I Don’t Cope Well With Injury

Searching for your “Gremlins” surrounding how to properly cope with injury.

1. Not Knowing what’s wrong with you. (Seek out medical advice to diagnose your injury correctly to get rid of any potential worries that are not accurate.
2. Delusion Funnels and tipping points. (Pay attention early on of any niggles and/or overuse discomforts and tend to them appropriately rather than sweeping them under the rug)
3. Catastrophizing, awfulizing, and thinking that everything’s ruined. (Confront your self talk with meaningful and factually substantiated evidence of where you are at and what you are doing to get better.
4. Becoming a passive patient. (Give yourself rehab homework and educational goals on how your injury works and what studies/recovery processes have been best)
5. Holding onto negative emotions. (Give yourself a mourning period to soak the reality of the injury in but keep a strict deadline of around 2-7 days to then swith to a positive mindset even if you have to fake it)
6. Failing to set aggressive fitness goals during rehabilitation. (Hone in on current weaknesses, limitation, or just something you’ve always wanted to get batter at that does not jeopardize your injury healing.)
7. Dealing with symptom anxiety and a fear of reinjury. (Be aware that you will probably have some hyperfixation on the injury area and being hyper aware of any sensations or “Flare ups”. When you notice your amplifiers are on try to bring yourself back to understanding that this is a very normal and safe thing to happen. As long as you can maintain a clear head on why and when this is happening it should subside as time goes on.)
8. Failing to do things that make you feel good. (One of the best rewards for an injured body and a depressed brain is a massage. The nice kind. A simple light body massage (The relaxing kind) is brain therapy for the injured athlete.)

## Pressure Juice (What makes up the pressure of competing)

### Judgement

You’re responsible for the performance and will be judged by specific people. Judgement brings a risk of embarrassment, humiliation, inadequacy, and rejection—all of which light up regions of the brain that process social pain.

### Uncertainty

You don’t know how well you will do or what the outcome will be. Uncertainty also extends to your fitness or concern over physical responsiveness.

### Importance

The race or event is very important to you. Of course ratings of importance have more credibility when they are externally validated. To validate importance, ask yourself whether other informed people would consider this same event, race, or situation important.

### Competition

You are competing against other people to whom you will be compared. This can vary all the way from professional down to a local competition.

“When periods of uncertainty are stretched out, cortisol exposure is higher, which actually undermines the body’s ability to perform optimally. Immune function is suppressed, risk aversion increases, attentional bias increases, emotional negativity increases, and perception of effort gets worse (Everything feels harder).” (Pg. 305)

## Jedi Professor Skills (Problem-Focused Coping Strategies)

### Sensory management

When incoming visual and auditory data combine, your Chimp and Professor brains team up to project all sorts of paranoid, emotional nonsense to convince you that a humiliating ass-whooping is only moments away. Sensory management is simply reducing the amount of sensory data sent to your Chimp. You do this by controlling your ears and your eyes. Think big hoodie, headphones, sunglasses. Anything that makes you feel a bit more in your own bubble.

### Goal Setting

We set goals to kick start and channel your motivation. It combats feelings of being underprepared, overwhelmed, and rushed. Specific, measurable, and achievable goals is a great place to start.

### Time Management

Stress makes us less attentionally flexible because we get stuck ion our dominant “channel” and we often miss task relevant cues that are extremely important for being prepared and performing well. Try to work google calendars and good old fashion post it notes/journals for more physical reminders. Also try to schedule thinking time and also worrying time. This allows you to compartmentalize a bit more of not letting those thoughts seep into the rest of your day when you have a time allotted to it.

### Skills Development

Focus on becoming a better athlete through continuous skill development. This will continuously reduce the anxiety surrounding performing when you know you’ve put the time in to succeed.

### Process Training

Remember all it comes down to during competition is to stay in the present and take it one step at a time. All the hard work has already been done to get you to where you are at in that moment. Just before competition it is always a good idea to visualize the different scenarios that can happen and make sure you have an answer on how you will react if it does happen. That way you will be able to bounce back to any setbacks far quicker.

### Practicing Under Pressure

It should come as no surprise that stressful situations become less stressful the more you get used to them. Psychologists call this cue desensitization—the process by which you experience a lower emotional response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it. So stop avoiding things that scare you. The goal is to experience pressure and confront it head on.

## Chimp Wrangling Strategies (emotion focused coping strategies)

### Chimp Purging

Rather than telling your chimp to shut up, this strategy requires that you do the exact opposite. You get things off your chest (Chimps chest). Let out all the things that are scaring you in one big go and let it breathe. Allow 15 minutes to let it all out and if you run out recycle. This usually causes frustration at not being able to generate any new chimp talk, which further lessens its severity and impact.

### Chimp Confrontation

Disarm your chimp with

1. Facts: What is the likelihood of this happening?
2. Logic: What are the pros and cons of the doomsday scenario

### Chimp Reward and distraction

When you reward your chimp, you are looking for things that create a mini-spike in neurotransmitters, which increase positive emotion. For example treating your chimp to a wetsuit to address the anxiety about swimming in a cold pool early in the morning.

### Physically Calming Down

Athletes need to learn physical relaxation techniques that target the specific muscles and joints that are critical for doing the job. PMR (Progressive muscular relaxation) being one of them. Another effective technique is improving breath control.

### Mentally Calming Down

Utilizing meditation and mindfulness techniques is the most effective ways over time to understand how your mind reacts and how you can self regulate in different scenarios.

### Finding your Fuck it Moment

A fuck it moment is when you determine that things could not get any worse. A final last ditch effort that absolves all pressure for you since everything that could go wrong did go wrong and you have no more expectations on your shoulders.

[Aqua Rask · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it’- Henry Through

Good audiobook about the human brain evolution and how the right mindset is crucial for a success in any sport.

[Christopher Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most practical book on mental toughness and related issues with endurance athletes I've read. Too bad that the writing gets ingratiating after 300 pages of 'dumbing it down' with swears and terrible jokes. It is filled with science and research and the very practical, actual things you can do based on the science to deal with your issues. (Like how counting to 4, 6 or 8 when you need to dig a littler deeper, for a little longer in the middle of a sufferfest works because of how it focuses your attention. Or how the type of mental mistakes an endurance athlete can make can be dealt with through attentional practice... I really need to use that chapter to help me at aid stations in ultras!)

[Christy Keeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, the language in the book reflects the language on the cover. But, calm the f--- down. It's okay.

Marshall and Paterson present a brilliant book that fills an important niche. This is the first book I've found that addresses psychological aspects of training and racing. The focus is on swimming, biking, running, and triathlon, but would appeal to athletes from most sports (particularly individual sports). Instead of discussing (once again) what to eat, how many miles or hours to train, how to periodize, and how to taper, this book addresses the mental processes involved in these actions, focusing on ways to train our brains to help us become more confident and better athletes. The suggestions are easy to use, delivered in a fun manner, and they work (at least the ones I've used in the past).

[Ta0paipai · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this is not your run-of-the-mill self-help book. Yet (thankfully) "Calm the Fck Down" also veers away from the unpolished, unacademic "bro-science" books that have flooded the athletic self-help market and wasted countless valuable hours of our time.

Instead, "Calm the Fck Down" defines a common, relevant problem and offers actionable solutions. It's definitions are academic and if you're like me, you're tripped up by some habits and thought processes that you didn't even know existed.

By defining these problems and naming them, CFD makes them tangible and easy to over come. CFD's psychology can help shed stress from any walk of life, so athletes of all levels and even non-athletes should find value in this book!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book fit nicely into two categories of books I’ve been reading lately: self help books with curse words in the title and books about being an athlete. It is hands down the best “self help” book I’ve ever read.

It is rooted in science and psychology, works hard to bust the stupid memes were forced to contend with everyday, and draws lines between what is reasonable mental barriers to be worked on individually and what needs a professional. I think any non athlete would get a lot out of it.

I’m considering buying the actual book to have access to the exercises. I listened to an audio book through a library app. There is so much good stuff in this book and it is was written and read in such a way to be wholly entertaining.

[Sara Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, loved the info, and the exercises were interesting, though I’m not actively training for anything in particular. By Chapter 10, I finally relaxed into the author(s?)’s voice....but it has such a forced and unnatural tone that I’m surprised I stuck with it the first few chapters; unclear if that’s due to an editor trying to soften the sharp language and style or if it was the author trying too hard (suspect a bit of both). Nice to see trainers who take a scientific-ish approach, are wicked smart, and don’t take sports/themselves over-the-top seriously. Worth the read!

[Colette Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

After seeing so many positive reviews, I am surprised at how much I disliked this book. It simply didn't resonate with me. It seems to be written for young athletes who have not had much adversity in their lives (too used to getting a trophy just for showing up perhaps?), or for those who are certifiably nuts. If you tend to overthink things, this book will cause you to overthink even more. I say skip the book, do yoga.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned. I laughed!

[pnut · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was actually my first audiobook experience! it came up as suggested on my spotify so i decided to give it a listen, and was delighted to hear that the authors were actually the narrators of the audiobook! it made the listen feel that much more personable.

in the beginning, i was caught a little off guard by the writing style. some parts were funny, and other parts weren’t as funny, but it was nice to have some humor sprinkled throughout the book nonetheless.

there was quite a bit of scientific brain lingo at the start, but i got the jist of everything. the author refers to the “emotional brain” that acts without reason as the “chimp brain”. he got this terminology from another book called The Chimp Paradox, and i’ve actually read that book before, so i could make the connection super easily.

this book is geared toward endurance athletes. more specifically triathletes, but it applies to any discipline. honestly, a lot of the examples didn’t apply to me directly, but i was able to think of an emotional equivalent that i’ve experienced so i could relate to his examples. however, one thing i did notice is that this book is definitely geared toward the general athlete, and not so much the elite athlete. but again, i could read between the lines and find ways for most of these strategies to be helpful to me.

i’ve read a lot of psych books, so i didn’t encounter too many new strategies. but i did find the finger tapping one interesting as a distraction to get thru a more grueling endurance exercise. that’s one that i haven’t heard of before and i was thankful to learn something new.

sometimes i think the book was a little contradictory. in one chapter the author noted that looking in the mirror and hyping yourself up (positive self talk) won’t do anything to boost confidence and perform better. but then in a later chapter, he talks about a case study with one of his athletes who used a series of mantras (positive self talk) to boost confidence and perform better. i found a few examples like this and was a little confused as to what the author actually believes is helpful.

but with that being said, what i really liked is how many “homework options” the author gives. he doesn’t just explain what he’s preaching, but also tells the reader how they can improve right here, right now. so if one strategy doesn’t stand out to you, there are many others to choose from.

overall it was a good listen, but it is definitely geared toward the average athlete and not the 1%-ers.

[David Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book that is relevant to me personally. Could do without as many expletives, but I can see the reasoning behind these. They probably make the subject easier to access and understand. they do echo the thoughts of the many competitors (athletes) who will probably be interested in the subject, even age groupers like myself. If they were needed for emphasis then possibly a few less may make them less distracting? There is a humour that runs through the text, not quite the Bob Monkhouse book of jokes, but it does help with breaking the subject down and making it more 'user friendly'. Interestingly Simon Marshall mentions humour in the 'unacknowledgements'.
There is a good, comprehensible backgrounds on stress, pressure and self doubt as well as strategies to deal with in these situations. a number of the strategies are related to products that are available externally (e.g. Headspace, Breathing Zone).
The author(s) have done a good job of communicating complex concepts in an evidence based (references in the written text?), but intelligible, manner. The techniques they discuss owe much to the strategies discussed by Prof. Steve Peters (The Chimp Paradox). Flicking through the written text there seem to be references to literature included, but not the audiobook. Could they be added to the pdf?
I listened to the audiobook version walking to and from work. Having done so I have now got the print version as there are many '...in the accompanying pdf...' statements. Yes, I have the accompanying pdf, which is good, but I think sitting down with the book and doing the exercises / practicing the techniques is going to add value.
Overall a good listen / read OK to listen to when commuting, but I feel that the written text will hold more benefits, for me personally. I would recommend this book as an interesting and informative read, but be aware that it does have a conversational tone in presentation of the topics. For me, a good thing.

[Lolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a decent, but very wordy read.

As a runner, it had some solid points and some interesting things to digest. A lot of science, a lot of cussing and a lot of information. This book, however, is definitely geared towards the athletes that their job and primary hobby is, well, being an athlete and take it far more serious than me.

1) This book is not Kindle friendly. You definitely need the physical copy due to all the writing exercises and infographs provided.
2) While the page count is relatively low, the word count is ridiculously high and the last 25% is all the resources.
3) I am an athlete, but it’s not my first identity. I run 20-40 miles per week depending on my training season but I arguably run for fun, enjoyment, and my sanity. Sure, I do adhere to certain scientific training aspects but really, I run as a way to get a break, so this book came across far too serious for me.
4) I got bored and skimmed a lot. Now, to be fair, I prefer fiction and sometimes non-fiction feels like I’m forcing down a bland, overcooked chicken breast. But this book was a lot more science focused than I was expecting so my eyes glazed over. I read 3 other books while reading this book soooo there’s that.
5) The chapter lengths were LONG. And I’m a fast reader. The longest was 40 minutes and that’s a lot of time to hold someone’s eyeballs captive while throwing science at them.

Overall, it had some very solid points. I would recommend this book to athletes that don’t read to escape in their free time. If you’re like me and consider yourself a casual athlete, I don’t recommend this book.