Book Review: How Bad Do You Want It? By Matt Fitzgerald

Author Matt Fitzgerald is well known in the running circle.  He has served as a writer for Triathlete and has written numerous articles and books on the endurance sports world.  I have an interesting relationship with Mr. Fitzgerald's work, loving some and less-than-loving others.  This latest book in his collection, "How Bad Do You Want It?", deals with the mental aspect of the sport.  In particular, this book centers on several key challenges that athletes face and techniques to potentially overcome or avert them.  

Fitzgerald has written on this before with Brain Training for Runners and through other articles.  This book, however, has a different feel.  It is not so focused on "brain training" but on talking through concepts of mental issues and using anecdotal examples.   Fitzgerald doesn't limit himself to his familiar genre of running.  Here he draws from other sports such as rowing, cycling, and even winter sports.  There is some focus on brain connections and physiological aspects of neuroscience.  The bulk of focus is on psychology and the effects of certain psychological mindsets on performance.  

There is nothing truly concrete in the book, in terms of proscribed plans or exercises as we find in running focused books.  There is no magic formula here, as Fitzgerald often pontificates in his other books.  This is not method training; this is philosophical.  And for me, these aspects separate this work from the myriad of training books available.  Working through common issues across endurance sports, Fitzgerald captures much of what athletes have felt at least once during their careers.  The forward by Samuele Marcora also lends well to the book as his research has focused heavily on this type of performance psychology for many years.  

One of the unique qualities of this work is the ability to construct the chapters in a very effective manner.   Fitzgerald begins each chapter with a story of one or two athletes.  He poses the situation and introduces the problem.   Just after the problem is exposed, he then shifts to the "scientific" explanation of this common phenomenon.  I use scientific in quotes just to emphasize that we are not dealing with robust, heavily-vetted scientific study but Fitzgerald does reference observational or anecdotal evidence in studies surrounding these situations.   After explaining the point, he then returns to the story and finishes the outcome.   This format is highly successful in this book and the personal stories serve only to support the underlying conceptual framework. 

Another good point about the book is that you do not have to be a competitive athlete to apply these techniques.  Many running books speak in a manner that caters to competitive athletes and often leaves out the recreational or occasional athlete.  In "How Bad", Fitzgerald's principles could easily be applied to multiple sports or even general life scenarios.  As an athlete that often gets inside my own head, I found this book to be quite refreshing.  

"How Bad..." provides readers with solid and engaging material for some of the often overlooked aspects of competition.  I highly recommend this book for both fans of Fitzgerald's other works and also for those in need of reassurance in the mental game.  In the end, readers will stay engaged and may even get an attitude adjustment from this work. 

4/5 Stars