The Brave Athlete

There is a new revolution happening in sports as more and more athletes are basing their success on this game-changing combination: health, nutrition, training, recovery, and mindset. Unfortunately, the evidence-based techniques that the expert PhDs, academic institutions, and professional performance staffs follow can be in stark contrast to what many athletes actually practice. When combined with the noise of social media, old-school traditions, and bro-science, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.

The first book of its kind, Peak Performance combines the inspiring stories of top performers across a range of capabilities - from athletic, to intellectual, to artistic - with the latest scientific insights into the cognitive and neurochemical factors that drive performance in all domains. In doing so, Peak Performance uncovers new linkages that hold promise as performance enhancers but have been overlooked in our traditionally-siloed ways of thinking.

In The Champion's Mind, sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, LPC, now offers the same advice he uses with Olympians, Heisman Trophy winners, and professional athletes, including tips and techniques based on high-performance psychology research, such as how to get in a "zone," thrive on a team, and stay humble; how to progress within a sport and sustain excellence long-term, and customizable pre-performance routines to hit full power when the gun goes off or the puck is dropped.

Writing from both the cutting edge of scientific discovery and the front-lines of elite athletic performance, National Magazine Award-winning science journalist Alex Hutchinson presents a revolutionary account of the dynamic and controversial new science of endurance.

26 Marathons offers the wisdom Meb has gleaned about life, family, identity, and faith in addition to tips about running, training, and nutrition. He shows runners of all levels how to apply the lessons he's learned to their own running and lives. Equal parts inspiration and practical advice, 26 Marathons provides an inside look at the life and success of one of the greatest runners living today. 

The greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body. Elite athletes have known this for decades, and now science is learning why it's true. In his fascinating new book, How Bad Do You Want It?, coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.

It's not you; it's your schedule. Does it sound like magic? It's not. We've all heard of circadian rhythms - those biological processes that give us jet lag and make us night owls or early birds. But few of us know just how profoundly these diurnal patterns affect our overall health. Bad habits - like skipping meals, squeezing in workouts, working late into the night and then trying to catch up on sleep during the weekend - disrupt our natural cycles. A growing body of research on chronobiology reveals just how sensitive the human body is to these rhythms all the way down to the genetic level.

Whether you are seeing a doctor, a nutritionist, or a trainer, all of them advise eating more protein. Foods, drinks, and supplements are loaded with extra protein. Many people use protein for weight control while others believe it gives them more energy. Now, weight loss expert Dr. Garth Davis asks, "Is all this protein making us healthier?" The answer, he emphatically argues, is no.

Deena Kastor was a star youth runner with tremendous promise, yet her career almost ended after college, when her competitive method - run as hard as possible, for fear of losing - fostered a frustration and negativity and brought her to the brink of burnout. On the verge of quitting, she took a chance and moved to the high altitudes of Alamosa, Colorado, where legendary coach Joe Vigil had started the first professional distance-running team. There she encountered the idea that would transform her running career: the notion that changing her thinking - shaping her mind to be more encouraging, kind, and resilient - could make her faster than she’d ever imagined possible.

A string of best sellers have alerted us to the importance of grit - an ability to persevere and control one's impulses that is closely associated with greatness. But no book yet has charted the most accessible and powerful path to grit: our prosocial emotions. These feelings - gratitude, compassion, and pride - are easier to generate than the willpower and self-denial that underpin traditional approaches to grit. And, while willpower is quickly depleted, prosocial emotions actually become stronger the more we use them.

Ironman is a sports phenomenon that has come to symbolize the very best of human striving, achievement, and excellence. And race announcer Mike Reilly is known throughout the endurance sports world as the "Voice of Ironman." Every year, over 300,000 people around the world compete in a series of long-distance triathlons that test the outer limits of their physical abilities and mental toughness. Some do it for glory, some to test themselves, some to honor lost loved ones or colleagues, some to bring healing to their troubled lives.

Dr. Steve Peters explains that we all have a being within our minds that can wreak havoc on every aspect of our lives. He calls this being "the chimp," and it can work either for you or against you. The Chimp Paradox contains an incredibly powerful mind management model that can help you be happier and healthier, increase your confidence, and become a more successful person. This audiobook will help you to recognize how your mind is working, understand and manage your emotions and thoughts, and become the person you would like to be.

Whether he was introducing the latest iPad or delivering a keynote presentation, Steve Jobs electrified audiences with his incomparable style and showmanship. He didn’t just convey information in his presentations; he told a story, painted a picture, and shared a vision. He gave his audience a transformative experience that was unique, inspiring, and unforgettable. Now you can do it too, by learning the specific techniques that made Jobs the most captivating communicator on the world stage.

Chris Bailey turned down lucrative job offers to pursue a lifelong dream - to spend a year performing a deep dive experiment into the pursuit of productivity, a subject he had been enamored with since he was a teenager. After obtaining his business degree, he created a blog to chronicle a year-long series of productivity experiments he conducted on himself, where he also continued his research and interviews with some of the world's foremost experts, from Charles Duhigg to David Allen.

For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a US Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events.