Mind Gym An Athletes Guide to Inner Excellence

November 22nd, 2009 by Bodybuilder

Mind Gym An Athletes Guide to Inner Excellence




Drawing on his work with some of the top teams in professional sports, noted sport psychology consultant Gary Mack shares with you the same techniques and exercises he uses to help elite athletes build mental “muscle.” These 40 accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes will help you gain the “head edge” over the competition.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Easy read
If you are expecting substantive theoretical sports psychological insights from this book, you will be thoroughly disappointed. While the anecdotes presented by the author are amusing, they provide little to no substance. Often, they are redundant to the point where it seems the author is beating the stain where the dead horse used to be. Each chapter ends with a short 1-sentence summary. In my opinion, the book could easily be condensed to only the chapter headings and the 1-sentence summaries, although it would be much less entertaining that way. The 1-liners do contain good information, but, unfortunately, much of it is what I would consider common sense.

Unless you can relate to baseball and other American sports, don’t bother picking up this book. Most of the anecdotes are from the world of baseball.

That said, the book is a very easy read. I do not question the author’s abilities as a sports psychologist. But I had expected a book with much more substance.

3 Stars Good Stuff
Pretty good book if you need some general motivation… The author knows the topic and gives some good examples, but doesn’t really get into specific actions to help resolve issues. Also, alot of baseball and golf examples, I found it hard to relate it to the sports I am involved in. Tons of great quotes, etc to get you amped.

5 Stars marathon runner
I am an 1,90 and 120kg marathon runner. When I announced that I intend to run a marathon the reactions varied from amusement to worry that I will not survive. That might have been the case if I wouldn’t have had THIS book. It made all the difference in the world. Maybe half of the training time was “mind gym”.

The result? Not only I have finished alive but I made quite a good time (3h44). This performance changed not my weight (I am still 120kg) but my self-image. I know now that the only limits are in my head. I changed. A lot. From the introvertit obese to the cocky, confident obese :) I fired my boss. Actually, the company fired him for mobbing. I got a fat settlement. I switched careers. I took one sabbatical year and focused on learning trading. Here, again, the “Mind gym” made a huge difference. I become profitable and then … very profitable. I don’t own a Porsche but I am free (of worries, schedules, bosses)

If you intend to buy only one book for the next year: BUY THIS ONE !!

5 Stars great book for any athlete
My daughters are 14 and 17 and have read this book more than once. They run cross country and that 2 miles can be grueling. This book have really helped them get in the right frame of mind. They both won medals at district last year too.

2 Stars Mental training for the professional sports fan
This book includes many of the basic mental concepts discussed in sports: staying positive, etc. Although there were some helpful tips, it was a task to sort through the excessive name dropping. As an athlete, I don’t need to know the names of everyone the author has ever helped. I assume, since I am buying and reading the book, that I will at least somewhat trust what is being said and that I will be willing to try it myself. If you need the 150/224 pages of professional athlete anecdotes, then this book is for you. If, like most athletes, you don’t have time to sit and read fluff, find another book.

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