Product Description

Based on new research in exercise physiology, author and running expert Matt Fitzgerald introduces a first-of-its-kind training strategy that he's named "Brain Training." Runners of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels can learn to maximize their performance by supplying the brain with the right feedback. Based on Fitzgerald's eight-point brain training system, this book will help runners:

- Resist running fatigue - Use cross-training as brain training - Master the art of pacing - Learn to run "in the zone" - Outsmart injuries - Fuel the brain for maximum performance - And more

Packed with cutting-edge research, real-world examples, and the wisdom of the world's top distance runners, Brain Training for Runners offers easily applied advice and delivers practical results for a better overall running experience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11170 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780451222329
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Matt Fitzgerald coaches online through TrainingPeaks.com and serves as a communications consultant to sports nutrition companies. A former editor at several top fitness magazines, he is the author of numerous articles and books. He lives in Northern California.

Customer Reviews

Training your brain
Author, coach, triathlete and Active Expert Matt Fitzgerald presents a revolutionary approach to running in his latest book, Brain Training for Runners. Fitzgerald compiled evidence from the latest research in exercise physiology that challenges conventional runner's wisdom by shifting focus to a "brain-centered" model.

The two-part book begins with a well thought out presentation of the brain-training system applicable to runners of all experience levels. Fitzgerald's motto, "train the brain and the rest will follow," explains how the main goal of brain-training is to develop a heightened awareness for feedback from the running experience to increase maximal capacity, efficiency of stride and injury-prevention.
The Brain Training System

The three feedback loops--collective, objective and subjective--compose the awareness center of the brain-training system. The first step in transitioning to a brain-centered training model is with a thorough understanding of the feedback loops, which Fitzgerald explains extensively in the book. Basically, the collective feedback loop includes classic training strategies; the objective feedback loop records and applies your own performance data such as speed, distance and heart rate to customize the brain-training system; and the subjective feedback loop is information relayed from body to brain through experience. Developing effective communication of this feedback is essential to getting the most from your training.

Fitzgerald's journey through the biology of the brain was a tad overwhelming, but he actually suggests that the reader skip forward to the next section, which illustrates how well he knows his audience.

For example, I can see how the scientific community would benefit from the breakdown of how the "fatty sheath insulates axon-dendrite connections," but it was over my head, so I chose to follow the author's advice and skip ahead to the section on brain-training plans.

Part II of Brain Training for Runners is a selection of plans that are based on the brain-training model from part I. These plans are for the 5K, 10K, half-marathon and marathon distances and, as Fitzgerald explains, they are flexible to promote responsive training and injury-prevention.
Brain Training at Work

Before I encountered Fitzgerald's book, my training was struggling with a lack of direction, and I had two important events approaching: a 5K race and a 50-mile ultra marathon. I applied the brain-centered system to my own training and competition. As my focus shifted from body to brain, a fresh supply of potential was unlocked.

I experienced my first brain-training breakthrough during my 5K race. I had just finished reading a section about the mechanism of "teleoanticipation," which Fitzgerald describes as "knowing intuitively just how much to hold back at the beginning of a maximal running effort to complete the effort without anything left in the tank, yet also without any decline in performance." I was making a conscious evaluation of my abilities as a runner on that given day with what Fitzgerald calls "subconscious brain calculation." Essentially, I was convincing my brain to allow me to sustain my goal pace for the entire duration of the race. Three six-minute-miles later, I had done just that.

During the past month of brain-training, I have not only run the fastest mile split of my athletic career in a 5K race, but I also completed my first 50-mile ultra marathon less than two weeks later. This book provided the mental edge I was looking for and was the catalyst for my recent performance breakthrough.

My favorite advice from Fitzgerald is his incorporation of proprioceptive cues into each of these training plans. Fitzgerald states, "Proprioceptive cues are images and other sensory cues that enable you to modify your stride for the better as you think about them while running." This gives runners a means to monitor and improve their stride during each workout with drills and offers a valuable edge over conventional training systems.

As a multi-sport athlete, I was also happy with Fitzgerald's consistent focus on the customization of training. His assimilation of cross-training and variety into workouts along with the "brain-centered" model made it a no-brainer for me to believe in this system. He even included a section on corrective stretches with pictures and descriptions of each yoga-like movement.

Fitzgerald has taken the science of running to a whole new level with this book. Brain Training for Runners is for any runner searching for a customizable system that supports the continued development of the mind and the body. I am training and competing on a whole new level because of what I discovered while reading this book and have never been more confident in my potential as an athlete because I now have a better understanding of how my brain regulates my body--not the other way around.

http://www.active.com/running/Experts/mattfitzgerald.htm

PRXC
Fitzgerald's new book is not as good as the "Cutting Edge Runner." The book looks thick, but there isn't as much substance to it as you would think. This is because half the book consists of training plans. Fitzgerald does back up a lot of what he says with scientific research, but there are still some conclusions he draws that experienced distance runners reading the book will disagree with. This is especially the case with his chapter on hydration. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald does an excellent job of incorporating new ideas on training into his book. There is probably nobody better than him at keeping runners updated on the latest advances in training research and methods. While the book may not be as good as "The Cutting Edge Runner" it is well worth reading for any runner of any level.

Just one question for Fitzgerald
I have one question for Fitzgerald and those who rave about this book and the author's mixture of triathlete training and the proven philosophies of coach Jack Daniels: Do the great African runners (Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco) do a lot of cross training or triathlons? I think you all know the answer to that is a resounding no. They run. They run multiple times daily. They run in groups that push each other in each run. They have fun. They live and eat together. They run on dirt all the time and avoid injury. They wear light minimalistic training shoes that allow the foot to actually move and spread out properly. They run constantly on hilly or mountainous terrain. But they don't cycle, and they don't spend any time in swimming pools or the weight room at Gold's Gym. They improve their running by focusing on their running and enjoying the spirit of community competition. It is part of their culture. Americans and Europeans can't compete in the distance events because they will not train in this manner. Americans run on asphalt, generally avoid mountainous terrain, wear thick clunky shoes advertisers have convinced them are necessary to protect their heels, strike with their heels with each footstrike, and then wonder why they get hurt and aren't as fast as their international competitors.

To combine the principles of a great triathlete's training with the running philosophy of Jack Daniels may be "revolutionary" in the sense that no one has put such a combination forward promising improvement for runners, but that may be because it is a combination that overlooks the fact that the worlds best runners don't use any such training ideas. Cross-training may give a brief mental break from the demands of running, but many people run because it is the simplest and least expensive way to exercise: No gym membership needed, no bicycle equipment (big $), no need for a pool or the danger of open water swim areas, you just put on a good pair of shoes and head out the door. If cross training were the answer for major running improvement, everyone in the world would have been cross-training for decades. However, the world's best runners do very little, if any, cross training.

Days later now, and I will modify this review to say that the sections in this book about the psychology of running and how to train the brain to push through fatigue are well done, and the portions that focus on specific exercises to develop core strength are also quite useful and easily incorporated into even the least experienced runner's training. There are good sections on racing and how to prepare for competition, whether your goal is first place or a PR. These are the book's strength. I stand by my evaluation that cross training is emphasized a bit too heavily in some sections, but don't throw out the baby with the bath water, as they say, and miss the useful parts of the book because of the cross-training "revolutionary" revelations.