Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance - Softcover

Hutchinson, Alex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006249998X ISBN 13: 9780062499981

Publisher: Custom House, 2021

Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · "Reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits." —Adam Grant

Limits are an illusion: a revolutionary book that reveals the secrets of accessing your hidden extra potential

Foreword by Malcolm Gladwell

The capacity to endure is the key trait that underlies great performance in virtually every field—from a 100-meter sprint to a 100-mile ultramarathon, from summiting Everest to acing final exams or completing any difficult project. But what if we all can go farther, push harder, and achieve more than we think we’re capable of?

Blending cutting-edge science and gripping storytelling in the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell—who contributes the book’s foreword—award-winning journalist Alex Hutchinson reveals that a wave of paradigm-altering research over the past decade suggests the seemingly physical barriers you encounter as set as much by your brain as by your body. This means the mind is the new frontier of endurance—and that the horizons of performance are much more elastic than we once thought.

But, of course, it’s not “all in your head.” For each of the physical limits that Hutchinson explores—pain, muscle, oxygen, heat, thirst, fuel—he carefully disentangles the delicate interplay of mind and body by telling the riveting stories of men and women who’ve pushed their own limits in extraordinary ways.

The longtime “Sweat Science” columnist for Outside and Runner’s World, Hutchinson, a former national-team long-distance runner and Cambridge-trained physicist, was one of only two reporters granted access to Nike’s top-secret training project to break the two-hour marathon barrier, an extreme quest he traces throughout the book. But the lessons he draws from shadowing elite athletes and from traveling to high-tech labs around the world are surprisingly universal. Endurance, Hutchinson writes, is “the struggle to continue against a mounting desire to stop”—and we’re always capable of pushing a little farther.

About this title

About the Author:

Alex Hutchinson, Ph.D., is a columnist for Outside magazine and was a long-time columnist for Runner's World. A National Magazine Award winner, he is a regular contributor to The New Yorker online, pens the weekly "Jockology" column in the Toronto Globe and Mail, and writes for the New York Times. FiveThirtyEight recently named him one of their "favorite running science geeks." He was a two-time finalist in the 1,500 meters at the Canadian Olympic Trials, and represented Canada internationally in track, cross-country, road racing, and mountain running competitions. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge, and has worked as a researcher for the U.S. National Security Agency. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Review:

“Makes the case that we’re actually underestimating our potential, and reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits.” (Adam Grant, LinkedIn.com (“20 New Idea Books to Kick Off 2018”))

“If you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled by Alex Hutchinson’s Endure.” (Bear Grylls, Mt. Everest summiteer and host of NBC’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls)

“Fascinating (and motivating). ... Hutchinson sheds light on how humans accomplish our most absurd athletic achievements.” (Esquire)

“A perfect book for the armchair athlete. ... If you ever wonder, How do they do that? Hutchinson has the answers. ... Discovers that what we think of as our limits are set by our minds, not by our bodies.” (Success (”AHA! Reading List”))

“This book is AMAZING!” (MALCOLM GLADWELL)

“Alex Hutchinson’s Endure is so much more than a sports book. It is a voyage to the outer reaches of human capacity.” (DAVID EPSTEIN, author of The Sports Gene)

“Hutchinson looks at the art and science of endurance, with a focus on running but with take-aways that can be applied to any project, mental or physical.” (Globe and Mail (Toronto))

“[Hutchinson] has a true gift for writing compelling sports stories and combining them with deft analyses of cutting-edge research. ... A captivating and often moving book with something to offer readers interested in health, athleticism, neuroscience, and the human condition.” (Kirkus (*starred review*))

“Persuasive and motivating. ... Transports readers to a realm where psychology, environment, and physiology all intersect.” (Booklist (*starred review*))

“Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more -- and Alex will show you how.” (Inc. (”6 Great Business Books to Read in 2018”))

About this edition

• Publisher: Custom House
• Publication date: 2021
• ISBN 10: 006249998X
• ISBN 13: 9780062499981
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336