The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive Paperback – May 12, 2015

As someone now well into their senior years but who has also been active physically for more than 7 decades in various sports and martial arts, I am always seeking interesting and informative material on a wide range of topics.This is why while browsing on Amazon when I came across this 270-page soft cover book (The Champions mind: How great athletes think, train and thrive by Jim Afremow, PhD) I decided to purchase it.From the very first page I loved this book. If you want to achieve success in not only sports, but all aspects of your life this book provides effective and valuable advice to help you achieve your goals. Indeed, without realizing it in my own martial art life I have been using the methods and lessons taught in this fantastic book. Just keep in mind that you have to actually do the work to succeed at anything.This great book covers the following material: “If you can sport greatness, you've got greatness, be your own champion, master the mental skills, be in it to win, the wisdom of a champion, exercise, nutrition, pain, injuries, and regeneration, take control of your personal destiny, Zen in the zone, golden reflections, your world class game plan, long term survival of the most mentally fit and ultimate victory is yours.”In conclusion, if you are a serious about “being he best you can be” this book is for you.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tactical principals of the most effective combative systems).

An excellent book by a leading sports psychologist, Dr. Jim Afremow. There's a lot of content in this book, but it's written so well that the concepts are broken down into useful chunks of information you can learn and apply. We can all better learn how to develop a championship mindset, elevate our performance, and get the results we're looking for. That's what this book will help us do. It's educational, inspirational, and a very practical, useable guide for the peak performer or those seeking to become peak performers.Essential reading to develop the mind of a champion for all coaches, athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and competitors.And, it's a book you can apply immediately to elevate your game.Read it, apply the information, and take your performance to the next level!Highly recommended for anyone wanting to improve their potential.

The book is easy to read and relaxing. I found it a great source for mental preparedness and motivation.Think gold should be your mantra, but to achieve it you must go through and live a gold life!

Want to improve your athletic performance without working out more, then get this book by Jim Afremow. I almost did not want to review this book since it has so much solid and practical advise for improving the mental side of athletic performance.Every chapter is backed by research and he includes exercises to practice every performance tip.I first became aware of this book when I read an article in Self magazine about pro golfer Michelle Wie. She talks about how the principles in this book have helped her game.Some of the topics covered include:Self talkSelf confidenceFocusBreath control to calm down or pump upDealing with anxietyPositive affirmationsChampion leaderPure-race and post race routinesDealing with mental errorsFocus on what you can controlI read this book at the beginning of my triathlon season this year. I have been able to bounce back much better after a bad race than I have in the past. One of the things I worked with on my coach in the last year was focusing on the things I could control.One of the things my coach does is pre race planning and post race analysis. After every race she has taught me to ask three questions that Afremow also discusses in this book:What did I do that was good?What needs to get better?What changes should I make to become my best?The goal is always to learn from experience, not repeat mistakes, visualize success and improve performance.Afremow states his goals for any athlete using the skills outlined are to:Train with passion and purposeAchieve victory through variety in training exercisesBelieve they are worth the time it takes to exerciseFind support and encouragementBreak work into manageable piecesKeep an exercise workout calendarTreat themselves like a championThere is a mental toughness quiz to assess strengths and weakness. Then you can decide which of the strategies will be your top priority.The book is well worth the time of any athlete looking to improve performance.Chris WodkeAuthor: Running for My Life, Winning for CMT