Summary: Endure: Alex Hutchinson

By Quick Savant

Rather than the original text, this is a summary and study aid complements Endure by Alex Hutchinson. Key points arise as they are derived from the reading and pop-up again in a summary.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Foreword by Malcolm Gladwell

Limits are an illusion: discover the revolutionary account of the science and psychology of endurance, revealing the secrets of reaching the hidden extra potential within us all.

"A voyage to the outer reaches of human capacity.” —David Epstein, author of Range

"Reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits." —Adam Grant

The ability to persevere is a vital characteristic that underpins exceptional achievement in almost every discipline. But what if we could all go farther, work harder, and accomplish more ? Award-winning journalist Alex Hutchinson reveals that a wave of paradigm-shifting research over the past decade suggests that the seemingly physical barriers you encounter are set as much by your brain as by your body, blending cutting-edge science and gripping storytelling in the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell—who contributes the book's foreword. This implies that the mind is the new frontier of endurance, and that performance frontiers are far more pliable than previously imagined.

It isn't, however, "all in your brain." Hutchinson disentangles the intricate interaction of mind and body for each of the physical limitations he explores—pain, muscle, oxygen, heat, thirst, fuel—by recounting captivating tales of men and women who have pushed their own boundaries in remarkable ways.

Hutchinson, a former national-team long-distance runner and Cambridge-trained physicist, was one of only two journalists permitted access to Nike's top-secret training initiative to break the two-hour marathon barrier, which he chronicles throughout the book. However, the lessons he's learned from observing professional athletes and visiting high-tech laboratories all across the globe are remarkably universal. Hutchinson defines endurance as "the effort to persevere despite an increasing urge to stop"—and we can always go a bit farther.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quick Savant
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005451172

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Overview

Most individuals know human endurance limiting elements such as heart rate, muscular exhaustion, and lung capacity. These characteristics are part of the notion of the human machine, which states that physical limitations constrain your body from its evolution. An alternate viewpoint is that your brain, not your body, is holding you back.

Hutchinson also investigates the boundaries of human endurance. Pain, oxygen, muscle, heat, thirst, and fuel are the six major factors that impact how long or faster you can run. It is impossible to comprehend endurance without studying how these things affect your body. He outlines how scientists are attempting to breach the limitations of human endurance in the book's last section.

Brain training, zapping your brain with an electric current, and exercising self-belief are some options.

Rather than a training manual, Endure is an informative read that delves into the complexities of endurance and how to go beyond your boundaries.

EDITORIAL REVIEW FOR ENDURE

Alex Hutchinson investigates the scientific history of human performance in his groundbreaking book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Hutchinson brilliantly weaves together anecdotes and innovative research to convey the tales of those who have accomplished the impossible. As a runner, he is particularly interested in Nike's Breaking2 initiative, which aims to complete the marathon in under two hours.

Is it your muscles that gave up when you lost a race, or did your brain play a part in slowing you down? Great guys like John Landy, LeBron James, Henry Worsley, and Ernest Shackleton, according to Hutchinson, push their muscles to the limit. Their scenarios demonstrate that the body is a machine with set parameters.

On the other hand, other people feel that the brain controls endurance. Therefore, some athletes can generate a surge of speed and power during the last lap of a marathon. If not from the brain-controlled secret stores, where does this surge originate?

Hutchinson also looks at the physical elements that influence your endurance. He describes some of the scientific advances that have occurred due to these limits being broken. Although zapping your brain with