Customer Reviews

Runner's World Performance Nutrition for Runners: How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book a great asset to my running training. Matt Fitzgerald does a great job of explaining the reasons for the different enegy sources. He also tells how to get the proper amounts of protien from more that just meat sources. I'm only an "hobby" runner for fitness & health (to maintain a 100# wt loss) but this book made me feel like I could do more than I thought I could. I was hoping to cut 30-45 mins off my time. After reading and applying the info in this book I was able to fule myself for my 2nd marathon good enough to cut 58 minutes of my 1st marathon's time. I was able to run harder during the marathon (I had a faster 2nd half) & recovered better after it. It's easy to read & understand. I'm glad it's part of my fittness library.

I found this book to be very useful in more ways than one. It was extremely helpful in educating me on the advantages and disadvantages of the different sports drinks and recovery formulas available to long distance runners. I also found that it motivated me to eat a healthier diet in general. While much of the general dietary information was stuff that I already knew, some of it was not.
I have significantly changed the way I eat as a result of reading the book, and I regularly recommend it to friends whether they run or not.

I saw the reviews on this book and then checked it out from my library (with intentions to order it very shortly as it's a great reference). I'm only halfway through it, so basically at the fueling for a race and his concepts are fantastic so far. While you can tell where he is leaning, he doesn't seem to try to push his ideas and states that every person is different, but these are ideas to try to get yourself to this level. Also, instead of a focus on weight loss, his focuse points toward restructuring your body composition. A lot of the principals he brings up are carried over from other sources, and he discusses other diets out there and why they are necessarily appropriate for runners. I also love that he breaks down the types of sugars in various sports drinks, gels, and other options out there.

This is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to learn how to best feed their body for running. As a beginning runner who's training for my first marathon, the information included in this book has been priceless.

As is the case with Runner's World, the quality of the writing is unique amongst sports-related publications. Most running books I've encountered so far generally have poor grammar and/or spelling, and tend to read more like grad school papers than informative books. Matt Fitzgerald's writing style manages to make the subject matter interesting and enjoyable.

References to websites and other resources for more information were also very useful. The section regarding supplements and where you can find out which ones are honest about their ingredients is fantastic.

Regardless of where you are in your training, I would highly recommend this book.

This is a well put together read that is full of useful info for the beginner to the advanced runner. I have been running for over a year and am in training for my first half marathon. I struggle to maintain a healthy running weight and this book really has helped me with that. I love all the advice on proper carb, fat, and protein intake. The book is easy to read and does not necassarily need to be read in any particular order. I would recommend this to any runner and have already.

A friend my mine recommended me this book when I started training for a marathon last year. I thought the book was going to be about specific foods I have to eat in the morning, afternoon, etc. Instead, the writer helps in guiding you on what kind of choices to make and why. I got to learn about the difference between the GU, sports drinks, and others. I really love this book. My other friends are now training for a half marathon and they always have questions about running, and I feel like I know a lot because of this book.

I bought this book and the Nancy Clark nutrition book. I found this book to be much more useful for me as a runner. About 90% of what is in Nancy Clark's book is stuff you already should know, and it isn't very training specific for any sport. I thought this book was much more useful for athletes. It offers understandable specifics in terms of fueling before and after a run, fueling before and during a race, and discussing the pro's and con's of supplements - including performance drinks. The author also covers protein supplements and strength training. I also like the approach that the author takes towards dieting - which is, don't diet. Instead, the author has a list of healthy eating patterns to change, that will eventually result in weight loss. I've been following this advice, as well as increased my amount of fresh fruit and reducing my grains, and I have been losing a steady 1lb a week while having plenty of energy for training. I wish the book just had a little bit more information about carbo loading, other than that I thought it was really a perfect book for runners and perhaps cyclists.

Warning: Very Science-y. Really good book. He does list a lot of common knowledge for runners but he tends to go in depth which is very interesting. He often explains certain molecule structures and how it benefits/detriments your health and running. All of his information could be researched but he does it for you in this neat little book. recommended for the beginning to moderate runners who are worried that their nutrition isn't up to par or who doesn't consider nutrition as a part of training. Avid runners (multi-marathon) will prob know a great deal of info already. really easy read as well.

There is certainly a lot of useful information in this book. The info on sports drinks and recovery principles is most helpful. However, I found it a bit disorganized and sometimes I felt the author glossed over certian things while going into unnecessary detail in other areas. His chapter on body composition rambles on and on about what percentages of each tissue are optimal to have and then concludes that it doesn't really matter as long as you are basically healthy. In the beginning he criticizes many other approaches as being nonscientific but his own conclusions can verge into that same realm sometimes too. Also, I had just finished reading the Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott Barrios (which is a GREAT book) and found that much good scientific information pertinent to women that I read in that book was not included in this book.

This book definitely seems like the best resource out there for performance running nutrition, but I would take it with a little grain of salt sometimes (gotta get those electrolytes anyway, right?). And if you are female, I would also get the other book mentioned above because it is a wonderful compliment.

Writing a book on nutrition has got to be one of the hardest because everyone has their own opinion. However, this author did a good job of presenting facts and offering up suggestions on how to improve your running while not forcing a particular opinion on you. I found the advice to be sound and definitely recommend.