Embrace the Suck, Stephen Madden
Embrace the Suck, Stephen Madden
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

Embrace the Suck
What I Learned at the Box About Hard Work, (Very) Sore Muscles, and Burpees Before Sunrise

Author: Stephen Madden

Narrator: Roger Wayne

Unabridged: 4 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/18/2020


Synopsis

Lifelong amateur athlete Stephen Madden decided to put himself to the test, physically and mentally, by immersing himself in the culture, diet, and psyche of CrossFit—the fast-growing but controversial fitness regime that's a stripped-down combination of high intensity aerobic activity, weightlifting, calisthenics, and gymnastics practiced by more than two million athletes worldwide. But what's crazier? The fact that such a grueling regimen—in which puking and muscle breakdowns during workouts are common—is so popular, or that people pay good money to do it?

In Embrace the Suck, Madden chronicles the year he devoted to mastering all of the basic Crossfit exercises like double unders, muscle ups and kipping pullups, and immersing himself in the Paleo diet that strips weight from its followers but leaves them fantasizing about loaves of bread. Throughout, he explores the culture of the sport, visiting gyms (boxes) around the country, becoming a CrossFit coach, and confronting some basic questions about himself, his past, and athletic limitations—and why something so difficult and punishing can be at once beautiful, funny, and rewarding.

About Stephen Madden

Stephen Madden was the founding editor of Sports on Earth, Outdoor Explorer, and Fitbie. Madden has held various staff positions at Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Bicycling, where under his editorship the magazine won two National Magazine Awards. His writing has appeared in more than twenty-five publications and websites. He graduated from Cornell University. An avid Crossfitter, cyclist, and swimmer, Madden lives in Chatham, New Jersey, with his wife and three children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by D

I was initially excited to find a CrossFit book in the library as I do three WODs a week myself. But maybe that's why it was boring to me as I have experienced all what the author is describing. I didn't learn anything new. So it's probably a good book for someone who knows nothing about CrossFit. L......more

Goodreads review by Angie

Let's be honest, a book about Crossfit and all the struggles and triumphs....I was all over reading this book! It was well written from a man in his late 40's who wanted to give Crossfit a try, after all he was a great runner and cyclist, why wouldn't he be great at Crossfit? Instead he learned how......more

Goodreads review by JB

Loved it! Flew through this one. If this doesn't inspire you to take a closer look at what you're really made of, I don't know what will.......more