Book Review:
“The Inner Athlete” by Dan Millman
Jason Price, MS, CSCS, ATC, LAT, CPT, USAW Club Coach
This book was originally published as “the Warrior Athlete”. I was introduced to it in 1993 by a fellow Student at New Mexico State University who’s High School Basketball Coach made them read it before his senior year. I read his copy and then went out and bought my copy. This book as become one of the books that I find I read over and over again. Somewhere along the lines I lost my Copy of “The Warrior Athlete” and I eventually bought the “the Inner Athlete” which is the revised second edition of the book. The author Dan Millman best describes this book in his introduction as he says “The book is not about dedicating our life to our training but about dedicating our training to our life. When I made the decision to change my career from an Athletic Trainer to a Strength & Conditioning Coach I knew that I would be challenged to motivate my trainees to reach their fullest potential. This book is one of the reasons I have a philosophy on training that it is not just about preparing body to be the best Athlete you can be but that in training you can shape your body, mind and spirit to be the best person you can be.
This book is takes a look at how the individual can take control of their training and life by harnessing the laws of nature that we are all bound to. By following this natural way of living and training one can unleash their fullest potential. In Part One Millman discusses what he calls “the larger game”. Here he discusses the Natural laws and how the laws of nonresistance, accommodation, balance and the natural order affect each of us and how we can use them to reach our fullest potential. He discusses in depth how to use these laws of nature in training and everyday life. In Part one he moves on from the Natural Laws and then discusses the power of awareness. How becoming aware of the lessons of nature and life will lead you towards the learning you need to reach peak performance. Now that sounds pretty deep for a strength coach. But, let me tell you how I use the power of awareness every day. I have a coaching cue I use every day and that is “move with purpose”. Whether it be coaching agility drills, sprint training, weightlifting or anything. Athletes must move with purpose. They must be aware of what they are doing, they must learn from their errors, and grow from their errors and awareness to become better athletes. That is the essence of what I do in the weight room and coaching sports performance. Dan Millman hits the nail on the head in his chapter on the power of awareness. Lastly in Part one Millman discusses Preparation. There are so many clichés about preparation out there like “failing to prepare is preparing to fail” and etc. But, do you really know how to be prepared and how to build the foundation of success that preparation is. Millman walks you through his ideas of what preparation is and how to use it to reach full potential. He ends the chapter and the section with this quote that I love. “Sound preparation and the magic of time help both adults and children to realize their fullest potential.
In Part Two he discusses how to develop talent. But, he is not discussing just talent for different activities he breaks it up into three types of talent that we all have. They are Mental Talent, Emotional Talent, and Physical Talent. Learning how to understand these different talents that each individual has and how to harness them will help both the coach and athlete to reach their fullest abilities. In the book Millman provides you with different exercises that will help build these talents. I found that his explanation of these different types of talents helped me better understand why some things come so easy to some and so difficult to others.
In the final part of the book all of the topics brought up are put together into putting the “Inner Athlete” into action. He discusses his universal approach to training and competition. He also shows you what he thinks will be the future of sport. This section of the book probably had the least application for the strength coach or sport coach. But, he did give some tidbits of information that made me rethink some of my previous thoughts on training and competition and that is just what a good book should do.
Ultimately I think this book is a must read for anyone involved in athletes. It is one of the books that I can say has truly impacted my professional life and personal life. An excellent read and addition to any library.
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