Mental Fitness: 15 Rules to Strengthen Your Body and Mind

Product Information

The brilliant new book from the multiple Sunday Times bestselling author that will explain the principles behind maintaining a healthy mind and body.

Mental Fitness: 15 Rules to Strengthen Your Body and Mind

Definitely worth reading, got quite a few lessons out of it. The structure is really nice, as he describes his own experiences first and then draws lessons from them. Keep in mind, tough, to convert the SAS extremes to normal extremes as this man's experiences don't line up with those of the average human being. Even in this genuinely fearful situation I was able to switch out of that default ‘Be careful’ mindset. It starts with clear thinking.”

Customer reviews

The mind and body are often talked about as separate entities, but it’s only when they work in harmony with one another that one can truly push oneself to the highest heights.

Mental Fitness Quotes by Ant Middleton - Goodreads Mental Fitness Quotes by Ant Middleton - Goodreads

Physical activity has always been part of my life and once it becomes routine in your life that’s when it becomes a lifestyle and you can’t do without it." A good book to read if you’re finding your place in the world, and I certainly wish it had been around 20-odd year ago. Pay attention to people you invest in relationships with and talk about things you actually care about. Like him or dislike him, he has excellent experience in the most extreme circumstances. The thing I like about Ants books is that he tells you these extreme stories from the forces and then translates them into relatable stories for those who aren’t in the forces. He also does so in a way that isn’t patronising in any way. I think everybody could relate to at least one of the stories told.

The book also seems to be very repetitive, not helped by the fact that he starts on one subject area and then disappears off on a tangent. You see everything and can plan it out. You know the enemy hasn’t been in that situation, so you go in feeling like you have the remote and can pause and play as you go. It’s hyper-confidence, approaching arrogance: ‘You can shoot as many rounds through that door as the fear of giving offence creates more problems than it solves. Ultimately what you’re scared of is that your hosts won’t like you because you’ve, say, thrown a chewing-gum wrapper on the fire. But most people are reasonable.”

Ant Middleton Quotes (Author of First Man In) - Goodreads Ant Middleton Quotes (Author of First Man In) - Goodreads

The people who love you will offer you constructive criticism, because they want you to be the best version of yourself that you can be. They know you’re better than that. They know what you’re worth. They’re not having a pop because they want to bring you down a peg or two.”As someone who does most of his exercise in the harsh outdoors, Ant says it's a myth that the gym is the only place you can get fit.

Mental Fitness by Ant Middleton | Waterstones

Ant says: "This is obviously not always possible but if you plan to work out seven days a week, you will probably end up working out four days a week which is definitely enough to stay in shape. I’ll then take a deep look into the three kinds of fear: fear of suffering, fear of failure and fear of conflict.” There’s a lot of stuff in here that I already am/do/believe, so while I can’t say I 4-star enjoyed it, the content is basically me, so I’m not going to mark it down! It’s fair to say that Middleton is a staunch advocate of the beneficial power of a positive mindset. In his books, on his television shows and in his talks, he effortlessly fires off examples from his past to illustrate how his mentality has been forged. Breaking Down Doors

He also seems to be a bit of a hypocrite - there is one chapter where he says that he wasn't around for his kids and then starts to lecture the reader on how to be a good parent - and as I was listening to the audiobook, it really did sound like a lecture. Learning from other people's mistakes is one thing, but trying to make something sound easy when you've failed to do it yourself is completely different. Middleton says it wasn’t until he left the military that he refined his psyche, but the Afghan compounds he found himself outside as an SBS operative were where it started to take shape.