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Natural Born Heroes
Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance | Christopher McDougall
11 posts | 16 read | 1 reading | 7 to read
The best-selling author ofBorn to Runnow travels to the Mediterranean, where he discovers that the secrets of ancient Greek heroes are still alive and well on the island of Crete, and ready to be unleashedin the muscles and minds of casual athletes and aspiring heroes everywhere. After running an ultramarathon through the Copper Canyons of Mexico, Christopher McDougall finds his next great adventure on the razor-sharp mountains of Crete, where a band of Resistance fighters in World War II plotted the daring abduction of a German general from the heart of the Nazi occupation. How did a penniless artist, a youngshepherd, and a playboy poet believe they couldcarry out such a remarkable feat of strength and endurance, smuggling the general past thousands of Nazi pursuers, with little more than their own wits and courage to guide them? McDougall makes his way to the island to find the answer and retrace their steps, experiencing firsthand the extreme physical challenges the Resistance fighters and their local allies faced. On Crete, the birthplace of the classical Greek heroism that spawned the likes of Herakles and Odysseus, McDougall discovers the tools of the heronatural movement, extraordinary endurance, and efficient nutrition. All of these skills, McDougall learns, are still practiced in far-flung pockets throughoutthe world today. More than a mystery of remarkable people and cunning schemes, Natural Born Heroes is a fascinating investigation into the lost art of the hero, taking us from the streets of London at midnight to the beaches of Brazil at dawn, from the mountains of Colorado to McDougalls own backyard in Pennsylvania, all places where modern-day athletes are honing ancientskills so theyre ready for anything. Just asBorn to Runinspired readers to get off the treadmill, out of their shoes, and into the natural world,Natural Born Heroeswill inspire them to leave the gym and take their fitness routine to natureto climb, swim, skip, throw, and jump their way to their own heroic feats.From the Hardcover edition.
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jitteryjane724
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Pickpick

Here's the thing with this book - It's a simplified version of some things we can try to implement to increase our functional potential. It does not address all the obstacles that hinder each individual from achieving their goals with nutrition or fitness. The advice is not for everyone depending on your goals or situation. It's one guy's opinion based on his experience and basic-level research, nothing more. ⬇️ (Cont'd in comments) ⬇️

jitteryjane724 HOWEVER, after reading this book I do feel more inspired to find smart ways to challenge and exceed my current limitations. And that is enough for me to recommend this book. 2y
2 likes2 comments
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jitteryjane724
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The last time I read this I knew nothing about anatomy, kinesiology, or strength&endurance training. Now I have a doctorate in something related to that...looking forward to re-reading (and learning) from a different perspective this time (and I always love a good inspirational book)!

#running #endurance #strength #crete #ww2

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GingerAntics
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Bailedbailed

I have mixed feelings about this book. It‘s a great WWII story. It‘s a great adventure story. It has some interesting points and ideas about exercise that really get you thinking. Unfortunately, this is not a book for someone struggling in their relationship with food or recovering from (or suffering with) an eating disorder.
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GingerAntics The book advocates a type diet that has been proven time and again to not have the claimed health benefits and even cause harm to one‘s health. This book even goes as far as to claim Paleo/Keto/Atkins aren‘t diets because you‘re not counting calories or restricting portions. How ridiculous.👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 (edited) 2y
GingerAntics You‘re restricting whole food groups! That is a diet, pure and simple. It doesn‘t matter if the Lakers all started doing it and Kobe Bryant liked it. It‘s madness. Our ancestors knew that bodies came in all different shapes and sizes. Our ancestors knew one‘s best bet is to eat as many varieties of food as possible. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 2y
GingerAntics The ridiculous notion of sugar addiction and it being as addicting as illegal drugs has been debunked so many times, for so many years, it shouldn‘t even have made it into this book. I wanted to love this book the way I loved Born to Run, but I should have taken the hint with the fatphobia in that book and just stayed away from this one. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 2y
GingerAntics This is just far and away scientifically disproven nonsense being touted as health/nutrition advice. Sorry, I didn‘t finish this book because I couldn‘t take anymore. I just couldn‘t do it. It had a cool story and a cool adventure to learn more about that story, but the focus should have stayed in that area as opposed to veering into nutrition myth and legend. 2y
15 likes5 comments
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LisaLovesToRead
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Pickpick

This book was fabulous. I enjoy McDougall‘s ability to cover multiple stories. I want to visit the island of Crete now. Also, I‘m taking some of the exercise advice he presents. I wish I had read this as a physical book instead of digital. That would have helped me flip around as I was getting acclimated to the Greek and German names.

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readtheworld
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Mehso-so

I wanted to love this one as it explores parkour (which I‘ve been practicing for about five years). But the frame narrative about a resistance mission in WWII Crete didn‘t fully tie into the other points McDougall was making about natural movement disciplines, so it felt disjointed.

In fact, in the acknowledgements, he said he originally wanted to write two books on these separate topics and combined them instead...

#audiobook #parkour #crete

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Zelma
Bailedbailed

I listened to the first 9 chapters and just can‘t power through any more. Some fascinating topics interspersed with longer sections that bored me. The theme of heroes is very interesting, but the book is way too disjointed and random for my taste. It felt like McDougall had a bunch of topics that excited him, and he shoehorned them into this book; in the Acknowledgment, he says he originally had 2 book ideas and couldn‘t decide on the direction.

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Kristyngansen
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Look at what came I. The mail yesterday. After reading Christopher McDougall‘s first book and loving it, I decided I better pick this one up, too. Have you read it? 😍

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Spiderfelt
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Pickpick

The central question: how did Cretan rebels kidnap a German general, spirit him over a mountain range and get him off the island, while being hunted by thousands of Nazis? The answers come from parkour athletes, counter-culture sports trainers, amateur historians, and a personal endurance test.

Spiderfelt As the mother of two growing athletes, and a sometime runner and cyclist, the different elements in this story were fascinating. It introduced concepts in nutrition, hydration and considered whether the students diagnosed with ADHD are related to the 'heroes' of Greek antiquity. 8y
Spiderfelt I did have issues with the construction of the story at the beginning. It would have benefitted from some heavy handed editing and restructuring. But once I understood who the characters were and what story was being told, I was completely hooked. 8y
MrBook Interesting. 8y
13 likes3 comments
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EricaReads
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Pickpick

Loved this! Part adventure story about a small group who kidnapped a German general on the German-occupied island of Crete during WW2, part investigation into the physiology, nutrition and fitness behind heroism.

11 likes1 stack add
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Spiderfelt
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My father, aka the Human Encyclopedia, told me that Parkour traces its origins to shepherds running races in Ancient Crete. The things you learn on a Thursday night.

10 likes1 comment
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EricaReads
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Found a perfect palate cleanser to get me out of my reading slump. I went through a phase a few years ago when I only read non-fiction and I guess it's been awhile so I thought I'd give this a shot. I read Born to Run a few years back and loved it. This is fascinating so far!