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Good to Go

How to Eat, Sleep and Rest Like a Champion

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About this listen

'A must-read for all athletes, from the professional to the weekend warrior.'
Wall Street Journal

The NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING account of the new frontier of sports recovery science, which shows what we should and shouldn't be doing between exercising to achieve maximum performance.

All athletes, from Olympians to weekend warriors, must find the balance between training and recovery to maximize the benefits of workouts and reach optimal performance. For the longest time, coaches and training manuals have emphasized training above all else. However, science shows that recovery is a crucial component of exercise training and it may even be the most important one.
Good to Go is the first definitive account of this new frontier in sports and exercise science. Christie Ashwanden takes you on a first-person tour through the science of exercise recovery, from ice baths and cryogenic freezing chambers to the science behind Usain Bolt’s love of chicken nuggets and Tom Brady’s recovery pyjamas.
Full of eye-opening revelations, Aschwanden takes us on an invigorating journey through the science and potions of sports recovery and debunks the junk to give a clear picture of what we should actually be doing to achieve peak performance.

 Physics Science Sports Physical Exercise

Critic reviews

Christie Aschwanden is simply one of the best science writers in the world. Whether you’re striving for a personal best or simply wondering about that post-workout beer, Good to Go is the definitive tour through a bewildering jungle of scientific (and pseudo-scientific) claims that comprise a multi-billion dollar recovery industry. (David Epstein, bestselling author of The Sports Gene)
Recovery is the great athletic obsession of our time. But how much do we really understand about it? Christie Aschwanden cuts through the hype to explore the topic with nuance, humor, and – most important – scientific rigor. The result is a much-needed reappraisal of how we should think about recovery, making Good to Go the most important book about training you’ll read this year. (Alex Hutchinson, bestselling author of Endure)
This authoritative, delightful, and much-needed book slices through the hype around athletic recovery, and will surely cement Christie Aschwanden’s status as one of the world’s top science writers. Even if you’ve never run a race in your life, you’ll sprint through it. I laughed a lot, and learned even more. (Ed Yong, bestselling author of I Contain Multitudes)
'A fascinating, whirlwind investigation into recovery techniques. The book offers a useful introduction to how scientific research works - and why, in sports science, it often doesn’t. Such insights make Good to Go appealing to more than just gym rats and weekend warriors. It’s for anyone who wonders how scientific studies happen, and how they influence the claims on products found in grocery stores and athletic stores alike.'
Deeply researched and artfully written. . . a must-read for all athletes, from the professional to the weekend warrior.
As buzzy as recovery is among athletes right now, the question of how to best adapt to and benefit from training is still fraught with confusion…Christie Aschwanden offers much-needed clarity on the subject in Good to Go.
All stars
Most relevant
it's ok. but if you've read endure by Alex Hutchison you'll be disappointed. it is just thinner and less well researched

not endure

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The format is becoming a little familiar to me now. Perhaps it's more of an indication of the sort of books I listen to than a judgement on the genre. A sceptical but neutral view of recovery techniques. It reminds me of Matt Fitzgerald's Diet Cults, Bounce by Matthew Syed, and to a lesser extent, Adapt by Tim Harford. Lots of anectode and real-life examples, which in Good to Go, often began with a pithy quote, then attributed to a particular athlete. The sort of thing you'd get in a newspaper headline and I found it a bit tiresome at times.

Overall an upbeat book and useful book.

Easy listen - no huge surprises

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Lots of simple protocols for all levels of athletes to implement to aid recovery. A very useful and enjoyable book.

Thoroughly enjoyed.

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Very well read but the headline is misleading and should instead be something like 'debunking popular recovery myths'. Also, the author appears to criticise research when it suits, but never really questions the validity of research that demonstrates her point. In truth, I believe the author has done their homework and she is correct in her comments but it could easily be misleading.

Valid information but a tad contradictory at times

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don't waste your time and money with this book. they reject every theory and don't recommend anything.

A bit waste of time.

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