The Story of Invincible

September 26, 2022 | John Paul Catanzaro

Invincible Book

Injury Prevention Strategies for Aging Athletes is a seminar that I’ve presented several times over the years to professional organizations like the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), canfitpro, Certified Professional Trainers Network (CPTN), and Ontario Society of Health and Fitness (OSHF). Eventually, that seminar became a webinar and now a book.

The book is titled Invincible: Injury Prevention for Weight Lifters and like any book, it took a lot of work to get to print and several people helped me along the way.

Love at First Sight

Two things sell a book – the title and cover – and for the title, I looked no further than Peter Byrne. Peter is a creative genius. He is revered in the advertising and marketing world. You may not have heard of him, but I guarantee that you’ve seen his work! I sent Peter the manuscript and weeks later, he sent me one perfect word. I added the subtitle and then it was time for the cover.

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but if you like the cover, you’ll buy the book! I hired Itype Designs to put together a simple yet strong cover. They came back with four concepts. To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed with any of them, but if there’s one thing that I’ve learned from my previous books, the author is not the reader! Let the audience decide what’s best, so I forwarded the designs to several people for their opinion. All of them liked the third one. I gathered their feedback, made some adjustments, and it turned out amazing! Check out the transformation:

Enjoy the Reading Experience

When it came to editing, Emily Muelken gave me exactly what I was looking for, that is, not much! My instructions were to clean up the text a bit, make sure there were no spelling mistakes – basically, do all that editing stuff – but I wanted to retain my voice and Emily did just that. She did a great job!

Dorenda McNeil was instrumental in the typesetting and cover design. Dorenda is the author of Virtually Perfect Business Etiquette and she has a keen eye for design. A few of her tips made a world of a difference!

Just as a side note, the last three books I’ve read are bestsellers, but they contain numerous spelling errors and typesetting issues. The font in one of them is so big with massive gaps between words that a short paragraph takes up an entire page! If I did that, I could easily double the length of my book and justify a higher price, but I want you to “enjoy the experience” of reading the content as much as I want you to learn from it.

Try Putting it Down!

Invincible is a quick and easy read. It’s only 84 pages, but there’s no filler. If you want to, you can get it done in one sitting. In fact, I think you’ll have a hard time putting the book down! I guarantee that you’ll pick up something from each section that you can put into practice immediately.

If you wish to enjoy a lifetime of lifting, this may be the most important book that you’ll ever read. Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been at it for years, you’re going to benefit from this book. And if you’re a personal trainer, Invincible is a must-read. Trust me, keeping your clients injury-free is good for business!

Don’t just take my word for it. Dr. Mark Lindsay had a look at Invincible and loved it! Mark is a chiropractor, soft tissue specialist, and author of Fascia, but you can think of him as the “athlete’s secret weapon!” At the start of his career, he helped Donovan Bailey win a gold medal at the Olympics and since then, Mark has worked behind the scenes with the “who’s who” in sport. Not too long ago, he guided NHL great Connor McDavid back to health from a torn PCL and cracked tibia without surgery (check out the documentary Connor McDavid: Whatever It Takes). You can read what Mark had to say on the back cover of the book.

Mark and I at the University of Texas back in 2001.

So there you have it… my sixth book is published and ready for your consumption. I hope you enjoy it. I think that anyone who lifts weights should have this book in their library. Again, it’s an easy read and I promise you’ll pick up many valuable tips along the way. Get your copy today!

Note: Invincible is available in paperback or on Kindle.

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