Pro Athletes and Business People Aren't Dissimilar
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"Today's workplace is an uncompromising arena that shares many characteristics with the world of the elite athlete - intense pressure, tough competition, small margins of error and high costs of failure."
These words were spoken by Dr. Shambrook, Great Britain's Rowing Team psychologist. But before you get all smug with yourself, get the lesson: you, like those elite athletes, need to exercise.
Siemens conducted a study that found that shockingly:
The link between being physically prepared and sports performance is obvious because without an optimally prepared body you've conceded a critical performance factor before you've even begun. For the work place the link between exercise and performance at work is less obvious.
People tend to see their body simply as a vehicle for carrying around their brain and they believe that they can work longer and longer hours, under greater pressure, without actually preparing their body to stand the pace. It's a bit like a runner deciding to change from running 1500m to running marathons but not changing how they train to deal with the extra 25 miles they're going to have run!
In the work place people know they should exercise more, but more and more they end up dealing with after effects of pushing their body too hard for too long, with little attention to exercise or optimum nutrition. With that choice they just need to make sure that they have a great private health care policy in place.
As the quote goes, 'He who says he can not find time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness'.
How do you suggest people go about making more time to exercise?
In the Athlete@Work programme we suggest a few key ways of making sure exercise is used appropriately for people in high pressure jobs. First, look at being fit for purpose - does the time taken to enhance fitness a little impact on your bottom line performance?
If having a body more prepared to deal with the demands would improve your productivity, concentration and alertness, then you're going to be more effective in the long run - it's a question of opportunity/cost.
Second, it's often easier to increase activity levels first than to start exercise, so look to increase your daily activity count, which will start to impact on fitness levels. We suggest using stairs instead of elevators or escalators (it's usually quicker and less smelly!), getting off the tube a stop early and walking for 10 minutes instead, have some "walking meetings" when the size of the group and purpose of the meeting permits.
Very quickly you can increase activity levels and you're body will benefit. Alternatively, if you want to exercise then look at how it can add value at work by improving your performance, as well improving fitness. Exercise is often a "worthwhile timeout", so time your exercise to give you a scheduled stress release.
Exercise also increases creativity, so if you need to come up with some great ideas, use the exercise to improve the speed and effectiveness of your idea time. It's clear that if you're healthier and fitter your of more value to your employer because you'll be more effective when at work and absent less, so in a way, your employer should be grateful that you're becoming a better employee for them by exercising!
And if we did want to go rowing, is there group we could join close to the City or Canary Wharf?
I'd suggest getting down to the London Regatta Centre at the Royal Albert Docks and seeing whether you can make use of their great facilities down there. Whether you want to be coached on a rowing machine, in their 'rowing tank', or go on the water, the LRC has everything you could want!
If you don't want to do any of that, then the Concept II Rowing Machine is one of the best on land workouts you can get.
We've never rowed in a proper rowing boat. Do your legs get a work-out too, like they do on a machine?
Rowing is a total body workout, so is a great for of all round training. When you have the right technique, your legs get to work first, followed by your trunk/back and then your arms/upper body. It's a great challenge physically and technically, so combines brain and braun.
Another bonus it that it's a weight supported activity so you don't have to worry about some injuries that you might associate with running.
Click here to find out more about the Athlete@Work program for yourself or for your employees. The programme starts with a two-day clinic and is followed by 1:1 coaching.
Siemens conducted a study that found that shockingly:
- 29% of female execs don't exercise at all
- only 31% of female execs do the recommended levels of three sessions per week
- 32% of male execs don't exercise at all
- 80% of business people agree that exercies helps reduce stress
- 69% of the women and 62% of the men wish they could spend more time working out.
The link between being physically prepared and sports performance is obvious because without an optimally prepared body you've conceded a critical performance factor before you've even begun. For the work place the link between exercise and performance at work is less obvious.
People tend to see their body simply as a vehicle for carrying around their brain and they believe that they can work longer and longer hours, under greater pressure, without actually preparing their body to stand the pace. It's a bit like a runner deciding to change from running 1500m to running marathons but not changing how they train to deal with the extra 25 miles they're going to have run!
In the work place people know they should exercise more, but more and more they end up dealing with after effects of pushing their body too hard for too long, with little attention to exercise or optimum nutrition. With that choice they just need to make sure that they have a great private health care policy in place.
As the quote goes, 'He who says he can not find time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness'.
How do you suggest people go about making more time to exercise?
In the Athlete@Work programme we suggest a few key ways of making sure exercise is used appropriately for people in high pressure jobs. First, look at being fit for purpose - does the time taken to enhance fitness a little impact on your bottom line performance?
If having a body more prepared to deal with the demands would improve your productivity, concentration and alertness, then you're going to be more effective in the long run - it's a question of opportunity/cost.
Second, it's often easier to increase activity levels first than to start exercise, so look to increase your daily activity count, which will start to impact on fitness levels. We suggest using stairs instead of elevators or escalators (it's usually quicker and less smelly!), getting off the tube a stop early and walking for 10 minutes instead, have some "walking meetings" when the size of the group and purpose of the meeting permits.
Very quickly you can increase activity levels and you're body will benefit. Alternatively, if you want to exercise then look at how it can add value at work by improving your performance, as well improving fitness. Exercise is often a "worthwhile timeout", so time your exercise to give you a scheduled stress release.
Exercise also increases creativity, so if you need to come up with some great ideas, use the exercise to improve the speed and effectiveness of your idea time. It's clear that if you're healthier and fitter your of more value to your employer because you'll be more effective when at work and absent less, so in a way, your employer should be grateful that you're becoming a better employee for them by exercising!
And if we did want to go rowing, is there group we could join close to the City or Canary Wharf?
I'd suggest getting down to the London Regatta Centre at the Royal Albert Docks and seeing whether you can make use of their great facilities down there. Whether you want to be coached on a rowing machine, in their 'rowing tank', or go on the water, the LRC has everything you could want!
If you don't want to do any of that, then the Concept II Rowing Machine is one of the best on land workouts you can get.
We've never rowed in a proper rowing boat. Do your legs get a work-out too, like they do on a machine?
Rowing is a total body workout, so is a great for of all round training. When you have the right technique, your legs get to work first, followed by your trunk/back and then your arms/upper body. It's a great challenge physically and technically, so combines brain and braun.
Another bonus it that it's a weight supported activity so you don't have to worry about some injuries that you might associate with running.
Click here to find out more about the Athlete@Work program for yourself or for your employees. The programme starts with a two-day clinic and is followed by 1:1 coaching.
