Do you train the same way you manage?
You shouldn’t.
We can tell you a lot about yourself just by watching you move.
If you work in an environment that requires you to be flexible and dynamic, to make big decisions quickly, you most likely don’t have the most stable squat.
Instead, you are probably rushing through the exercises, focusing on getting the workout done in time and maybe even overdelivering by adding some ab exercises at the end.
But you can’t manage your fitness the same way you do your projects.
The mentality you need as a good manager is to understand everything a little bit and well enough to delegate, review progress, and move things forward.
This approach falls short in training, especially when working on posture and building true strength. For that, you need a calm awareness and an intention to make every repetition count.
Think glacier instead of waterfall.
Anaconda instead of viper.
Thunder instead of flash.
How to do that in the training?
Isometric exercises
Holding positions for time is the most counter-intuitive way to train for executives. Stagnation in business is death, when you are not moving forward you are getting pushed back.
In training, being still teaches you to really explore your capabilities in certain positions and pushes you to develop stability in them.
Take your time to set up
Talking about stability, if you start wobbly, you will never become stable again.
Especially for exercises that require balance, the most important part is to find your balance before moving.
Super Slow
Similar to isometric exercises, doing movements with slow motion speed forces you to be more present with what you are doing.
10s down and 10s up for a squat or a pushup is a completely different type of workout than pumping out 10 sloppy reps as fast as you can.
Use your breath to measure time
Instead of looking at numbers on the clock, use your breath to determine the length of a repetition or rest break.
When you focus on a slow and controlled breathing rhythm and then hold a position for e.g. 10 breaths you bring your attention inward even more and learn how to take control of the whole system.
Training is supposed to expand your abilities in life.
If your day-to-day work is challenging and developing you in dynamic, unstable, and spontaneous ways you need to balance that out.
Make your training complementary to your work to fix all the problems that come with moving fast.
