An exercise chapter in a business book? Like it or not, to successfully lead an Amazing IT Team, your physical, emotional, and cognitive health need to be at their optimum levels. Many of us don't become executives until we're in our 40s, 50s, or older. As we age, our bodies require more care. Let's cover four pillars of health and wellness: sleep, weight management, nutrition, and exercise.
Are you aware of the basic mechanism of exercise physiology? When you run, bike, or lift weights, you are injuring your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Then you go to sleep, and your body builds them back stronger. Adaptation is a core function of the human body. What's your body using to accomplish this task? The nutrients you feed it during the day, especially protein. So hit the weights, consume protein, and go to sleep. While you are sleeping, your construction crew rebuilds your body. What if you aren't getting enough sleep? The workout was wasted. You'll remain injured and not repaired, leading to stress. What if you only eat low-nutrient foods? The same thing: the workout caused more harm than good. You will not get any benefit from exercise if you aren't getting sufficient sleep and nutrition. If you are planning to add exercise to your routine, first figure out how and when you're going to sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, exercise may be the cure for that too. More sleep is conducive to better weight management. Positive health changes all work synergistically.
If you need to lose weight, just exercising more is probably not the answer. To lose weight, you need to eat better food. When you eat better food, you're going to eat less food automatically. Why? Because your body is smart. When it has what it needs, it won't ask for more. If you eat french fries until you're sick, you still haven't given your body what it needs—1,000 calories worth of fries later, you're still hungry. If you had a healthy salad, you'd be satiated on a fraction of the calories. Weight management is complicated, and every one of us is different. Regardless of your situation, you can't go wrong eating more nutritious food.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of a strong immune system. “Research has shown that supplementing with certain vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other substances can improve immune response and potentially protect against illness.”46 To boost their immune systems, many consumers are turning to vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and elderberry.
If you go to an older doctor, you might have heard that you can get all of your nutrients from the foods you eat. This may have been truer when your doctor went to medical school, but it's becoming less so every day. “A 2004 study evaluated Department of Agriculture data for 43 garden crops from 1950 to 1999. The researchers found statistically reliable declines for six nutrients—protein, calcium, potassium, iron, and vitamins B2 and C.”47 Others disagree and say the issue is that we don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. Regardless of why, being undernourished may undermine your weight management efforts and render your exercise less effective.
If you're considering supplementation, look to nature first and then supplement from there. If you don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, a good quality multi-vitamin might help. If you eat wild-caught, fatty fish three or more times per week, then you're probably fine on omega-3 fatty acids. If not, consider a fish oil supplement. If you get out in the sun, vitamin D is free; if not, a vitamin D supplement is an option. I recommend this formula: get what you can from nature, and then supplement where needed.
If I could figure out how to put exercise in a pill, I'd be richer than Jeff Bezos. The list of benefits from exercise is long and impressive. The best exercise is the one that you'll do. If you incorporate exercise into your life in a way that also brings enjoyment and stress relief, you've found something magical. A long walk, a bike ride, a group class, strength training—if one or more of these gives you joy, it will be easy to add the routine to or keep it in your life.
If the pandemic turned you into a part-time or full-time work-from-home employee, consider investing the saved commute time in an exercise routine. I strongly recommend a morning workout. You may believe you're not a morning person, but most successful executives are. You're much more likely to have an unplanned meeting, assignment, or happy hour at 6:00 p.m. than you are at 6:00 a.m. A regimented morning routine will do wonders for your day. Remember the importance of sleep for your health? To be a morning person, you're going to need to get to sleep earlier.
Put your health first. Being a CIO is like driving a car 100 miles an hour for 12 hours a day. It's only going to work if it's well maintained and there's fuel in the tank. Put on your business hat—set health goals, and attack them with the same vigor you use to go after EBITDA. Annual checkups with a doctor are mandatory. Consider these your body's performance review, and strive to exceed expectations.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/immune-boosting-supplements.https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/science/a-decline-in-the-nutritional-value-of-crops.html.