Sticking to a consistent workout plan is probably the most important productivity hack in your arsenal. It has been proven by science that physical exercise, among other benefits, improves your concentration, gives you a sharp memory and lowers your stress level. Sitting is the new smoking, they say, and maintaining an active lifestyle not only improves your health but also trains your willpower and the results will directly reflect on your monthly work review. The question is which type of workout is best for you?
Depending on your daily priorities and your number one challenge in your professional life you can choose a workout that fits you in order to take your performance to the next level. Contrary to the common misconceptions about some of these exercises, they are not gender or age specific. It solely depends on your lifestyle what gets you the right benefits and you don’t have to worry if you are the only man or woman in the room or if your body type is different from the ones around you.
Just define the number one challenge in your career and adjust your workout plan accordingly!
If your work feels too hectic and chaotic
It is easy to burn out if you have to be on high speed all day juggling between a thousand responsibilities and trying to keep everything in order. You might have difficulty focusing and find it hard to slow down before bedtime because your brain is still thinking about ideas and problems that remained unsolved during the day.
Balancing exercises and bodyweight-only workouts are amazing tools to make you more grounded and help you be more present. If your work requires a lot of conceptualization and you tend to be living in your head all the time then try practicing yoga or pilates! It is a great way to bring yourself back down to Earth and focus on your body. These exercises require you to focus on the rhythm of your breath and challenge a lot of different muscles at the same time in order to stay in a given position. After an hour you will feel like you just came back from a mini-holiday and it will gain you a good night’s sleep!
If you need to dominate
Are you preparing for tough negotiations with sharp-minded investors or clients in an all or nothing situation? You could use a little more aggression.
Opt for a workout that fires you up and turns your fears into energy that you can use to react quickly and be one step ahead of your competitors. Kickboxing is a good choice, especially if you can schedule it for the morning hours right before you have to show up at a meeting. Be careful not to exhaust yourself, though.
If you are extremely committed you can get into martial arts which will teach you lots of patience and resilience as well as how to handle failure better. Live to fight another day!
If you are short on time
Compressed high-intensity workouts are getting more and more popular which bring the same results in terms of weight-loss and building endurance as their longer equivalents.
You can try the Tabata workout, which only takes 4 minutes and it is very simple. It combines push-ups, bodyweight squats, burpees and mountain climbers. You can do one type of exercise for the whole 4 minutes and move on to another one the next day, or you can change between the exercises within one day.
It looks like this: You do the exercise with full strength for 20 seconds and then you rest for 10 seconds. After that, you exercise for 20 seconds again and keep on following the 2:1 rule until you complete 4 minutes, which means you have to finish 8 sets in total. You can measure the time with an app or use the Microsoft band to make it even easier.
If you feel stuck and need more creativity
It is hard to be creative and come up with groundbreaking thoughts every single day if you are sitting between four walls. While performing arts like stage dancing are a great way to improve your self-expression and break out of the routine that constrains your creative energies, not everyone can find the time and the mental power to invest in such activities on a regular basis.
However, everyone can get out of the concrete jungle for a while a few times a week and go for a run or speed-walk in the nearest park or green area. Expand the space around you, breathe in some fresh air and choose a different route every time. Ideas will come to you when you stop forcing them.
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