FIT
FOR BUSINESS
Honing your
competitive edge and staying healthy, too.
A 14-hour work day
clearly justifies flopping on the couch with one
hand on the remote and the other wrapped around a
cold beer.
Just don’t tell
that to Michael Brainard.
This
self-proclaimed “crazy cross-trainer” and CEO of
Brainard Strategy manages to workout regularly even
while juggling a 70-hour work week. As a lifelong
fitness advocate, he does it all: runs, swims, bikes
and lifts weights. And that’s on days when he’s not
golfing, hiking or competing in a triathlon. “I try
to do one or two things every day,” says Brainard.
“Usually I run or go for a swim.”
It’s enough to make
mere mortals reach for an Advil.
When does he find
time to exercise? “I don’t care when I do it I
just get out there. A lot of people have set times
when they work out, but I can’t always plan for
that. I don’t work out at the same time or on
specific days, but it ends up being pretty regular.
I just want to be healthy. “
Doesn’t everyone?
“Eat less and exercise more” may well be the mantra
of the new millennium, yet so few follow this
advice. In fact, a new study shows that only 3% of
Americans do the basics: eat right, don’t smoke,
exercise and keep their weight down. Endless
meetings, impossible deadlines and frequent travel
combine to create a modernistic survival of the
fittest. Sink or swim. Step up to the plate.
Something’s got to give, and it’s usually self-care.
“It’s especially
hard for executives to make themselves a priority,”
says Susan Gisriel, Ph.D., a psychologist in Newport
Beach. “But once they do, they realize the benefits.
They handle stress and anger better and usually
sleep more restfully.”
Ironically, the
people with the most “legitimate” reasons to opt-out
of healthy eating and regular exercise make it a
habit more often than not. How they do it is as
varied as their individual personalities, but
learning how to be “fit for business” benefits
anyone interested in improving their health.
Dietary
challenges
Whether lunch is
served by a waiter with tails or a clown with a big
red nose, making healthy dining-out choices is a
challenge. Knowing what to order in either situation
has immediate and long-term consequences. Deborah
McCarthy, a registered dietician in Newport Beach,
collects menus from hotels and restaurants
frequented by businessmen; she reviews the menus
with her clients so they can make the best choices.
“I also ask them to
measure and weigh portions just once at home so
they can see what a portion size looks like when
they’re not eating at home,” she says. “When new
clients come to me, often their biggest fear is that
they’ll be told something unrealistic. They have to
re-prioritize and decide what is realistic for them
to give up.” She adds, “Otherwise, they’ll never
stick with the changes.”
Skipping meals, an
all-too common practice among the harried, often
leads to overeating later in the day. Avoiding this
starve and binge cycle requires advanced planning.
For example, pack a cooler with healthful snacks
when on the road for long periods of time instead of
relying on a fast-food fix.
“Often too, healthy
lifestyle habits among work, home and travel
environments don’t necessarily blend.” McCarthy
notes. “Some people eat healthy all day but come
home at night and go crazy. The key is creating
healthy habits that fit your lifestyle ones you
can live with. But you must also be ready to make
that commitment to change, or nothing will happen.”
Eat breakfast
like a champ
One change she
recommends to non-breakfast eaters is: Eat
breakfast. Breakfast kick-starts the body’s
metabolism and helps prevent overeating later in the
day and it’s also the most skipped meal of the
day. However, people who eat breakfast are less
likely to be overweight, although many believe
they’re saving calories by omitting the morning
meal.
Sumo wrestlers
often forgo breakfast and sometimes lunch so
they can eat more the rest of the day. Few people
plan on emulating this body type, but they may find
themselves there when their breakfast-saving calorie
theory backfires. Those who plead “not hungry” in
the morning typically consume too much the prior
evening. Skipping breakfast, working through lunch
then consuming a massive dinner (which lasts until
Letterman signs off) sets the foundation for a
lifelong struggle with excess fat storage.
And “breakfast”
doesn’t mean an ottoman-sized, sugar-topped muffin.
“People need to realize the importance of eating
power-fueled [healthy] food in place of
adrenaline-fueled foods like coffee and doughnuts,”
cautions McCarthy. A piece of fruit with yogurt or
whole-grain cereal and milk are quick breakfast
ideas that contain both complex carbohydrates and
protein — that makes for a healthier choice.
If eating first
thing in the morning seems difficult, imagine
starting your day at 2:30 a.m. Mark Hudoff, a bond
trader for a local investment firm, does just that.
Starting his workday at 3:00 a.m. requires a very
early breakfast before he leaves home and he
“never” misses the meal now, although it wasn’t
always this way.
Working in a highly
competitive, stressful environment requires high
energy all day. Hudoff finds that “a maximal [food]
intake at the beginning of the day and a minimal
intake at the end of the day” gives him the energy
he needs to swim with the sharks.
On most days, he
also makes time for exercise. “Because my day starts
so early, I usually get home early, too. I’ll go for
a bike ride with my seven-year-old son a couple of
times a week or go for a run after I get home or
lift weights to de-stress.” Although he admits it’s
not always easy, “Once I get over the initial
inertia, I can do it. I feel better and have more
energy. My blood pressure is lower and I have a
better ability to handle stress, so it’s worth it.”
Make health a
priority
Finding time for
exercise doesn’t just happen it must be scheduled
into the day. Tell Rob Reindl you don’t have time to
exercise and he’ll ask you, “How come your health
isn’t as much a priority as anything else in your
life?” The Edwards Lifesciences Corporate V.P. of
Human Resources adds, “I’ve never heard a reasonable
answer to that question.” Frequent travel and long
hours hasn’t always made it easy to adhere to a
regular exercise program, but Reindl schedules his
workouts and adheres to them as if they were
“meetings with the CEO.”
Reindl had a
wake-up call during a routine physical exam a few
years ago. “It showed I needed to take some
important steps to manage my cholesterol, weight and
general health. I have young children, and I want to
be around to be a part of their lives and watch them
grow up.” The physical made him “get serious” about
exercise. “I have seen my weight drop by almost 30
pounds, and I just feel better. I’m able to manage
stress much better, which allows me to do my job
much better.”
Plan ways to
de-stress
Stress management,
as Reindl observed, is a key factor in performing to
the best of one’s abilities. In the article, “The
Making of the Corporate Athlete,” Jim Loehr and Tony
Schwartz advocate the importance of rest periods or
“oscillation” as crucial to peak work performance.
Loehr, a performance psychologist, worked with his
colleagues for years training world-class athletes.
He and Schwartz then developed a version of these
peak-performance techniques for corporate
executives. The extreme demands facing these
executives in the workplace are much like those
placed on professional athletes, according to Loehr.
Here’s the critical
difference: the professional athlete spends most of
his time practicing and only a small percentage of
his time actually competing. The typical executive,
by contrast, must perform on demand 12-14 hours a
day or more with no actual “training” time.
This lack of
preparation results in an inability to perform at
full potential — and at a cost to themselves, their
families and their employer. The solution lies in
developing the ability to manage energy between
periods of stress and periods of recovery. For
example, vigorous exercise promotes recovery and
leaves a person better equipped to handle additional
stress. The authors note, “Chronic stress without
recovery depletes energy reserves, leads to burnout
and breakdown, and ultimately undermines
performance.”
Gisriel, the
psychologist in Newport Beach, agrees, “People do
not realize the effects of stress on their body and
their mind. It takes a huge toll.” Gisriel
frequently recommends exercise to her clients.
“Exercise kicks in the body’s natural hormones that
elevate mood and reduce stress and it’s an
effective way of getting anger out in a controlled
way.” Gisriel says that an uncertain economy and the
“pressure to maintain a certain [level of]
lifestyle” have created more stress over the past
few years.
Aside from
exercise, some executives practice rather creative
de-stressing techniques: One reads books, both
fiction and business-related, and another immerses
himself in a good John Wayne western after a crazy
day at the office.
Limit alcohol
intake
Some ways of
unwinding are better than others, however. Alcohol,
in moderation and on occasion, is fine. Too much too
often overrides the benefits of an occasional drink
and will adversely affect health. Studies show that
consistently drinking more than three ounces of
alcohol a day may damage the liver and increase the
chances of early mortality.
Dr. Michael A.
Waldman, M.D., of Tustin, strongly recommends that
businessmen curtail their alcohol consumption. “It’s
a source of empty calories. I tell people that very
little is in their direct control except for their
weight and their choice to smoke or drink or not.”
Limit alcohol consumption to two or fewer drinks per
day with two days alcohol free. (A drink refers to
one 12-oz. beer, a 5-oz. glass of wine or a mixed
drink with an ounce of whiskey, vodka or some other
distilled spirit.)
Aside from its
effects on cognitive functioning, alcohol also
blocks the body’s ability to burn fat and
contributes to fat storage, although alcohol itself
doesn’t contain fat. To limit calories, choose dry
wine instead of sweet wine and avoid mixed drinks
and hard alcohol.
Find your
motivation
Motivation to begin
exercising and motivation to continue exercising are
two different driving forces. “It helps to like
exercise,” says Dr. Waldman, who strives for 30
minutes, three times a week, of biking, jogging or
kayaking. Although weight loss may be the initial
motivation to start an exercise regimen, there must
be some level of enjoyment for the change to become
a permanent one. Exercising with a partner or with
your family is one way to incorporate a social and
enjoyable aspect to the workout.
Sometimes, feeling
better is motivation enough. “It’s the immediate
benefit of knowing I’ll have a better day that
motivates me,” say David Pereira, a financial
executive with Fluor Corporation in Aliso Viejo. “I
need to be in good shape to be able to do what I
do,” he said via cell phone, en route to the airport
for yet another trip. He usually gets in a 30-minute
cardiovascular workout three times a week plus
weight training.
Pereira believes
that regular exercise also makes him mentally
sharper, “When I don’t exercise, I’ll attack
multiple things with less focus. Exercise calms me
down and helps make me a better listener in
meetings.”
Conclusion
It’s interesting to
note that not one of the businessmen interviewed
mentioned “getting muscular or stronger” as
motivators to exercise. Each feels that exercise and
eating healthy has a positive effect on their mental
outlook, enables them to better handle stress and
makes them more efficient at their work. In the
words of Michael Brainard, “I exercise to be
healthier. I don’t have to win the race.” OCM
Linda Melone is a
corporate wellness trainer, certified personal
trainer and owner of LifeBeat Fitness Consulting.
She can be reached at (949) 713-0403 or at
LindaM@LifeBeatFitness.com.
