Productivity Is A Full-Body Exercise

Anyone else feel like exercise is the root of productivity?

I like well-made action movies. And the more physical action in it, the better.

Really, it’s because I love human performance; I get the same rush out of Cirque du Soleil, gymastics competitions, and soccer/football games, for the same reason (action movies just add a little drama now and again, which is nice).

That’s a long way of introducing the idea that I watched the movie “300” a while ago (well, most of it; I skimmed through a few overly gory scenes). What impressed me the most was the actor’s physiques; these guys were chiseled. And not freakish, either; just balanced and buff.

A little Googling and YouTubeing later, and I was watching some videos online about how the actors got in shape for their roles… and lo and behold, they were following CrossFit routines — a system I’ve been following for the better part of this year, so I wasn’t really all that surprised. Haven’t heard of CrossFit? Maybe it’s because CrossFit is a far-cry from what goes on in 99% of the gyms across this country.

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Rather than focus on individual muscles (the typical body-building, big-box-gym-circuit-training approach), CrossFit is all about what they call “General Physical Preparedness,” or GPP. In Coach Glassman’s words (the founder of CrossFit):

From the beginning, the aim of CrossFit has been to forge a broad, general, and inclusive fitness. We sought to build a program that would best prepare trainees for any physical contingency — prepare them not only for the unknown but for the unknowable… in sum, our specialty is not specializing.

Specialization has its price

A number of years ago I was training heavy; using large amounts of weight in a very small range of motion. Why? Because it builds size. I got to the point where I was lifting over 650 pounds on a leg press machine, and I was bench-pressing over 300 pounds.

But then, I went to put my then-two-year-old in her carseat, and almost threw out my back. I thought, “Huh?” That major disconnect taught me there was something seriously wrong about my methods.

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GPP to the rescue

With GPP, you are training everything, for anything. And therein lies the beauty of CrossFit, in my opinion. By doing this kind of workout, you get in better shape, period. For anything. For any circumstance you need it for. For life.

GPP -> GWP

Lest you think this is just a promo for CrossFit, let me open this idea up a bit…

What are you interested in, for example, in your work? You’re probably interested in working at your best, with your heart and spirit in tact. It means you’re interested in HOW you work, not just WHAT you’re working at (although that matters, too). It means you want to express your purpose in this world, find meaning, and find peace and fulfillment in what you do.

Can you see how you have to go beyond just getting more done? Can you see how you need to focus not just on hours worked, widgets sold, clients served, or workshops taught? Can you see how efficiency, or communication, or intuition, or stress-reduction alone aren’t going to come close to giving you the kind of life you want?

In order to show up at your best, you need to adopt the GWP approach: General Work Preparedness. Generalize, not specialize.

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That means finding a way to include such factors as:

• Productivity: organization, scheduling, eliminating distractions, etc.
• The ability to maintain your focus: a combination not just of “arranging your work”, but the mental and spiritual aspects of clarity, passion, overcoming obstacles, etc.
• Confidence: cited as one of the top psychological factors in athletic performance, it holds true for work as well; without a positive self-image, your ability to present your best value — and stand in it with resolve — goes the way of the dodo.
• Health: if you aren’t physically up to the tasks you set for yourself, how can you achieve what your heart yearns to achieve? Whether you need to focus on drinking enough water, eating well, having core strength (it takes a toll on your body to sit at a desk all day, if that’s what you do), learning to type dvorak so you don’t get RSI, or whatever, taking care of your health is a foundational part of working at your best.
• Rejuvenation: don’t forget the value of off-time as well. No one can expect themselves to work at anything 10 hours (or more) a day, five (or more) days a week, week after week, and not burn out. Rest doesn’t just mean physical rest, either; you have to nurture the needs of your heart and your mind as well, which could include spiritual time, time with family and friends, you name it.
• Is that it?

No, there’s certainly more. But this article is long enough as it is. hee hee

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The soul of it is this: Whatever line of work you’re in, you are a human being. That means you have a heart, a mind, a body, and a spirit (the boundaries of all these are up for debate, of course… but that’s for another article). And it pays to pay attention to what all of your needs are, if you want to show up at your best.

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