A sking who is the fittest leader in the C-Suite is, of course a trick question, as there are eight different elements to being fit. Unless your name is LeBron or Kobe, no one person embodies them all:
strength
power
endurance
speed
balance
flexibility
coordination
stamina
Who are some C-Suite execs that embody specific elements of fitness?
The FruitGuys CEO Chris Mittelstaedt can bench press 315 pounds 10 times for 4 sets. He’s got strength and flexibility.
Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer ran the San Francisco marathon and has challenged her team to swim, bike and run nearly 30,000 miles in a month. She’s got endurance.
Cinia Group Oy EVP Jukka-Pekka Joensuu is a world-class Telemark skier. He’s got balance, strength and coordination.
Former NCR Chairman Chuck Exley was one of the best tennis players in the company during the late ’80s. He had power, coordination and stamina.
Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch practices yoga, meditates every day and does cardio interval training. He’s got endurance, balance, strength and flexibility.
Many smart executives look at their bodies as simply transport mechanisms for their massive brains. Not these folks … they recognize it’s the integration of mind, body and spirit that gives them the competitive advantage to stay on top. Your key to getting to the C-Suite and staying there is using exercise and leadership wellness to become the very best version of who you can be. Slow down, before you head to the gym, you must:
Determine what aspects of your personal power plant you want upgraded.
Blend the eight elements of fitness to create a custom recipe for your upgrade.
Develop a plan to integrate exercise into your life on a consistent basis.
Establish a “pit crew” to support your efforts.
Some real world goals of increasing your level of fitness may include:
Enhancing your competitive advantage by increasing mental acuity.
Overcoming jetlag to make travel more comfortable.
Improving your appearance to create a better first impression.
Preventing burnout to keep you at peak performance longer.
Turbocharging your metabolism to see more clients, customers or patients in a day. Increasing your stamina to soar with the owls at evening events.
Improving your golf, tennis or other recreational sport to inject more fun in your life.
Preventing illness and injuries to keep yourself off the injured reserve list. The good news is that several goals can be achieved by performing a single well-designed exercise program. For example, if a hypothetical new client wanted to lose weight to improve their appearance, turbocharge their metabolism and increase their stamina, I might design a weekly program that would include:
A 30-minute cardio routine, mixing moderate and high intensity intervals on a treadmill, elliptical or stair stepper, done twice weekly.
A 40-minute cardio routine done at low to moderate intensity, such as dog walking or hiking in the woods, done twice weekly.
45-minute, full-body strength training routine with moderate weights using a three-set protocol, done twice weekly.
What program of exercise and nutrition helps keep you at the top of your game? I’d be very interested to know your formula for success.
Joe Stein, B.S., M.B.A., is a certified personal trainer, motivational speaker, health and lifestyle coach, and owner of Renaissance Fitness & Wellness. Call 732-345-5151 or contact through www.TrainerJoeSpeaks.com with questions or to receive a complimentary fitness consultation.