Corporate Athlete – Next Level Performance With Nutrition
What determines a Corporate Athlete?
According to Dr. Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (who spent decades working with elite athletes to help them achieve maximum performance levels), the concept of Corporate Athlete was termed when they developed a more comprehensive version of these techniques for executives facing unprecedented demands in the workplace.
Like professional athletes, corporate athletes are high performers who were successful and delivered a winning performance consistently.
However, various articles suggest that unlike professional athletes, corporate athletes typically:
Spend at least 90% of their time performing, 10% training
Work long hours in stressful circumstances with often poor nutrition and sleep practices.
Have an ‘off season’ of a few weeks holiday, that still includes checking emails and phone calls (professional athletes typically have an ‘off-season’ of 4 to 5 months a year, depending on the sport).
Can probably expect to work up to 50 years without any significant breaks (professional athletes can average career span of 5 to 10 years and have a relatively large amount of savings).
I would also add the requirement to travel for work (for some this is as much as 90% of the year), without an adequate strategy for rest and recovery.
Loehr and Schwartz also theorised that for executives to continue to perform at the same high level that professional athletes do, they needed to develop an integrated theory of performance management that addresses the body, the emotions, the mind, and the spirit, and coined this the High Performance Pyramid. Each of its levels influences the others, and failure to address any one of them compromises performance.
Interestingly, the research found that there was one factor that was integral to success: Energy. Specifically, the body being the fundamental source of energy with renewable energy being crucial to repeatable high performance. Chronic stress without recovery depletes energy reserves, leads to burnout and breakdown, and ultimately undermines performance (Loehr and Schwartz 2001).
Renewable energy.
Energy that can be reused. Training your body to have the capacity to mobilize energy on demand. The Golden Ticket.
Most of my clients are Corporate Athletes. Many of them have not yet grasped this notion of renewable energy because they are challenged in one or more areas of nutrition that are crucial to the bigger holistic picture of health and ultimately, abundant energy.
I strongly believe that nutrition is the foundation of optimal health for the body. Fitness, mediation, spirituality, sleep, being of service to others, finding true purpose are undoubtedly important. However, poor diet, poor eating habits and poor emotional responses to eating appear to have both an immediate and longer-term impact on people, particularly those who are living in chronic stress and a constantly pushing their own limits mentally, emotionally and sometimes physically.
Some of the effects of poor diet can be seen with overtraining, undereating, overeating, unstructured fasting protocols, mood swings, poor concentration, low energy and weight gain (to name a few).
The first step to achieving that level of peak performance is to work on the areas of nutrition, so that you can increase your skills in this area to perform at that next (higher) level.
Where to start?
Establish a routine. This includes a meal plan that is aligned to training and to breaks that the body needs throughout the day to alternate periods of stress with periods of renewal. Loehr and Schwartz found this to be effective if breaks were taken every 90 to 120 minutes. A structured meal plan allows for scheduled timing of nutritious meal sand snacks throughout the day.
Create a supportive environment. Having a strong team that supports your journey provides you with accountability, motivation, and reflection on what is important in your life and for your goals.
Keep hydrated. Aim for water intake of 2L per day or approx. 1/2 2/3 of your body weight.
Set boundaries that can support you progress with the changes you need to make with your nutrition by making better food choices, and by evaluating your relationships with specific people in your life. Further reading on this topic here.
Adequate nutrition practices greatly improve mood and overall wellbeing and this in turn affects all other areas of your life and your career. Not enough energy may effects the way we perceive and manage situations (negatively or positively). For example, erratic moods may lead us to snapping at colleagues, our manager, not dealing well with difficult people, situations, and changes. leaving us feeling deflated and even feeling unworthy ourselves.
In summary, creating a sound nutrition practice as a corporate athlete result in increased productive (do more work in less hours), focused, energized, happier and more connected, engaged and committed to your work and your purpose. This will then provide the steppingstone to shift your career to the next level.
Further Reading:
[Webinar] Fuel Your Work Trips: How to Eat Healthy While Traveling For Work
Setting Boundaries with Your Nutrition
3 Things You Need to Maintain Awesome Health!
What To Do When You Feel Disconnected to Your Nutrition Routine
Ready to start something today? Book your FREE 20 minute call to get further support on where you can make the steps towards having better nutrition.
