THE WORLD DOESN’T need more people bragging about the magical powers of their morning routine. So why, I can hear people muttering at the back, am I about to tell you about mine?
I’m going to beg your forgiveness for two reasons. The first is that it may be helpful for fellow fifty-somethings to hear it’s possible to get into shape without overthinking your diet, or doing unrealistic things to your body. And the second, far more important, is that it isn’t about me at all. It’s about how all of us, in a world where we don’t so much work from home as we live at work, can take a healthier approach.
Let me start with the less interesting part. A year ago, having changed from a routine in which I was constantly on the move to one where I sat in the same chair for 12 hours a day, I knew a change was needed. I was overweight, too sedentary, and getting too old to do nothing about it.
So, I did something. Two mornings a week I see a trainer, and one I work out alone. I know what I’m doing every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, where I need to be, and for how long. Like most things in business, the schedule drives the outcome. The time goes in my calendar as “BLOCK-WO”. These sessions almost never get relinquished, and I show up when I’m meant to.
These aren’t Olympian workouts. I haven’t so much as lifted a weight. Groundwork and resistance exercises leave me feeling destroyed after a session, and then ready to do it all again in 48 hours. I’ve lost weight and gained energy. No rocket science there, but it feels good. I’ve also made more time to understand nutrition and the importance of fuelling my body for working out and my work day.
Even more important than what I’ve done is what I’ve said. Because this isn’t the first time in my life, I’ve made exercise a part of my working day. But it is the first time I’ve been completely open about it. Not so long ago I’d have worried about what others might think or say if they knew I was prioritising exercise ahead of work.
Now, I make a point of talking about what I am doing. I want people to know that I’m putting my health and fitness before a meeting that can easily be done another time, because I want them to do the same. I want my colleagues to keep to their routine of swimming in the morning, running, or playing tennis during lunch. I want them to feel good about doing things that support their physical and mental health, and I don’t care whether that is running 5k, walking the dog, or doing the weekly shop at a time that suits them.
In some ways, the virtual working world of the last year has made these things easier. The crunch will come when people start returning to their offices, and potentially to old habits. The worst outcome of this would be if we all revert to a world where the hours you spend sitting at your desk are perceived as more important than the work you produce.
We need to flip those old assumptions on their head. Managers shouldn’t be concerned about the people who leave their desk to do something that boosts their wellbeing; they should worry about the ones who don’t. Exercise shouldn’t be something people have to fit into the margins of the day as extra work; instead, working out should be recognised and esteemed as an essential part of working life. That’s why I’m not going to stop going on about my exercise routine and will encourage others to work out and speak up.
