News & Views: Be More Productive in the Workplace by Exercising

Guest Article by Nick Distelbrink, Fitness Manager, and Linnea Molgard, Master Trainer, Boston Sports Club

Business professionals are continually looking for ways to become more productive and advance in the workplace.  For many, their efforts revolve around evaluating day-to-day responsibilities and creating strategies for completing to do lists more quickly and effectively.  Besides management training and becoming more organized, there are other things executives can do that will make a difference, like exercising.  You may be surprised to learn that there is a direct correlation between someone’s health and job performance.

The fitness industry has experienced explosive growth over the past 20 years as Americans have learned more about the benefits of exercise and nutrition.  For those looking to get in shape, there are countless options for exercising:  playing a sport, going to the gym, joining a fitness-based social group, attending structured classes or even working out with a DVD in the comfort of your own home.  But as many options as there are for exercising, there are just as many excuses.  For many professionals, the number one reason is, “I just don’t have time.” 

The modern-day professional tends to focus more on the work task at hand than his or her personal health.  In our society, we admire workaholics, and celebrate those who forsake time off, recreation or even sleep to get the job done.  Yet, there is a rising pandemic in the technology and cubicle age.  Today’s average professional is not fit.  From poor organ function, to postural distortions, to excessive weight gain, the physical health of the ambitious professional is declining.

In theory, we all know exercise is good for us, and we know we should be doing it on a regular basis.  One of the most-often touted benefits of exercise is looking good.  While wanting to improve their physical appearance may be more than enough reason to get some people into a health club, for others, this benefit simply doesn’t resonate.  In fact, some executives may even view exercising as a frivolous activity—one they can’t devote too much time to when there is still so much work to do (“I can’t worry about my waistline when the budget numbers are due next week!”).

But exercise is not all about bulging muscles and six-pack abs.  Exercise can also help people achieve better overall health.  How does that relate to work?  Attaining a higher fitness level can also increase productivity in the workplace.  The true “beauty” in being physically fit is that it offers an almost endless list of benefits that can be related to any conceivable goal, including being more effective and efficient at work.

Numerous focus groups have been utilized in an effort to prove that professionals in better overall physical condition are better employees than their counterparts who have similar jobs and responsibilities, but are in worse health. Studies have indicated that exercise will help a professional accomplish the following:

Better handle stressful or potentially stressful situations.  Decreasing heartbeats per minute, which can be achieved through cardiovascular activity, indicates a stronger heart that can pump more blood throughout the body per pump.  The body naturally signals the heart to beat faster during times of emotional or physical stress.  The acceleration of heartbeats per minute in a weak heart is a serious health risk, which in many cases has proven to be fatal.  A strong heart is far better equipped to handle stressful situations, not having to beat as fast to still supply the necessary blood to the body during these particular times.  Professionals who have a lot of deadlines to meet or deal with difficult situations or people would be wise to perform cardiovascular exercise regularly, in order to build a heart that is equipped to deal with such potentially stressful predicaments.

Think more quickly and more clearly.  Have you ever heard the joke about not being able to get enough oxygen to the brain?  Overall better heart health leads to better blood distribution and in turn, better oxygen distribution.  In addition to nutrients, blood carries oxygen to various parts of our bodies, keeping them alive.  Having access to more oxygen allows the brain to process information faster, problem solve better and think about several things at once.  Resistance training on a regular basis helps challenge neuromuscular systems, and forces the brain to understand the connection between mind and body.  It can allow the brain to be able to take on and handle more information.

Maintain better focus by avoiding neck, back and hip pain.  Many professionals are required to sit down all day long which can lead to rounding of the shoulders, forward lean of the head/neck, misalignment of the hips and herniated and slipped discs in the lower back.  Not only does this cause direct pain to each of these body parts, but many people can unknowingly begin to compensate for these postural distortions and deficiencies by inappropriately distorting or overusing other parts of their bodies in order to be able to still carry out regular, daily physical activities like walking, standing up and carrying groceries.  Experiencing regular pain can distract professionals from their obligations and cause them to be more irritable and difficult to work with.  Regular stretching and exercising will help workers avoid these pains by providing a balance between strength and flexibility throughout the body, and consequently allowing them to focus more on their daily tasks.  And the absence of pain just might make the professional a more pleasant person to work with, increasing the productivity of the rest of his or her colleagues!

Many company and industry leaders are just now becoming aware of these types of studies and are beginning to incorporate fitness incentives into their benefits packages.  Some companies will actually subsidize the costs of a gym membership and/or a personal trainer for their employees.  Some health insurance plans also pay a portion of their clients’ health club membership.  And even in the instance that neither of the aforementioned applies, it certainly is worth it for professionals who are serious about their careers to invest some time into maintaining a high personal fitness level, as it will in turn increase their worth as a professional.

Nick Distelbrink is a Fitness Manager at Boston Sports Club in Waltham, MA.  He is primarily responsible for overseeing the Fitness Department where he works with his staff to create and provide personal training, small group training, group exercise and general fitness services to members. Nick is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) and International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) CPT.  He also has a BS in Management and Marketing from Bentley College.

Linnea Molgard, MS ATC, NASM, is an Assistant Fitness Manager and Master Trainer at Boston Sports Club in Waltham, MA.  Previously, Linnea worked as head athletic trainer at two Boston area high schools.  In addition to athletic and personal training, Linnea has also been the Head Coach of the Eastern Nazarene College varsity women’s softball team.  She and her husband also circumnavigated the globe for one year with a volunteer organization doing altruistic work, such as refugee camp food drops and orphan and AIDS hospice care.