Dieser Artikel wurde als LinkedIn-Artikel in Englisch publiziert.
Endurance sports are defined by multi-hour activities with prolonged physical stress. Some people walk long and far, others run marathons and more, triathletes add cycling and swimming to the mix, climbers go vertical and long-distance riders use horses. Initially these people seemed a bit weird and out of this world to me. How can someone be productive at the workplace who depletes their body of all energy during strenuous weekend activities? Having entered some ultrarunning races myself I realize how my own perception has shifted. I experienced how well my own body adjusted to prolonged physical activity and multi-day exposures. The human body seems in fact to be made for such crazy stuff.
Yet sitting at a desk day after day is the standard in our service-oriented industry. It is coincidentally how most endurance athletes earn a living, balancing professional immobility with personal sports. I feel that some of these individuals are underrated by their employers and that companies should be happy to have them due to the following 5 benefits athletes deliver to their workplaces:
1. Discipline / Persistence
During long months of persistent training the desired performance level is achieved. Four to eight times a week the individual gets ready for training and does the work. Eating and drinking, socializing, sleeping times and training schedules all have to be controlled and followed. Some of it is very strenuous or beyond pleasure, yet it is done. There is no one to blame or to complain to. They just do it.
2. Efficiency / Planing
Building up and maintaining a sufficient level of fitness requires 10 to 20 training hours per week. This alone adds up to a part-time workload on the side of a day job. It is scheduled around the regular workload and requires planning skills and time mastery. Endurance events come in all shape or forms, thus additional planning takes place to evaluate gear, adjust for a particular daytime, climate or terrain. Planing ahead includes visualizing the event: what time will I be where? How will I feel, what will I need at each checkpoint? Some events are multi-stage and self-supported: food and gear for several days have to be prepared and every ounce of weight is shaven of the equipment. Athletes understandably do not spent endless time beautifying powerpoint slides or hold business meetings longer than necessary, because additional tasks are waiting for them after their workday. Athletes also master the art of pacing themselves: rest days are just as important as training days and tapering off before an important event is a must. In business it is often sprinting on end – a more sustainable approach might be wiser in the long run.
3. Resilience / Flexibility
There are a couple of highlights in the athlete’s calendar and substantial money and preparation time have been invested in high-stake events. „What could go wrong?“ is always in the back of the athletes‘ minds. Every athlete experiences setbacks. Some injuries (stress fracture, inflammed tendons) introduce a 6-week training break and can appear quite suddenly. So athletes have to build contingencies into plans, purchase spare items, consult experts and tailor-make repair sets. By expecting the worst they mentally prepare for it and can adjust faster and more rationally if such an event occurs. Endurance athletes have McGyver-like qualities as they sometimes need to fix things on the run with limited resources. Some races occur under conditions at the very bottom of the Maslow pyramid – foul weather, thin air, scarce food, precarious hygiene. Athletes embrace it. The athlete’s mindset is wired for a flexible approach: How do I make this work despite the difficulty? This can-do attitude is highly sought after by companies.
4. Priorities / Focus
In training the priorities between family, friends, job, hobbies and sport need to be balanced. Once the race is on, the priorities shift to checking the vitals: feet, water, pain, salt, food, navigation, temperature, equipment, people. Issues need to be adressed immediately and with the correct mitigation action. Errors need to be corrected as early as possible and there is no magic solution by sitting it out. Once dehydration has set in, the body chemistry is out of balance and it will take time and an intravenous drip to fix it. Once a blister has developped, the skin might break, leading to all kinds of issues down the road. Same applies to lack of energy. It takes a proactive approach to make sure that sufficient power is available to muscles at all times. And if the body is battered to shreds there is always a finish line somewhere ahead. Athletes have the grit to reach it, regardless of circumstances.
5. Health
Endurance athletes enjoy various health benefits, both mentally and physically. Athletes don’t overindulge in food and drinks and are generally non-smokers. They have reduced cardiovascular risk, less diabetes and less obesity. Psychologically, sports help to decrease anxiety and stress. Furthermore, sport participation heightens self-esteem and offers an apparatus for social interaction. These benefits are correlated with a decline in medical care expenses, as well as with higher job efficiency. As athletes love their alternative „career“ and are keeping body and soul under close supervision, they are less susceptible to burn-outs.
To sum it up
Given that today’s workplaces in the service industry are very demanding in terms of effort and output, endurance athletes are mentally and physically fit for challenging white-collar careers. They bring valuable skills and behaviors to the table and are highly focussed to reach a goal. After all work itself resembles more a marathon than a leisurely walk in the park.
Foto von Patrick Loquet on Flickr
