Push to the Max (Once in Awhile)
POSITIVE AFFIRMATION
"Today I will surpass my limits and onto a new level."
Sticking to our talk about achieving a new level of peak performance in our fitness, one workout I’ve fallen back in love with is sprinting.
“Sprinting is the action of running all-out at top speed for a short period of time. It requires powerful, explosive movements.”
A while back I wrote about how Eliud Kipchoge, one of the greatest long-distance runners ever, does not give his full effort every time he trains, but rather saves it for the big events.
“Translate that into our regular lives, which means in my meetings, I’m giving it 70–90% in each one. Good effort, just not max effort. But for those bigger, important meetings, then yes I’m giving it the full 100%. Why is this important? Because like how overuse in running can cause injuries, in our daily life it can cause burnout.”
The reason I’ve fallen back in love with sprinting is that it’s literally pushing me to the max of my fitness level, at that specific moment in time. I love the idea that on a weekly basis, I test my entire body, mentally and physically, to see what it can do. Arms pumping, knees lifting, sucking in as much air as I can, and then feeling almost like I could heave by the end of it - all in just 10 seconds! (No wonder Tom Cruise runs in all his movies!)
Compelling arguments from Joe Holder’s MasterClass on why you should sprint:
“Increased muscle mass: Sprinting breaks down fast-twitch muscle fibers, and when your body repairs those fibers, it makes them stronger, leading to increased muscle mass.”
“Fat loss: You can practice sprinting as part of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. HIIT exercise elevates your heart rate and encourages the body to burn fat even after you’ve finished exercising. This can boost your metabolism, which can sometimes translate to losing body weight. This can change your body composition over time.”
YOUR TAKEAWAY
Like a random internet user suggested on how to get started:
“walk then run slowly to warm up then run as fast as “you” can safely, that is a sprint for “you”, just because you are slower than others doesn't mean you will not get the benefit, Go for it!”
The same goes for the workplace during a meeting, every once in a while push to the max and give the best PowerPoint presentation of your life.
PREP FOR THE WEEK
➕ How to Use Energy Management To Be Physically and Mentally Productive. In this piece, I do a lil research on how athletes train and make some correlations to productivity. Do they all make sense? You tell me.
➕ MasterClass: You can’t put a price on education, so sign up and learn something new, from the experts in their field. Whether it’s Joe Holder and working out, or Malcolm Gladwell and writing, there’s something here to spur your interest.
(what else)
➩ Nike Dri-FIT running shorts, after several runs I can say it feels like running naked.
➩ Super Mario Bros movie trailer has been causing some controversy because Chris Pratt’s voices Mario, but besides that, the movie looks good!
…AND SOME HUMOR
