Increasing Your Physical Resilience

SUMMARY

Are you tired of being tired all the time and experiencing a body that's not feeling good, with aches and all the other issues that come from a fast-paced lifestyle? Well, stick with me because this week, I want to have a conversation about that and explore how you and I can change it.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, leadership and sustainable performance coach, and today I want to continue our conversation around our shift in resilience—going from "stressed" to "strong" by helping you increase your physical resilience.

Your body, just like mine, needs to be looked after if it’s going to perform and continue to do so over a sustainable period. I know that for me, I didn’t look after my body initially, and this was something I had to get a hold of. When my body wasn't at its optimum level, my thinking and behaviour were different. Compounding this over time with stress led me to a point where my body shut down, and I had very little physical resilience left.

What I want to talk about today are some practical, physical steps you need to consider and take to increase your level of physical resilience. We’ve talked about performance—how you want to go from just high performance to sustainable performance. A sound body is the only way you're going to be able to do that.

We are an amazing creation, and what our body can endure is astounding; however, it has its limits. So, the three key areas to focus on are: what you eat, how you move, and how much sleep you get. There are many other factors involved, but I find that these are the three most crucial areas neglected by people in high-performing roles.

Let's have a look at them, one at a time.

The first one is—you are what you eat.

The second area is movement.

The third area is sleep.

Physical resilience is one of the four areas of resilience that will help you go from stressed to being strong. What's one thing you could do differently, starting today, to build more physical resilience?

Well, that's it from me for another week. Join me again next week as we continue this conversation on resilience, focusing on how you can develop more emotional resilience.

TRANSCRIPT

Are you tired of being tired all the time and experiencing a body that's not feeling good, with aches and all the other issues that come from a fast-paced lifestyle? Well, stick with me because this week, I want to have a conversation about that and explore how you and I can change it.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, leadership and sustainable performance coach, and today I want to continue our conversation around our shift in resilience—going from "stressed" to "strong" by helping you increase your physical resilience.

Last week, we started a conversation around the 9 crucial shift area of resilience, and we set a platform for the discussions we'll have throughout this month by redefining what resilience is—and what it’s not.

A lot of people think resilience is about toughening up, hardening up, pushing through, hustling and grinding—all those things that have attached themselves to us as this ever-changing, fast-paced world continues to roll along. We dispelled that notion and looked at the fact that resilience is actually about looking after yourself by being vulnerable, open, and realising that being "okay" is not always going to happen; therefore, being "not okay" is all right. More than that, it's about owning up and admitting when you need help.

There are 4 types of resilience: physical, emotional, mental, and social. This week, I want to go a little deeper into the first one—physical resilience.

Your body, just like mine, needs to be looked after if it’s going to perform and continue to do so over a sustainable period. I know that for me, I didn’t look after my body initially, and this was something I had to get a hold of. When my body wasn't at its optimum level, my thinking and behaviour were different. Compounding this over time with stress led me to a point where my body shut down, and I had very little physical resilience left.

So, when I needed to get up and face the day-to-day, let alone push through when things got tough, I just couldn’t do it. Many people today, in the world I work in, are suffering from a lack of physical resilience. This often stems from two factors: how you think and how you behave. We've discussed this before—pushing through tasks because you seek approval from others, among other things.

What I want to talk about today are some practical, physical steps you need to consider and take to increase your level of physical resilience. We’ve talked about performance—how you want to go from just high performance to sustainable performance. A sound body is the only way you're going to be able to do that.

There are three main areas you need to focus on and measure as you go about your day-to-day activities. By engaging in self-discovery, making minor tweaks, and incrementally changing these areas over time, you can make a real difference. When I went through my last physical breakdown it was a journey of many months—visiting doctors and almost every “-ologist” you can think of, except a gynecologist, to figure out what was wrong. They did their part, but I had to do mine by changing my behaviour to bring my body back to where it needed to be.

We are an amazing creation, and what our body can endure is astounding; however, it has its limits. So, the three key areas to focus on are: what you eat, how you move, and how much sleep you get. There are many other factors involved, but I find that these are the three most crucial areas neglected by people in high-performing roles.

Let's have a look at them, one at a time.

The first one is—you are what you eat.

Whatever you put into your body will affect your physical resilience. Firstly, if you’re not putting enough in, you don’t have the fuel needed to do what you need to do. On top of that, if you’re consuming the wrong foods, it will reduce your ability to perform at your best over the long term. I am often amazed when I speak at conferences or work in training settings where the catering provided is high in carbs and sugar. It gives you a quick burst of energy but crashes about 30 minutes later.

There are many things you can do regarding your diet. First, make sure you’re actually eating. If you’re someone who skips lunch because you're so busy, it’s counterintuitive—you’re depriving yourself of the resilience needed in the afternoon and throughout the week, month, and year to perform at an optimum level. Your productivity, which you might think is improving, is actually decreasing. So, you need to make sure that you pay attention to how often you’re fueling your body.

I'm not a nutritionist, so if you have access to one, get advice from them. What I want you to take from me is this: you must eat to have the right amount of fuel to burn. Food means energy, and energy is required to do what you need to do. Along with that, you need to stay hydrated. This was a big one for me, and it’s something I continually monitor. Your body uses a lot of water, and if there’s not enough going in, you’ll lose the ability to keep going—and when you go without it long enough, you actually die. So, make sure you are prioritising hydration.

Ensure that what you put into your body is nutritious, that it supports your body in the short and long term, and that you're consuming enough liquids.

I used to think a cup of tea counted as water intake, but you need to look at what comes with the water. If it contains caffeine, alcohol, or other substances, it can actually hinder hydration, sometimes even acting as a diuretic.

The second area is movement.

You may have heard the phrase, "Sitting is the new smoking." Your body isn't designed to sit for long periods, but it's also not meant to stand all day either. Right now, I'm standing at my stand-up desk, but if I forget to sit and just stand here all day working, that’s not great either. So, ensure there’s movement throughout your day—not just sitting, and not just standing. I wear an Apple Watch, and it regularly reminds me to move. Whatever prompts you to move, embrace it.

Think of it like productivity. We talked about doing 50-10 sprints—50 minutes of focused activity followed by a change of environment and activity. This change allows you to move. Whatever it is that you need, find a way to keep your body moving.

The third area is sleep.

Many people I work with say they "survive" on five hours of sleep a night. I’m quick to tell them that they’re not surviving—they're actually depleting their physical resilience and their body's ability to get things done, and they're shortening their lifespan. Your body needs a certain amount of sleep to regenerate and enable you to continue functioning. Depending on your age and other factors, this is typically between seven and nine hours. The type of sleep is crucial, too, so make sure you prioritise sleep, maintain a proper circadian rhythm, and realise that quality sleep between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. is essential. If you’re going to bed after midnight, you're missing out on that regenerative sleep.

Again, I’m not coming at you from a clinical perspective. You may work with health professionals, so speak to them about these things. I just wanted to make sure that in our discussion on physical resilience today I addressed the three key areas that I personally neglected, which led to my physical burnout, and the same three areas that I continue to work on to boost my energy and allow me to be who I need to be in every aspect of my life.

Physical resilience is one of the four areas of resilience that will help you go from stressed to being strong. What's one thing you could do differently, starting today, to build more physical resilience?

Well, that's it from me for another week. Join me again next week as we continue this conversation on resilience, focusing on how you can develop more emotional resilience.