Oxygen finally gets to my brain!

I read about research showing that when confronted with stress such as that created by a great dilemma or a difficult problem, the best way to find the answer is to... forget about it. Not really, but you'd do better putting all your worries aside while purposefully engaging in a physical activity. There were technical details showing that when stress hormones reached their peak in the brain they were actually blocking mental capacity, while redirecting all attention to a physical activity such as golf, allowed the brain to work at full capacity in the background. There are several theories trying to explain why regularly performing physical activities has extremely positive consequences for your brain. The Romans knew it already and had captured the concept in their typically concise fashion: “Mens sana in corpore sano” (healthy mind in a healthy body). J.F.K., a promoter a physical and mental fitness, paraphrased that to: “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity".

I have been using my early morning rowing as my best time to think and get my “aha” moments for the past several years. Many of the most interesting solutions for my work and the big decisions came to me effortlessly while rowing (that is if I do not take into consideration the effort to power the boat!). I concluded, maybe too simplistically, that due to the heavy breathing during rowing probably enough oxygen was finally reaching to my otherwise poorly ventilated, thus starving brain! So, at some point after spontaneously and repeatedly experiencing this benefit, I made the conscientious decision that I would not waste any more time trying to desperately think through the most important issues during work hours, or lose any sleep over them. I would simply formulate the question and then put it away into my brain, expecting to get the answer during my early morning row. It then started to happen without fail: I would spend half of my on-water time going down the river concentrating on the rowing drills. I would then turn around and start the long steady row back, and the solution would just come to me. Of course, my die-hard athlete friends had commented that “while on the water one should only think rowing”. Yes, I agree, that would be best for my rowing performance, yet, what’s best for me, the whole person, is that great body-mind connection I get while rowing. OK, also consider that many times I actually rowed much harder on my way back to the dock, in a hurry to capture in writing those great ideas before they would soon dissipate upon re-immersion into the daily grind chatter.

What's in it for me?

Staying physically active can provide much more than what meets the eye... My hope is to motivate myself and others to stick with it in spite of all the competing priorities and all the fresh excuses I am able to come up with on a daily basis. Maybe even inspire others to get started. I learned it is never too late to get started, but no good reason to delay it!

You may be like me, past the age of high stakes athletic competitions, or maybe even more like me, never been there. And if not already engaged in some sort of regular physical exercise, you are likely to immediately think: “I am a very busy person, I do not have time for exercise”. OK, I have news for you, the busier you are, the more you would need to make the time. Even if you would like to make time, you might wonder how could you possibly justify to yourself, to your family, or to your boss taking the time to exercise. Indeed, all could legitimately ask: “what’s in it for me?!?”

I will try to exemplify in my future posting some of the benefits I derive beyond physical fitness and health. Let's quickly mention a few that come to mind:

• Make room for deep breathing and thinking
• Extract valuable life and business lessons
• New opportunities to get to know yourself better and to become a better person
• Create a brand for yourself
• Connect with like-minded people, forge life-long friendships
• Look and feel your best
• Enjoy a fair competition
• Create an opportunity to do something you have always dreamed of
• The best way to spend the midlife crisis or an empty nester surge of extra energy and time
• Inspire others, help them realize a dream

I hope you found something you would consider worthwhile. While you may well relate to these, my own perceptions have been likely shaped by my choice of sport and my own individual situation. Yep, just in case you were wondering, I am a gal. I would like to believe the verdict of a personality test I took a few years back was accurate. After having answered many of those twisted, forced, multiple choice questions, this stated that I was a “sporty girl”. I was relieved, actually pleased, it sounds even better for someone of a “certain age” like myself.
So, I am counting on getting help with additional perspectives from those of you, guys and gals, who have already enjoyed the benefits of regularly engaging in some kind of athletic endeavor, in spite (or should I say rather to support) an already very active life. You might be doing yoga or lifting weights, cycling, running or playing team sports or golf...

What’s in it for you?