How to Achieve Longevity as a Leader
Dr. Theresa Larson DPT, CSCS, USMC
Improving the health & longevity of leaders ?? I Developing 'Well Zone's' within gov't & orgs?? I Leader in Human Perf ?? I Fitwel Ambassador I Keynote Speaker ?? I Marine Corps Veteran I Author ?? I Adventurer ??
As leaders, we tend to forget about our health until a medical crisis is staring us in the face.
We prioritize work or family, while forgetting that if we aren’t functioning well, our companies and families won’t function well.
So, ask yourself a question: What do you want the last decade of your life to look like?? Do you want to be struggling with a chronic disease, watching TV and taking meds? Or do you want to be mentally and physically sharp: hiking, skiing, kicking a soccer ball around with your grandchildren?
Here’s a secret: what you are doing RIGHT NOW is going to determine your longevity in leadership and in life. And if you’re like 70% of Americans, you’re probably not taking care of your health.
Dr. T went LIVE on January 10th, 2024 to take you through exactly how you can achieve longevity as a leader so you have physical freedom for a lifetime.
Watch the full recording if you want the details, and check below for Dr. T’s tips on longevity in leadership
#1: Prioritize building and maintaining muscle mass
After age 30, you lose on average 8% of your muscle mass per decade. Eventually this adds up to 20# of lost muscle mass. This is an undeniable reality, UNLESS you are doing work to slow or prevent it. But muscle mass is what gives you the ability to DO what you want to do. And you CAN do work to build and maintain your muscle mass.
As little as 2 days per week of strength training for both upper body and lower body can keep your muscles strong.
The younger you start, the better. Now is the best time to start if you haven’t already.
#2: Get your heartrate up daily during the week
Your physical capacity also declines unless you’re working on it.? But your heart and lungs are just as critical to your ability to move around as your muscles are.? The population within the top 2% of fitness levels have a 4x improvement in longevity (not dying!) compared to those in the bottom quarter of fitness levels.
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Aim for 120-150 min of moderate activity week. Walk briskly. Run. Swim. Elliptical. Ski. Row. Just get it in!
You may even find that you experience the side effects of exercise: better creativity, more brain power, lower depression and anxiety, and improved alertness.
?#3: Don’t wait until you feel like it. Choose your HARD.
Action PRECEDES motivation. You will probably not feel like getting active. You’ll feel tired. You won’t feel motivated. It will feel hard. But you WILL find that the more active you become, the more the motivation comes as your body craves the chemicals released during exercise.
Be honest with yourself: would you rather choose the HARD of getting active when you don’t want to? Or would you rather choose the HARD of managing a chronic disease later (as soon as your 50s)?
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Remember, YOUR self care and YOUR health are your competitive advantage, granting you improved energy, longevity, and ability to calmly handle the hard hits that come with any career.
How to dive deeper?
At Movement Rx, we are in the business of creating teams that lead and work better from a place of wellbeing. Because if you don’t make time for your wellbeing now, you’ll have to make time for disease later.?
We’re leading an immersive and freeing weekend designed to help you take back control of your time and re-focus on what’s actually important to you: your wellbeing.
CEO of Jetlaunch Publishing | 18x Bestselling Author | Creator of the Book Wealth System
1 å¹´Taking care of our health is indeed crucial for sustained leadership. Your insights on muscle maintenance and daily activity make a lot of sense.
Principal Consultant, Safety Centre of Excellence at Energy Safety Canada
1 年I’ve had weights , squat rack and heavy bag in the basement for 25 yrs!! High value items.
HR Manager at LinkedVA
1 å¹´This post really hit home for me. It's so true that as leaders, we often neglect our health, and it's easy to forget that our well-being directly impacts our ability to lead effectively.
Adjunct Fellow, DEA International Training
1 å¹´Love this - spot on!
President, FirstService Residential Illinois
1 年Prioritizing yourself is often a tricky subject if you are in a service business or even with your own family. Working out and staying active has always delivered better results, even when it can be challenging to stick with it each and every day. Without putting your oxygen mask on first and instead running yourself ragged trying to keep everyone else’s balls up in the air, burnout and resentment are likely to follow!