Are you adaptable enough?

Are you in a “fixed” mindset, or do you adjust to your surroundings?

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Adaptability is defined as – an ability or willingness to change to suit different conditions.

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In the context of this month’s newsletter, we are discussing the ability to adjust and adapt to changing situations to enable the most ideal outcomes. This month, I will fixate metaphorically speaking from the physical domain, specifically leveraging my time and experience as a strength and physical performance coach over the past two decades. Many of you will stop reading the minute you see the word CrossFit. For those of you brave enough to allow your curiosity to keep you connected, hold on.

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Know the standards

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In life, the ability to adapt and adjust is based on shifting or pivoting from a known point. Your home address, highway speed limit, and physical ability are all known points. The known points are often referred to as standards. When you can readily identify the standards, you know what or where you are shifting from. Adjusting and modifying to accomplish the goal is and should be encouraged. When training athletes, I must see the movement standards, how they apply to the workout, and the goal each individual aims to achieve. In the military, we talk about knowing the standards and not allowing them to fall or become lower. Adapting and adjusting to allow for some small successes along the way to winning is not consistently lowering the standard. Always keep your eye on the goal and not the tiny setbacks in between. This adjustment is a delicate balance between failure and success. When training for life, your body should be ready to adjust to the unexpected. Lifting a bag of dog food, a child, or a box is all the functional movements needed to live independently. Training to complement this effort is often accomplished by squatting and deadlifting. The standards are the sequence of movements and points of performance required to achieve the goal while leveraging the safest plane of movement to prevent injury. Your effort should include moving as close to the designated standards as possible while adjusting to your body's limitations. Growth occurs by improving individual range of motion and functional strength. Allowing an athlete to deadlift with an alternative stance or with an elevated platform does not lower the standard; it is an adjustment to maximize performance and build strength and growth to the ideal standard.

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Suppress your ego and use your “feel” to adapt your training.

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When you know your start point and the standards required to perform the task, determine what other variables potentially impact your outcomes. The goal of the adaptation is to shift the effort to maintain the standard while effectively meeting the objectives or outcomes. I use the term “train by braille” as a metaphor for training by how you “feel.” Now, taking “feelings” into the greater context, what is impacting your performance in the gym today? Sleep, nutrition, stress, work requirements, and family are all variables that either give in to or take away from your physical performance.

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Review those same variables—sleep, nutrition, stress, and family—in an office setting to see how you perform professionally. Are you missing deadlines, providing less-than-ideal products, or struggling with communication? Just as these impact your physical performance, they can also impact your professional performance.

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In both environments, your ego can be your worst enemy. I can “power through” this workout, this deadline, and this meeting, but with a reduced outcome. Multiple studies readily available reinforce the point of diminished effectiveness in the gym or the workplace without adequate sleep and nutrition. Powering through a workout or a critical meeting may occasionally be required, but that should not be normal. Sleep, nutrition, and hydration are not signs of weakness but necessary to maintain long-term health. We may need to adjust the time, effort, and energy to meet the day's needs; preparing, not reacting, is the best methodology, and checking your ego could be a daily occurrence.

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Know your limits.

Knowing your limits allows you to maximize what you can deliver on that given day without sacrificing tomorrow. The goal is to perform your best every day without burnout and repeatedly replicate that action. Knowing your limits is a part of suppressing your ego and, additionally, knowing where you are performing in contrast to the standard, as discussed earlier in this article. Is your limit temporary or permanent? What drives the limit, and is there any physical or mental blockage? Is there anything you can do to change the current limit? I am 5’10”, so not much change is possible from a height perspective, but the tight quadriceps and hamstrings are areas I can improve. Focus on those areas you know you can improve and commit to that change.

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Thank you to those who stayed with me until the end. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, and most significantly, to know how to practice these steps in the cubical domain and for those who are remote working and integrate better behaviors.

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Are you ready to renew your journey, motivate your team, and create organizational momentum? What is limiting you from enabling success for yourself and your team? Research how working with a coach can help you understand and embrace your growth strategy. A coaching exchange is a relationship, a partnership between two individuals where your vulnerability and honesty can set you free. When you find a connection with a coach, this can put your path on fire. You may have fond memories of an athletic coach or mentor who started this process in you long ago; now is the time to rekindle that fire! As you digest this article, feel free to reach out and let us start the conversation on how you can become the best version of yourself in the future!

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Hello. I am Kyle Hogan. As a credentialed coach, I enable high performers to accelerate past their current plateau and unlock their best selves, creating impactful success for individuals and their teams.