Impact of physical exercise on your professional performance

In this same blog we believe that your well-being is part of your business, and the fact of doing some sport is essential to take care of yourself. 

We are not talking about becoming obsessed with ing to the gym now or starting to prepare triathlons all over the world (unless you discover your passion there, of course); but adopting of an exercise routine that contributes benefits to you in body and mind. 

We are going to see some guidelines that can help you keep your body active and that are compatible with your work as an entrepreneur. 

Walking, swimming, running, playing paddle tennis … When we do any physical activity with a minimum requirement, our body activates and begins to release endorphins naturally. 

These molecules are released by the brain and their effect is highly beneficial for your body and mind. They work by generating a feeling of euphoria that helps reduce stress generated by work and, at the same time, keep you focused on the tasks you have to do. 

In addition, that moment of doing sports is a routine for ourselves, since we often lack that time devoted only to us (neither work nor family for a short time a day). 

Physically, exercise improves lung capacity and exercises and stretches muscles that, after many hours in front of a computer, tend to stiffen causing contractures due to poor postural hygiene we all end up falling into. 

Regular practice of physical exercise also helps us to improve the quantity and quality of sleep, which is one of the problems we most suffer from. And last but not least, the latest studies indicate that exercise is key in neurogenesis, that is, in the generation of new neurons, both in adults and children, and that therefore exercising improves your mental performance in the long term. 

As you can see, exercise is a good way to fight against the dissatisfaction of the entrepreneur that can affect all of us at some point and helps us to be more productive and happy, and constitutes a self-care practice that is more than recommended. 

In this sense, it depends a lot on your previous physical condition and your own tendency to sport. You cannot move from 0 to 100 in a week, because it will cause injuries and other types of problems that will cause the opposite effect to that we are looking for. 

To get an idea, it is usually considered that a moderate exercise is one that allows you to keep a conversation above 60% of your respiratory capacity. In general, the optimum would be in a half an hour or 45 minutes of effort. 

Our body needs to be activated regularly. If you cannot go out to exercise or go to the gym, do not let that be the perfect excuse. 

You spend many hours in front of the computer and that has effects on our posture: we stoop, our back, neck, arms… 

To avoid this, it is recommended that you do a small exercise table every 2 hours. Combine joint rotations with stretches, they are small activities that you can do in very little physical space. 

Walking is one of the best exercises to start. It fits very well to the characteristics we were talking about in terms of demand. 

A walk in the early morning at a fast pace (it is not worth going to go window shopping or greeting neighbors), helps to oxygenate us before starting work. In addition, it is an outdoor activity with other kinds of inherent benefits, because it is good for all of us to step on the street and sunbathe a little bit. 

During a 30 or 45 minute walk you can also take advantage of making arrangements and phone calls, so it is not essential that you stop completely. 

It is not for everyone, but crazy people of running assure that when you start you get hooked on. 

It is surely a logical evolution that comes after starting to walk. We search for a higher need that, in turn, provides a higher endorphin release. In addition, this does not allow us to carry out another activity at the same time as listening to music, so you can completely disconnect for a while. 

You really begin to notice the effects of exercise after 30 minutes running.

If running involves a great concentration on exercise, swimming even more. Even if it is only by changing the environment, when getting in the water it is not so easy to fall into the pause, it is the movement itself that makes you flow.

It is a very complete exercise at all levels: it improves lung capacity, stimulates blood circulation, moderates certain back pain (so punished in our case), and it is also not impact so your joints are protected. 

Let´s agree that it is more complicated to find some people to play a game of soccer, basketball or water polo, but it should not be so difficult to find someone who plays tennis or paddle tennis with you, for example. 

The main advantage of this type of exercise is that it is much more fun, stimulates competitiveness and incidentally adds a social component that cannot always fit as much as we would like in our lives.