It seems like there's always a test to take. My son came home for the weekend, but had to go back early because he had a test on Monday.
My daughter just took her SATs on Saturday. And, as I mentioned last month, my wife and I had our fitness thresholds tested at the Human Performance Lab at Meredith College, near our home.
We touched on a few aspects of that testing and how they applied directly to running your business, and this month I want to change gears a bit and talk about some lessons we learned that directly affect a seriously ignored component of success: mindset.
By way of a very quick review, the testing was performed on a treadmill with a heart-rate monitor and face mask attached. The combination of these three tools helped identify three specific training ranges:
Base, T1, and T2.
Base range is where you're supposed to build core endurance; T2 is where you build speed, and T1 is kind of a "no-mans land" you should try to avoid.
In the six weeks since we completed the evaluation, we've both had a chance to modify our training to integrate this new knowledge about our bodies and how they work.
And from this, we've made two very important observations you should consider in your own efforts both in and out of work.
You Have to Vary the Load
Prior to having these objective measurements, we would just go out and bike, run, or swim, with the level of intensity based on the terrain of the road or how we were feeling at the time.
Now, with specific target ranges, identified by measurable criteria (heart rate) we can train deliberately in one of the two effective ranges, and design our workouts accordingly.
In your life, you need to alternate normal status-quo activities with periods of intense effort, such as meeting a seemingly impossible deadline, doing something outside your comfort zone, or learning a completely new skill.
Rather than looking at these situations as difficulties to be avoided, you should welcome them as opportunities to grow.
To get faster in triathlons, we have to spend time in the T2 range. It's not pleasant there. It's hard to breath there and we hurt a bit afterwards. But we get faster, and perform better in races.
The same thing applies in your own "training" - work in your own T2 range and you'll get better at what you do at work and at home.
But there's something even more important we've discovered; something that can cause more harm than good; something you may be guilty of yourself.
Beware of Overtraining
Too many athletes set unrealistic expectations of what they can do. They push themselves to the max every time they work out. They don't get any "down time" and often sacrifice other parts of their life in order to focus on their training.
In the "real world" this appears as workaholism - going nonstop, 24/7, 365 days a year without a break. I often hear people boast about how they haven't taken a vacation in ten years - as if that's a badge of honor. It's not. It's actually pretty lame.
When athletes overtrain - usually because they have no way to measure intensity - they suffer physical injuries. When people "overtrain" in other areas of their lives, they suffer mental and emotional injuries, as well as physical ones.
Make sure you have some way of identifying your own "training zones" and allocate an appropriate amount of time in each one.
Ron Rosenberg is a nationally recognized expert on marketing and customer service, business coach, and public speaker. Maximize your marketing efforts and generate more revenue in less time with his Business Self-Defense 90-Day Success Program and Business Owner Survival Kit. Get free marketing tools, tips, and tactics at http://www.ronsbusinesscoaching.com/ or for details on our speaking and coaching programs contact us at 800-260-0662 or info@qualitytalk.com.
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