My 6 Health Hacks to Boost Performance
As a health and fitness professional, finding ways to enhance my physical, mental and emotional state will forever be fascinating to me. In my twenties, this was more centered around physical health...let's be honest, big muscles more than anything. In this stage of my life, my mental and emotional state seem to be taking more priority. I'm also one of those people who perceive to be lacking that one precious resource we all could use more of...what is it again...oh yea, time!
Between running my health and fitness business, raising Gracie, nurturing my relationship with Ashley and navigating all of the other demands from life, I don't have the 6 hours/day like I did to focus on growing my bicep peak. With that being said, having my health is foundational to the success I want to have in life. Here are the health hacks I deem crucial to support how I want to serve the world in the most efficient manner.
7 Hours of Sleep (Minimum)
Often times I tell new members I meet with that I wish I didn't realize how important sleep was for foundational health. If it were up to me, I'd like to figure out a way to do life on 4-5 hours of sleep for the added time to waking hours. Unfortunately, all of the health research supports that for us to function and perform effectively, 7 hours of sleep is the minimum for most. The challenge that most have with prioritizing their sleep isn't sleeping in (obviously), but more tweaking pre-bed behaviors.
It's painful to cut your favorite show off early in order to prioritize your sleep, particularly after a full day's work. Evening time is commonly themed as "me time". Whether that's catching up on the latest Netflix series, dinner out with friends or crushing a good instagram scroll session. Going to bed earlier can be the best "me time" you could give yourself when it comes to your health. Ashley will vividly explain the hard-stop I have when 9:30pm rolls around every evening. We could be mid-conversation and when 9:30pm hits, so does my head to the pillow.
There are too many benefits to include when it comes to getting enough sleep. See a few below:
- Healthy Immune Function
- Cognition Enhancement
- Mood Enhancement/Less Irritable
- Metabolic Health
- Injury Prevention
Check out my friend and business partner's podcast on this topic with one the top sleep expert's in the industry here.
Outdoor Morning Movement & Meditation
Each morning, I'll begin with a 10 minute outdoor walking mediation. This is what I'll call health-habit-stacking. We're killing several birds with one stone here. The walking for physical and mental health, the mediation for emotional and mental clarity, and being outside also supports mental and emotional health.
For me, the meditational outdoor walk each morning not only helps me wake up, but also grounds me to approach the to-do list of that day in a much less frenetic way. Even during the days where I was to be at the facility at 5:30am, I always made sure to carve out time in the morning to put that walk in. Not only would I show up as a better Kemper, but in turn I would be able to serve my people at a higher level.
Journal
I journal but the main principle here is reflection. My reflection practice comes through journaling each morning and evening, no more than 5-10 minutes. It's centered around gratitude in the morning and daily wins/take home lessons in the evening. Similar to the benefits of the walking meditation, I find reflection allows me to emotionally regulate more than anything. I'll admit, I can be pretty charged up and high energy. I ride the waves of the "highs" and sink to the valley's of the "lows". Journaling as been helpful for me to get out of those valleys sooner than later while also sustaining the feel-good emotions of the highs for longer.
I find that being in the business of people, emotional responsiveness is everything. If I'm more emotionally regulated, the business problems seem smaller, I enjoy my family more and I'm able to tap into more creative, anabolic energy.
Block Out Exercise Time (bonus if it's with people)
If you had vision into my iCal, you would see a big DNS (Do not schedule) Monday-Friday from 1pm-2:30pm. This is absolutely sacred time that rarely is disrupted to hold me accountable to exercising. Over the years, this time block has been shifted to mornings, sometimes late afternoons, however has been a constant block for over a decade. For the longest time, I thought exercise was just to make my lat's and shoulders pop out from underneath the t-shirt. Working out for me as been of equal value for my mental and social health. I'm fortunate that my workout space is 30 steps to the left of my office.
In my world, the 1pm workout time is our "lunch break" in corporate language. It's a time I can connect with my team, agenda-less. We laugh, razzle, encourage and spot each other in that 90 minute window. This is connection that can't be replicated in any office setting.
Walk...especially at your desk
When Gracie was born, I found myself noticeably more sedentary. I shifted myself off the workout floor from teaching classes and moved more into a business development roll with the AFS. All of this means more sitting and less moving. Given we only have 24 hours in a day, it wasn't feasible for me to add another 90-120 minutes dedicated to just walking.
I've recently added a walking mill to my standing desk at home. From 5:30am-7:30am, the work I would've normally done sitting is now being done walking. Again, health-habit-stacking at it's best. Not only is my workflow not being disrupted, but actually enhanced due to the alertness that comes from moving. I've also added 11,000 steps to my day before Gracie is up. That's over 4 million steps at the end of the year! More and more research is supporting how important movement is for overall health. In my mind, Gracie doesn't deserve to deal with a father who can't keep up.
Connect with your Higher Power
I saved this one for last as it's arguably the most important health hack and the one I need the most work on. For me and my family, that's God. Incorporating a practice that keeps this in the center of everything is challenging yet everything.
Sunday mornings are reserved for bed snuggles with the girls and Grace Bible Church (we tell Gracie it's her church). Spiritually, surrendering to a higher power is the most peaceful and calming experience. My challenge however, is that I like to be in control. Surrendering to anything is hard for me to accept because my nervous system wiring has always been "Hey dude, if you're not building, creating, succeeding you're losing. Take back the reigns and get in the driver seat". The balance of surrendering without abdicating responsibility is nuanced and one that I'm still figuring out.
With that said, I've experienced brief moments of that balance and how it transcends me to another level of thinking/operating.
Take Home
An important note is that I didn't start with all of these habits at the same time. I've accumulated them over the years. For anyone who's looking to improve their health game, my suggestion is to pick one habit and only stack when the original habit is on autopilot.
The way I think of it is that I have too much at stake to not prioritize these habits. The quote I often reference is "A healthy man has a thousand dreams. An unhealthy man has one." Having my health opens the door to opportunity. Opportunity that can enhance my family's life, lead to greater impact for my community and ultimately a life of true fulfillment.
Until next time!