Exercise Those Muscles

I take private Pilate's instruction with a wonderful teacher named Brooke. She has been working with me over the past month or so on engaging certain muscles and muscle groups to become stronger.

At first I honestly didn't have a clue how I was going to ever get to the point where I could scoop out my belly and roll myself down onto the machine. I mean, yeah, I understood what she was saying, but understanding it and making my body do it are two different things.

I started noticing how I engage my muscles yesterday while doing some hill runs. In the past I would plow through them, but my back would hurt a little afterwards. Yesterday I decided to make a small shift in my spine (engaging my abs and pushing my hips forward just a little as I was running up hill) and do you know what happened? I ran faster and had no pain afterwards.

This morning, while in Pilate's, I told Brooke about the run. She just smiled (the kind of smile you get when you are trying to teach someone something and then all of a sudden they get it) and said she was proud of me.

OK - so I have been talking about working out in today's post - but the analogy I am trying to get at is that no matter what we do in life, sometimes it is the small adjustments that have the biggest impact. If you are a sales person, making just a small adjustment to a prospect call script could mean the difference between losing or getting the sale.

Think about the "business muscles" you either have not developed or have been resting for awhile. Are there any "strength moves" you could do to bulk them up? Can you lift heavier weights while at work (it's analogy folks - remember? I am not suggesting lifting actual weights - I am suggesting doing something harder, or with more effort). Are there more people you need to incorporate into your work "workouts"?

What can you gain today by putting forth more effort? Just engaging on a deeper level may have you running those hills faster and more efficiently in no time.