A few weeks ago I decided that it was time to put some extra effort into my fitness (yes, again).  I had been on my bike a bit, but not enough to avoid weekly floggings at the local group rides.  Watching people ride away with relative ease is always a good reality check.

This past week has been filled with work travel, sick kids and other challenges so for the most part my bike has collected dust.  Instead I did a lot of circuit training with all sorts of different bits of equipment.  I scheduled a few sessions around my work travel and connected with various masters of torture/ fitness gurus while on the road.  An interesting and uncomfortable week, but incredible with yet another reality check.

For years I had been to the gym off and on.  The usual stuff did not provide the return on investment I was looking for.  I joked with friends that it was a result of my all-butter diet, but the lack of results did bother me.  I would go to the gym for awhile and then drift away, only to return a month or two later for another dose of gym mania.  No doubt this is a cycle many people know well.

This past week I did not step foot in a gym, but had some incredible sessions.  I fielded many questions as to why I was walking and moving like an old man over that last few days.  I joked that I was an old man but did not admit to the volume of anti-inflammatories required just to get around. I have chopped wood, lifted tractor tyres, pushed cars, thrown some big rocks and only just survived a session with ropes and chains  (not those kinds of ropes and chains).  None of the workouts were very long, but all were very effective.  Apparently this is all called functional fitness, though I doubt I will feel very functional for at least another week.

People talk about game changing innovations all the time, changes to the old way of doing things to deliver a competitive advantage.  Some of my best examples of creativity and innovation have come from the past week.  An axe, some logs, a big rope and a rusty chain all provided an experience I would have never expected.  The thing that made these innovations work so well was the passion of those using them.  The people I met during the week were fiercely committed to what they did.  So much so that I pushed simply because I did not want to let them down.

During the combined five minutes where I was allowed to stop wheezing, I thought about this learning and how it relates to leadership.  In the presence of true innovation and absolute commitment do you also have pure leadership?  Over the past week I was inspired to raise my performance, take some risks and trust the process.  I think that may answer the leadership question.

SDG