Your legs are heavy, lungs rigid and no matter how hard you push, you cant push the worry about  today’s meeting out of your head.

In that moment, why are you training? What’s the goal?

 Maybe you learned that being in good physical shape improves your cognitive performance. Or maybe it’s an ego thing..

Either way, in that scenario, do you think those intervals are improving or damaging your performance at that meeting?

In a study by Pantzar et al. (2018), the authors tested 362 Swedish office workers on their aerobic fitness and how it related to their cognitive performance.

Cognitive abilities were assessed across a range of tests, including measures of processing speed, working memory, executive functions, and episodic memory.

What they found was that workers with low aerobic fitness performed worse on tests of inhibition and memory recognition compared to those with moderate or high fitness.

So yes, improving your physical fitness likely improves your business performance.

Your are likely familiar with the mitochondria – the energy factories of the body.

Those are the ones (amongst other things) you want to improve when you are dragging your tired legs through those 4 x 4 intervals.

Well, braincells are not that different from muscle cells. Braincells also have mitochondria.

So, as you improve your mitochondrial health of your muscle cells, so do you improve your brains cells mitochondrial health.

With more mental energy as a result.

But, as with all other things in life, too much of a good thing can turn bad.

In a systematic review by Symons, Bruce and Main (2023), the authors pooled together results from 7 scientific articles examining the influence of overtraining on the cognitive abilities of endurance athletes.

Amongst the included studies, most measured some form of reaction speed, and in almost all studies, overtraining led to slower reaction times - with one study finding reaction times up to 20% slower in overreached athletes compared to controls.

Some studies used more sophisticated tests of reaction speed - specifically the Stroop Colour Word Test - which also required participants to inhibit automatic responses and only react to specific cues.

Again, overtraining led to more errors and slower responses, particularly at moderate to high speeds.

One study also measured participants' tendency to choose immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards, and overtraining led to a greater tendency to opt for the short-term option, suggesting increased impulsivity.

So why is this important as you drag yourself through this weeks intervals?

Overload and under-recovery may lead to slower thinking, worse inhibitory control, more mistakes, and a pull toward short-term thinking over long-term strategy.

Needless for me to say, that’s the recipe for a downward business trend. And it suggest that recovery is not just a fitness consideration but a cognitive and leadership one.

Pull up the notes app on your phone or computer.
Write down each day of the week; Monday, Tuesday, and so on, then under each day add three slots: Morning, Post-Training, and Evening.

You're going to start tracking your readiness in the simplest way possible. Every morning, evening, and post-training session, jot down your perceived energy and readiness on a scale of 1–10. If you have a fitness tracker, add your overnight HRV score to your morning entry.

That's it. You've just taken the first step toward thinking about recovery strategically.

Nicolas

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