Mental Health and Fitness

Growing up as an only child, I was spoilt compared to the other kids at my school. I didn't have to share any of my belongings at home, and I could play with them until I got told off to go to bed.

It was so easy at that age to slip into isolation and just play all by myself. I was a bit of a chubby kid, I enjoyed sports when I was at school and tried joining different football teams but never really kept up the momentum. Looking back now, it's quite hard to place myself in that mindset, I still question myself why I prioritised a video game over dropping out of the weekly football training activity.

Mental health awareness at the time wasn't really around, when you felt down or anxious about something, it felt the only available advice at that age was to stop feeling sorry for yourself and move on.

As I grew up in my teens, I was addicted to video games, I got fat and struggled to get out of the bed in the morning. Arguably some may think that's just a classic teenager, but I kept convincing myself I was different from everyone else, because that's the way I was.

Years forward and starting my career, you probably guessed it I got even more unhealthy, more fatty foods with disposable income, sitting at a screen all day, keeping my head in the sand that my body will cope with it. And then I started to become aware of my mental health. The same symptoms came along, I woke up lethargic, I failed to start taking responsibility and disregarded a lot of critical dietary comments from my loved ones. I sucked.

A few years later, I peaked. I saw myself in the mirror, not only seeing all the bulge almost popping my shirt buttons out, but how unhappy I looked at someone who's in their late 20s. How can someone be unhappy at such a young age? I was fit enough to hit the pub and scrape getting into work the next morning, but my mood just declined as the years went on. Even as a manager the pressure was on more. It took me a long time to realise that people were relying on me to perform at my best. That any of my actions actually had an implication on another person and their perception of their role and me.

So I attempted an exercise class after work. It was called the “Boot Camp Circuit”, essentially an all-round body cardio workout for 45 minutes. When I finally finished it, I was exhausted. I had to lie down for a few minutes since I suffered from mild heart palpitations, a real shock to the system. I remember thinking how someone at my age can get that bad, and how easy it is to take your health for granted. After the eventual recovery, I felt weirdly positive. It's nothing new that after a workout you feel better for it, but this was almost a weight off my shoulders (literally). That night after a surprising good night sleep, I swiftly got dressed and went to the office the next morning.

You probably guessed it that I told 90% of my work colleagues I worked out yesterday and I assumed all of them were already sick of hearing about it. I went into some fairly critical meetings that day, and my contributions to the discussion felt more productive than usual. I felt more enthusiastic and less exhausted pitching solutions to the problems. I even received feedback later on that praised it, which doesn't come easy in a management role. It was easy to see there was a direct correlation with mental health and your performance in the work place.

“I could cope with the criticism better”

It doesn't matter what role you're in or who you're responsible for, sometimes you're just not ready to hear when someone tells you suck at something you thought you were good at. Furthermore, it's always received at the worst of times. But we all need to face the facts that you won't learn anything if no one tells you about your mistakes. The more you optimise your emotional and mental stability, the better you'll digest that criticism, and you'll find those bad days will become less. Finally, you'll become better for it in the long run.

Further down the line I kept up my momentum and now do 4 exercise classes a week. I'm fitter, more enthusiastic and energetic than I remember being in my teens and early 20s. But most of all, every morning after a workout, my mental health levels feel optimum. Not surprising you see successful leaders in the 21st century, thin, lean and ready for the next challenge.

Oh and if you're curious on how my journey went, I recently posted a comparison on social media that you can see below 😅.

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