Remove the Guesswork: Health, Fitness and Wellbeing for Busy Professionals

What do you think work will look like in the future? As we’re living in these interesting times with the global pandemic, I share my thoughts on what I think the future of work will be.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

The future of work

The 3 categories of people

What’s required of pure remote working

The benefits of remote working

Key Takeaways:

With the global pandemic happening, most of us are working from home. Organizations have put people on furlough, doing restructures, and thinking about how can we get back to a new semblance of normality or how can we move into the next phase of recovery. We’ve been through a living experiment designed to find out whether or not people can work productively, fruitfully, and happily from home.

People will fall into three categories:

People who work flexibly

Pure remote workers

Office-based workers

The criteria you need to meet for pure remote working:

You’ll need to have been with the company for a certain amount of time

You’ll have to have good performance reviews

Your team will need to support remote working

We may have struck a better work-life blend. Most people thrive from a greater sense of autonomy, and there’s more variety.

Companies that clearly articulate their values and their purpose and have wellbeing firmly embedded into those two things are organizations that are going to stand out and thrive.

Action Steps:

Think about the category that you fall into when it comes to working.

Don’t miss the chance to reset. Start to do things differently.

If your pattern of work has changed, don’t go back to your old habits.

Think about what you want to keep about this new way of working, what you want to develop, and what you’re going to get rid of.

Leanne said:

“I think ultimately this gives us a really wonderful chance to reset, us individually and our HR teams, and our leaders in our organizations. I really don’t want us to sleep-walk through this opportunity.”

“For me and my wellbeing, autonomy is absolutely key, and that we’ve got more. Organizations have had to trust us that we can work effectively… and that autonomy is very important for how we feel about ourselves, our wellbeing, our mental health, and our self-esteem.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

What are your thoughts on overworking? Jump on to social media and let us know what you think or email me at [email protected]

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

In the meantime, here are our top tips for maintaining and building a healthy immune system. We will be back in late Spring! Stay well :-)

How can you keep your immune system strong? Listen in as we share some tips and strategies that you can implement to make sure you’re robust, resilient, and healthy.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

8 tips for maintaining and building a healthy immune system

Key Takeaways:

Our top 8 tips for keeping your immune system healthy

Make sure you’re getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

Have a healthy diet with loads of fruits and vegetables.

Exercise, especially outdoors. Any form of movement is going to be beneficial within the confines of what you can do and what you’re allowed to do.

Manage stress.

Avoid sugar.

Reduce alcohol intake. This will help you strengthen your immune system.

Eat fermented foods to keep your gut microbes happy.

Take vitamin D. Most of us coming out of winter are going to be low in vitamin D, and that affects energy, mental health, and the immune system.

Action Steps:

Get enough good quality sleep.

Try and incorporate vegetables in a smoothie.

Exercise.

Manage your stress by doing breathing exercises like box breathing, meditation, gardening, walking, low-intensity exercises, etc.

Avoid sugar.

Reduce your alcohol intake.

Eat fermented foods.

Get yourself a high-dose vitamin D spray or tablet.

Leanne said:

“Don’t start your day sleep-starved. It’s going to make things much more difficult for you, particularly in these very testing and tricky times.”

“In these times, mental health is as important as physical health. You need to be keeping well and staying well mentally so you make good decisions and keep yourself chipper and mentally afloat during this time.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

What are your thoughts on overworking? Jump on to social media and let us know what you think or email me at [email protected]

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

Chuckling Goat website

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

How can you effectively coach someone? Psycle instructor Sarah Elliot does it by combining life coaching with the aspect of physical movement. In this episode, she shares her relationship with health, fitness, and wellbeing and how she balances fitness with recovery.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

Making the transition from the corporate world to the health and fitness industry

Becoming a life coach and the value it brings

How switching careers changed Sarah’s wellbeing

Combining life coaching with the physical movement aspect

Psycle and why it’s becoming more popular

Recovery

Key Takeaways:

It’s important for anyone working in the field of therapy, counseling, or coaching to have their own coach, someone they can speak candidly to. Coaches play such a valuable role and serve such a unique purpose

Every good personal trainer or fitness coach, or any coach for that matter, is on that journey of constantly evolving.

The blueprint that Pscyle teaches is very strategic in how to motivate and when to motivate. There’s so much that goes behind the psychological element.

Recovery is pre- and post-workout. It’s what helps facilitate and make the workout more effective, and it’s also the mental aspect.

It’s about healthspan, not lifespan. It’s about the longevity of healthspan and living a useful, happy life.

Action Steps:

If you’re a fitness instructor, do something for yourself outside of teaching.

Try Psycle.

Make sleep one of your non-negotiables.

Sarah said:

“Those of us that work in this industry, we are advocates, we are paving the way, we are leading by example.”

“It’s important to be moving the body, yes, but in a sustainable way.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

Vault Coaching website

Psycle London website

More from Sarah Elliott:

Sarah’s Email

Sarah’s Instagram (@sarahelliott_coach)

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

What do you think about the four-day working week? Author Alex Soojung-Kim Pang shares his insights about this idea which he tackles in length in his book Shorter.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

The answer to the question “What can working moms do in order to get more rest?”

Challenging the assumptions about work and overwork

How bad is overwork

What some companies are doing to implement the four-day working week

Redesigning the workday

What drives businesses to move to the four-day working week

The risk of burnout

The impact of moving to a four-day week to businesses and the wellbeing of employees

Key Takeaways:

Many of the problems we face in building more rest in our lives are structural rather than personal. This is not merely a question of self-help or life advice.

The answer to the question “What can working moms do in order to get more rest?” is not just personal routines. What they need are structural changes.

Overwork is as bad a public health problem as smoking. It affects as many people, and both the long-term and short-term impacts on people’s health and happiness are just as great.

Research shows that most employees -- thanks to a combination of poorly-run meetings, technology distractions, multi-tasking -- lose about two hours of productive work time every day.

The road to a shorter workweek begins at the top with a founder to a charismatic CEO saying, “We’re going to do this.” But all the work of figuring out how to make it happen is done by the employees themselves.

Action Steps:

Recognize that the norms about how we work are not hard and fast structure. There are things that we can break down and put together in better and more effective ways.

Learn from people who are already doing four-day weeks to make your own work more pleasant and more productive.

Look at the way you work now (or the way work is done in your workplace) and keep a mental list of what changes you think you could make if you had a blank sheet of paper and a four-day schedule.

Alex said:

“In a lot of companies, there are separate initiatives to deal with the recruitment challenge or the work-life balance challenge or the flexible work thing or the sustainability thing. The four-day week is actually a great way to solve all of these problems at once.”

“When you have the opportunity to redesign your job, you really want to redesign it in ways so that your job doesn’t get harder at the end of the day.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

What are your thoughts on overworking? Jump on to social media and let us know what you think or email me at [email protected]

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

The Corporate Athlete Webinar: How to get your teams ready for the rigours of business life - SIGN UP HERE

Buy 'SHORTER' on Amazon

Our previous (two-part) episode with Alex: Part 1 and Part 2

More from Alex Soojung-Kim Pang:

Alex’s Website

Alex's Blog

Alex’s Podcast

Alex’s Twitter (@askpang)

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

What kind of adventures have you got going? Listen in as I share the adventures I've got coming up and just how important adventures are in life.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

The adventures I've got going

The importance of having adventure in your life

The effects that adventure can have on the brain and body

Key Takeaways:

For most of us, life is a "velvet rut". The pressures of work and home can often squeeze out any bandwidth we have for working on the things we love in life.

Adventure varies from person to person. It doesn't always have to be grand. It can be as simple as finding new areas to take a walk, learning to play a new instrument, or meeting new people.

From a body perspective, when we do something new, we get a nice dose of "happy hormones" in the the body.

Action Steps:

Go have an adventure. Have as much adventure as you can get.

Think about the things that you do on a regular basis and how much time amongst all that is there for adventure.

Leanne said:

"[Adventure] will vary from person to person. My idea of adventure can be your hell, your adventure can be my hell."

"Often, we don't have time for adventure. We think we don't have time for it. We think it's not for us. But actually, we're all quite adventurous in our own ways."

If you're interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

What are your thoughts on overworking? Jump on to social media and let us know what you think or email me at [email protected]

If you've enjoyed what you've heard on this episode and it's added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don't forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

The Corporate Athlete Webinar: How to get your teams ready for the rigours of business life - SIGN UP HERE

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne's Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

How does connection contribute to your health and wellbeing? Exercise and medical scientist Pete Williams champions the functional medicine approach to making individuals more healthy. Listen in as he shares how wellbeing, network medicine, and connection relate to inspirational leadership.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

What is network medicine

The infectious nature of obesity

Social genomics

What happens when the brain is wired for more and more stressful environments

Why we’re in the Catch-22 of how we’re trying to change humans

What the future looks like for organisations in terms of how they look after employees’ health and wellbeing

What it means to say that humans are holobians

Why connection is so important

Key Takeaways:

Obesity is a disease and a disorder that has an infectious nature to it. From a network medicine perspective, humans can become “infected” in the sense that if you have a friend who is overweight, by the simple nature of that relationship, you’re 152% more likely to become overweight over time.

We all have these multiple networks that influence our health either positively or negatively.

Social genomics is the field of research that looks at how our friends, family, colleagues, and organisations have a huge influence on how we exist, including whether or not we’re going to be healthy.

The human body’s number one job every day is to look around the environment using its senses and say, “Am I safe in this situation?” This is driven by the stress hormone, so this is why we always have a problem with stress.

Studies have shown that empathy from someone else has huge implications not only in a person’s stress response but also on their biochemistry.

It has been proven that if you opt into a well-designed strategy from a wellness perspective, the ROI returns are huge.

The human DNA is wired for connection, and this is why connection matters on a fundamental biological basis. What connection does is it takes you from a stress response into a relaxation response.

The more you can connect with your employees, the more work they will choose to do for you. If you can build the right tribe, they will pay you back in buckets.

The more tech you’re exposed to, the more touch you need to engage in your life.

You must have the ability to have sanctuary daily. If you’re in a stressful environment at work, you need to have that connection outside of work.

Action Steps:

Organisations ought to make work less stressful and more empathetic.

Organisations should understand that health encompasses a lot of different strata and a lot of different networks that are all interconnected.

Organisations should bring in people who can give them the bigger picture a little bit more.

Have a look at the level of connection and the depth of connection that you have in your life. Do you have a good network of friends and family, and people who motivate and inspire you? Are you connected to nature and your passions and hobbies?

Pete said:

“With corporate organisations, they need to be moving into the understanding of how we’re influencing our colleagues and our workers… we’re starting to find these more and more intricate networks that humans exist for, and we need to understand those in a little bit more detail.”

“System networks of how humans exist is not dissimilar to how companies exist. I see companies as living, breathing entities from the point of view of they have a life span and a life cycle."

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

The Corporate Athlete Webinar: How to Get Your Teams Ready for the Rigours of  Business Life - SIGN UP HERE

More from Pete Williams and Functional Medicine Associates:

Pete’s Website: Functional Medicine Associates

Functional Medicine Associates Facebook

Functional Medicine Associates Twitter (@fmedassociates)

Functional Medicine Associates Instagram (@fmedassociates)

Functional Medicine Associates LinkedInFunctional Medicine Associates YouTube Channel

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

Do you find yourself overworking most of the time? Has overworking become an addiction for you? Listen in as I share my insights on this subject.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

How overwork impacts your life and your relationships

Applauding the people who work hard versus applauding those who have a more healthy, balanced lifestyle

Changing your role models and the people you look up to

Key Takeaways:

Overwork could be seen as a form of self-abuse in the way we might consider alcohol, overeating, or undereating as abuse to self and detrimental behaviour.

Overwork can affect your family in a way that drinking too much alcohol does.

Overwork also affects your relationship with friends and impact, your expression of values.

Overwork impacts the time you get to spend on your hobbies and your ability to practice heartfulness.

Action Steps:

Take the Health IQ test

Pick one thing this week that you’re going to do a little differently to try and step back from overworking or reverse your overworking tendency.

Leanne said:

“We tend to reward or even applaud people that really put a shift on a consistent basis… but I wonder if we’re doing them a disservice and doing society in general a disservice by applauding people for this.”

“When I changed my role models and the people I looked up to, I changed the expectations I had of myself around work.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

What are your thoughts on overworking? Jump on to social media and let us know what you think or email me at [email protected]

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

Leanne's book Rise and Shine

The Corporate Athlete Webinar: How to get your teams ready for the rigours of business life - SIGN UP HERE

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

What is the impact of blood glucose on your health and how do you manage it? Clinical Nutritionist and Medical Director Alessandro Ferretti shares his insights on the subject based on his research.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

What set Alessandro on the path of focusing his research on blood glucose

Blood glucose and its relevance for weight management and longevity

The impact of sleep and stress on blood glucose

Key Takeaways:

Different things in people's lifestyles affect their blood sugar levels.

If you can't get your hands on an ongoing glucose monitoring system, you can measure the two cardinals: first thing in the morning and just before retiring.

Poor sleep dramatically upsets fasting glucose.

There's no exercise nor any short-term intervention to get your blood glucose down.

Stress can keep your glucose levels elevated for quite some time.

Action Steps:

Check your fasting glucose at least a couple of times a week.

Alessandro said:

"I can tell you what are the 10 most common factors affecting the fasting glucose... [however] I personally believe that people may get great benefit in testing that."

"You cannot outrun your rest, you just can't."

If you're interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

If you've enjoyed what you've heard on this episode and it's added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don't forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

The Corporate Athlete Webinar: How to Get Your Teams Ready for the Rigours of  Business Life - SIGN UP HERE

Previous Episode with Alessandro

Dexcom Website

Abbott Libre Website

More content on the Bodyshot Performance website on blood sugar

More from Alessandro:

Alessandro's Website

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne's Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

Where does nature fit in with your overall sense of wellbeing? If it’s important to you, how can you get more of it into your life?

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

The benefits of being outdoors

The efficacy of spending time in nature for your wellbeing

Bringing nature indoors

Junk values and how disconnected people have become

Key Takeaways:

Anybody who is struggling with wellbeing, mental health, or physical health, if you were to increase the amount of time you spend in nature, you’re guaranteed to get some uplift in your overall sense of wellbeing.

Nature can be very healing, soothing, and restorative. Just putting a single plant in a hospital, an office, or a classroom has been known to decrease feelings of stress and anxiety.

A study in mind found that 95% of people reported their mood improving just by being outside.

Nature improves focus and provides respite.

Junk values propel us toward making bad decisions.

Nature is a wonderful way of reconnecting.

Action Steps:

Take a 10-minute brisk walk every day.

Counter-balance tech with touch.

Make sure that your values are solid values on which to build your life around and not junk values.

Leanne said:

“Just having a little bit of biophilia, which is essentially bringing nature indoors, can make use feel a little bit better.”

“What’s really important is sucking the marrow out of life… It’s about living considerately and truthfully and mindfully and putting value in things that aren’t necessarily material, you can’t necessarily see them, like connected relationships.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

The Corporate Athlete Webinar: How to get your teams ready for the rigours of business life - SIGN UP HERE

Insights Episode: My Thoughts on Junk Values

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance

How do you maintain your health and wellbeing? Listen in as I share the 10 things I do weekly that enable me to have really good blood results, good levels of physical and mental fitness, and overall good wellbeing.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/topic/podcasts/ for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

The 10 things I do to maintain good health and wellbeing

What my structured exercise sessions look like

The benefits of infrared sauna

Why you should find something meditative to do

The types of supplements I take

Key Takeaways:

The 10 things I do weekly to keep myself healthy and fit and have overall good wellbeing:

3 times a week structured exercise sessions

Have a sauna between 3-5 times a week.

Take amino acids before an exercise session

Daily meditation

A fortnightly or, at minimum, monthly massage

Get 7-8 hours of good quality sleep

Take prebiotics and probiotics

Supplementation to a good balanced diet

Step count

Intermittent fasting

Action Steps:

Try a number of things that I’ve talked about

Write down your blueprint. What is it that you want your week to look like? What is it that when you do it you come out feeling great?

Leanne said:

“I am quite a fan of step trackers. I think it does give you a reasonably good idea as to how active and mobile you are.”

“Structure leads to consistency, and once you get there, you do these things day in and day out.”

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

Animal Flow

Podcast episode with Mike Fitch of Animal Flow

Infrared sauna

Amino acids

Calm Meditation app

Seed Synbiotic

More from Leanne Spencer:

Bodyshot Performance

Bodyshot Performance Limited Facebook page

Remove the Guesswork BOOK by Leanne SpencerRise and Shine BOOK by Leanne Spencer

Leanne’s Email

Twitter: @BodyshotPT

Instagram: @bodyshotperformance