Cold, schmold

Warming up is an underrated thing. Do you always warm up before engaging in something taxing? I have to admit that I don’t. Probably most people don’t, but that doesn’t mean it is smart.

I am your typical Type A personality that is always about one minute late for everything. This is more stressful than it sounds. When you are running 15 minutes late, you know there is no way you are going to be on time. You resign yourself to being late and make the calls to apologize in advance. However, when you are running one minute behind, you think you might be able to make it. If you just hit every stoplight and traffic is just right…but it never works out that way. You just end up being very stressed before you get there.

So, I tend to shirk my warm-up responsibilities both in business and exercise. However, if you do take the time to ease into your performance zone, you find that you perform much better. You then wonder why you don’t always do it that way.

For example, today I was traveling for business in NYC, and it was my day to spend on cardio exercise. I went down at 6:00 a.m. to the hotel gym and saw way too many people clogging up all of my favorite cardio equipment. I resigned myself to 45 minutes on the stationary bike. However, after 15 minutes, I was bored out of my skull. I looked out the window, and it appeared to be sort of warm. There was no wind blowing, so I grabbed a sweatshirt and went downstairs for a run. I was stopped along the way by a doorman who asked, “Do you know how cold it is outside?” as he looked at me in my shorts. I hesitated for a second, but I was too close to the door to turn back now. So, off into the brisk morning air I went.

It was cold: 25 degrees to be exact according to a bank sign. That made it colder weather than I have run in since I was much younger and quite a bit tougher.

Believe it or not, the adrenaline and 15 minute warm up kept me going for the fastest two mile run I have done in years. I credit this entirely to the warm up on the bike I had done just a few minutes before. I ended up getting a fantastic run in while admiring the sights of NYC before it gets crazy in the morning rush hour.

Keep this in mind when you start your next workout. Cold is entirely in your head and can be conquered if you have the right attitude and take the right steps to prepare yourself. Remember this in business development as well. If you start cold with a dialing for dollars appointment initiative, it is painful. So, make a few warm up calls first to current clients, referral sources and colleagues. Do these calls first before tacking the harder ones to prospects or problem accounts. You will find that once you have the right mindset and are in the groove by warming up first, the effort is much easier---and more fruitful.