Elon Musk was attempting to do something that no one else had done: beat NASA at their own game. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) had landed Americans on the moon, but at an extravagant cost which made frequent trips impractical. And many trips into space were needed to get all the satellites into orbit that we now take for granted. Elon needed an edge. He needed to make space flight much cheaper. How could he possibly do better than NASA, which had the U.S. government behind it?
A large reason that space travel was still so expensive even after years of technology innovation was the throw-away aspect of NASA’s rockets. Each launch was powered first by massive booster rockets, which literally did the heavy lifting for the trip. Once the booster fuel had been expended, the rocket was ejected and left to fall back into the ocean. The remainder of the trip required less propulsion and could be managed with a smaller rocket, as the booster had already provided 75% of the thrust needed to reach orbit. The cost of each disposable booster was about $290 Million.
Elon envisioned a future with numerous launches into space at a lower cost. He founded a company, SpaceX, with ambitious goals. Eventually he launched a major network of satellites and created the Starlink communication network. And in his ultimate victory over NASA, he recently rescued astronauts from the International Space Station after six months of being stranded there because of difficulties with the Boeing Starliner which had brought them there initially. NASA was not prepared to launch an alternative flight to bring them home. Elon did it. He had found his edge years before, and it was really paying off.
That edge was making his booster rockets recoverable and reusable. At first they were recovered at sea, but he developed technology to bring the rocket back down, with power, and settle it into the mechanical arms of a launch platform. Nicknamed “hug-a-rocket”, this allowed rockets to be recovered and reused up to ten times with minimal maintenance. Latest generation Falcon 9 boosters cost SpaceX about $30 Million, and subsequent launches cost nearly $15 Million. That completely changed the game. Elon has his sites on eventually sending people to Mars and making space travel a common activity.
This is not rocket science
You’re a performer. You are proud of your work, but sometimes you wish your mind could be sharper. You need an edge too. You want to be sharp at your job, feeling alert and energetic during whatever the day holds for you. Perhaps you have a desk job, as many do, and you can’t afford to have a foggy mind. Whether you have a lot of meetings or presentations, you have a lot of coding or writing ahead of you, or some other work requiring mental acuity, you need that edge. You suspect that maybe sitting in that chair for so many hours is not helping. You’d like to get up and take a nice walk outside, but your next meeting is coming up and you don’t have much time. What can you do?
The HIIT job
Most of us have limited break time during our work day. Even for those not having a typical desk job, or for those taking care of things at home, free time can be a rare commodity. HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is the perfect compliment to a job when there is little time to spare. Within a short time period, you go all-out, then dial back your exercise or even rest a bit, then go all-out once again. This cycle works best over a 10-30 minute period, yet even just a few minutes is effective. So a lunch time workout is perfect, maybe giving you enough time for an actual lunch afterwards. (Tip: if you exercise right after a meal, you are taking energy away from digestion, so best to eat after, not right before.) But it can work during a shorter break — maybe right before a big conference call you can do a couple of HIIT rounds for 5 – 10 minutes and then come right back. The research shows that you will gain a sharp mind with even a little high-intensity exercise.
That’s your edge. Short intensive HIIT exercise is the most effective exercise, especially on a tight schedule.
HR Puff n Stuff
It’s in your best interest, including that of your employer, to keep you sharp. Some HR departments even suggest exercise programs to promote the effectiveness of employees, but few have caught on to the power and simplicity of HIIT exercises.
With HIIT, you are attempting to elevate your heart rate to 80-95% of your maximum rate, and your recovery period in between intense activities should still keep your heart rate at 40—50%. The metabolic change from even one cycle of these rates is significant, so even five minutes of vigorous activity will make a big difference. Let’s look at research about that: published in Age and Ageing(1), researchers from the University of South Australia conducted a study of 648 older adults (age 65 – 80) who were healthy but not exercising more than 3 days a week and for less than 20 minutes each period when they did exercise; in other words, generally disease free but relatively sedentary seniors. They recognized that all have 24 hours in a day to sleep, do sedentary work (like a typical desk job), or do significant physical activity (significant exercise), and that time spent in any one of these took time away from the other two. They were looking to get the right mix, especially since one health factor (exercise) could take time away from the health factor of sleep. They found the best impact came from shorter duration, “huff and puff” exercising, meaning sufficient vigorous exercise to get the heart rate up and bring on some shortness of breath. As you might expect, the short time period spent in such exercise did not take away much of the day, and paid back in improved sleep, so the exercise time was a great trade. Primarily they found that the exercise promoted better brain function: greater processing speed, better working memory, and better executive function.
If stuck indoors in a multi-floor building, stair climbing can be a very effective huff and puff HIIT exercise; in fact, many health clubs have stair machines that go nowhere just to give the stair climbing effect. Real stairs work just as well, and you can do a very effective HIIT routine with just stairs.
Make sure you give yourself ample time to repair if you’re doing high intensity weight training or excessive long duration cardio because of over training breaks down muscle fiber without giving it sufficient time to repair stronger. That’s because the exercise process itself tears down the body a little, and that’s fine if it’s not so much as to overwhelm the overnight rest and repair functions of the body. Exercise requires rebuilding afterwards, and that rebuilding will build you better and stronger than before if your body has time to do so.
Be the company’s chairperson
HIIT will get you sharp and alert quickly. But you are still sitting in that chair for hours. What does all that chair time do to your posture, circulation, and your joints? A big problem with prolonged sitting, especially at a typical desk in front of a computer, is musculoskeletal pain and joint strain. Carpal tunnel is a common workplace ailment because of all the computer time that many jobs require. It is difficult to maintain good posture during hours of chair time. Can you do anything during the time you are stuck in that chair? Some of you get stuck in multi-hour meetings, usually at your desk on a virtual session. You need something to keep your body moving.
Studies abound as to how to best overcome the deleterious effects of desk jobs, and “desk exercise” studies are easy to find. One, published in Healthcare (Basel)(2), tests exercises from multiple other studies for effectiveness. Getting out and doing full-body workouts invokes many joints and muscles simultaneously, but targeted exercises are also helpful. The study focused on standing and chair-assisted exercises. Their 6-month study program resulted in significantly reduced musculoskeletal pain with no negative effects or injuries for the participants. Bodies are made to move!
So do what you can, as often as you can, to keep moving. If you aren’t stuck at a desk during the week, you likely have more opportunities to exercise during your day. Seek them out. HIIT is not only a great time-saver, but it is the most effective regimen for anyone who wants to get or remain healthy. All exercise gets you moving, and the more you move, the sharper your brain will be and the healthier you will be in the long run, so long as you don’t overdo it. You have to find what works for you. Not all exercises are the typical weight lifting or walking/running exercises: there are jumping fitness exercise on a rebounder, which also moves the lymphatic system, balance exercises, coordination exercises and fascial stretching and strengthening as well — they all get the body to move in various ways. A well-equipped fitness center will be rich in all exercise options.
Your brain is part of your body. Exercise isn’t just for your muscles. Exercise improves your circulation for the short term and long term if you keep a program going, and your brain, which uses over 20% of your body’s resources, benefits from that circulation. The more you move, the more you hydrate, the more you eat properly, the better you sleep, and the ways you release mental stress all come together to make your brain and body work better.
Dr. Nemec’s Review
The University of South Australia study showed that HIIT exercise, or ‘huff-and-puff’ physical activity (like going up and down the stairs) improves processing speed (how fast your brain thinks), executive function (how well you plan, focus, and multitask) and working memory (your ability to store information for short periods of time). Exercise is a vital key to your health and longevity. It’s one of Seven Basic Steps to Total Health — each one is vital, but when all of them are done you get the greatest effect to every cell in the body, especially the brain cells
What is the primary purpose of exercise?
It’s to move blood and lymph fluid. Blood is the oxygen source of the cells, which also brings nutrients to the cells and removes some waste products. 1/3 of your immunity circulates through your blood. Your lymph fluid on the other hand, is where 2/3 of your immune cells circulate. It is your anti-inflammatory pathway and the sewer or detox system of your whole body. With high intensity exercise that gets your heart rate up significantly — the huff and puff exercise of high intensity, short duration — this moves both blood and lymph fluid sufficiently.
What type of job do most Americans engage in most of their workday? Sitting in front of a computer, at a desk.
Why do you think sitting is so detrimental to your health? Are you moving significant blood and lymph when you are sitting? Are your muscles, tendons, ligaments, spine, pelvis, hips, and knees, neck, and shoulders in the optimum position when sitting?
Your body was designed to move, never to sit. If you want to boost your immune system, increase oxygen to your brain and every cell in your body, and get rid of waste products and inflammation, then all you have to do is high intensity, short duration exercises. You can do them as quickly as one minute three or four times throughout the day. The stairs or the rebounder are the best options.
The most important incentive in doing exercise is that you enjoy it instead of dreading it. Like everything in life, it is hard to do for the first so many weeks or months until you’re in the groove, meaning the routine has been set. Your body is used to the movement and now likes it — even craves it. All you have to do is stay dedicated for the first eight weeks, and put your mind on this thought: “This is good for my body. This is good for my brain and this is good for my mind.” When you look forward to something that balances many parts of your being — this is when you look forward to the activity so much that you go and exercise and enjoy it fully and after a short time — it becomes an addiction — a very health-promoting addiction.
