The fit executive: Exercise and diet guidelines for enhancing performance

Why is fitness so important? A good word to describe the job of executives today is intense. Many demands confront them-including physical ones. The international economic thrust of many businesses today has increased the amount of travel required by CEOs to develop and maintain a global presence for their companies. Another major physical demand is created by the stress related to being responsible for many people, their welfare, and the success of the company. Endless meetings, and extremely long working hours are par for the course for executives. We provide evidence that those executives who enjoy optimal fitness can handle these demands more effectively and thus perform better in their daily tasks. While many executives do take fitness seriously, what exactly constitutes optimal fitness behaviors is confusing. Given the numerous diet and exercise books on the bestseller lists today, it is easy to understand why such a quandary exists. We will attempt to provide clarity as we discuss prescriptions related to two primary components that are key to an executive's optimal fitness level-exercise and diet.