Have you heard of what runners call “The Grey Zone”?  It refers to ‘a pace set by a runner that is too fast for recovery and too slow for growth. A pace like this can feel like a tough workout. But running in this zone, run after run, will actually lead to a decline in performance’.

There are 5 running zones. Zone 3 is the Grey Zone. Training in the “Grey Zone” is unproductive as it ‘doesn’t allow for enough recovery and puts the athlete in a state of continuous fatigue’.

`If you’re desperate to break through […], try taking a run slower to get faster approach’.

You want to alternate between recovery in Zone 1 and working hard in Zone 5. Professor Andrew Huberman, offers the neuroscience backed demonstration of why this approach translates to higher performance at work in his brilliant podcast on #Dopamine.

How often did we find ourselves frustrated with our output when we were actually in cognitive overload? How often did we think that we had to “push through” rather than take a break / sleep a bit more / go for a walk? How often do you feel guilty for “taking it easy” when you’re actually in your “recovery zone”?

We all know at this point that the ROI on the incremental hours worked beyond exhaustion is either low or negative. We’re pretty familiar with the cost of operating in the Grey Zone. So what is keeping you there? 

This year has been ****insert whatever adjectives that suit you best**** ⇒ If you survived (metaphorically), how about you consider the ancestral practice called “REST”ing? Go back to Zone 1. Regroup. Watch “Home Alone” or “Squid Game”.

#greyzone #businesscoaching #performance #running #resting #growth #essentialism

*I came across this concept in the book “#Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown.
** Link to the #HubermanLab Podcast here: https://lnkd.in/dnWPNT9A
** I quoted fitness article on www.coached.fitness
**** Full disclosure: I used to hate running. Now I only dislike it.