How Running Rocks

Scenario: "Dude, I have a business to run. I can't run. Yay!" We're definite fans of running if you're a business-builder trying to build the biggest freakin' business that rocks the world like it ain't no thang but a chicken wing on a string. Short 2-second quiz for ya: What improves your bottom line more?

• (a) 30-minutes of ordinary running
• (b) 30-minutes of ordinary work

If you chose (a), ding ding ding ding: You're right. And, a badass.

Why Running = Good

When you run, you keep your health, your longevity, and your spirits intact for all the ups-and-downs of your crazy business life. Running also makes you smarter by building your brain cells and improving your memory.

More Running Benefits

Want to rid that anxiety? Running helps you rock your confidence for those upcoming sales meetings. Feeling down after you losing a bid? Running helps you kick depression's ass. Want a super-long-career? Running helps you fight your age. And when you think you're already smart, confident, young, and happy, just remember this: Running keeps your badass sexy. Fo. Shizzle.

"How should I run? Ahh!"

If you want to get the immediate positive effects of running, do it right before you work (e.g. mornings). And, forget those treadmills at your local gym. They're way too depressing, dark, and sad. That's the reason people run on treadmills for a day, then quit: It feels blah. Instead, venture outside when you're running.

How Outdoor Running Rocks

You'll feel happier and energized to rock your business for the world. University of West Virginia psychologist Georg Eifert studied the effects of running inside versus running outside:

What

Eifert recorded hormonal and mood changes in 10 avid runners after they jogged in three different terrains: the first around a college campus, then twice inside on a treadmill.

How

During the first indoor run, the athletes listened to a tape recording of the sounds in a botanical garden. The second was to the tune of their own heartbeat, recorded and amplified as they ran.

Indoor Running Results

Running indoors to the beat of their own hearts, runners felt more fatigued and depressed after than before. Their physiology matched their foul mood: Adrenaline levels dropped, cortisol climbed. The run with the botanical recording begat no mood changes, and negligible hormonal changes.

Outdoor Running Results

Eifert found that after the outdoor run, the athletes felt more invigorated, refreshed, and happy than before they started. And their bodies showed it: Levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline, hormones associated with positive mood, were up. Levels of the stress hormone cortisol were down.

So when you're preparing to rock the world, use the mindset that gets us started every morning:

Run like you freakin' stole something.

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