Admit it, you’ve thought about quitting your corporate gig to work at Starbuck’s. Former GOOPER, Steve Shadid, is living your dream. No more starched shirts or ties. He’s grown his hair to an irreverent length and looks as fit and well as I’ve ever seen him in the 10-plus years I’ve known him. At 56, he looks as though he could compete in a kickboxing tournament tomorrow and win. Next week he’ll be drawing shots for the locals and tourists at his local Starbuck’s just outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I ran into the former Oak Parker at the Oak Park Athletic Club when he was in town to watch the Sox in the World Series last month and he agreed to discuss corporate life and fitness.
Steve was in the television business for 30 years, most recently as a corporate executive representing TV stations throughout the U.S. His professional work environment was “very competitive, to say the least” and he agreed that there was a price to be paid in terms of health and wellness for being in it.
“The stress alone is ultimately a killer. While I always made my workouts a priority, most people I came in contact with did not. Not enough time, and as companies downsized, and people became busier and busier, time became even more of a problem. Eating lunch at the desk, working late, personal lives and wellness/health/fitness suffers tremendously,” he said. “In my opinion that’s why we see more and more overweight, unfit and generally unhappy people in corporate America.”
A self-described “student of physical fitness” Steve’s workouts have evolved to six days a week, focusing on cardio, strength and core work. The ubiquity of hiking, biking and skiing in an area where “the outdoor beauty is simply breathtaking,” has compelled him to refine his leg routine to be able to endure the demands of those activities. “I feel more fit today than ever before in my life. When I lived in Chicago and was working, I was on high blood pressure meds. Since retiring and leaving, I have successfully been able to eliminate my need for that medication and successfully kept my BP at a very low rate. My life has changed tremendously (since retirement). No more stress from city and corporate life. While I thrived in both those things for many years, in the last five to 10 years, I began to dislike that life as much as I loved it for so many years. My priorities have changed tremendously. (Keeping fit) affects my quality of life in every aspect. I feel better and function better.”
Working in corporate health and wellness for over 10 years, I’ve yet to meet the Dilbert whose corporate star is rising proportionate to their health. Even though companies have come a long way in trying to assuage the needs of their overstressed, overworked troops, the demands of the workplace have increased exponentially compared to those directives. State of the art fitness centers abound in corporate headquarters across the nation touting low monthly dues, group exercise classes, full-service locker rooms, exercise prescriptions, personal training, and massage therapy. But bottom lines continue being rocked by health care costs associated with sedentary, stress filled, poor nutrition lifestyles.
If you have no immediate plans of getting out of the rat race, carve out your workout time with consistency and follow the principals of healthy eating to do your part toward keeping your own health costs down. Taking care of yourself is another way to take care of your family.
Fran Scott is an exercise physiologist. She can be e-mailed at Franscottfitness@hotmail.com.