James Hewitt - Human Performance Scientist | Empowering knowledge workers with science-based tools to improve their wellbeing & performance

2023-06-26

Download 5.8k

Show Sponsor AnyQuestion - https://link.anyquestion.com/Greg-Bennett Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=26936856 "The Greg Bennett Show" In this episode of The Greg Bennett Show, Greg is joined by human performance coach James Hewitt.

Show Sponsor

AnyQuestion - https://link.anyquestion.com/Greg-Bennett

Support the show at

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=26936856

"The Greg Bennett Show"

In this episode of The Greg Bennett Show, Greg is joined by human performance coach James Hewitt.

If you're in the workplace, if you're a leader of a company, if you're an endurance athlete and want to understand how to be cognitive at a higher level, then this is an episode that you wanna listen to.

James is a world leader in the field of human performance, well-being, and cognitive function. He has spent over a decade equipping individuals and organizations, ranging from professional cyclists to Fortune 500 companies to Formula 1 teams, with science-based tools to improve well-being and achieve sustainable high performance.

He has given over 1000 hours of presentations & workshops in over 30 countries, making his mark in venues as prestigious as the World Economic Forum in Davos.

One of the masterminds behind understanding how to look at cognitive performance as an endurance activity.

Timestamps

4:58 - James Hewitt explains how he became fascinated with high performance humans.

... as a kid I just wanted to be an astronaut

17:39 - For improvement to occur in any capacity, the human body has got to be stressed. If you wanna get stronger, you have to lift more weight. If you wanna get faster, you've gotta stress your aerobic system so that your aerobic capacity can grow. And in a cognitive context that could involve introducing increasingly challenging tasks to push mental boundaries and increase cognitive endurance.

Its not only the cognitive demands of the task that are making you feel fatigued ...

24:35 - How can people take more control of their days, their weeks, their months, in terms of finding ways to not be "on" ... but then perform at their best when they are "on".

32:53 - What can we learn from the world's top endurance athletes, to enhance wellbeing and performance in the workplace?

We've been thinking about effort and recovery resources and physiological resources in sports science for a long time

45:09 - Continuous aerobic exercise, about 85% of your maximum heart rate for just under an hour, seems to benefit executive functions. We know that exercise improves positive mood, and in turn, positive mood can have a really positive impact on cognitive performance.

Does physical activity improve cognitive function?

51:47 - What can companies do to set things up for their employees?

Wellbeing strategy needs to be integrated more closely with business strategy

1:01:59 - Greg asks James his BIG 4 questions:

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?
If you could have dinner with three people (non-family, living or dead), who would they be and why?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

1:08:28 - And the lads finish up flexing James' fast twitch fibres with some rapid fire questions and answers.

Early bird or night owl?
Favorite meal of the day: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Favorite sport besides cycling?
What book are you reading right now?
What is your favorite movie of all time?
Favorite piece of technology you own?
Is cereal soup? Why or why not?
If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done?
Would you rather always be 10 minutes late or always be 20 minutes early?
Best decade of music?