The Zack Arnold Podcast 'Breaking Away' From the Desk
Jim Read is a a highly sought after graphic designer and creative director. He works long hours and also has three children but somehow manages to fit competitive cycling into his already ridiculous schedule. Four years ago Jim lived the same sedentary lifestyle we all struggle to overcome; he was overweight, had bad eating habits, and incorporated little to no activity into his day. Then one Thanksgiving he realized that if something didn’t change in his life, in ten years he would be facing a terrible health crisis.
In this episode Jim and I talk about Jim's journey going from overweight and out of shape to putting his life back together, and then ultimately becoming a competitive cyclist.
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Topics of Conversation:
- How Jim manages to make time for THREE different jobs - working as a graphic designer, a father to three children and cycling
- Jim’s story of how he went from sitting behind his desk to spin classes at the YMCA to competitive cycling
- Jim’s simple solution to sticking with a diet and exercise program
- How generating momentum was one of the keys to Jim’s success
- Food addiction is a real problem. We discuss how to manage junk food cravings around the home and office
- Jim gives us some helpful digital tools for anyone who is serious about cycling
- We discuss how time management and efficiency helped Jim fit cycling into his busy schedule
- Sleep is also incredibly important! If you can’t recover with a good night’s rest, you can’t maintain this sort of lifestyle
- How to “gamify” the small tasks in your life so you can become more efficient at doing them
- Working with your limitations not against them
- Jim talks about the dark side of competing at this level--injuries, losing and it’s tough on the mind and body. Make sure you do this safely!
Useful Links:
Strava Cycling and Running App
Show Credits:
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and this show is executive produced by Kanen Flowers. We are a member of the THAT STUDIO podcast network.
The music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Dorian Cheah from his brilliant album ARA.