Human Powered Health is founded on the Pillars of Performance – Movement, Fuel, Mindset, and Recovery – proven strategies for achieving optimal mind and body wellness.
Movement is essential for feeling your best each day. Fuel provides the nutrients needed to keep your body functioning efficiently. Mindset shapes a positive perspective, allowing you to stay focused and engaged. Recovery ensures your body gets the rest it needs to recharge and perform again tomorrow.
Balancing these pillars is key to sustaining peak physical and mental well-being.
Movement
As athletes – and as humans – movement is essential to feeling our best. Without movement, we’re not truly living. By keeping our bodies active each day, we take important steps toward a healthier life.
Fast facts about movement
Regular exercise reduces causes of mortality by up to 30% for both men and women. [1]
Exercise improves one’s self-esteem and sense of well-being. [2]
Those who cycled the full length of their commute had a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality. [3]
Fuel
Fueling your body with the right stuff before, during, and after a workout is essential to staying energized all day long. Underfueling your body can lead to underperforming, both on and off the bike. Carbohydrates, staying hydrated, and proper protein intake work wonders for our bodies. And like the pillars themselves, fueling is all about balance.
Fast facts about fuel
Adequate food and hydration should be consumed before, during, and after exercise to help maintain blood glucose concentration and improve recovery time. [4]
Eating carbohydrates during exercise will increase endurance capacity, increase the time it takes for muscles to become fatigued, and decrease the rate of perceived exertion. The trend nowadays is for our cyclists to consume up to 100g an hour during strenuous racing efforts! [5]
Skimping on nutrition can reduce muscle mass, lower bone density, and cause fatigue. This puts you at risk of injury and illness, increases recovery time, causes hormonal problems, and, for women, menstrual issues. [6]
Mindset
In a grueling endurance sport like cycling, a positive and relaxed mindset can be the chief difference maker between a podium finish and the lanterne rougue.
Fast facts about mindset
People who had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook.
Having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.
Mindfulness exercises can lower stress levels and literally rewire the brain.
Recovery
Whether you're gearing up for a Classic or preparing a big work presentation, proper rest and recovery are essential to performing at your best.
Fast facts about recovery
Sleep is essential for cognitive processing. Loss of sleep is associated with a decline in cognitive function. [7]
The body releases hormones that are vital to recovery at night. [8]
Good, quality sleep is one of the most effective ways to recover and recharge after training and exercise. Sleeping enough—and soundly— will not only improve your physical performance, but it will help improve your mental and emotional performance as well. [9]
