Not all corporate leaders at the highest level of fitness companies practice what they preach, but George Flooks is someone who does exactly that.
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The Fitness First ME chief operating officer and Half-Ironman chooses to lead from the front by making fitness a part of his everyday life and this Saturday, Flooks, along with 50 other participants from Fitness First, will take part in the Dubai International Triathlon.
After an impressive inaugural showing, the Dubai International Triathlon returns in its second year with a 1.9km swim, followed by a 90km bike ride and a 23.1km run.
Ahead of this weekend’s event, Sport360 spoke with Flooks about his training regimen, the similarities between his approach to fitness and his approach to business, as well as which areas of Dubai he enjoys running, swimming and cycling around.
How have you been training for the Dubai International Triathlon?
I think you need to be doing 10 to 15 hours per week of training. That’s a combination of obviously swimming, cycling and running.
If you break that up, I’m doing at least six hours of cycling a week, a couple for running and a couple hours of swimming. I’m probably doing about 10 hours of training per week, but most of time is spent cycling.
The nutrition side is critical. You need to ensure you’re eating lean and eating carbohydrates and ensuring you’re topping up with the right number of vitamins afterwards. Every time you finish a ride or finish a run, make sure you have a protein drink afterwards. And then it’s ensuring you’re getting enough meat, clean vegetables and clean carbohydrates through your training programme.
Try to stay off sugar as much as you can. Obviously sugar can spike your energy levels, but it’s short-lived. The more your body learns to operate without sugar, the leaner and more efficient you will become. I’ve had a nutritionist give me a programme which has allowed me to stay on track.
What do you consider to be the most challenging part of training for a triathlon?
It’s definitely running after you’ve had a bicycle ride. To get off the bicycle and then run, all the muscles that are working are different on the run than those working for you on the bicycle. I suffer from a lot of stiffness in my hip flexors, so it takes me a long time to get into the run.
How did you get into doing triathlons?
It was by mistake actually. It was a couple of us sitting around at a coffee shop after a bike ride. Someone said the Dubai International Triathlon was coming up and we should do it. It sounded like a good challenge.
Last year, aged 49, I said ‘why not, let’s try it’. So that’s how I got involved, it was just really by chance. To do the event was quite an achievement. This year we’ve carried it on, but we’ve carried it on in a different format where we’ve got more of our staff and company involved and participating. Hopefully next year, we can take it even further with our customers participating too.
What is your favourite part of triathlons?
The bicycle is my favourite. If I was doing the relay, I would be doing the biking section of it. I’ve always cycled and done many races in South Africa. I’ve done the 947 Cycle Challenge in Johannesburg four or five times, I’ve done the Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge four times. Racing and cycling is something I’ve done for many years.
How much do you link approach to fitness to your corporate leadership with Fitness First?
It’s absolutely linked. The mindset of a sportsman and the mindset of running a business and leading a team is exactly the same. You have the same challenges, it takes the same discipline, it takes the same determination to do both.
What I’ve found is, being competitive in sports helps me be competitive in the business environment. It also keeps you sharp. Being fit and healthy keeps you a lot sharper in the boardroom than people who don’t exercise.
Also when you exercise and you do these events, there are times when things get tough, where you have to push through and dig in. There are times you have to absolutely motivate yourself and it’s no different in the business world. At some stage of a leader’s career, you find that the characteristics of being a sportsperson complement you in the business world. There’s no question about that.
Since you’ve been in the UAE, how have you seen triathlon evolve here?
I’ve been here for almost five years and I’ve always been out on my bike and many times see the triathlon guys come past me. You recognise them because the uniform they wear and the type of bicycle they ride. I’ve just seen it get bigger and bigger.
Now, there are events almost every weekend. Not only are they for elite athletes, but more and more families are getting involved, more and more kids are getting involved. The whole swim, bike, run concept especially in Dubai is just growing annually. It wouldn’t surprise me if Dubai becomes one of the most iconic locations in the world for these triathlons.
Are there areas of Dubai that you enjoy biking, running or swimming in?
The cycle track at Al Qudra is absolutely an amazing facility. Not only is it safe, which is paramount when you’re out on a bicycle, but the facilities are just world class. I’ve seen that area grow and grow over the last couple of years. People are up and at it at 5, 5:30 in the morning.
To run, I think the running track on Kite Beach is a great environment, the view is amazing, the facilities are outstanding. Then being at Fitness First, we have the best swimming pools in the Middle East. Our clubs and equipment allow people to further themselves in these types of events.
What other sports do you take part in?
At one stage I was a professional footballer. I represented my country at the junior level. Football was my passion growing up and obviously being South African, everything that comes with a ball we play. So I was very active in the cricket circuit and in rugby.
Over time, you get too old to continue playing the games and you move on and you don’t enjoy it as much as you used to. Then I got into cycling and really enjoyed it.
