Could Your Gym Routine Be The Key To Business Success?

Lifting heavy weights could be an underrated factor in business growth. An entrepreneur tracked the growth of companies with CEOs that lifted weights or did fight sports compared to the S&P500. He found this “deadlift ETF” fund outperformed the S&P500 by 140%, or 2.4 times over the last four years.

“Lifting weights = $$$” added Pieter Levels, who ran the basic study and shared it on X. Companies with CEOs that he said were “confirmed to lift weights” (with much of his data from Google Images) included Meta, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Uber, and Microsoft. He also included Apple, and shared an image of Tim Cook on a weights machine when questioned.

Levels said his “deadlift ETF outperforms Google,” adding that he is “convinced Google would do better if Sundar Pichai would lift heavy weights, or do fight sports.” In response to the original tweet, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed he had “been working out 6 days a week for quite a while now,” with “good recent performance,” in line with Coinbase earnings being up 108% year-over-year during 2024.

The high growth company CEOs that lift heavy weights: causation or correlation?

But not everyone was convinced there was a causation effect; that business success was down to the CEOs lifting heavy. Head of business development at SEDA Stefan Rottler shared his assumption, “Tech has massively outperformed since 2020. Tech CEOs are on average younger. Younger people are generally more likely to work out.”

Levels responded, “Yes true that’s a big part of it. But Google only did 29% last 12 months vs Meta 80%. Zuck lifts, Sundar doesn’t.” Levels also said that Elon Musk “needs to get back into it” after a 2001 picture of him squatting 225lbs was shared in response.

There’s more to this. Not only is Levels’ study an incredibly small sample size, it could just be coincidence. Maybe the mature, more traditional companies, which might have slower growth, not only have older CEOs but more private CEOs, so it’s simply harder to find evidence that they lift or engage in fight sports.

Blogger Michelle Tandler believes this is causation, not just correlation, adding, “Heavy weights = warrior mindset.” Entrepreneur Darrell Brogdon suggested, “Suddenly, thousands of shareholders asking “Do you even lift, bro?” at annual meetings,” software engineer David Sancho suggested, “go next level and make the CEO integrate with Strava or health metrics.” Another X user joked, “this is called a barbell strategy.”

Whether weightlifting CEOs and company performance is correlation or causation is unknown. But it’s definitely intriguing. It’s no secret that consistent, challenging physical exercise develops mental resilience, which is incredibly useful when running a company.

Mark Zuckerberg puts it down to energy. “Staying in shape is very important. Doing anything well requires energy, and you just have a lot more energy when you’re fit,” he said in a Q&A, when asked the question by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Building mental resilience: the CEO’s secret weapon

That’s what entrepreneurs say, but what does science say? Actually very little. The effect of the CEO lifting heavy on company performance has not been studied. However, other research shows hints there is truth to the theory.

Heavy lifting has been shown to provide numerous benefits, including improved overall strength and increased load capacity, support for healthy metabolism, promotion of healthy aging and enhanced muscle definition. When a CEO looks and feels better, they probably make better decisions and attract new business and better deals.

The visibility of a CEO’s commitment to physical fitness can also inspire team members to prioritize their own health. A company-wide shift towards physical fitness can lead to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improved morale and culture.

A study published in the Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology found that employees who engage in regular physical exercise showed higher levels of empathy and focus at work compared to their sedentary counterparts. Additionally, non-sedentary men demonstrated higher levels of vigor at work. So promoting physical activity among employees, including executives, could have positive effects on workplace well-being and engagement.

While the “deadlift ETF” may not be a foolproof investment plan, the underlying principles of discipline, resilience, mental strength that lifting heavy and engaging in fight sport creates could have benefits to company performance. Maybe it’s time to create your barbell strategy.