Could your gym routine be the key to business success?

Lifting heavy weights can be an underrated factor in business growth. The entrepreneur tracked the growth of companies with CEOs who lift weights or exercise against the S&P500. He found that this “boost ETF” fund outperformed the S&P500 by 140%, or 2.4 times, over the past four years.

“Lifting weights = $$$,” added Pieter Levels, who led the main study and shared it on X. Companies with CEOs he said were “certified to lift weights” (much of his data from Google Images) included Meta, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Uber and Microsoft. He also included Apple and shared a picture of Tim Cook on a weight machine when he was interviewed.

Levels said his “deadlift ETF outperforms Google,” adding that he believes Google would do better if Sundar Pichai lifted heavy weights or did martial arts. In response to the original tweet, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed that he’s been working out 6 days a week for a while now, and recent results have been good, with Coinbase’s revenue up 108% year over year. – over a year in 2024.

CEOs of high-growth companies who lift big weights: causation or correlation?

But not everyone was convinced that causation existed; that business success came from CEOs lifting weights. Stefan Rottler, Head of Business Development at SEDA, shared his guess: “Technika has performed massively better since 2020. Tech managers are on average younger. Younger people are generally more likely to exercise.

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

Here’s something else. Not only is the Levels study an incredibly small sample, it could just be a coincidence. Perhaps mature and more traditional companies, which may have slower growth, not only have older CEOs, but also more private sector CEOs, so it’s just harder to find evidence that they’re involved in combat sports.

Blogger Michelle Tandler believes it’s causation, not just correlation, adding, “Heavy weight = warrior mindset.” Entrepreneur Darrell Brogdon suggested, “All of a sudden you’ve got thousands of shareholders asking, ‘Are you even raising bro?’ called the lever strategy.”

It is not known whether lifting CEOs and company performance are correlated or causal. But it sure is intriguing. It’s no secret that consistent and challenging physical exercise builds mental resilience, which is incredibly beneficial when running a business.

Mark Zuckerberg puts it down to energy. “Staying in shape is very important. It takes energy to do something well, and when you’re in shape you just have a lot more energy,” he said in a Q&A with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Building Mental Resilience: The CEO’s Secret Weapon

That’s what the entrepreneurs say, but what does the science say? Actually, very little. The effect of CEO promotion on company performance has not been studied. However, other studies show hints that there is some truth to the theory.

Weight lifting has been shown to have many benefits, including better overall strength and endurance, supporting a healthy metabolism, promoting healthy aging, and muscle recovery. When a CEO looks and feels better, he or she is likely to make better decisions and attract new business and better deals.

Visibility of a CEO’s commitment to fitness can also inspire team members to prioritize their own health. A company-wide shift toward fitness can increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, and improve morale and culture.

A study published in the Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology found that employees who regularly exercised showed higher levels of empathy and focus at work than their sedentary counterparts. In addition, non-sedentary men showed higher vitality at work. Thus, promoting physical activity among employees, including managers, can have a positive impact on workplace well-being and engagement.

While a “compression ETF” may not be a foolproof investment plan, the fundamental principles of discipline, endurance and mental strength underlying weightlifting and combat sports can benefit a company’s performance. Maybe it’s time to create your own leverage strategy.