I doubt there’s an entrepreneur out there who doesn’t know exercise is good for you. Aside from the obvious benefits to physical health, research shows working up a sweat reduces anxiety and depression, boosts cognitive performance, and even slows aging.
All of which adds up to a pretty compelling case to get your butt to the gym — or running track, pool, yoga class, etc. Yet many business owners struggle to make time for fitness. Long hours and exhausting responsibilities can make it tempting to argue that you should use the hours you would spend working out on your company instead.
If that’s you, then I have yet another study on the benefits of exercise to throw at you. The study, conducted by a pair of business professors out of Hong Kong, busts your final excuse for skipping that workout. Not only are you not benefiting your business by not exercising, but you’re also missing out on immediate, measurable benefits to business outcomes.
You don’t need to wait long to see the benefits of exercise
To do so, the team tracked the exercise levels of 200 volunteers over ten days using fitness trackers, while also monitoring their performance at work based on both self-reports and evaluations by superiors. The data confirmed that not only does exercise help you stay physically and mentally fit long-term, but it also helps you perform better at work the very next day.
Let’s just underline that further: Exercise isn’t just good for you long term. It will improve how you do your job the literal next day. So stop telling yourself you don’t work out for the good of your business.
Here’s how to break out of the exhaustion-sloth doom loop
You probably don’t need me to tell you the takeaway here, but I’ll say it anyway. Stop making work-related excuses, and get off your butt. But we all know that’s easier said than done. Just like exercise gives you pep and motivation, not exercising can rob you of the energy you need to get started with exercise. But fret not, experts have advice on how to break out of this exhaustion-unhealthy habits doom loop.
Bonnie Hayden Cheng and Yolanda Na Li, the co-authors of the Hong Kong study, also stress the importance of starting small.
“We often talk ourselves out of physical activity because we’re just too tired, hungry, stressed, or busy (ourselves included!). Our findings echo the perspective of the WHO, in that ‘some physical activity is better than doing none,'” they write in HBR. “We found that even short periods of physical activity, even 20 minutes each day, were sufficient to generate resources that contributed to employees’ next-day task performance and health.”
So don’t get hung up on particular targets or talk yourself out of starting because you can’t do as much as you would like. Just do something. Even the smallest amount of exercise today is likely to make you a little better at your job tomorrow.
