Physical fitness relieves stress and improves cognitive abilities. Business coaching professionals understand that exercise also boosts energy, and successful leaders need the energy to power their accomplishments and ambitions. Here’s a look at how some of the most successful leaders use physical exercise to maintain and improve their leadership.

In addition to embracing change, inspiring and empowering others, facilitating cultures of business coaching, and continuously developing their skills, leaders must ensure they’re fit to lead. This covers the mental and physical aspects of fitness since the two seem to intertwine on many levels.

Exercise and physical fitness are the most transformative habits leaders and non-leaders can integrate into their lives. Aside from allowing people to retain mobility, exercise can improve sleep and boost mental abilities like focus, sharpness, and memory.

The benefits of physical fitness permeate every aspect of one’s life. 

The benefits of physical fitness for leadership are well-known. As a leadership coaching specialist, I’ve always advocated comprehensive fitness routines as part of the leadership fitness recipe. The world’s top entrepreneurs all have workout regimens that contributing to their success and longevity in top positions.

Here’s a look at the fitness regimens of some of the most successful entrepreneurs and leaders.

Barack Obama Combines Strength Training with Cardio

In his autobiography, Barack Obama reveals he wasn’t exactly a workout maniac in his youth. In high school, as a member of the Choom Gang, he was a pot smoker, and academic performance and physical fitness weren’t his priorities then, though he did enjoy basketball.

Running three miles a day instilled a fitness-focused discipline in him that changed his life. Today, he works out six times a week and puts in 45-minute long sessions of strength training and cardio. His love of basketball has also never subsided.

For Mark Cuban, Cardio Is King

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban (the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, a “Shark Tank” judge, a media personality, and a proprietor) logs an hour’s worth of cardio each day.

Cuban, 64, may not get his exercise in every day, as travel and other engagements keep him away from the gym now and then, but he aims to work out an hour each day by playing basketball or doing kickboxing.

Mark Zuckerberg Is Famous for His Jogging

The world knows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a leader who doesn’t cut corners workout-wise. He goes on a run first thing in the morning, regardless of where he happens to be. His bodyguards, friends, and dog often accompany him.

As the head of the quintessential social media company, Zuckerberg knows that effective leadership requires plenty of energy. People have more energy when they are physically fit.

Warren Buffet Works Out to Avoid Dieting

Not everyone who works out likes it, but the benefits of physical fitness are clear even to those averse to sweating it out. Billionaire investor Warren Buffet is far from being an exercise buff, but he works out so he can continue drinking Coke and eating hamburgers.

He may not be a fan of working out, but Buffet dislikes dieting even more. Having to choose between dieting and exercise, the billionaire considers the latter the “lesser of two evils.”

For Richard Branson, Keeping Fit Is the Productivity Key

By staying fit, the Virgin Group’s Richard Branson can achieve twice as much at work.

Branson wakes up at 5AM every day to complete his exercise. He loves to run and cycle, and he’s not a stranger to marathons. His involvement in sports exceeds that of an exercise enthusiast by far. He has even created his own charitable triathlon.

When you’re fit, you’re more productive. 

According to Branson, in addition to its many health benefits, working out can boost creativity and relieve stress. Scientific research supports the creativity-boosting effects of physical exercise.

While we work out, our brains release a compound known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which directly impacts memory and cognitive abilities.

Executive coaching values the contributions physical fitness brings to intelligent leadership. Leaders looking to improve and develop their leadership abilities should pay attention to their health and fitness as part of their overall efforts of continual improvement.

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