Building a business means long hours, back‑to‑back calls, and a schedule that never quite fits a “normal” routine. Fitness often gets deprioritised—but it doesn’t have to. Here’s how to keep moving, recover well, and protect your energy when work never stops.
Make movement non‑negotiable, not optional
The biggest shift is treating exercise like a critical appointment. Block it on your calendar, defend that time, and treat it like a meeting you can’t skip. Even 20–30 minutes most days beats sporadic two‑hour sessions. Short, consistent efforts compound; perfect, rare efforts don’t.
Choose modalities that fit your life
You don’t need a gym or a lot of gear. Bodyweight workouts, resistance bands, kettlebells, or a single pair of dumbbells can support serious strength work. Add walking, running, or cycling for cardio. At‑home cold plunge—see our cold plunge guide and Oakerspa’s cold plunge selection—fits into a morning or evening routine without commute time. Pick what you’ll actually do, not what sounds impressive.
Stack habits instead of carving new time
Attach fitness to existing routines. Walk or cycle to work, do mobility during your first coffee, lift before you shower, or take a post‑lunch walk. Habit stacking reduces decision fatigue and makes movement default rather than extra.
Protect recovery
Busy founders often under-sleep and over-caffeinate. Recovery—sleep, nutrition, stress management—is what lets you train consistently and perform at work. Prioritise sleep, eat enough and well, and use simple tools like cold plunge or breathwork to downregulate. We cover this in recovery modalities that actually work and eating for energy and recovery.
Embrace “good enough”
You don’t need optimal programmes or perfect conditions. You need consistent, sensible effort. Some weeks you’ll do more; some you’ll do less. The goal is to keep showing up, adapt when life gets chaotic, and avoid all‑or‑nothing thinking. Fit doesn’t mean perfect—it means sustainable.