Entrepreneurship is a marathon with occasional sprints. In my experience running Storage Scholars, fitness gives me the stamina for both.
Over the years, I’ve discovered that my physical health directly impacts my business performance—from clearer decision-making to better stress management to higher overall productivity.
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Why I Treat Fitness as Part of the Job
Running a fast-growing logistics company that moves thousands of college students can feel like juggling chainsaws.
Exercise is how I keep my head clear and my energy high. The endorphin rush after a workout sharpens my focus, calms stress, and pushes every other habit in a positive direction.
It’s a wonderful stress reliever, as I often say. If you go and work out, you feel your endorphins for the hour afterward—you feel amazing; you feel inspired to work.
The Compounding Effect of Healthy Habits
I believe strongly in what I call the “compounding effect” of healthy choices.
Unlike some people who might use a workout as justification for unhealthy choices later (“Now I can go eat a cookie”), exercise actually motivates me to double down on good decisions:
I go work out, and it makes me want to double down—I should go eat something healthy. And when you’re healthy, you want to work and be productive.
This creates a powerful positive feedback loop: Train hard → eat well → work productively → sleep early → repeat.
Each choice reinforces the next, building momentum that carries through both my personal and professional life.
My Weekly Training Split
For the past four years, I’ve maintained a consistent routine at The Collective gym in Austin, which offers both quality facilities and the community atmosphere I value.
My schedule typically looks like this:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Mon | Push (chest, shoulders, triceps) |
| Tues | Pull (back, biceps) |
| Wed | Legs |
| Thurs | Repeat push |
| Fri | Repeat pull or legs, depending on recovery |
| Sat | Active recovery or extra cardio |
| Sun | Rest |
I lift weights 4–5 times per week, sticking to a push-pull-legs rotation. The consistency matters more than fancy programming.
Additionally, I incorporate two distinct cardio sessions:
- High-intensity circuit with sleds and assault bike sprints
- Steady 3-5 mile run for mental reset and endurance
This balanced approach helps me maintain both strength and cardiovascular health without burning out.
Finding the Right Time of Day
I’ve experimented with workouts at different times, from early morning to late evening.
Currently, afternoons work best for me—I feel stronger, more alert, and more motivated at that time.
Plus, my friends train then, which adds a social element I enjoy.
However, for those with less schedule flexibility, I recommend morning workouts.
If you have a boss who’s a real pain, I believe they can’t really take your morning time as easily as they can take your afternoon time.
The bottom line?
The “best” time to work out is whatever time you can consistently stick to.
How My Approach Has Evolved
My health journey hasn’t always been this structured.
When I was 22, I would party, I admit. It was just a different type of health expenditure. We’d go out drinking, stay out all night, and have a lot of fun.
Over the years, my priorities naturally shifted.
Now, I limit social outings to roughly once a month or every six weeks, and they look quite different from my earlier days.
Everything’s just slowed down, which is good.
This shift mirrors how my business philosophy has evolved—from chasing quantity to embracing quality, both in my personal habits and business operations.
Making Fitness Part of Your Identity
The single most important insight I’ve gained about maintaining fitness alongside entrepreneurship is that it must become part of your identity.
I think it has to become a bit of an identity.
You have to decide at some point, ‘I am a person who is fit. I am a healthy person.’
And I think that cuts out a lot of the motivation and challenges.
When fitness becomes who you are rather than just something you do, the daily motivation battle disappears: I don’t want to think, ‘Oh crap, it’s five, I need to work out.’
It’s not even a thought. I’m just like, I have to. That’s who I am.
Three Take-Anywhere Tips for Fellow Founders
- Make it part of who you are. Decide you’re a healthy person; the actions will follow.
- Book workouts like investor calls. Block the calendar and protect that time slot religiously.
- Choose progress over perfection. Missing a day isn’t failure—just get back to it tomorrow.
Conclusion
Balancing trucks, teams, and the logistics of moving 10,000 students flows more smoothly when my own engine runs well.
The mental clarity I gain from regular exercise helps me make sharper decisions during our peak seasons, stay composed under pressure, and maintain the sustained energy needed to lead our team effectively.
For those building something big, my advice is simple: start by building yourself first.
A healthy founder creates the foundation for a healthy business—and both require consistent habits, smart choices, and a long-term perspective.
Just as you wouldn’t run your trucks on empty, you shouldn’t run yourself that way either.