An athlete turned CEO says rucking — the fat-burning workout du jour — helps him stay in shape without sacrificing calls and meetings

CEO Jeff Byers is a former NFL athlete and said he fits exercise into his busy schedule by rucking during meetings and calls.

Over a decade ago, Jeff Byers was a full-time athlete, trying to optimize his body and mind to compete in the NFL.

Now, as the CEO of a buzzy supplement company, Momentous, Byers still makes time to exercise like an athlete using a time-saving fitness technique that helps him fit workouts into his routine of meetings and phone calls.

Byers told B-17 that he spends hours each week rucking, walking with a weighted pack or vest.

Rucking is one of the hottest trends in fitness, beloved by celebrities like Guy Fieri as well as top athletes, in part because it combines a minimalist approach of working out anywhere, anytime with functional benefits like building muscle, burning fat, and boosting longevity.

Taking calls from his treadmill desk, Byers said he’s able to log miles and hours of exercise without spending extra time in the gym.

“I love to ruck,” he said. “It’s so easy to incorporate into work.”

You might even be invited to throw on a rucksack yourself, if you’re meeting Byers for an in-person one-on-one, which he said often ends up being a walk and he, at least, opts to lug along some weight.

Byers said making movement a part of his daily routine has helped him capture what he loved about being an athlete and apply it to business, and build better focus and performance for the long-haul.

“My body’s been my tool for so many years and it’s still a tool, but it’s used in a very different way and I need my body to serve me for a long period of time,” he said. “When we think about performance for life, which is longevity, it’s about, how do I do the things I love for longer? How do I feel better?”

Rucking is a full body workout, no gym required

To try rucking, all you need is a sturdy backpack and some weight, which is part of the appeal.

Michael Easter, whose book The Comfort Crisis has helped drive a resurgence of rucking, says carrying weight is something that humans evolved to do from the earliest days of our ancestors, and taps into muscles modern humans often neglect.

As a workout, rucking offers a bit of everything: muscle-building, since you have resistance from the weight; cardio and fat-burning from a higher heart rate; and even longevity, since using your joints and muscles can help keep them resilient over time.

Byers said rucking is a staple of his work week, sometimes adding up to 30 or 35 miles or about 15 hours total as he’s on calls or meetings. That’s not counting the time he spends traveling for work, trekking around all day with backpack full of gear, as he did on a recent visit to New York.

CEO Jeff Byers works out in a weighted vest or pack often, sometimes while taking calls or meetings.

Whether he’s logging on for a few minutes or a few hours at a time, every step on the treadmill adds up to well over the recommended minimum weekly dose of exercise for better health.

“I can be on a Zoom call, which we all have a lot of, and I can ruck two miles, and it’s better than nothing,” he said.

CEOs should think like athletes, Byers said

Beyond the physical benefits of rucking, Byers said challenging himself through regular exercise has enhanced his ability to stay sharp in the business world.

“Training is a part of you and pushing yourself hard to knowing your limits. If you can push yourself really hard, then other things feel easier,” he said.

The mindset of using difficult experiences to adapt and become stronger, is something that can apply to any high-performance person, from an athlete to an executive. Byers, who played for the USC Trojans then for various NFL teams and practice squads, navigated a string of injuries throughout his football career.

He said he tries to bring that approach to Momentous.

“I love movement. It’s been in my DNA for a very long time and it’s just something I try to incorporate very heavily into my life, the culture of the company,” he said.

Momentous holds a weekly company-wide workout on Tuesdays. Sometimes Byers leads the workout, or he’ll join his employees at a gym for a class, and the exercises are scaleable so people can join in at any fitness level. The point, he said, is to cultivate a sense of teamwork, the camaraderie of taking on a challenge as a group, that he loved so much from his NFL days, and use it to build a stronger company.

“Working together and doing hard things allows us to do hard things together in business to solve difficult problems,” Byers said.