A bite of exercise in the corner office: C-suite leaders weave in short bursts of physical activities into workday

In corner offices and boardrooms, as executives become more mindful of their health and well-being, they are integrating short bursts of physical activities into their workday—from walking meetings and treadmill desks to quick desk workouts.

C-suite leaders are embracing everything from light exercise to the emerging concept of “exercise snacking” as practical ways to stay fit without straying from work. “Over the past decade, movement in corporate India has evolved from a niche pursuit to a broader cultural shift,” says Marcus Ranney, CEO of longevity-focused startup Human Edge, who works with athletes and senior professionals. “The pandemic was a significant catalyst.”

Ranney often builds micro movements into wellness plans for time-pressed professionals. He has prescribed a 10-minute walk after each meal to a startup founder who is diabetic. His universal recommendation: postlunch meetings should always be walking meetings.

A startup founder agrees, noting that standing or walking meetings are now common, especially as professionals grapple with the consequences of prolonged sitting—often manifesting as back pain or lipid disorders.

That’s where physical activities, including “exercise snacking”, come in. Exercise snacking, first coined by American cardiologist Howard Hartley in 2007, challenges the traditional emphasis on meeting weekly exercise quotas. Instead, it stresses on frequent, short

duration activities like one-minute stair climbs or 20-second sprints throughout the day. Research shows that even these brief movements can have measurable benefits for metabolic and cardiovascular health. No wonder treadmill desks have entered the offices of venture capital partners.

WALKING ALLY
Some others keep it lighter. Arnab Banerjee, MD & CEO of leading tyre manufacturing company Ceat, is committed to clocking 10,000 steps a day—no matter how packed his schedule. He has purposeful hallway walks that double as informal touchpoints with colleagues. “It’s not just about fitness,” he says. “Those few minutes walking with a team member often lead to quick problem-solving or a better sense of connection. It’s efficient and human at the same time.”

Srikanth Subramanian, CEO of Ionic Wealth, a wealth management company promoted by stock broking firm Angel One, has decided to incorporate physical movements into his workday despite a demanding schedule. His office is on the 15th floor, but he rarely takes the elevator all the way up. “Every day, I stop the lift on the 10th or 11th floor and climb the rest of the way,” he says. Even his phone calls are taken on the move. “If the camera’s off, I’m walking,” he adds. “It keeps me alert and fresh, and helps me stay agile in my thinking. There’s a high level of consciousness across the board today, and I believe staying physically active helps me lead better.”



Micro exercise can work beyond the corner rooms in India, where nearly half the adults do not meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended activity levels of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week.

In 2020, WHO updated its guidelines on sedentary behaviour, dropping the previous requirement that physical activity must be done in bouts of at least 10 minutes. The new guidelines affirm that movement of any duration, no matter how short, can contribute to better health outcomes.

“Whether you are at your desk, in a hotel room, or at the airport, you can build in small movements. Fitness doesn’t mean sweating. You can build muscle at your desk with squats, tricep dips and leg raises,” says Ranney. “Even 30 to 60 seconds of movement done multiple times a day can drive real metabolic change,” he says.

Like Banerjee and Subramanian, a growing number of CEOs are rewriting the rules of productivity. Instead of sacrificing wellness at the altar of ambition, they are weaving it into daily routines. Some are making it part of their company ethos.

Eternal, which houses brands like Zomato and Blinkit, has embedded wel l-being into its corporate culture, says its vice-president of human resources, Niharika Mohanty. “A significant number of our CXOs actively participate in wellness initiatives such as walk-and-work setups (with desk bikes and mobility tools), step challenges, movement breaks and regular ergonomics nudges. Prioritising physical and mental well-being is a shared practice across the organisation.”

Eternal’s CEO Deepinder Goyal, who has publicly shared his fitness journey, is also building a venture focused on longevity and performance optimisation through health and mental wellness tracking. Given his personal investments and interest, fitness has been a key focus at the company. It has an in-house wellness team comprising trainers, therapists, nutritionists and programme leads. It also plans to roll out “bite-sized wellness moments” such as guided breathwork between meetings and quick check-ins for posture. “Well-being has always been in Eternal’s DNA—founded on the belief that a sharp mind needs a strong, cared-for body. It shaped our systems long before ‘well-being-at-work’ became a buzzword,” says Mohanty.

More and more corporate executives are acknowledging that the traditional split between work and wellness no longer works. With tight calendars often pushing gym sessions and morning runs to the backburner, CEOs are getting creative, climbing stairs, opting for standing or walking meetings and even scheduling short meditation breaks between calls. The reasons go beyond health.

They believe it will help with better decision making, emotional resilience and creative thinking.

FLOWS FROM THE TOP
Nithin Kamath, chief executive of Zerodha, believes that a culture of health and well-being must be driven from the top. Kamath, known for his fitness discipline, says the company introduced structural changes i n 2 021 to help employees.

“We try to keep most workrelated conversations within the 9 am-to-6 pm window, so people have enough time before and after work for themselves. We also encourage employees to take walks after lunch and stay active during the day,” he says, adding that in its early years, the company often operated long hours. “Looking back, I wish we had prioritised health from Day 1 in the organisation,” he says.

Kamath himself relies on his smartwatch, which buzzes every 45 minutes if he hasn’t stood up. However, he calls treadmill desks “an overkill”.

In a country where the concept of fitness is still catching on, experts agree that a culture of wellbeing should percolate from the top leadership of companies. And to initiate a change that goes beyond token initiatives on special days, a focus on employee wellbeing has to be a core cultural value in the organisation.