This CEO does not believe in work-life balance: It's for somebody who’s not fully committed

Crunch Fitness CEO Jim Rowley believes physical fitness is incredibly important for everybody, but especially for business leaders. (Image credit: @jimrowleycrunchceo/Instagram)

Jim Rowley has been in the fitness industry for over 30 years and having spent over a decade at the helm of gym chain Crunch Fitness, which operates over 400 locations across the US, he has realised one thing: there’s no such thing as work-life balance.

The 57-year-old, who prefers to work from home in New York, recently opened up to Fortune and said, "I don’t think there’s such a thing as work-life balance. I think work-life balance is for somebody who’s not fully committed. It depends on what your 'why' is. If your 'why' is really purposeful, and goal-oriented, you’re gonna find an imbalance in pursuit of that. Nobody ever had a perfect balance in pursuit of something great. You’re either all in, or you’re somewhat in, or you’re not in at all."

Elaborating on how to be a successful leader, Rowley said, "We live in this instant-gratification society. But what really works to become a successful leader is hard work, determination, planning, constant self-realization, self-awareness, challenging yourself. Those are the difficult things."

But that does not mean, the Crunch Fitness CEO works 70-90 hours a week. A typical day for Rowley involves waking up around 6.30 am and after a full work day--most of which is spent on attending meetings on Zoom--go off to bed by 9.15 pm. On Monday afternoons, he also enjoys doing pilates with his wife.

"At 12.30 pm on Mondays, I change into my T-shirt and my shorts and I head to Pilates, which is a five-minute drive. It’s also the greatest blessing in the world, because I get to do pilates with my wife. And I didn’t get to do that while we were raising our three children," Rowley said. "In the middle of the day, it gives me great joy to take a Pilates class with my wife. That’s something I value: the chance to slow down."

He also enjoys walking by the lake in the evenings