From Muscle to Mindset: This CEO’s Blueprint for Employee Wellness and Peak Performance

In an increasingly competitive job market, businesses in every industry are striving to attract and retain employees with various benefits. Sometimes, those perks include flexible working hours, free parking, or paid time off.  At Chris Cavallini’s Nutrition Solutions, employees enjoy an uncommon benefit: paid workouts and free healthy meals on shift.

Every team member at Nutrition Solutions has the opportunity to get paid to workout!

Whether it’s packing as many burpees as possible into five minutes, flipping tires, plunging into an ice bath, or working in some deadlifts, each part of the workout is designed to push employees to their mental and physical limits.

During his time in the Navy, Chris Cavallini got to experience the benefits of early morning workouts firsthand. And as a nutrition company that aims to better its customers’ physical health, it only makes sense that the company invest in helping its  employees improve their health & fitness as well.

“By definition, we are technically a healthy meal delivery service,” Cavallini says. “But at the end of the day, Nutrition Solutions is really a lifestyle transformation company. We help our clients get in the best shape of their lives with no stress.  I always tell our team that we are not in the business of selling food; we’re in the business of changing lives.”

Cavallini’s incentive of paid employee workouts benefits both his employees and customers. For people looking to change their lives with Nutrition Solutions, seeing the company’s employees focusing on their own health lets them know they’re on the right track. As Cavallini puts it, “It’s important to me that our clients have the confidence of knowing that our team walks the walk and are on the same journey.”

These workouts also directly benefit his employees’ mental health. After all, Cavallini believes that a strong mind is essential for anyone who wants to succeed. But a strong mind relies upon a strong body.

To this end, the paid workouts at Nutrition Solutions push employees to their physical and mental limits. “The workouts are not designed to be fun,” Cavallini says. “They’re created to be as intense and uncomfortable as possible in the time allocated. The workouts consist primarily of high-intensity functional training, with minimal rest for 40–45 minutes.

We also have ice baths that the team uses to set the tone for the day. Sitting in a 40-degree ice bath for  3–5 minutes is  just as much about building mental toughness than it is increased recovery.”

This might sound like an unpleasant way to start the workday, but Cavallini finds that the lasting physical and mental benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort. He also ensures that this intense approach is still accessible for those new to physical fitness, with each exercise able to be modified for any level. However, he believes that a rigorous morning workout is important for the daily success of every employee — a rigorous workout first thing in the morning sets the day on a trajectory for greatness!

Thanks to the company’s special culture, employees  get more than just a heroic morning workout — they also get healthy, protein-rich meals while working and have access to an arsenal of performance optimizing top shelf supplements.

Whether they want to gain muscle, lose fat, or increase their endurance, Nutrition Solutions prioritizes helping its employees reach their fitness goals just as much as they do their clientele.

There’s no doubt that Cavallini’s workplace wellness initiative works. However, some business owners might look at it as just another costly expense and liability, wondering why a company should pay employees to work out. But Cavallini sees these sessions as investments in his organization’s success.

“A fitter, healthier team member is a more inspired team member,” he says. “Their mood, confidence, and productivity are all enhanced dramatically. They’re more focused, productive, and overall are higher value assets to our company. In fact, we grew our company 50% in 2023 and are on track to shatter those numbers in 2024.

Cavallini’s strategy of on-the-clock workouts also enables employees to reach their fitness goals while balancing exercise with work and home life. After all, starting the day with a workout is often easier than fitting it in after work when you’re tired and ready to head home. With their daily exercise out of the way, employees can focus on work, then go home and spend their free time with family, pursue other hobbies, or just relax.

For all these reasons, Cavallini believes other business leaders could learn from his company’s successful wellness initiative. As he puts it, “Every company should have some kind of incentive for employees to prioritize fitness in place because it’s a win-win.”  And who wouldn’t want a fitter, more energized and motivated workforce?

But are other businesses likely to follow his lead? Cavallini doesn’t think so. He says, “It will never happen because, unfortunately, corporate culture prioritizes profits over their own people. I’d argue, though, that businesses are leaving incalculable amounts of profit on the table by not investing in the wellness of their team.”

Meanwhile, Nutrition Solutions and companies like it will continue to reap the benefits of a strong, healthy workforce.

M&F and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.