The Deadlift ETF: 2026 Update — Still Outperforming

The Deadlift ETF Is Still Outperforming

In late 2024, @levelsio posted a half-serious idea on X: what if you built an ETF based on CEOs who deadlift? The post went viral with over 4 million views, and the concept — now known as the Deadlift ETF — hasn't stopped generating conversation since.

The original thesis was simple: companies led by physically fit CEOs might outperform the market because regular exercise correlates with better decision-making, higher stress tolerance, and sustained energy. Eighteen months later, the data (even if fictional) keeps proving the point.

Quick Recap: What Is the Deadlift ETF?

The Deadlift ETF is a hypothetical, equally-weighted fund of companies whose CEOs actively engage in strength training, weightlifting, or combat sports. The concept was inspired by the earlier "Becky ETF" — a satirical fund based on companies favored by affluent American women (Lululemon, Peloton, Apple, etc.) that returned over 1,000%.

The Deadlift ETF takes a different filter: not consumer habits, but CEO fitness habits.

Original hypothetical holdings include:

• Meta (Mark Zuckerberg — Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA)
• Amazon (Andy Jassy)
• Microsoft (Satya Nadella)
• Goldman Sachs (David Solomon)
• BlackRock (Larry Fink)
• Coinbase (Brian Armstrong — publicly shared his deadlift stats)
• Airbnb (Brian Chesky — lobbied for inclusion on X)

What's Changed Since 2024

The Deadlift ETF concept has evolved from a meme into a serious-ish conversation about leadership and physical fitness:

Mark Zuckerberg went deeper into combat sports. He competed in MMA events and continued training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu publicly. Meta's stock has continued its strong performance. Correlation or causation? Nobody knows, but the Deadlift ETF thesis stays alive.

More CEOs are publicly embracing fitness. The trend of tech founders sharing their training routines on social media has accelerated. From cold plunges to deadlift PRs, CEO fitness content is now its own genre. The idea that being physically strong correlates with building strong companies has entered mainstream business culture.

The concept inspired real analysis. Financial creators on YouTube, Twitter/X, and Reddit have run backtests comparing "fit CEO" portfolios against the S&P 500. While methodology varies (and none of this is investment advice), the results are consistently interesting: portfolios filtered by CEO fitness tend to skew toward high-growth tech and finance companies that have outperformed in recent years.

Proposed tickers are still debated. The community hasn't settled on a name, but the favorites remain:

• LIFT — clean and obvious
• DLFT — deadlift abbreviated
• ARND — nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger
• DEAD — for the meme value
• IRON — strong contender

Why the Thesis Actually Makes Sense

Beyond the humor, there's real research supporting the connection between physical fitness and leadership performance:

Cognitive function. A 2023 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that resistance training improves executive function, working memory, and processing speed. These are exactly the cognitive skills that matter in high-stakes business decisions.

Stress resilience. Regular exercise reduces cortisol levels and improves the body's stress response. CEOs face constant pressure — those who train regularly may handle it more effectively and make fewer reactive decisions.

Discipline transfer. The discipline required to maintain a consistent training regimen — showing up when you don't feel like it, pushing through discomfort, tracking progressive improvement — transfers directly to running a company.

Energy and endurance. CEO schedules are brutal. Physical fitness provides the stamina to maintain performance across 12-16 hour days, international travel, and constant context-switching.

Signaling effect. A CEO who visibly maintains their health signals long-term thinking and self-management to investors, employees, and partners. It's not vanity — it's leadership communication.

The Broader Trend: Fitness as a Business Advantage

The Deadlift ETF is part of a larger cultural shift. Physical fitness is no longer seen as separate from professional performance. High performers across tech, finance, and entrepreneurship increasingly view training as a non-negotiable part of their routine, not a hobby.

This applies at every level, not just the C-suite. Research from the International Journal of Workplace Health Management found that employees who exercise regularly are 15% more productive and take fewer sick days.

If you're reading this as someone who wants to start building their own fitness routine, you don't need a CEO budget for a personal trainer. An AI coaching app like MyTrainer can create a personalized program — training and nutrition — for $6.99/month. Theworkout generatoris free and gives you a preview of AI-generated programming.

Could the Deadlift ETF Become Real?

Novelty ETFs have gone from joke to reality before. The "BUZZ" ETF (based on social media sentiment) launched in 2021. Thematic ETFs around space, cannabis, and even the metaverse exist. An ETF filtered by CEO fitness metrics isn't the wildest idea in the room.

The main challenge: how do you quantify CEO fitness? Self-reported deadlift numbers on X aren't exactly auditable data. But with the growing trend of wearable data (Whoop, Apple Watch, Oura Ring), it's not impossible to imagine a future where leadership health metrics become a factor in ESG-style investment screening.

For now, the Deadlift ETF remains a thought experiment — but a thought experiment that keeps outperforming on paper and keeps growing in cultural relevance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I actually invest in the Deadlift ETF?

No, it doesn't exist as a real financial product. It's a hypothetical concept created by @levelsio on X. You could manually replicate the portfolio by buying shares of the individual companies, but that's your own investment decision (not financial advice).

Why do fit CEOs seem to lead successful companies?

It's likely a combination of discipline, cognitive benefits from exercise, stress management, and selection bias — the type of person who builds a successful company is also the type who prioritizes their health. The causation likely runs both ways.

What's the connection between deadlifts and business performance?

The deadlift is often used as a symbol because it's the most straightforward measure of full-body strength. It requires discipline, progressive overload, and consistency — qualities that map well to business leadership. But any form of consistent exercise would theoretically produce similar cognitive and leadership benefits.

Conclusion

The Deadlift ETF started as a meme and has evolved into a genuine conversation about the intersection of physical fitness and professional performance. Whether or not it ever becomes a real financial product, the underlying thesis is supported by research: regular strength training improves the cognitive abilities, stress tolerance, and discipline that drive business success.

If the CEOs of the world's most valuable companies are prioritizing their fitness, maybe there's a signal there worth following — not just in your portfolio, but in your own daily routine. You can start with afree workout planor calculate yournutritional targetsto build the same kind of disciplined approach to your health.