High Frequency Trading's most unconventional exercise club
The intense competitive worlds of exercise and finance often go hand in hand. Sometimes it's bikers competing on Strava, other times it's the inverse; overworked employees using yoga to relax. But how do they do it in the unique world of high-frequency trading (HFT)?
Hudson River Trading, a New York based HFT firm, has a few methods. Like most firms, it has an on-site gym, or a reimbursement for other offices. It also offers yoga classes, but the most peculiar exercise group touted is "a 7-minute workout club."
The workout is exactly what it says on the tin, a high intensity interval training (HIIT) session condensed into just seven minutes. It first appeared back in 2013, but has really gained popularity over the past year.
It feels very fitting that it's HFT that's adopted the workout as its own; quants and engineers work to fine tune their algorithms to their quickest and most efficient states, so it's only right that they do the same for their exercise routines.
The workout isn't perfect, however. Healthline says an experienced exerciser may not benefit much from it, while Business Insider says the exercises give little attention to the back and biceps. Nonetheless, when your job has the potential to exceed 70-hour workweeks, seven minutes is better than nothing.
Still, it's not the weirdest workout in finance. Bankers with the reverse problem, perhaps too much free time, have a tendency to wear skintight polyester suits and electrocute themselves while doing squats.
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