Who is Joe Rogan?
In the most non-cliche way, Joe Rogan is many things. He is a comedian first, then a UFC commentator, then a TV show host, and now he has a podcast that’s been running for many years. Oh, and did I mention that he is a practitioner of mixed martial arts, including kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu? If that’s not enough to impress you, he’s also a state champion of taekwondo.
Loads of celebrity diets and workout routines have come up time and time again, and Joe Rogan’s routine is no exception.
However, in a world of constantly changing diets, it’s quite hard to find which ones have real results on real people and which ones are marketing schemes. Is Joe Rogan’s diet one that is backed up with science and research?
If you’ve listened to his podcast, read around about his diet, and read his philosophy regarding his body, you’ll easily trust that he has thought about how best to take care of his body.
He even regards his body as a machine, saying, “I do everything that I can to put my body and my brain in a good place so I’m keeping my engine smooth. I’m changing my oil, I’m changing my spark plugs and I’m making sure that it’s operating. It’s not going to be perfect but I know that I’ve done my best to keep it operating to the best it can.”
It seems, from this quote alone and from reading around about him, that he gives great importance to what he puts into his body and how he keeps it moving to keep it strong. You’ll find later on, though, that he does not push himself to the limits and listens to his body more than anything else.
Joe Rogan's Diet
His philosophy on his diet is eating what you kill. That means that the meat that he does consume, mostly elk, is hunted by his own hands. This might seem a bit morbid to you, but if you were to ask me, I’d say that it’s a lot more authentic to do the hunting yourself than to skip the ugly part of killing and letting the factories do the dirty work for you.
This is what usually happens with casual meat-eaters.
To be clear, I don’t advocate for hunting. However, Joe Rogan’s reasoning behind doing so is to delve into every part of the food process, from the gathering to the feast, creating this sense of connection between his body and what he puts into it. In a way, it’s almost like taking responsibility for the food you consume. The effort and care you put into hunting your own food create meaning.
Like a lot of people who try healthy living, Joe Rogan also adopts the avocado and egg trend, although now it seems to have much more legitimacy if Joe Rogan does it. He also likes a Korean dish called Kimchi, which is fermented cabbage that gives you a bit of a kick with its spice.
He also likes a lot of different drinks, and funnily enough, that includes whiskey. Of course, just like any other, coffee and coconut water are part of his diet. Kombucha is also a part of his diet, and although there haven’t been any studies to confirm that there are any probiotics in kombucha, if it makes you feel clean and energized, then by all means!
Joe Rogan has also been spotted with Kill Cliff, a clean post-workout recovery drink containing all-natural ingredients. It is anti-inflammatory and low in calories. There isn’t any sugar, which makes it a great addition to Joe Rogan’s diet.
Aside from his regular diet, Joe Rogan experiments on his body safely by trying some other diets. He has done the carnivore diet for 30 days, which he says has been very helpful for him. A carnivore diet is all meat and nothing else (eggs are fair game, though). Aside from the great benefit of losing some 7 pounds, the crashing that you get from carbohydrates and sugars were gone.
He says that his energy levels were amazing because of this, but it isn’t all good. For the first two weeks of his “challenge”, he experienced “explosive uber diarrhea.” Yup, not just diarrhea, but uber explosive. He even says “diarrhea” wasn’t a strong enough word for what he was experiencing. He describes it as “tapping into an oil well.” Sorry for that visual!
He closes this out with a disclaimer, saying that he knows it mustn’t be adapted for too long. Watch his episode about the carnivore diet here:
With his diet, he might not be getting the right amount of vitamins that his body needs, especially with all the workouts he does and the lack of carbs. This is why he takes a lot of vitamin supplements, including vitamin B12 and D. He also takes probiotics and multivitamins.
In summary, to quote him: “The diet is pretty strict in terms of no bread, very few carbs, no sugar, no bullshit. Healthy food, a lot of vegetables and a lot of game meat, mostly wild game.”
Joe Rogan's Workout Routine
Joe Rogan’s workout is really all about consistency. His philosophy is to work out consistently and work out well. He believes in not overexerting himself to the point of not being able to work out the next day. Instead, he compares working out to how farmers get stronger more sustainably through their everyday work.
He even specifies that he does not believe in going to failure, which most weightlifters preach. He says, “There’s no reason in nature why you would go to failure. Why would you go to failure in nature? You wouldn’t!” In summary, consistency is key, he believes.
He follows the Pavel Tsatsouline protocol, where he does not go to his max number of reps. If, say, he can do 10 reps of a certain exercise, he only does five. This is to keep him going for the rest of the week instead of blowing out all his energy on one day of workout.
What, exactly, does Joe Rogan do, though? He says he plans his workouts by Sunday, and he makes time for every single workout as he believes that’s what he owes. No matter what, he must be able to fit those workouts into the week. Of course, sickness and injuries would be the exception.
“I say ‘I have to do yoga two times this week’ and ‘I have to lift weights three times this week’ and ‘I have to run twice this week.’ And however I fit that in, I fit that in. But I owe those things so I have to get those things in.”
Breaking it down, Joe Rogan does cardio, weightlifting, yoga, MMA training, and some other relaxation sessions. For cardio, although you probably won’t see much of this on his Instagram, he does have set aside some time to run with his dog or even other workouts in the gym. As expected, he likes going outdoors for cardio to connect with nature.
Weightlifting is a bigger part of his workout routine, though, making use of different equipment like kettlebells, dumbbells, battle ropes, among others. As mentioned earlier, he likes to go with the natural flow of his body, which is why he doesn’t want to exercise to failure. He simply aims for “functional strength.”
Joe Rogan doesn’t forget to relax, though. For his active recovery days, he goes for yoga. But when he really needs to meditate and focus on his body and his body alone, he does extreme sauna sessions.
He also goes into sensory deprivation tanks, which are basically where you float in water in a closed pill, leaving you with no vision, no hearing, and eventually no sense of touch. All you have there are your own thoughts.
Going the "Joe Rogan" Routine
How do you incorporate his diet and workout plans into your everyday life? I’d suggest you start with how you eat first, being very mindful of everything you put into your body. After all, this is Joe Rogan’s philosophy: connecting with what you consume. You might also want to steer away from carbohydrates and sugars. Bye, pasta and chocolates!
Don’t go cold turkey, as this might not be sustainable (unless, of course, this works for you!). Instead, slowly decrease your consumption until you won’t even notice how little of these carbs you’re eating! Eat a lot of lean meat, and if your fat intake is too low, try adding bacon.
For working out, following Joe Rogan’s philosophy would mean a slow and sustainable transition into workouts. Weightlifting is the main part of his workout, but you must start with lighter weights and gradually increase the weights without exerting your maximum effort every single day. You might find yourself limping the next day, or worse, injured!
Conclusion
Going back to our question of fad diets and other celebrity trends, is Joe Rogan doing the same thing? I’d say no, as his philosophy of food and working out seems to be embedded in mindfulness. Joe doesn’t do anything for aesthetics purely; he is careful about getting all the nutrients that his body needs, especially as he ages.
Always make sure you’re listening to your body, as that’s the most important part of his philosophy. After all, your body knows what’s best for you. If his lifestyle of working every single day and squeezing multiple types of workouts into a week does not work for you, then don’t try and adopt it! Start slow and sustainable so that you aren’t discouraged. Gradually, you’ll find yourself getting stronger and stronger.
As mentioned above, Joe Rogan is a huge fan of dumbbells, kettlebells and battle ropes as part of his workout routine. I actually did a similar post on the home gym essentials which covers these items plus more if you’re looking to get started at home.
I for one am a huge fan of Joe Rogan because of his podcast, The Joe Rogan experience. I have previously struggled with some problems and a podcast with Joe Rogan and David Goggins basically saved my life.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/style/self-care/kombucha-benefits.html
https://killcliffeurope.com/what-is-killcliff/
Marko Rakic is a trail runner and fitness enthusiast from Sydney, Australia. He is the lead writer for The Ultimate Primate and believes the best way to live a happy life is through constantly challenging yourself.