Since I already
discussed the impact that Tim Ferris has had on my habits, I would be
remiss to not mention the similar impact that Joe Rogan has had on me since I became a follower of his in my
first year of University in late-2008.
The Rogan Board
I first became
familiar with Rogan’s work when I stumbled upon his message board in late-2008.
The board, being about as NSFW as anything I had ever seen on the internet, was
right up my alley. MMA, comedy, trolls, conspiracies, & porn – basically
the best of what the internet had to offer a then 18-year old.
The reason I
stumbled upon the board was because I came across Joe & Carlos Mencia’s onstage conflict on Youtube,
& I saw a ton of his message board posters writing hilarious comments which
led me to check out his board. I was (am) a big UFC fan, & had watched my
share of Fear Factor growing up, but I never knew there was so much to this
interesting character. I was able to find a copy of his ‘Shiny Happy Jihad’
comedy special on Limewire (sorry Joe) & became a big fan ever since.
Throughout University, I mindlessly
browsed the Rogan Board day & night, which turned out to contain a lot of
very interesting & intelligent characters discussing world events,
providing a far different, & often more controversial, perspective than
what you would read elsewhere (again I feel obligated to re-iterate NSFW)
Podcast
As mentioned
above, I was a regular contributor on Rogan’s board in late 2009 when he
mentioned he was going to host a live stream Q&A with his friend Brian
Redban on Christmas Eve. With nothing else to do, I tuned in & found the
two of them to be quite hilarious. This one-time Q&A turned into a regular
event where Joe & Brian recorded their conversations once a week, &
soon Joe started inviting on his comedian friends & a podcast was born.
Being in
University & having far too much free time, I became a regular listener
& although I have gone through 3 to 4 month periods of not listening for
various reasons, I have been subscribed to the podcast ever since.
The guests range
from MMA athletes, to Scientists, to Right-Wing Fanatics, to Conspiracy
Theorists, to his Comedy buddies. Joe has developed into an excellent
conversationalist, with an ability to get the most out of his guests. I have listed some of my favourite guests below:
- Comedians: Joey Diaz, Bill Burr, Jim Jefferies, Joey Diaz, Bert Kreischer, Brian Callen, Russell Brand
- Health & Fitness: Jocko Willink, Rhonda Patrick, Chris Bell, Wim Hoff, Mark Sisson
- Interesting Minds: Tim Ferriss, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary Vaynerchuk, Kevin Rose
- Athletes: Justin Wren, Dominick Cruz, Donald Cerrone, Chael Sonnen, Brendan Schaub
Habits
So now that you
know about my love for Joe Rogan's Podcast, let me tie this back to fitness. Joe has
helped shape many of my beliefs when it comes to health & fitness. Many
people do not realize that Joe is a former taekwondo National Champion, a Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu blackbelt, & a health & fitness nut.
Below I list some
of the healthy habits that I have taken from Joe & his podcast guests over the years:
- Hot Yoga: Joe regularly discusses his love for hot yoga which he
has taken up over the past few years. Yoga was always a practice that I thought
might have some benefits, but always shied away from. Him & BJJ legend Eddie
Bravo recently discussed the recovery & flexibility benefits of hot yoga on
a podcast, & I decided that it was time for me to try it out myself.
- Kale Shakes: Joe affectionately refers to his daily kale shake
as ‘hulk loads’ & constantly preaches the benefits of starting off your day
with a shake filled with nutrition. I have been drinking variations of kale
shakes since at least 2012 & can agree that it is the best way to kick start
your body. Although I no longer eat in the mornings, the kale shake is still
the first thing that goes into my body each afternoon.
- Keto Diet: Joe was well documented over the past few years of
experimenting with the ‘ketogenic’ diet, which consists of avoiding all net carbohydrates
(net carbohydrates = carbs in a food – fiber in that food), & primarily
eating protein & fats. Joe raved about the weight loss & mental clarity
benefits. I decided to give it a try & although after a few months I found
it too restrictive, I have maintained a very low net carb diet to this date
& feel great.
- Intermittent Fasting: recently on a podcast, Joe & Rhonda
discussed the benefits of intermittent fasting & shortly thereafter Joe
took up the process & has been updating listeners since. After a few weeks
of listening to Joe describe the benefits, I decided to try it out & have
seen a world of benefits since. I will be making a blog post on this process in
the near future, but am working on some background research so I can explain why it works.
- Fitness for Mental Clarity: Joe often discusses how much more
mentally sharp he feels when he is exercising & eating healthy. As someone
with an ability to hold an interesting conversation with a guest for 4 hours, I
consider Joe an authority on mental sharpness & clarity & Joe
attributes a lot of it to his healthy diet & regular workouts. Hearing him
explain the difference his body feels really hits home with me which helps me
to ensure I am making fitness a priority when I am getting stressed in other
areas of my life, as the way your body feels often has a direct impact on your
mindset.
- MMA: I have been a big MMA fan since Tito & Chuck fought in
2006, & Joe has been the colour commentator since that time & a big
proponent of MMA. One thing that I must credit Joe with however, is converting
me from a ‘just bleed’ type fan, to what I would consider a well-educated fan.
Joe has a great way of describing MMA as ‘high-level
problem solving with dire physical consequences.’ I love this description
because often casual fans overlook the complexity of what occurs in a fight. To tie this back to fitness, because of Joe I took up BJJ for two years in University, something that I am planning to return to post-Spartan race.
- Curiosity: finally, Joe is a very curious person, evidenced by the endless range of guests that he has on his podcast. Once being very hard headed & set in my opinions, I have learned from Joe that you should always hear everyone out, because often there is a lot more to a topic that meets the eye. I am a big fan of how Joe manages to stay objective in dealing with his guests, even when he doesn’t necessarily agree with their opinion. To tie this to fitness, I try to incorporate this in my workout routines & diet. I do not just trust conventional wisdom, I try to research what is working for others & choose what works best for me.
In conclusion, it
has been a long 8-year journey since I stumbled upon his message board in 2008,
but I have learned a ton from ‘the Fear Factor guy.’ It has been amazing to see
how Joe has developed his podcast empire from the ground up, & I am
delighted when one of my friends mentions they started listening to the podcast because I know how valuable it can be.
I am very grateful for all of the health & fitness ideas that I've taken from Joe, & I can't wait for those yet to come.
100 Day Spartan
100 Day Spartan
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