Follow Jocko Willink's daily routine from when he wakes up until he goes to sleep. See what he eats, how he trains, and what habits he credits for his success.
Meal Routine
Routine Effectiveness
Supplement List
Workout Plan
Who Is Jocko Willink?
Jocko Willink is a highly decorated retired US Navy SEAL officer. He spent 20 years working with different SEAL teams and commanded SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser. He received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and several other awards during his military service.
After serving in Iraq, Willink served as Officer-in-Charge of training for all West Coast SEAL teams. Here, he developed leadership training and mentored the next generation of SEAL leaders. These new leaders continue his legacy on the battlefield.
How we researched this routine: We reviewed Jocko Willink’s website, podcast interviews, and scientific articles.
Navigate to the Routine through the times of the Day
MORNING
AFTERNOON
EVENING
Wake up
Willink starts his day early at around 4:30 am. As his wife isn’t an early riser, he actively avoids waking her, using “Iron Swan” by The Sword as his alarm tone. He always shares a photo of his watch on X (formerly Twitter) showing the time.
Harking back to his military days, Jocko ensures he has all his clothes laid out and packs his bag the night before. This way, he doesn’t have to think about dressing or packing in the early hours and avoids making too much noise while the rest of the house sleeps.
Instead of opting for coffee as one may expect, Jocko prefers white tea. He states the caffeine crash from coffee ruins his day. He even brought out his own blend of tea, called Jocko White Tea.
Workout
Jocko spends some time working out every morning at his home gym. While his workout routine changes regularly, he often starts with a push/pull workout using machines or free weights. He sometimes incorporates other exercises like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other cardio exercises.
Meditation
After his main workout, Willink spends 10-20 minutes meditating to clear his mind before going for a five to six-mile run. He uses the time while running to plan for the day ahead and prepare mentally.
Breaking the fast
Willink usually fasts until around 11 am each day as he is a firm believer in the benefits of intermittent fasting. He undertakes a 24-hour fast around once every two weeks and a 72-hour fast once every three months.
On a normal day, he breaks his fast with a light, low-carb meal (more on this later).
Schedule review and task prioritization
Following his lunch break, Jocko spends some time reviewing his schedule for the rest of the day and the upcoming tasks. He prioritizes them, works through them, and uses some time to make calls and respond to emails. He usually finishes his workday between 3 pm and 4:30 pm.
Beach with family or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teaching
Jocko Willink is a father of four, and he likes spending time with his children at the beach in San Diego most afternoons. He is an avid surfer and makes the most of the local beach breaks.
When he’s not at the beach, he teaches Jiu-Jitsu at Victory MMA and Fitness, the gym he co-owns with a friend. He holds a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under world champion Dean Lister.
Reading and playing guitar
Jocko spends time in the evenings following his other hobbies of reading and playing guitar. He often shares his recent reads on his social media account.
Preparing clothes for tomorrow
Every night, Jocko lays out his clothes for the following day, including his gym clothes and work clothes. If he plans to leave the house the next day, he packs his bag with anything he might need.
This way, he can jump straight into his workout gear and head to the gym as soon as he gets out of bed.
Tomorrow’s to-do list
According to Jocko, there’s no point waking up early if you’re going to spend the morning planning your day while you wake up. That’s why he organizes his to-do list each night before he goes to bed.
Don't think in the morning. That's a big mistake that people make. They wake up in the morning, and they start thinking. Don't think. Just execute the plan. The plan is: The alarm clock goes off, you get up, you go work out. Get some.
Supplements
Before he goes to sleep, Willink takes his supplements. They include protein, magnesium, and vitamin D to help him sleep better, stay focused, and maintain his energy levels throughout the day.
The Jocko Willink Workout Routine
Jocko Willink is a firm believer in starting your day with a workout. As he exercises every day, he repeats the same exercises every four days. He also notes that the duration of his workouts varies greatly depending on what he has planned that day and could be “anywhere between eight minutes and three hours.”
Because of this variation, it’s difficult to sum up exactly how many sets and reps he does each day. A good rule of thumb for building muscle is to aim for three to six sets of seven to 12 reps with adequate rest time in between.
Willink makes sure to include a few minutes of working out your core or “gut” as it’s affectionately known within SEAL teams. He incorporates a few rounds of exercises like crunches and hanging leg raises.
He also includes some form of cardio every day, or “MetCon” (Metabolic Conditioning). This could include a few sets of sprints, a hard one or two mile run, or going hard on the stationary bike or rowing machine. As Willink says, whatever will get his “heart rate up for very intense short periods of time.”
Jocko Willink Daily Supplement Stack
Jocko Willink’s takes a few different types of supplements each day and even has his own supplement brand, Jocko Fuel.
Here are the main supplements he takes each day:
Pre-workout: Before every high-intensity workout session, Jocko takes a pre-workout supplement like Jocko GO Pre-Workout Powder to boost his endurance and performance.
Protein powder: Jocko takes a high-quality whey protein powder, like Jocko Mölk Protein Powder, to make sure he gets enough protein to support his muscles and their recovery from all the exercise.
Joint support: Hard workouts like the ones Jocko undertakes puts pressure on your joints. He takes a joint support supplement to support joint flexibility and reduce the risk of injury.
One of the key aspects of Jocko Willink’s diet is fasting. He undertakes intermittent fasting every day, meaning he doesn’t eat anything between when he wakes up and around lunchtime, if not later.
I don’t like to do physically active things with food in my stomach. (...) I’m doing Jiu-Jitzu in the afternoon and if I’m eating a big lunch, then by the time the afternoon rolls around I’m feeling (heavy and slow), I’ve got food in my gut, and I just don’t like that feeling. So I don’t eat a big meal until I’m done with the physical stuff for the day.
On episode 104 of the Huberman Lab Podcast, Jocko and Andrew Huberman discuss how the ideal eating pattern varies greatly depending on the individual. The main thing to note is that you should be able to sleep well and be active and focused when you need to be.
For Jocko, that means he prefers not to eat when he knows he needs to “perform or execute anything”, such as on a mission, coming on a podcast, or when he’s working with clients.
In his book, Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual, Jocko discusses how humans haven’t yet adapted to eating grains, and they cause insulin levels to spike. He says “it is better to eat what we have evolved to eat – that is the diet of the Paleolithic man, or caveman.”
Here is what Jocko Willink’s diet is made up of:
Grass-fed beef
Free range poultry
Fish
Eggs
Nuts
Vegetables
Fungi
Roots
Some full-fat dairy products (butter, cream, yogurt, cheese)
A small amount of fruit
He avoids the following foods:
Grains
Potatoes
Processed, refined oils
Refined salt and sugar
Beans and other legumes
Does Jocko Willink’s Daily Routine Work (Blogger Reviews)?
Blogger NVR REST tried out Willink’s daily routine for a day. He noted early on how he was impressed that Jocko could squeeze so much fun (working out and surfing) into his day before 7 am.
By 9 pm, he said it felt like midnight as he’d got so much done throughout the day. His only downside was that not eating a full meal until dinner time was “brutal.”
Another blogger, Derek Bearzi, tried Willink’s morning routine for seven days to “see if [he] could learn what true discipline really is.”
On day one, he noted he felt “super groggy” waking up at 4:30 am and that the exercise was “going to suck.” He changed up the exercise on day five and opted for yoga and meditation as he felt sore and stiff after a long, physically taxing day at work the day before, but otherwise followed Jocko’s workouts for the rest of the week.
He said the morning routine was “one of the hardest challenges” he ever tried, but it was also “the most rewarding.”
FAQs
How does Jocko Willink balance work, family, and personal time?
One of Jocko’s key teachings is maximizing your time by cutting out non-productive activities. In his videos, he talks about making time for the things you want to do and avoiding wasting time scrolling through social media.
He also mentions combining activities, such as listening to an audiobook while mowing the lawn or doing other chores. Doing this can help you free up precious time to spend with your family.
How does Jocko Willink manage time for reading and learning?
Willink sets aside time every evening for reading and learning to ensure he fits it into his day.
Does Jocko Willink practice any specific mindset or mental conditioning techniques?
Jocko Willink discusses detaching and setting boundaries as a tactical method for achieving your goals. He refers to this process as “keeping the High Ground.”
In this video, he explains how having the high ground in a battle would help you see what is happening in the battlefield below, guiding you through the turmoil. This same thinking can be applied to your emotions and advancement towards your goals.
WIllink also makes time for meditation every day between his workout and his run.
How does Jocko Willink approach discipline in his daily routine?
Willink’s motto is “Discipline Equals Freedom”. He enforces discipline in every aspect of his life to ensure he can maintain his freedom.
When he doesn’t want to do something, he makes sure he does it. He calls it “going through the motions.
“I don’t really want to work out; I work out. I don’t really want to hammer on a project; I hammer on the project. I don’t really want to get up or get out of bed; I get up and get out of bed.”
What are Jocko Willink's recommended practices for maintaining discipline?
Jocko states there is no one-size-fits-all approach to discipline, just as one daily routine won’t work for everyone. Instead, he promotes consistency and highlights the importance of building a daily routine that you can stick to.
While Jocko has mastered consistency in his routine, he notes that aiming for perfection shouldn’t be your goal. He focuses on creating consistency, and the consistency supports discipline.
What strategies does Jocko Willink suggest for beginners to adopt a disciplined routine?
Instant gratification is the enemy of success, so opt instead for delayed gratification. It’s easy to stay in bed when you don’t want to go to the gym, but pushing yourself to get up and workout will give you a bigger reward in the end.
Simply put, the moments when you don’t feel like doing it are the best time to do it.
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