95: My “Pre-Workout” Routine (That’s Actually Just My Daily Routine)

MK: A lot of people ask me, Michael, what's your pre-workout routine? What supplements do you take before working out? And my answer is usually very disappointing because I don't have a complicated pre-workout ritual that's filled with powders and supplements in. In fact, my pre-workout routine is really.

Trust my daily routine. Most of what I do before I go work out is just what I do in the morning anyway. I mean, I work out in the morning, but it wouldn't probably, it would be different if I work out in the evening. But for my morning workouts, it's the almost the same, almost the same as on days where I don't workout.

Welcome to the Primer Shift podcast. Maybe something right up front. You know, when most people ask about pre-workouts, they often mean. You know, pre-workout supplements that might contain, you know, caffeine and amino acids like BCAAs and, and beta alanine and all of those things because they can improve performance.

Right? And the truth is that many of those ingredients have been scientifically proven to improve athletic performance and maybe even recovery Many. Also just make you feel better. Like if you take a pre-workout supplement with 200 milligrams of caffeine, then yeah, you're gonna feel wired and energetic and you feel like it's working and you're gonna perform better.

There is some truth to that. There are certain types of workouts where feeling checked up and, and, and wired can help improve performance. Like if you're weightlifting, you wanna go for a one red max or whatever. It certainly helps if you have some extra caffeine in you and maybe even, you know. Uh, feeling the tingling sensation after taking beta alanine, you know, which is due to the increased blood flow in your skin, which doesn't necessarily improve athletic performance, the tingling that is.

But there are other types of workouts where, you know, you don't wanna feel wired. Like if I do CrossFit and I have a demanding CrossFit workout where I try to keep my heart rate as low as possible, I don't wanna be checked up on caffeine because that has the exact opposite effect. So there's a nuances, but the bottom line is, yes, pre-workout supplements can very much help, but I'm not a pro athlete.

You know, being or performing 2% better in a workout is just irrelevant to me, you know? And so let me share you what my. According with pre-workout routine looks like on days that I actually work out, uh, and also other days, and the first thing that I do when I wake up in the morning is...

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To rehydrate because we lose a lot of water during sleep through sweating, uh, just through the breath. And most everyone wakes up slightly dehydrated. And if you're dehydrated, you're not gonna perform optimally. So the first thing that I do is I rehydrate, I drink a glass or two of water, high quality water, meaning either mineral water that I purchase, or, uh, just the, the water we have here.

That's, uh, you know, filter tap water. Um, I try to stay away from RO water unless it has been remineralized because I don't wanna drink water that's void of minerals because that just makes it pass through and leeches out even more electrolytes through the urine. And that's obviously one thing I wanna avoid.

So I drink high quality water. I'm experimenting right now with hydrogen water, which is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. And I might also just drink, you know, add a pinch of salt to my water. Or maybe on days when I work out, I pay more attention to this. I add a scoop of electrolyte powder that has magnesium, potassium, sodium, so just the standard electrolytes to make sure that I not only hydrate from, you know, with water, but also with the electrolytes that I might have lost.

If, you know, I got up at night and peed, for example. The second thing I do is I enjoy a cup of. Coffee, black coffee usually, and not because of the caffeine. I don't, I don't drink coffee for, for the caffeine. Uh, you know, caffeine is not something that gives your energy, it just tricks your brain into thinking you're not tired even when you are.

So that's not the purpose. I just enjoy the, the taste. And the smell, but I have a cup of black coffee, sometimes two, depending on my timing. Um, you know, I either have it here in the office when I, when I check on emails or I have it on my walk with the dog. And that's really the next part of my, my morning slash pre-workout routine.

I go for a walk with the dog relatively quickly after waking up either right away. Depending on when I wake up or I go to the office for half an hour, check my emails, and then I go out for a walk, uh, for a couple of reasons. A, because the dog needs to, you know, exercise as well. Um, I need to get moving, and I've noticed that especially on days when I work out, if I go for a walk before I'm already kind of warmed up, you know, blood is flowing already, my joints might feel less stiff, especially if I had a tough work at the previous day.

And so it just helps overall make me feel better and more ready. To push it. Then in the gym, it also helps me clear my mind, you know, reduce stress, get my, so my thoughts sorted out, you know, prepare mentally, not only for the workout, but for the day ahead. Uh, depending on when I work out and what time of the year it is, I might get, might get some morning sunlight that helps me with my, you know, my circadian rhythm with sleep and the following night.

And it's just overall a great way to get the day started. Instead of being on, on a device. Um, and then, and that's different between days that I work out and days that I don't work out. I jump into the cold plunge before leaving for a CrossFit workout. And some people might say, well, that's crazy because why would you cold plunge before?

Shouldn't you be doing it after? And the reason is usually no. For a number of, of, there are a number of reasons for that. One is, um, it definitely, if you're not awake, if you're not awake by the time you get into the plunge, you'll definitely be awake. Once you're in or once you get out, you feel highly awake.

And if like a flood of, of chemicals in your blood that make you alert and just ready to roll. It helps with athletic performance as well, because one of the reasons why we fatigue during a workout is because the mitochondria overheats. And so by pre-cooling the mitochondria, pre-cooling your body, generally speaking, but specifically the mitochondria, you can actually extend or delay fatiguing.

And so your athletic performance is better if you do it before working out. And last but not least, and that's one of the most critical components of why I plunge before. It's been shown to boost testosterone. You know, it's a great way to naturally boost the testosterone by first pre-cooling and then working out, and it doesn't really have to be a tough workout for me.

Usually it means CrossFit, but it could just be a brisk walk or some body weight movements, what have you. But that's why I do it. Before and not after. In fact, if you work, if you plunge right after a workout and assuming you know you're not a professional athlete and you have, you know, five workouts in a day, if you're just a regular show and you work out and then you cold plunge, you can actually diminish some of the benefits you got from the exercise, the physical activity by constricting blood flow, et cetera.

You know, which is what you do when you go into the cold. So I do it before, and then I'm ready to roll. I'm alert certain, certainly, and I'm, I'm just ready to roll. Um, from a supplements perspective, I don't really do anything crazy. I, as I mentioned before, I don't do any traditional pre-workout supplements with, you know, BCAAs and amino acids and all of those things, but I do take regularly creatine.

Creatine is one of the best studied dietary supplements to boost. Well, everything really. Cognitive performance, athletic performance, recovery, even it, it can even improve sleep. And so. I used to take a scoop about five grams of creatine before working out just into, you know, mix it into my electrolyte powder.

Uh, these days I just, you know, usually take it throughout the day to help with cognitive performance or even before going to bed to help me improve sleep and. You know, cognitive performance and relaxation, all of those things, um, during sleep, because I think if I sleep well, that's really the most important aspect that determines my exercise performance the following day.

Um, and obviously, you know, health outcomes and all of those things, so I play with it. I, I'm not, I don't have, it's strict like schedule when I take creatine, but I do try to include some extra creatine, not too much because it gives me loose stool and I think I'm not the only one. Um. But here is the thing, if you consume a lot of meat like I do, chances are you're gonna get a lot of, or enough creatine for what you need.

But I guess it never hurts, um, unless, you know, you overdo it and you get, you know, end up on a toilet to take some extra. And so creatine is a very low cost and effective supplement that I. Do make part of my just, you know, dietary lifestyle, amino acids and micronutrients. You know, I don't take anything specifically, you know, no standalone amino acids or whatever.

I get my amino acids, the building blocks of protein, and my micronutrients from. An animal based diet. So I consume animal nose to tail, including the muscle meat, the fat, the organs, you know, some of the bone components, ligaments, and everything in between, really, and that's where I get my amino acids from.

I don't need any extra, you know, either synthetic or isolated amino acids because I get everything I need in sufficient quantities from the food that I eat. Now, from a micronutrient perspective, I have seen, again, some benefits of getting some extra or. Bridging maybe some of the dietary gaps that I might have also due to, you know, increased stress levels, et cetera.

And for that, I consume organs and most of the time, um, that means freeze dried beef or bison organ supplements. In fact, we just released a supplement. Dedicated, or specifically for high performance, for athletes, for entrepreneurs, et cetera. It's called American Bees, and it's a combination of grass fat, uh, bison, heart and liver that just happens to have a lot of the micronutrients and amino acid acids also that are important for exercise performance.

And so I take that again, not as my pre-workout per se, I just take it with my first meal. You know, the metabolism is working 24 7. Meal timing I don't think is incredibly important or nutrient timing. I just make sure that I get it within a 24 hour period. And so that's what I do, uh, to kind of, you know, fill any little gaps that I might or might not have as part of my diet.

I think that consistent intake of those things is more important than the exact timing. Uh, the other thing that I occasionally. Lean on our exogenous ketones, and that applies to days where I work out and on days where I don't work out, but I have a tough day at the office ahead. Um, and so I really like to add a little bit of the Delta Chi gold, which is an exogenous ketone ester into my coffee.

If I have black coffee, I add a little bit of in there because it really helps improving, uh, my cognitive performance. It makes me laser focused, important for, you know. Recording a podcast or a video or doing, you know, research intense writing, research intense articles, but it also helps for exercise. If I'm mentally on top of my game, I usually perform better physically as well.

And those ketones also help with recovery, which is another critical aspect of athletic performance. The quicker I can recover. The better I can perform again the next time I go to the gym. And so that's what I do. And specifically on days when I know that there's gonna be a tough workout or I really wanna push it in the gym, I use the Delta Chi tactical, which is the same really ingredients, just, you know, it's a little bit different packaging.

Uh, and it's a slimmer package. It's not made out of glass. So I can put it in my chi uh, bag and then just, you know, shoot it, uh, before I work out. So that's what I do from a. Supplements perspective, which isn't really a whole lot. Um, my real secret to performing well in the gym actually starts the day before already.

And so what that means is, uh, what I do the previous day throughout the day, you know, how I've slept maybe even two nights before, which then impacts my performance during the day and my choices during the day, uh, the day before the workout, have a dramatic impact. Then on, you know. The night before my workout and then the, the actual workout.

So making sure that I consume an animal based. Micronutrient dense, well micronutrient, dense, uh, as well, diet, you know, consisting of animal-based products. Some of the least toxic plants. If I feel like I want to add some flavor, you know, avoid inflammatory foods, obviously, and prioritize sleep. That's really.

The most important aspect, as far as I'm concerned, that determines athletic performance. And so going to bed at roughly at the same time every day. You know, avoiding consuming alcohol before going to bed, avoiding late large meals, you know, having a, a room that's dark and cool enough, we use a bed cooling solution to help with that.

That really helps me improve my sleep. And then. Athletic performance the following day, and then of course recovery, you know, the following night after the workout. So that's kind of what I prioritize and how I see my pre-workout routine. You know, it's not just the hour before or half an hour before.

It's really already 24 hours leading up to the, to my gym session that determines how well I'm gonna perform and. All in all, you know, consistency is incredibly important and I think much more important than implementing complicated rituals that, you know, get old at some point that stress you out because you want a time, you know you're a pre-workout.

Exactly. And you know, it's all just a big mess That I think at the end of the day is unnecessary unless you're a professional athlete and squeezing out that extra percent in performance can make the difference between winning and losing. For me. That's certainly not the case. You know, so my pre-workout routine is actually just my daily routine.

Maybe with the exception of cold plunging, which I do specifically before working out on other days. I might do it, you know, after the sauna and don't specifically time it. So from a practical takeaway perspective, you know, start each morning well hydrated, ideally with high quality water or electrolytes.

Add a pinch of table salt into your water if you just have regular water, you know, enjoy coffee in moderation, if you like the taste and, and, and the smell. Don't necessarily go for coffee because of the energy it gives you, because it doesn't, uh, you know, embrace gentle morning movements. Go for a walk, you know, expose yourself to sunlight that really kickstart your circadian rhythm.

As a porter circadian rhythm gets you awake and sets you up for a good workout. In the reduced risk of injury, you know, experiment with cold plunging for extra physical and mental boost before working out. Try it out. Um, it's, it might sound counterintuitive, but it actually works and I've had great success with it.

My wife likes it too. You know, use creatine, um, you know, for its cumulative sleep and performance benefits. There's nothing wrong with it. Just don't overdo it unless you're gonna be spending a lot of time in the restroom and it's not fun, especially not. If you're in a gym, focus on nutrient density consistently.

You know, make sure that you eat animal based, you know, protein and fat, and ideally organs, you know, every day. And, you know, use supplements wisely to bridge any gaps. But don't use them to, you know, mitigate a poor, poor diet. You know, you can try exogenous ketones strategically, you know, for demanding workouts, or to improve recovery or even before sleep so you can improve your REM sleep.

That's something I've been doing as well. And prioritize sleep. That's one of the most important aspects overall. You know, the bottom line is there is really no magic formula. It's all about consistency, good habits that you do every single day without making them a stiff, you know, ritual that is stressful and not fun to.

You know, to do over extended periods. What do you think you know? What's your go-to morning routine? What's your pre-workout routine? What has been working for you, what hasn't? If you're watching this on a platform, supporting comments, or listening to it on a platform, supporting comments, let me know.

Otherwise, shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you, and I'm gonna add a couple of extra resources. In the description here, um, or in the, uh, the show notes so you can check that out and learn a little bit more about some of the things that I do, some of the supplements that I've mentioned, like American Beast.

And with that, we're gonna wrap it up. I hope I'll see you next time. Share with someone who could use it, who might find it beneficial, uh, and um, I hope you hear and see you around next week. Next week on the Primal Shift Podcast, we are breaking bread, literally. Is sourdough actually healthy? Where does it fit in an animal-based lifestyle?

And why do we only eat it once a month? Tune in and find out what the hype's about and what's just hot air.