Energy
I want more energy through the day
Steadier alertness from morning to evening, with fewer crashes. Mostly light, timing and caffeine habits rather than anything you buy.
69 entries · ranked by consensus across 34 stacks
Costs nothing but effort
Protocols and habits, ranked by how many tracked stacks include them. These are listed first on purpose: they are free, and they are where the agreement is strongest.
- Resistance trainingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Lifting weights 2-4 times a week to build and hold muscle
- +22
- Deliberate cold exposureProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Cold showers or ice baths used deliberately, usually a few minutes at a time
- +15
- Time-restricted eatingProtocolFREE, no cost
Confining food to a set window, often 8-10 hours a day
- +13
- Consistent sleep and wake timesProtocolFREE, no cost
Same bedtime and wake time every day, weekends included
- +12
- Cutting out alcoholHabitFREE, no cost
Drinking nothing, or close to it: the most common upgrade in these stacks
- +6
- Daily walkingHabitFREE, no cost
A long walk most days, often without headphones
- +4
- Morning sunlight exposureProtocolFREE, no cost
Bright outdoor light soon after waking, 5-30 minutes and no sunglasses
- +4
- Zone 2 cardioProtocolFREE, no cost
Easy aerobic work you can hold a conversation through, 3+ hours a week
- +4
- Eight hours of sleepProtocolFREE, no cost
Protecting a full night in bed as a training input, not a leftover
- +3
- Afternoon caffeine cutoffHabitFREE, no cost
A cutoff in early afternoon; caffeine's half-life runs longer than most expect
- BreathworkProtocolFREE, no cost
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
- High-intensity interval trainingProtocolFREE, no cost
Short all-out efforts with full recovery in between, a few times a week
- NappingHabitFREE, no cost
Short early-afternoon naps: useful, but easy to get wrong
- Pre-workout musicHabitFREE, no cost
Headphones on, a set playlist, and a fixed cue to switch into training mode
- Delayed morning caffeineProtocolFREE, no cost
A 90-120 minute gap between waking and the first coffee
- CyclingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Steady riding, outdoors or on a stationary bike, as daily low-intensity cardio
- Daily hydration targetHabitFREE, no cost
Drinking to a set daily volume, often half your body weight in ounces
- SwimmingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Lap swimming as low-impact cardio and a reset for the head
- 15-15-15 workoutProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
45 minutes of cardio split evenly across a spin bike, an elliptical and a treadmill
- Anti-inflammatory eatingProtocolFREE, no cost
Mostly plants, some fish and lean meat, and little sugar, dairy or processed food
- Bike commutingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Riding to and from work as built-in training time
- Bulletproof CoffeeProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Coffee blended with grass-fed butter and C8 MCT oil, drunk in place of breakfast
- Coca-ColaHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Several cans of Coke a day, regular or cherry, as the default drink
- Daily cardioProtocolFREE, no cost
Around half an hour of aerobic work most days, at any pace you can sustain
- Daily step targetHabitFREE, no cost
Hold a fixed daily step count so everyday movement does not quietly shrink on a diet
- Group fitness classesProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Coached, timed sessions in a room full of people, in place of training alone
- Hard thinking before lunchProtocolFREE, no cost
Book the mentally demanding work for the morning and stop making big calls late in the day
- High five in the mirrorHabitFREE, no cost
A silent high five to your own reflection after brushing your teeth
- Hot water with lemonHabitFREE, no cost
A mug of hot water with a slice of lemon, to start the day or wind it down
- Low-carb dietProtocolFREE, no cost
Cutting carbohydrates and sugar so the body runs mostly on fat and protein
- McDonald's breakfastHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
A fixed fast-food breakfast picked up on the drive to work, the same few items every day
- Morning apple cider vinegarHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water, usually first thing
- Morning putteringHabitFREE, no cost
A slow, unscheduled first hour or two: coffee, the paper, breakfast, no meetings
- Nasal breathingHabitFREE, no cost
Breathe through the nose by default, including during easy exercise
- No fried food or artificial sugarHabitFREE, no cost
Dropping fried food, artificial sweeteners and artificial drinks, at least while competing
- No sugary soft drinksHabitFREE, no cost
Water as the default drink, with sugar-sweetened sodas cut out entirely
- Pegan dietProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Plant-rich plate with quality protein and fats, low in sugar and refined starch
- Reverse dietProtocolFREE, no cost
Adding calories back a little at a time after a long diet, instead of all at once
- RunningProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Regular running, from a short daily loop up to ultramarathon distance
- Scheduled rest daysHabitFREE, no cost
Fixed days off training each week, planned in advance rather than taken when exhausted
- Six small meals a dayProtocolFREE, no cost
Eating every three to four hours instead of three large meals
- Slow fat-loss phaseProtocolFREE, no cost
Losing 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight a week, or slower, so the diet barely registers
- Water before coffeeHabitFREE, no cost
A full glass of water on waking, before the first cup of coffee
- Work-life harmonyHabitFREE, no cost
Treat work and home as feeding each other rather than as a strict trade-off
Then, things you can buy
Supplements, gear, books and apps filed under energy, ranked the same way: by how many tracked stacks include them.
- CaffeineSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The most-used performance drug in the world, timing-sensitive
- +5
- Electrolyte supplementationSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Added sodium, potassium and magnesium, especially when fasting or sweating
- +1
- Continuous glucose monitorGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Arm sensor showing your blood glucose response to food in real time
- NMN and NAD precursorsSupplement$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Nicotinamide mononucleotide or riboside, taken to raise NAD+
- Vitamin D3Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Daily D3 through the darker months, usually paired with K2
- AG1 (Athletic Greens)Supplement$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Powdered greens and vitamin blend taken as a morning drink
- MultivitaminSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Daily multivitamin and mineral taken as a nutritional backstop
- Rhodiola roseaSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Adaptogen taken before effort to blunt fatigue
- The 4-Hour BodyBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Self-experimentation manual for fat loss, strength and sleep
- Vitamin B12Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The supplement plant-based stacks here treat as non-negotiable
- Bioniq personalized supplementsSupplement$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
One daily granule formula built from your blood test results, adjusted over time
- Fadogia agrestisSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Herbal testosterone-support supplement with very limited human data
- Fast This WayBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Dave Asprey on intermittent and extended fasting, and how to make it less miserable
- Feel-Good ProductivityBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Energy and enjoyment as the engine of getting things done
- Heart rate monitorGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Chest strap or watch that logs heart rate and estimates calories burned
- Herbalife24 CR7 DriveSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Carbohydrate and electrolyte sports drink Herbalife developed with Cristiano Ronaldo
- Light therapy lampGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Bright artificial light for dark mornings when sunlight is not available
- MCT oil (C8)Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Caprylic acid from coconut oil, taken for a quick rise in ketones
- OthershipApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Guided breathwork app with sessions sorted by the state you want to reach
- Rowing machineGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Indoor rower for whole-body conditioning, often in short timed pieces
- The Bulletproof DietBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Dave Asprey's high-fat, low-toxin eating plan, and the origin of the butter coffee
- The Pump Club appApp$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's training app: programs, nutrition tracking and community
- Tongkat aliSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Herbal supplement used for libido and free testosterone
- VersaClimberGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Vertical climbing machine for hard, low-impact, full-body cardio
- ZOA EnergySupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Sugar-free energy drink co-founded by Dwayne Johnson, with a pre-workout powder alongside
Nothing on this site is medical advice. It is a record of what public figures have said they do, which is not the same as evidence that it works, and definitely not the same as advice for you. Talk to a clinician before changing anything about your sleep, diet, training or medication. How this works.