Rich Roll

Ultra-endurance athlete · The Rich Roll Podcast

Plant-based ultra-endurance athlete and host of The Rich Roll Podcast, who got sober at 31 and rebuilt his life around training and diet. His memoir Finding Ultra prompted many people to try a plant-based diet. His stack is unusually low-tech: food, miles, sobriety and sleep.

Entries: 18
Does: 8
Recommends: 5
Discusses: 5

The gear and products they use

All 9 products in this stack

SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein powder
Plant protein powder goes into a post-workout smoothie, and he says a scoop a day or every other day is plenty.
Source: richroll.com: FAQ
View item: Protein powderBacked by 16 of 44 stacks
BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Why We Sleep
Must-read for anyone wanting to live and feel better, in his framing, and he has hosted its author on the show.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: episode with Matthew Walker
View item: Why We SleepBacked by 8 of 44 stacks
BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Atomic Habits
Another must-read on his list; he says he has used many of its strategies himself, and has hosted its author.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: episode with James Clear
Visit jamesclear.com (opens in a new tab)Backed by 5 of 44 stacks
SupplementDoes itSponsor, disclosed
AG1 (Athletic Greens)
Alongside a plant-based diet it goes in daily as nutritional insurance. AG1 is a long-running sponsor of his podcast, which he discloses.
Source: richroll.com: sponsors page
Visit drinkag1.com (opens in a new tab)Backed by 3 of 44 stacks
GearRecommendsSponsor, disclosed
WHOOP
Recovery-focused wearables have come up on the show. WHOOP is one of the podcast's listed sponsors.
Source: richroll.com: sponsors page
Visit whoop.com (opens in a new tab)Backed by 3 of 44 stacks
SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Vitamin B12
Supplements B12 as non-negotiable for eating fully plant-based, and says so plainly whenever the diet comes up.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast
View item: Vitamin B12Backed by 2 of 44 stacks
BookDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Breath
Discussed the book at length with James Nestor, covering nasal breathing, breathing rate and airway health.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: episode with James Nestor
View item: BreathBacked by 1 of 44 stacks
BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Finding Ultra
Getting sober, changing his diet, going from unfit at forty to ultra-endurance events: his own memoir.
Source: richroll.com: biography
View item: Finding UltraBacked by 1 of 44 stacks
BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
How Not to Die
Rates it a must-read and the densest citation-heavy case for plant-based eating, and has hosted its author repeatedly.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: episode with Michael Greger
View item: How Not to DieBacked by 1 of 44 stacks

Protocols

5 entries

Repeatable, mostly free routines with a defined trigger and dose.

Zone 2 cardioDoes itFREE, no cost
Very large volumes of easy aerobic work built an ultra-endurance career, and he still trains predominantly at low intensity.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast
Backed by 12 of 44 stacks
Whole-food plant-based dietDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Since his forties the diet has been whole-food plant-based, and he credits it with the turnaround described in his memoir.
Source: richroll.com: biography
Backed by 5 of 44 stacks
Deliberate cold exposureDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Has gone through cold plunging with many of the researchers and practitioners behind it.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast
Backed by 23 of 44 stacks
Time-restricted eatingDiscussesFREE, no cost
Fasting and eating windows come up with many guests, though he notes high training volume changes the calculation considerably.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: fasting episodes
Backed by 21 of 44 stacks
SaunaDiscusses$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Has covered the cardiovascular literature on regular sauna use with guests on the show.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast
Backed by 16 of 44 stacks

Habits

4 entries

Daily practices held long enough to become default behavior.

Daily meditationDoes itFREE, no cost
Twenty minutes of meditation, fixed into the morning routine with journaling and a gratitude list.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: morning routine AMA
Backed by 17 of 44 stacks
Cutting out alcoholDoes itFREE, no cost
Sober since 1998, after rehab at 31, and he describes sobriety rather than diet as the foundation everything else was rebuilt on.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #561 transcript
Backed by 12 of 44 stacks
JournalingDoes itFREE, no cost
Writing is part of a morning practice, tied to the recovery habits that keep him steady.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #561 transcript
Backed by 9 of 44 stacks
Nasal breathingDiscussesFREE, no cost
Has explored nasal breathing and airway health at length with James Nestor on the show.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast: episode with James Nestor
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks

In their own words

Checked word for word against the linked source

“I go to bed around 9:00, and generally get up around sort of 5:00, between 5:00 and 6:00. And the early hours are really protected as my own time. So morning meditation, journaling, writing, creative projects, no meetings, no phone calls.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #561 transcript (opens in a new tab) · 7 Jan 2022
On Journaling
“I mean, I was sober for almost 10 years before I made these lifestyle shifts. … sobriety and addiction stand outside of those things, and those other things have a role in my life, but addiction and recovery are a very separate thing.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #561 transcript (opens in a new tab) · 7 Jan 2022
On Cutting out alcohol

Latest episodes

All of The Rich Roll Podcast

Stack notes are paraphrased. Anything in quotation marks is a short excerpt copied from the transcript it links to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.