Podcaster
Former Navy SEAL, author and host of Jocko Podcast
17 sourced items, last checked 10 Nov 2026. Each one links to where Jocko Willink said it. Paid sponsorships and brands they own are labelled.
Books they've recommended, re-read or credited with changing their thinking.
Asked by OutKick for a must-read book, Willink named Hackworth's war memoir. He said he read it in the mid-1990s and calls it a book about Hackworth's life rather than a leadership book. He also wrote the foreword to a new edition and covered it on Jocko Podcast episodes 249-250.
“not a leadership book”Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Willink Talks with OutKick About Top Workouts, Jiu-Jitsu, The Must-Read Book for Men, and More (interview, 27 Oct 2024)
Jocko Podcast #251-256 (multi-part series)
Willink spent a six-part series of episodes, starting with episode 251, working through General Clarke's leadership guide.
Source: 251: Set The Standard. Set The Example. How to LEAD. "Guidelines for the Leader and Commander" (podcast, 14 Oct 2020)
Jocko Podcast #78
Episode 78 of Jocko Podcast covers Frankl's book about surviving the concentration camps. The theme was how adversity reveals human nature.
Source: 78: How Adversity Reveals Human Nature. Are You Worthy of Your Suffering? (podcast, 6 June 2017)
Jocko Podcast #524 (continued in #525)
Willink and Echo Charles discussed Wavell's collected writings, including the essay 'In Praise of Infantry'.
Source: 524: How Soldiers and Soldiering Reflect Real Life Every Single Day (podcast, 21 Jan 2026)
Jocko Podcast #159
Episode 159 of Jocko Podcast covers Machiavelli's treatise on warfare and the rules it offers for war and life.
Source: 159: Machiavellian Rules for Warfare, and Life. "The Art of War", Niccolo Machiavelli. (podcast, 9 Jan 2019)
Jocko Podcast #80
Willink devoted episode 80 to Musashi's samurai strategy text and how its ideas apply to life today.
Source: 80: How the Way of the Samurai Translates to Life Today. Musashi, The Book of Five Rings (podcast, 20 June 2017)
Jocko Podcast #33
Downs' Vietnam memoir was the book reviewed in episode 33 of Jocko Podcast.
Source: 33: The Killing Zone (F. Downs), Male Psyche & Fighting, BJJ Frustrations, Talking about Yourself, Fear of Failure (podcast, 27 July 2016)
Supplements they've said they take, in their own words. Not medical advice.
Willink founded Jocko Fuel. The company's own page says he started it after finding heavy metals in a supplement his family drank daily.
“built Jocko Fuel to a higher standard: good ingredients, effective doses, no shortcuts”Jocko Willink
Source: About Jocko Willink - Jocko Fuel (article)
Training plans and routines they've described publicly: the weekly split, the exercises, the sets and reps.
Black belt
Willink told OutKick that jiu-jitsu helps every part of physical, mental and psychological health, and that he can scale its intensity around soreness or minor injuries.
“really good for every aspect of physical, mental, and psychological health”Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Willink Talks with OutKick About Top Workouts, Jiu-Jitsu, The Must-Read Book for Men, and More (interview, 27 Oct 2024)
His book has beginner, intermediate and advanced four-day routines. He usually follows the advanced one and does lighter basics when traveling or recovering.
Business Insider reported that Willink trains with the advanced routine from his own book every morning before dawn.
Source: A retired Navy SEAL commander who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to work out shares his weekly fitness routine (article)
Rotates four workout types across the week; also sprints on squat days.
In a Business Insider video interview quoted by BroBible, Willink said he rotates four workout types: pull, push, lift and squat. Each type is built around a few basic movements.
Pull / Push / Lift / Squat rotation
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-ups | – | – | Done on a bar or rings |
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push-ups | – | – | |
| Dips | – | – |
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squat variations | – | – | |
| Sprints | – | – |
Sets and reps were not stated in the source.
As they described it publicly. Not a training prescription: check with a professional before starting a new program.
“The push is based on push-ups and dips.”Jocko Willink
Source: Retired Navy Seal Explains How His 4 Workouts Keep Him In Ridiculously Amazing Shape (article, 11 Dec 2017)
3 minutes of burpees as hard as possible
For when time, space or equipment is short, Willink recommends three minutes of burpees at maximum effort.
Source: Jocko Willink Talks with OutKick About Top Workouts, Jiu-Jitsu, The Must-Read Book for Men, and More (interview, 27 Oct 2024)
How they say they eat — fasting windows, protocols and staples.
Averages a 24-hour fast about every two weeks and a 72-hour fast about once a quarter. Drinks plenty of tea and chews sunflower seeds while fasting.
Willink told Business Insider he eats a mostly Paleo-style diet because that is when he performs well. He fasts periodically, though not on a strict schedule.
“That's when I perform well.”Jocko Willink
Source: A retired Navy SEAL commander who sometimes goes 72 hours without food explains the diet philosophy that keeps him in fighting shape (article)
Asked by TheBlaze about his diet, Willink joked that he mostly eats steak.
“I eat steak primarily.”Jocko Willink
Source: Want to Eat and Train Like an Elite Navy SEAL? Jocko Willink Reveals How He Keeps His Body Combat-Ready (article, 22 May 2016)
Wearables, equipment and tools they use day to day.
Fox Business describes Willink as a co-founder and partner of Origin USA, the American-made apparel company run by Pete Roberts.
“Origin USA co-founder and CEO Pete Roberts and co-founder Jocko Willink”Jocko Willink
Source: American-made, veteran-owned business built on 'patriotism' (article, 11 Nov 2022)
Morning, evening and recovery habits they've shared.
Wakes at 4:30 a.m. and works out before dawn
Business Insider's day-in-the-life profile says Willink's day starts at 4:30 a.m. with a pre-dawn workout.
“It begins at 4:30 in the morning.”Jocko Willink
Source: A day in the life of a retired Navy SEAL commander who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. (article)
Everything else they've recommended.
BevNET reported in 2018 that Willink launched his own unsweetened iced white tea, made by a co-packer.
Source: Jocko Willink Launches Iced Jocko White Tea (article)
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