Health & Wellness Edition: A Day in The Life of Founders Part 1 (Self-interview)
Long Four Issue #2
The Long Four Series A Day in The Life is brought to you by Future and focuses on the health, wellness, and fitness hacks used by people working in high-stress environments. This can be anyone but particularly I will focus on my peers. People running venture-backed startups. To lead a company you need to be present. To be present you need to be healthy. And to be healthy you need the right combination of consistent routines. In this series of The Long Four, we focus on how leaders in Silicon Valley master their diet, fitness regimen, and mindfulness to lead companies in turbulent times like we are now. We mainly focus on apps, supplements, and diet regimens being changed by technology.
This series is brought to you by Future. Future helps you become your best self and you can get your first 3 months of training 50% off. I have been an avid user of Future for nearly two years and I cannot say enough about how it has helped me be accountable, structure my workouts, and track my fitness over time.
How CEOs and high-performing founders manage their health is such a touchy subject that it’s nearly taboo. Hustle culture influences the grind — but typically not the grind of health, fitness, and mindfulness. There is lots of content related to how to raise your next round of fundraising, how to control your burn rate, or hire your first sales Very rarely is their content dedicated to how important the best performers manage their mind, diet, and exercise routines. I think this is because the boy-man founders we hold up on a pedestal are often in their twenties when they get started way before health and wealth are focus points. Also, to be frank, in Silicon Valley, there are a lot of successful people that clearly have passed up on diet and fitness as a major part of their lifestyle.
Generally, anyone in leadership is in a high-stress environment. Still, in America where nearly fifty percent of the population is overweight, you ruffle feathers even hinting at how bad our diets, fitness, and sleep regimen are. Beyond this, there are increasingly higher levels of stress and bad habits that many have built coming out of the pandemic. It is even more prevalent for founders as fundraising gets harder, burnout kicks in, and life changes (having a child) happen to succumb to poor diets, less fitness, less sleep, and more drinking when things get more challenging.
Over the following few Long Four editions of the newsletter, we will look at how founders and operators improve their health and wellness with tools, hacks, supplements, and technology that can help.
This will shed light on the growing industry of health and wellness.
We will cover these topics across a five-part series on Health and Wellness:
A Day in the Life of Founders: Q&A with Matt Parker (myself) Part 1 & Part 2
The best 1:1 coaching services apps across the health and wellness landscape
A Deep Dive into Data Tracking Tools For Sleep, Glucose, Fitness, and More
How Future Built their compass tracking dashboard & a network of hundreds of personal trainers
A Day in the Life: Sleep, Morning Rituals & Routines, Gym & Fitness Regimen, Mindfulness, Diet Part 1
Sleep Habits
Sleepless nights were a real thing when I started my journey as an entrepreneur and I honestly think it dates all the way back to college. I was a serial procrastinator in college and typically during exam times I would take Adderall and spend all night in the library. Add in partying most weekends at clubs and bars on most weekends through my twenties and at baseline, my relationship with sleep was very limited.
The importance of rest really did not click for me until I read Michael Walker’s Why We Sleep last year. Here is where I am currently in my sleep evolution.
How would you describe your sleep regimen?
My end goal is to be winding down for bed by 8:30 pm. I never considered the benefits of sleep until I read Michael Walker’s Why We Sleep. I read this book prior to having my son, Cain, and naturally, things have drastically changed since. He is developing a sleep schedule now, so 8:30 pm feels like the right time for me to retire. I’ve learned that being in bed and asleep by 10:30 pm is the absolute latest time I should be in bed in an effort to have a productive day.
What type of sleep support do you use?
Right now as am writing this I am eating a Kindroot lozenge. I received this at a SoulCycle class that was sponsored by Paceline. Previously I had used Beam’s CBD powder, but it is pretty expensive compared to Kindroot. Both get the job done, I have scaled back on the traditional melatonin supplement since having Cain as I feel these alternative supplements are a bit lighter.
What is your relationship like with technology during and leading up to sleep hours?
Technology and sleep do not mix, but leaving my phone behind after a certain time is more difficult than it seems. My routine is that I sleep with my phone at my bedside table and I use the SleepCycle app to record my sleeping and as an alarm. I have read reviews of the Oura Ring is a much more efficient sleep tracker but forking over $400 (or $900 for the Gucci version) is not currently in the budget. When I am struggling to get to sleep or my mind is racing I will typically play an Apple playlist called Sleep Sounds, a podcast, or listen to a book on Audible.
How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
According to the last months of tracking, I am averaging six hours of sleep per night. You can probably guess which month I had my son based on the dip in hours (March). Now that we have our son on somewhat of a sleep routine I have been able to slowly creep back up to the average I was at prior. Ideally, I would like to get to 6.5 hours on average.
How picky are you about what you sleep on?
My wife and I spent about $2,000 on our mattress a little over three years ago. So far I would rate the experience a 6.5/10. In the world of mattresses, ours is decent but of course we could do a lot better. I think the most important thing for me is temperature and there has been a lot of innovation around that aspect of sleep since we purchased our mattress. We could level all the way up with a Kluft Mattress the “Audemars Piguet of mattresses” or be more tech-inspired with Eight Sleep which lets you adjust the temperature of your mattress.
How do you monitor sleep tracking and any disruptive sleep factors i.e. snoring, etc?
My all-time snoring numbers are fairly high, this is one area I need to do more research on how to improve. Sleep quality is important, and this is a disruptor to not only me but also my wife.
Morning Rituals & Routines
Beyond sleep morning rituals and routines are something that has become much more of a militant part of my life. While I am not a natural early morning person, I understand that my mornings set the tone for the day so they are important. I will highlight my morning rituals, routines, and how other high performers approach their mornings.
What time do you wake up each morning and how religious are you about it?
I set my alarm clock during the week for 5:15 am every weekday and I do not set an alarm on the weekends. As you can see in the chart above I typically wake up later and later in the morning as the week wears on. This checks out as by Thursday or Friday I am almost always sleeping later.
Do you work out in the mornings?
My main objective for waking up between 5 and 6 AM is to get to the gym as fast as I can. The earlier I am up the better chance I have to get to the gym. Now that I have Cain, I do sometimes do a midday workout if I miss an early morning workout because post 4 PM workouts do not exist for me anymore. I typically will relieve Whitney after 4 so she can work out. As you can see above that Future helps me track everything from my workout cadence, calories burned, minutes of active workouts and the average watts. It does this as well as track and manage all my workouts from weights to reps.
Do you differentiate your sleep patterns from weeks to weekends?
Yes, I give myself a break on the weekends by not setting an alarm however I have a real person as an alarm now (my baby).
Gym & Fitness
The gym is something that has always fascinated me. It’s both a place where people spend hours as well as a place where people don’t spend any time. We will go as deep as guests want to go on how they do or do not spend time in the gym. Beyond the gym we will dive into other fitness areas like sports, biking, running, and yoga.
What type of workouts do you do and how long do you typically spend in the gym?
While I hated weights all through college and well into my twenties I stick to mostly strength training. I have a personal trainer who gives me custom workouts (powered by Future, of course). I would say 80% of my time is spent lifting weights. I have been assigned cardio by my trainer as well to do post-strength training and sometimes I like to pop into a group fitness class at my gym.
Do you differentiate your workouts for cardio vs strength training, etc?
Yes, my workouts with weights are always done first. My trainer will add twenty minutes of cardio at the end. Sometimes I have to cut it if I am getting to the gym late, have an early work call, or am feeling low energy. My favorite cardio is basketball which I try to play at least once a week.
What is your go-to type of cardio?
I played college basketball and basically played every day of my life from the time I was six years old until I was 21. My career ended mainly because I was just tired of playing every day. Now that I am in my mid-thirties I have a renewed passion to play, but the main reason I play is that I hate traditional cardio like running or biking. I find pick-up basketball sessions I participate in will burn off 1100-1900 calories in a sixty-minute time frame. In San Francisco, I have the benefit of the Squadz.com community to find indoor runs during the week because I hate playing outdoors.
What other types of fitness experiences do you take to?
In addition to my normal strength training workout, I get assigned five days a week. I try to leverage my gym's group fitness classes. My favorite classes are hot yoga which I typically do on Wednesdays at noon, cycling, and if I am traveling sometimes I will do Barry’s. Other things I like to do are outdoor runs and outdoor hikes typically when I am in the mountains. I want to run a half marathon the next year so I will be increasing my weekly mile goals in support of that.
Do you use any apps for fitness or workouts? Are you a personal trainer or get it done yourself?
My workout app is pretty much Future which has a phone app as well as a watch app that tracks my workouts including heart rate throughout and my weight. Prior to that I used an app called Fitbod. Also, I will reference the Apple Fitness App because I wear my Apple Watch when I am doing any type of physical activity.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness has also become increasingly important. I have dealt with anxiety attacks for about seven years now. Slowing down (taking breaks to rest), breathing, and exercising are now essential parts of my life in an effort to combat anxiety. We will cover the most effective ways high performers stay on top of their mental health and what founders specifically deal with that is different from other professions.
What is your relationship with meditation and mindfulness?
In the past three years, I have started to participate in mindfulness and meditation exercises. It has yet to become a huge part of my lifestyle but I utilize the Mindfulness App on my Apple Watch for both reflecting and breathing at least once a week for 3-5 minutes.
Any apps you particularly love to manage any of the health and wellness?
I do not subscribe to any paid mindfulness apps. Music gets it done for me as I typically use Apple Music playlists for different moods.
Diet (food, water, fasting)
The last area we will cover is diet. I grew up in the south and quite frankly diet was never something that was prioritized. Fortunately, my uncle has always made me aware of how detrimental my diet can be. He is nearly 80 years old and still moves around better than a lot of people my age and he sets the bar high for me. His biggest advantage is he prepares everything that he eats. While I am no expert, we will find out how the best founders are eating.
What is your relationship with caffeine?
I try to hold myself to one cup of coffee a day which I will do post-workout or at home on the weekend. My overarching goal is no coffee after 12pm no matter what. Living in San Francisco, I have two favorites. I like any Blue Bottle product or most of the products at Philz Coffee. Recently, I got my wife a Breville expresso machine so when I am home we can make cafe inspired lattes. We get whatever coffee beans Costco has for our at-home machine which is much cheaper than the higher end brands.
How would you describe your relationship with food?
Food is the biggest problem I have internally as you can see from the screenshot above. I have weight swings because my diet is fairly inconsistent. I struggle with snacking throughout the day. I would give myself a 6.5/10 rating as far as my diet. I have definitely improved since moving out west but there are still a lot of things I can cut out of my diet to maintain my weight goal of 230-235 pounds. I apprciate that Future added a feature that helps me track my weight I have been using the app for a while and only lost net 2.4 pounds. This shows me that diet is the strongest driver of weight loss as well as maintaining a consistent weight. Still a lot of work do do here.
Are you eating throughout the day?
Yes, but I do intermittent fasting sessions sporadically. I fast 2-3 times a month, but I could do that more regularly. I do know that eating is triggered by stress and sleep among other things. So I know that if I am stressed or I did not get a good night’s sleep I am at risk to be hungry and eat throughout the day.
Are you an intermittent faster?
From time to time and I use an app called Zero to track my fasting. If I do eat less I can be more focused — getting more stuff done, etc. Digestive health is better if your stomach is not having to work as hard. I do have some gut health issues from time to time that typically correlate with eating late or eating bad throughout the day.
What is your relationship like with water? Are you pushing yourself to a certain amount a day?
My personal goal is at least a quarter or half a gallon. I fill up my 40-ounce water bottle at the gym in the morning and I will refill it throughout the day.
Do you add anything to your water?
Currently, I do not add anything to my water on a regular basis unless it is a pre-workout supplement for energy. I do use C4 which I am sure is not the best thing to do pre-workout especially considering I am good for one cup of coffee per day. I want to move to a healthier pre-workout supplement soon.
What is your relationship like with sweets?
I absolutely have a sweet tooth. On the extreme end it is Welch’s fruit snacks, chocolate and candy on the lighter end lots of fruit. I have set a goal to do thirty days of only natural sugar this year; it seems like the hardest thing to possibly do because I crave sugar a lot, even when I am fasting I often chew gum that even has sugar in it.
Do you prefer a certain type of diet?
I was recommended by a doctor to stick with a Mediterranean diet based on my blood type. I like that diet but I do admit it gets difficult. I have experiented with a lot of diets but have not found one I can committ to long term. So I pretty much eat what my wife cooks and then get a Chipolte Bowl with chips or a salad for most lunches. I cannot seem to rid my diet of Chipolte but I think the salt intake is something that is alarming about it that I need to be more cognisant of.
Do you log your meals?
I end up logging my meals 1-2x a week in Noom; more so to get a pulse of what I am eating on a day-to-day basis and how it is affecting my weight and how my stomach feels.
Do you use a specific type of app to track, order food, or anything else?
Living in the city has made me very reliable on Doordash and UberEats. Having a child and living through the pandemic defintely created a monster. I am lucky enough to be able to walk or drive to a few of my favorite spots to order take out but it is still something you have to watch.
This is the end of part 1.
I would love to know how you manage your sleep, morning routines and rituals, fitness regimen, mindfulness, and diet in the comments below.
If you are able to I would love your feedback on this survey I put together. I would love to add to my knowledge of any health and wellness products, apps, or tools I might not be aware of.
Next week I will go through what I do to manage my mental health, my relationship with alcohol, spirituality, reading, family, and personal finance.
Thanks again to Future for sponsoring this edition of the Long Four newsletter be sure to check out the link to receive 50% off your training for the first three months.
Back to the trenches.