Mark Zuckerberg says he stopped running because it doesn’t take his mind off work

‘But the problem with running is you can think a lot,’ he says

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that running is no longer a part of his exercise routine because it doesn’t help him keep his mind off work.

The Meta founder discussed his morning routine while appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Thursday, and noted how overwhelmed he gets when looking at all of the notifications on his phone.

“I wake in the morning, look at my phone, you get like a million messages of stuff that come in, and it’s usually not good. People reserve the good stuff to tell me in person,” he said. “So it’s almost like you wake up and you’re punched in the stomach.”

The CEO went on to explain that he often needs to give his body a “reset” in the morning and be productive so he’s not so stressed out, which is why he has turned to exercise.

However,  while he said that he does “something physical for an hour or two,” he also confessed that he now tends to avoid running.

“I used to run a lot,” he said. “But the problem with running is you can think a lot.”

With that in mind, Zuckerberg explained that he starting taking on physical activities like mixed martial arts and surfing, where you have to stay focused the entire time.

“What’s a thing that’s both super engaging physically, but also intellectually, where you can’t afford to focus on something else?,” he said about MMA. “If you stop paying attention for one second, you’re gonna end up on the bottom.”

The Facebook founder went on the emphasis how “important” his morning exercise is to him, as it helps him “maintain” his “energy and focus” for the rest of the day.

“After an hour or two of working out, I’m ready to go solve whatever problem at work for the day, and I’ve fully processed all the different news for the day that’s come in,” he said.

Zuckerberg also said that he and his family spent a lot of time in Kauai, Hawaii throughout the pandemic, which gave him the opportunity to be more active.

“I hate sitting in front of my desk, I feel that if I’m not active I’m just wasting away,” he told Rogan. “My energy level and mood and how I interact with the world is based on...its so physical.”

“I don’t believe we are just brains in a body, our physical being and actions we take there are as much of kind the experience of being human,” he continued.

He then specified that he would spend hours exercising in the ocean everyday, before starting work.

“I got really into surfing and hydrofoiling and I would get up early and go and do that and then be really refreshed for my day of meetings,” he explained. “That is not something I could do in Palo Alto.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Zuckerberg explained that because of his busy schedule, there are not enough “hours in the day” for him to use social media himself. However, he did note that he still does a “bunch of messaging” in his free time.