The John Dudley Diet, Workout, and Supplement Guide

Written by Eric James in Health, Diet & Fitness
John Dudley's diet, workout, and supplement guide for optimal hunting.

An athlete’s diet and workout regimen need to be meticulously crafted in order to meet the needs of the sport they participate in. That is certainly the case of professional archery athlete John Dudley, who has dedicated his entire fitness outlook to his enhancing his physical and mental performance in his profession. Fortunately, even non-athletes can follow his routines and find success in their own fitness journey.

John Dudley follows a strict keto diet consisting of lots of wild game, in which most carbs are cut out and replaced with proteins and good fats. Incorporated into his diet are his favorite supplements, those of the Jocko supplement line, from his close friend and training partner Jocko Willink. He also utilizes an exercise method he refers to as the PPLC (push, pull, legs, core) in addition to cardio conditioning and regular archery practice.

Also see: The Amazing Life of John Dudley: Nock On Archery & Hunting

John Dudley Diet Breakdown

On February 3, 2024, John Dudley, the founder of Nock On Archery, will celebrate two years on the Keto diet. His Instagram showcases his journey, including how he got started and his insane results. On his one-year anniversary on keto, he posted that he had lost over fifty pounds, claiming that the diet had changed his life. His introduction to keto was through a magazine called The Keto Diet, which contained a 5-step guide and plenty of recipes to try.

The ketogenic (keto) diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet similar to the Atkins diet. The premise of keto is to get more calories from protein and fat rather than carbohydrates. By limiting the intake of carbs to 50 grams a day, the body will run out of fuel from blood sugar in 3 to 4 days and enter a state called ketosis, where it starts breaking down protein and fat for energy.

Of course, as an avid hunter, Dudley eats a lot of wild game. The beauty of wild game is that it free of hormones, antibiotics, and is completely organic. Dudley has gone on quite a few hunting trips with his buddies Joe Rogan, Jocko Willink, Andy Stumpf, Cameron Hanes, and others.

The Keto Diet: High Fat, Low Carb

Losing weight is one of the many health benefits of keto. Keto is known to help those with diabetes or pre-diabetes and lowers the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and more.

Dudley always starts his day with a cup of coffee with heavy cream and MCT oil. He follows that with his daily go-to supplements and then puts in a morning workout. A typical breakfast contains protein, like a few bacon strips, and about four or five hard-boiled eggs with some seasoning, hot sauce, and fats, like avocado.

Also see: Jocko Willink Diet Guide: Become a Disciplined Machine

Other foods that are acceptable to eat on a keto diet include (sourced from healthline keto article):

  • Fatty fish: mackerel, trout, tuna, salmon
  • Meat: red meat, bacon, chicken, steak, ham, turkey, and sausage
  • Eggs: omega 3 or pastured
  • Cheese: unprocessed
  • Butter: grass-fed
  • Cream: grass-fed
  • Nuts: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachio, etc.
  • Seeds: pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, etc.
  • Avocados
  • Low-carb vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, onions, green veggies, etc.
  • Healthy oils: avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil
  • Condiments: herbs, spices, salt, and pepper.

In order to stay in ketosis, there are quite a few foods that should be avoided, mainly foods with high carbs—carbohydrates with glucose (sugar), which is then converted to energy. Too many carbs can contribute to weight gain, acne, brain fog, fatigue, diabetes, heart disease, and more.

To avoid overloading on carbs, here are some foods to avoid on keto:

  • Fruit: most fruits, except some berries
  • Sugary foods: fruit juices, sodas, smoothies, sweets, candy, etc.
  • Starches or grains: Wheat products, including pasta, cereal, rice, etc.
  • Root vegetables and tubers: beets, radishes, carrots, potatoes, etc.
  • Low-fat or diet products: salad dressings and low-fat mayonnaise
  • Sugar-free diet foods: sugar-free sweeteners, syrups, candies, etc.
  • Beans or legumes: chickpeas, lentils, peas, kidney beans, etc.
  • Unhealthy fats: mayonnaise, processed oils, etc.
  • Alcohol
  • Some sauces and condiments: honey mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, etc.

John Dudley’s Go-to Keto-friendly Snacks and Drinks

In his “keto journey” highlights on Instagram, Dudley discusses his favorite drinks to stay hydrated, his favorite snacks, especially on a hunt, and ways he can still eat some of his favorite foods while keeping his body in ketosis. He still gets to eat one of his favorite meals, pizza but stops short of consuming the crust.

Overall, his daily diet contains more fats than proteins. Dudley only consumes 140g of protein daily, including eggs, fish, chicken, red meat, and the wild game he brings back from his hunts.

Carnivore Crisps beef brisket, (3) 1.5 oz bag, 10 g proteins per serving (Amazon)

JiMMY! Keto Protein Bar, Keto Friendly, Variety Pack (Amazon)

KILL CLIFF Blood Orange – Electrolytes Energy Drink, Keto Post or Pre Workout (Amazon)

John Dudley’s Nock Fit Exercise and Workouts

Dudley utilizes various forms of exercise to stay in top shape and make the most of his massive weight loss on keto. In addition to being a professional archery athlete, logging thousands of steps on hunts and during competitions, he lifts weights, partakes in CrossFit on the road, hiking, and more. In September 2023, he logged an amazing 532,000 steps for that month alone!

Dudley has an impressive home gym, including an apex rack in the center with movable jammer arms for different presses, a bench, functional cable column up and down, lat pull, low row, j-squat, kettlebells, center mass bells, and dumbbells. He keeps a black chalkboard against one wall with his workout routine listed out.

Cardio Fitness for Success

After his morning coffee, Dudley puts on a weighted vest, gets on his treadmill at 30mm max incline, and power walks while checking text messages and emails. He also incorporates a 15 to 30-minute cardio session at the end of his workout. While some may put more time into cardio, Dudley states that he is all about efficiency. “I’m not there to be in the gym all day…”

On his website, he has a whole section dedicated to Nock On Fit, discussing cardio conditioning, providing key points to get the most out of the limited time frame. Dudley recommends running, biking, rucking, rowing, swimming, or doing high-intensity interval training called Tabata. The key to getting the most out of the 15 to 30 minutes is hitting the target heart rate and maintaining it throughout the exercise.

Strength Training and Weight Lifting

For Dudley, archery and fitness go hand in hand. According to his tutorial, Nock Fit 101, he doesn’t have a specific routine memorized rep for rep but instead aims to hit four categories in his daily workout. The four categories make up the acronym PPLC.

  • Push: any exercise utilizing the push motion. For example, tricep push downs, push-ups, bench presses, overhead tricep extensions, etc.
  • Pull: any exercise utilizing a pulling motion to balance out the push exercises—for example, pull-ups, single-arm dumbbell rows, bent-over rows, lat pull-downs, etc.
  • Legs: Isolating legs is especially important for archery and hunting. Examples of leg exercises include deadlifts, squats, lunges, step-ups, box jumps, etc.
  • Core: A strong core benefits archery and helps prevent injury. Examples of core exercises include sit-ups, suitcase carry, plank pull-through, hanging reverse crunch, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9vrMXzZK2o&ab_channel=nockonarchery

The PPLC method will “enhance your overall strength, mobility, and ability in the field and on the range.” Dudley emphasizes that these exercises are specific to archers and bowhunters, so it’s critical to always hit a push, pull, legs, and core regardless of sets, reps, intensity, or repetition.

Dudley and his educational series partner, Bert Sorin, make some intensity recommendations for each category. The typical volume for each exercise will be 24 reps. That can be broken down as 6 sets of 4 or 4 sets of 6, 3 sets of 8, etc.

As the intensity (weight) decreases, volume (reps) increases. If the intensity increases, then it’s important to back off on the volume to avoid stressing the system. It’s a balanced approach to avoid overloading any one category, so, during bow practice, a third of the body isn’t overly fatigued. It’s all about managing stress on the body to practice fitness and archery simultaneously.

Also see: Cameron Hanes Simple “Rock Carry” Workout Is Brutal

Recreational Sports – John Dudley does BJJ

Dudley’s main sports are bow hunting and archery, but he has participated in other recreational sports and activities like Jiu-Jitsu. Being a novice to the sport, friend and Jiu-Jitsu expert Jocko Willink offered Dudley and his family a private lesson.

Unfortunately, that introduction session resulted in Dudley being injured when Willink put him in an Ezekiel choke hold. Dudley didn’t tap out early enough but tried to get out of the hold by pulling Willink into him, tightening the hold. Fortunately, the injury didn’t dissuade Dudley from continuing to practice the sport.

John Dudley’s Preferred Supplements

The first thing Dudley does in the morning, after he’s had his coffee, is take his supplements. When speaking on the kinds of supplements he takes, he admitted to trying many supplements over the years but feels that Jocko Fuel supplements by his friend and retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, are the best.

Here are the supplements that John Dudley takes every day, with convenient links to Amazon if you want to buy them:

Also see: Joe Rogan Supplement Guide: Exactly What You Need

*****

Thanks so much for reading!

Recent Posts