Ben Greenfield: A Force in Fitness and Biohacking

1,945 words, 10 minutes read time

Updated on October 15, 2024. Fact checked by Robert Underwood

Article Summary

Background and Education

Ben Greenfield, an American fitness expert, biohacker, and internet personality, is known for his work in health, longevity, and fitness. Born in Idaho in 1981, he was homeschooled and developed an early interest in reading, writing, and chess. He later attended the University of Idaho, studying exercise physiology and biomechanics, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. He holds certifications in personal training, strength and conditioning, and sports nutrition.

Professional Experience and Affiliations

Greenfield founded several businesses related to fitness, nutrition, and biohacking, including Ben Greenfield Coaching and Kion, a supplement brand. He collaborates with companies like LMNT and Ōura and promotes biohacks such as infrared saunas and nicotine gum. His approach combines traditional fitness practices with new biohacking techniques.

Research Focus and Breakthroughs

Greenfield’s research spans biohacking, nutrition, and fitness optimisation. Initially focused on biomechanics, he expanded to include nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and stem cell therapy. His biohacking recommendations include intermittent fasting, low-carb diets, infrared sauna use, and supplements that may regulate blood glucose and reduce inflammation. He also critiques outdated fitness practices like carbo-loading for endurance athletes.

Health and Fitness Protocols

Greenfield follows a structured routine incorporating biohacking practices like infrared saunas, cold exposure, and breathing exercises. He adheres to intermittent fasting and a low-carb, nutrient-dense diet to support metabolic health. His supplement regimen includes nootropics, vitamins, and peptides, and he incorporates various physical activities throughout the day.

Awards and Recognitions

Greenfield has received several accolades, including the NSCA Trainer of the Year award in 2008. He was listed among the Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness by Greatist and is a top-ranked USAT triathlete in his age group.

Publications and Media Appearances

Greenfield has authored books on health and fitness, including Boundless Parenting and 10 Ways to Grow Tiny Superhumans. He hosts the Ben Greenfield Life podcast and has appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience and The Tim Ferriss Show. He is a regular speaker at health and fitness conferences.

Greenfield, an ex-triathlete with college training in biomechanics and exercise physiology, uses his knowledge and passion to create products and services for health and fitness fanatics. Over the years, he has founded numerous businesses focusing on personal training and nutrition consulting. Pacific Elite Fitness, Greenfield Fitness Systems, and The Superhuman Network were all previous iterations of businesses that have been amalgamated into Ben Greenfield Coaching. Greenfield has also authored many books pertaining to health and fitness all of which can be found on his main page, Ben Greenfield Life. 

Let’s take a closer look at his biography to understand how his work impacts the health, fitness, and longevity industries.

Background and Education

Ben was born in Idaho in the United States on December 19, 1981, during his youth, he was an intellectual who loved reading and writing fantasy fiction. He played the violin for thirteen years and was the president of the local chess club. He was homeschooled from K-12 and finished school at 15. He then went to the University of Idaho, where he studied exercise physiology and biomechanics and was at the top of his class with a GPA of 4.0. Furthermore, Ben did his internship at Duke College with the National Football League.

However, Ben Greenfield’s education extends beyond university, and he has also received certifications in Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Sports Nutrition from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), and Advanced Bicycle Fitting from Serotta.

During his studies, Greenfield earned an income by giving spinning classes and working as a bartender, personal trainer, personal assistant, nutritionist, athletic trainer, and strength and conditioning coach. Additionally, he was the president of the triathlon club and partook in sports like tennis, water polo, and volleyball. Ben also took up bodybuilding and was muscle-bound with only 3% body fat. At that stage, he weighed about 97.5kg.

Ben Greenfield is a Christian man, and he got married on March 14, 2003 to Jessica (Jessa) Dawn Greenfield, they have twin boys, River and Terran. If you were wondering where Ben Greenfield lives now, the answer is Spokane, Washington, in the USA though is planning on relocating back to Idaho in 2024.

Professional Experience and Affiliations

Ben Greenfield has an extensive reach in the health and fitness realm, as his products and services cover many bases. However, he started off small by collaborating with doctors to create personalised and holistic fitness training regimes for his clients. Since then, he has collaborated with many professionals and industry leaders over the years, which inspired and empowered him to expand his reach.

As he’s passionate about healthy living, Ben has collaborated with supplement producer Kion and promotes and recommends many of their products – including amino acids and omegas. Greenfield and LMNT have also joined forces to promote their services and products. LMNT is an electrolyte drink that is Paleo-Keto friendly. Ben recommends their products as they’re an excellent means for improving electrolyte balance and contain no artificial ingredients or fillers.

Ben Greenfield loves chewing gum for several physiological, psychological, and mental benefits, so he’s collaborated with Lucy, a company that manufactures chewing gums that contain natural ingredients and nicotine as a mental stimulant. As most gums have artificial sweeteners, flavours, and colours, he believes chewing them could be less beneficial. Therefore, Lucy is an excellent partner for promoting healthy chewing!

Another successful collaboration worth mentioning is one between Ben Greenfield and Ōura. The Ōura ring is like a mini sleep lab that you wear at night and monitors your sleep patterns and behaviour. Ben Greenfield uses one to monitor his sleep, and the two companies successfully use cross-marketing strategies.

Finally, another partnership to mention is between Clearlight and Ben Greenfield Life. Clearlight manufactures infrared saunas that produce infrared heat like the sun, which most living beings require for optimal health. As such, Ben Greenfield promotes Clearlight saunas as a biohack and has a large one in his basement that he uses daily as part of his protocol.

Research Focus and Breakthroughs

Since Ben’s primary focus is living an optimised life, his research is holistic and covers all aspects of human functioning, down to a cellular level in many cases. This said, Greenfield’s primary research focused on biomechanics and the science of sports and movement. As time progressed, he started researching nutrition and pharmaceuticals, which helped immensely with understanding quality supplements and the foods we should eat. Greenfield believes the commonly used food pyramid needs to be corrected, as the ratios are not ideal for optimal health.

Today, Ben Greenfield is known as the Biohacking Guru as he researches them extensively and uses biohacks daily when facing city life and modern-day issues. At a recent Biohacking Conference, Ben recommended a number of biohacks, including jaw realignment, brain flushing, using nutrients to promote decreased inflammation in the brain and promote acetylcholine production, and monitoring and normalising blood glucose through movement and not snacking. Other Ben Greenfield biohacking suggestions are enjoying regular infrared sauna sessions, doing Kundalini yoga and Wim Hof breathing, and taking hot and cold showers.

When it comes to biohacking nutrition Ben has moved on from the days where suggested starting the day with a fatty coffee (bulletproof coffee is a great example) and now advocates for the use of lower carbohydrate nutrient-dense smoothies for breakfast. He is a fan of using supplements to augment his nutrition and will regularly use blood sugar stabilising compounds such as apple cider vinegar, Ceylon cinnamon, and bitter melon extract to help keep his blood glucose levels in check. In conjunction with promoting intermittent fasting, Ben recommends following a keto diet to reset your body’s metabolism. Additionally, his research has shown that carbo-loading before endurance exercise is outdated and not as beneficial as was believed.

What Protocols Does Ben Greenfield Follow?

Ben is a busy man who leads a very active lifestyle. This said, he enjoys being out in nature, away from all the pollutants that affect our bodies.

During a typical day at home, Ben Greenfield follows a routine designed to enhance his health (note these are ever-evolving). An example being that when he wakes up, he has a mason jar of reverse osmosis filtered water with supplements to promote acetylcholine production, namely Lion’s Mane extract, Bacopa, and black ant powder. He then uses Vylight in his nose for 25 minutes. After the Vylight, Ben takes a hefty dose of non-flushing Niacin (about 1000mg) and then does kundalini yoga in his infrared sauna for 20 – 30 minutes to activate his chakras. Ben then practices Wim Hof’s breathing techniques outside before he jumps into a cold swimming pool for 5 minutes.

In his home office, he has a treadmill and a punching bag to vary his movement throughout the day.

His afternoon or evening exercise is varied and more intense, and at night, Ben uses low-intensity pulsed electromagnetic field therapy.

Regarding diet, Ben follows an intermittent fasting regime where he does “compressed feeding” in a window of 8 – 12 hours. He follows a low-carb diet and eats to regulate his blood glucose levels. Ben Greenfield’s supplement intake is also extensive, and in addition to taking those that promote acetylcholine production, he also takes bacopa herb, a quality multivitamin, creatine, and fish oil. A microdose of melatonin is also part of his supplemental regime, as is magnesium and peptides.

Awards, Honours, and Recognition Received by Ben Greenfield

Ben Greenfield has received many awards and accolades in his career. He’s been awarded the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Trainer of the Year  in 2008, has been included in a list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness by Greatist, and is a USAT top-ranked triathlete in his age group.

He’s also successfully completed 13 Ironmans in Hawaii.

Ben Greenfield’s Publications and Media Appearances

Ben Greenfield has published many books on various aspects of health, fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being (and more). A few of the notable publications he has authored are 10 Ways To Grow Tiny Superhumans: How To Enable The Kids In Your Life To Look, Feel And Perform Like Optimised Human Machines, 100 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism, 30 Ways to Reboot Your Body: A Complete User Manual for Getting the Most Out of the Human Body and Become Superhuman: Official Resource Guide.

These are just some of the many books he has published in his career, with others focusing on triathlons, getting fit, maintaining endurance, and biohacking your home. He’s even written a few cookbooks filled with healthy recipes. His most recent foray is into healthy parenting, and his book Boundless Parenting focuses on the tools, tactics, and habits of great parents.

If you’re not a big reader, you can enjoy Ben’s expertise on one or more of his online platforms. He has his own YouTube channel and website, and his podcasts are available on Apple. Ben Greenfield’s Fitness Facebook profile and Ben Greenfield’s X Account (previously Twitter) are also excellent sources of valuable information. 

Ben Greenfield is also the subject of many interviews. Joe Rogan of the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) has conducted numerous interviews with him about his opinion on trending matters in the health and fitness industry.

Dr Matt Cook is another specialist who enjoys interviewing with Ben Greenfield. Dr Cook helped to heal Ben’s knee without invasive surgery, and the two discuss pertinent matters like vaccinations, regenerative medicines, treatments, and health conditions.

Famous Quotes

Given his excellent ability to speak and write, Ben has several quote-worthy statements. Here are some examples:

“In a nutshell: Stress is stress – no matter whether it’s from exercise or from lifestyle – and the more stress you’re placing on yourself from your lifestyle, the less stress you’ll be able to place on yourself from exercise.”

“You have to leave behind the exhausting pursuit of exercise for the sake of exercise and discover the beautiful balance between health and performance.”

“Researchers have also observed that people who listened to music during exercise actually improved their mood, the speed of their decision-making, and even their verbal fluency. That means you’ll not only be able to exercise harder when you listen to music, but you may actually get smarter, too, or perhaps have better focus.”

Conclusion

Fitness and health expert Ben Greenfield is an outstanding example of one passionate about what he does and doing it to the full, as a superhuman might. With his expertise and expansive knowledge, he can collate and share the latest health, fitness, and longevity trends. Often, he uses himself as a guinea pig, so he shares his personal experience and can dismiss fads and outdated practices.

Ben swears by various biohacks to employ to help our entire beings cope in a polluted modern world. He also continues to delve deeper into understanding human physiology in response to different stressors and finding ways to counteract them.

His openness, knowledge, and passion for what he does have earned him a place as one of the most influential people in fitness and health. To keep up to date with Ben’s research, findings, and activities, be sure to follow one of his online platforms – you’re sure to be motivated.