Justin Gaethje Workout and Diet
Mixed Martial Artist
Justin Gaethje grew up in Arizona. He started wrestling at age 4 and excelled in the sport, becoming a 2-time Arizona state champ in high school. Gaethje also wrestled in college at the University of Northern Colorado and became an NCAA Div I All-American. He got interested in MMA in college and went pro in 2011. Two years later, he joined the World Series of Fighting and quickly became a champ, defending his title 5 times. ‘The Highlight’ joined the UFC in 2017 and became the Interim Lightweight Champion by defeating Tony Ferguson in 2020. He earned the honorific BMF title in 2023 by defeating Dustin Poirier. Gaethje has won Fight of the Night 8 times and Performance of the Night 5 times. He endorses Gains in Bulk supplements and has a training program called Onx. Gaethje has his own YouTube channel, and millions of followers on social media. He is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and fights at 155 lbs.
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Justin Gaethje’s Diet
Diet Summary
Once upon a time, Gaethje thought he was eating healthy, but he discovered that he was not and so he hired a nutritional chef named Elizabeth Woodard to prepare his meals. He loves to eat, but knows it has to contain nutrition, so she makes him what she calls ‘healthy junk food,’ including things like pizza, pasta, and burgers. Most of it is homemade, and lots of it is organic, particularly when he is prepping for a fight. He drinks plenty of water for hydration, except when he’s cutting to make weight, in which case, he drops 10+ lbs through sweat.
Estimated Macros
Medium Fat
Medium Carb
Medium-High Protein
Diet Details
Total Diet Revamp
Gaethje cleaned up his diet by getting rid of most of the sugar and added in lots of veggies. He also times his meals carefully, not eating too late or going too long after a workout before refueling.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Gaethje eats a whole-foods diet that is full of fresh veg and organic ingredients. His nutritionist says her main goal is to give longevity to his career.
Healthy Junk Food
Just because Gaethje eats clean doesn’t mean it’s boring. His nutritionist chef prepares meals that are as tasty as they are nutritious.
Breeze Through the Weigh-In
Gaethje says his new diet has allowed him to only start cutting weight 2 days before a weigh-in, whereas some other fighters need to start cutting weeks in advance of a fight.
So Thirsty
Gaethje makes weight by dehydrating himself. This can often be 10 pounds or more. He says it’s the worst feeling to be hot and thirsty and not be allowed to have a sip of water.
What to Eat
- Organic foods
- Anti-inflammatory foods
- Food made from scratch
- Lean, grass-fed, organic meat
- Eggs
- Organic cheese
- Fresh veggies
- Fresh fruit
- Whole grains
- Monkfruit
- Water
What to Avoid
- Inflammatory foods
- Added sugar
- Processed foods
- Junk food
- Empty-calorie foods
- Artificial additives
- Chemicals
- Sodium (pre match)
Gaethje on his metabolism
‘I’m a machine.’
Gaethje on his diet
‘[My nutritionist] calls it an anti-inflammation diet.’
Gaethje’s nutritionist on his meals
‘My specialty is making healthy junk food.’
Gaethje on junk food
‘Now I don’t even like McDonald’s anymore.’
Gaethje on not drinking to cut weight pre-fight
‘I’m really thirsty…It sucks.’
Justin Gaethje’s Workout Routine
Workout Routine
Natural Athlete
Gaethje started wrestling at age 4 and playing golf at 5. He can also pitch, punt and kick a ball, all of which translated well into MMA.
Serious Planner
When Gaethje gets a fight on the calendar, he counts back 12 weeks and develops a plan for each week.
Sweat It Out
When Gaethje needs to cut weight, he’ll do the sauna repeatedly, combined with other methods to sweat, until he hits his goal weight.
Use It or Lose It
Gaethje says he would love to take a break from training sometimes, but if he does, his cardio capacity really drops, and so he trains all year round.
Daily Dose
Gaethje works out 2-2.5 hours a day, 6 days a week. He does a combination of gym workouts, heavy bag, wrestling, and running.
Cardio King of the Hill
Gaethje does short-ish hill runs, about 15 minutes, as part of his cardio training. This is approximately equivalent to 3 5-minute rounds in the cage. Big fights can go 5 rounds, so he trains for that as well
Reduce Injury
Gaethje also likes running uphill because a short run is very effective, and easier on the body than running on flat ground.
Exercise Style
A Justin Gaethje Routine
Train 6 days a week for 2 -2 1/2 hours a day.
- Cardio
- Hill runs
- Sprints
- Jump rope
- Heavy bag
- Speed bag
- Wrestling
- MMA drills
- Strength & Conditioning
Gaethje on cardio training
‘My life is cardio.’
Gaethje’s coach on hill runs
We always challenge his legs, and…that way, he’s not going to get injured when his body is tired from the week.’
Gaethje on how to make weight for a fight
‘Dehydrate yourself.’
Gaethje on how he became a UFC fighter
‘The amount of time I’ve put in toward working for 1 goal, and that’s to be the best at wrestling.’
Justin Gaethje’s Supplements
Creatine
Gaethje takes creatine in his morning shake. Creatine promotes muscle growth, strength and endurance, as well as mental clarity. He endorses the brand Gains in Bulk.
Whey Protein + Collagen
Gaethje also takes Gains in Bulk’s grass-fed whey and collagen as part of his morning smoothie to build muscle and strengthen bones and joints. This brand has only 1 gram of fat and 1 gram of carbs.
Electrolytes
After Gaethje gets through weigh-in before a fight, he rehydrates with electrolytes.
Justin Gaethje’s Lifestyle
3 Pillars of Health
Gaethje considers rest to be right up there with training and nutrition when it comes to prepping for a fight.
Hardworking Fam
Gaethje comes from a long line of copper miners: 3 generations on both sides of his family. Gaethje worked at the mine for a summer when he was 18. He says it was enough to motivate him to do well in college.
No Expectations
Gaethje says he’s as surprised as anyone that he has made a career out of fighting. When he was younger, he didn’t even know that was a possibility.
Fight of the Night
In 2020, Gaethje tried to defend his Lightweight Championship title and lost in a technical submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in what turned out to be Khabib’s last professional fight.
The Eyes Have It
Gaethje had terrible vision growing up. His vision was 20/60 in 1 eye and 20/200 in the other. His vision was so bad, he had to actually touch his opponent to know what he was hitting.
TowelGate
In 2018, Gaethje helped out Max Holloway by holding up a towel, saving Holloway from exposing himself to a crowd of journalists while he weighed in naked before a fight.
Giving Back
Gaethje holds a degree in social work, and feels particularly drawn to working with veterans and at-risk youth.
Retirement Dreams
Gaethje says that he can’t wait to retire from fighting so he can play golf.
Gaethje on his fight prep besides training
‘Rest, nutrition, rest.’
Gaethje on his family
‘My family loves me. I make them proud and I know I’ll never disappoint them when it comes to my effort.’
Gaethje on the mining life
‘I worked 7 days a week, 12 hours every day. I…took 1 sick day, because I had to sleep.’
Gaethje on his eyesight
‘I was farsighted in one eye and nearsighted in another eye.’
Gaethje on side effects of cutting weight
‘My temper gets shorter. My family knows not to ask me stupid questions.’
Gaethje on making the big bucks
‘The surest way to make money in this sport [is] to be exciting.’
Gaethje on the MMA way of cutting weight
‘I wouldn’t recommend it.’
Gaethje on golf
‘Golf is my favorite sport in the world.’
Recommended Products
Onx Training & Apparel
Gains in Bulk Supplements
UFC Gloves
Heavy Bag
Speed Bag
Training Mats
