Mark Zuckerberg said he gave up running as exercise to take his mind off work because 'the problem with running is you can think a lot'

• Mark Zuckerberg said he needs to exercise each morning because checking his phone feels like he's "punched in the gut."
• He said he used to jog, but "the problem with running is you can think a lot."

Mark Zuckerberg said that waking up in the morning and looking at his phone feels like getting "punched in the stomach," which ultimately forced him to switch his exercise routine.

On "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast Thursday, Zuckerberg described his morning routine to host Joe Rogan, saying he does an hour or more of exercise each morning to deal with the stress of his role as CEO of Meta.

"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," Zuckerberg said.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

"So it's almost like you wake up and you're punched in the stomach, so it's like okay... now I need to go reset myself and be able to be productive and not be stressed out about this," he added.

Zuckerberg says he likes exercises "that require full focus" to take his mind off of work.

"I used to run a lot, but the problem with running is you can think a lot," he said.

Zuckerberg has previously extolled his love of surfing and foiling, another water sport, but he told Rogan that lately he's gotten into MMA, or mixed martial arts.

"What's a thing that's both super engaging physically, but also intellectually, where you can't afford to focus on something else? MMA is the perfect thing because if you stop paying attention for one second, you're going to end up on the bottom," he said.

"I've found, especially as the company has scaled, it's more important," he told Rogan, referring to his morning exercise routine.