Have you ever considered the potential benefits of adding psilocybin to your pre-workout supplement stack?
Unless you somehow stumbled across this article by accident, you’re probably already aware of microdosing psilocybin to support overall wellness as a general concept. But taking your mushrooms to the gym with you (figuratively speaking, of course) in the form of a psilocybin pre-workout stack might offer a new way for you to connect with both your mind and body, get more out of your workouts, and potentially even perform better and heal more quickly—especially if you’re combining it with some of the nourishing superfoods detailed below!
Like so many others, I began my psilocybin microdosing journey in 2020 during the dark days of lockdown and quarantine. I had heard of the benefits of microdosing on mental health and overall well-being, and was no stranger to psychedelics personally. However, it was not until I began experimenting with various psilocybin microdosing protocols first-hand that I even became aware how many benefits there are—benefits I could not have foreseen until I first experienced them myself.
I certainly didn’t expect an increased enthusiasm for hitting the gym to seemingly spring forth from within these magical little fungal enigmas, but nevertheless, adding psilocybin to my pre-workout stack has helped keep me more active than I’d previously ever been in my adult life.
As soon as I began experimenting with microdosing, the increase in energy I felt was remarkable. I felt the urge to move, felt more in touch with the joy of movement itself, and felt like I could just go and go, transcending space in a way I had never before experienced. Outside on the lakeside track at the local park with my headphones in, I found a rhythm and a passion for movement I had previously only dreamed of. And I owe so much of that to psilocybin mushrooms! I immediately wondered if others have had this experience, or if anyone else was talking about these sensations I was having.
I began to note how I felt when I combined psilocybin mushrooms with other superfood pre-workouts I had experimented with before in the course of my natural nutrition journey, like cacao and matcha.
After much trial and error, here are some healthy superfoods and adaptogens that I find that pair well with psilocybin (and without it, for days off the regimen) for use in my psilocybin pre-workout stacks:
- coffee
- raw cacao powder
- lion’s mane mushroom
- reishi mushroom
- cordyceps mushroom
- turkey tail mushroom
- matcha
- cannabis (CBD & THC)
- L-theanine (see matcha)
- maca
- ginkgo biloba
- ginseng
- yerba mate
- magnesium
- moringa
- chia seeds, hemp hearts, etc.
- nettle
- ashwagandha
- beet/beet powder
- rosemary
What I love about this list is how nourishing so many of these ingredients are for multiple bodily systems, and that while some of these foods contain caffeine (which can be a great addition) others carry the option of delivering energy without the sometimes undesirable effects of caffeine. As a naturalist in all aspects of my life, including the foods I ingest, I stray away from synthetic pre-workouts, nearly all of which contain ingredients which, while they may be FDA-approved, are known to cause immune or other systemic harm (namely synthetic food dyes, flavors, preservatives, and other pharmaceutically-derived ingredients). Many of the active ingredients in pre-workouts are themselves controversial and synthetic, and many are recalled from the market within a few years due to looming health concerns. I’d much prefer a combination of superfoods, herbs and magic mushrooms to propel me through my workout with vigor and nourishment, rather than synthetic stimulants which could potentially damage my nervous system and organs in the long run or adrenalize my body in ways which are less than healthy or otherwise undesirable.
I determined through some slight trial-and-error that my personal favorite blend and my perfect psilocybin pre-workout stack is:
- 0.15-.35 grams of psilocybin mushrooms;
- a cup of coffee.
- 1 tbsp raw cacao mixed into coffee (I also add cinnamon for metabolic boost and flavor).
- 1/2 tsp functional mushroom blend of your choice.
- 2 tbsp matcha (consumed just before leaving the house for the workout).
This psilocybin pre-workout stack is at its core an elaboration on the Stamets protocol but without the niacin supplement component. I personally avoid niacin supplements because I am sensitive to synthetic niacin and other B vitamins and suffer uncomfortable reactions to them, but it is worth mentioning the niacin as being a standard part of the protocol. Instead, as a nutritional naturalist I prefer to substitute foods which are naturally high in niacin, like clean animal proteins, avocados, and, ironically, mushrooms. It’s not surprising that these foods also come with a variety of other energizing nutrients, like omegas and other B vitamins, as well as vitamin D.
As a wild forager, I have an advantage in that I have an abundance of nutrient-dense mushrooms and plants at my disposal, as wild-foraged foods are packed with more nutrition than those which are farmed. I should note that I do typically include lion’s mane in the workout stack, presenting itself in the form of some brand or other of superfood mushroom blend mixed into my coffee alongside the cacao and cinnamon.
The finishing touch, immediately before leaving the house for a run or to go to the gym for strength training, is a serving of 2 tbsp of ceremonial matcha, which I whisk using the traditional Japanese chasen matcha whisk. I find the ritualistic practice lends an element of intention-setting, and the calming yet focusing L-theanine from the tea combined with the theobromine from the cacao really help to balance out the lion’s mane and psilocybin, all while flooding the body with nutrients and antioxidants and opening up the blood vessels, allowing oxygen to better flow throughout the body. I often utilize the Wim Hof Method breathing technique as well before beginning my exercises. My run times are better, my distances are longer, and I generally have a better time doing it. The experience is uncanny in its consistency, and I also find that I generate some of my best ideas during this process. The entire practice has been life-changing.
Given that Stamets claims that his protocol benefits neurogenesis, it could stand to reason that this protocol (especially when combined with the nourishing ingredients in the above list) could potentially benefit in other ways, as well, such as fitness recovery, overall nerve health, nervous system recovery, and cellular health. When it concerns superfood and psilocybin mushrooms, modern science is really just scratching the surface of the array of benefits offered by fungi and their individual compounds, from the cancer-fighting polysaccharides in turkey tail to the longevity tonics in reishi to the brain-boosting nootropics present in lion’s mane and magic mushrooms. If there’s nothing else you take from this article, let it be this: armed with the right information regarding their safe collection and use, mushrooms are a true friend of the human body.
These days I find myself microdosing less and less often, something I find to be another interesting and positive benefit of psilocybin—the gradual decrease in usage frequency of psilocybin has been reportedly experienced by many of its users. I just don’t feel like I need it as often. I still love to run and exercise, though, which I consider to be a true gift of the mushrooms. I often utilize many of these other ingredients in my pre-workout stacks to some degree, though. But today, I have to say that I owe my movement regimen in large part to my psilocybin mushroom microdosing regimen!
