Mitochondrialmaxxing

Your mitochondria are the parts of your cells that turn food and oxygen into ATP, the energy currency every other system in your body spends to do anything. More functional mitochondria = more energy, better recovery, sharper thinking, lower disease risk. For the full mechanism see

Our Cellular Biology

What to track

• Heart rate recovery and HRV trends

• The bloodwork pattern (fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, hs-CRP, HbA1c)

• Subjective energy and exercise tolerance, fatigue not explained by sleep, exercise tolerance, recovery, brain fog, cold tolerance, muscle strength

0- Lifestyle stack

• Zone 2 cardio. 3-4 sessions of 30 minutes per week at conversational pace. The single most evidence-supported intervention for building new mitochondria.

• High-intensity intervals. 1-2 sessions per week. Different stimulus than zone 2, drives different mitochondrial adaptations.

• Resistance training. Builds muscle mitochondria specifically.

• Sauna. 3-4 sessions per week, 15-20 minutes at 80°C+. Activates heat shock proteins and PGC-1α (the master mitochondrial biogenesis switch)

• Cold exposure. 2-3 minutes at 10-15°C, a few times per week. Activates mitochondrial biogenesis through a different pathway than heat.

• Time-restricted eating or periodic fasting. Stimulates mitophagy (clearing damaged mitochondria) and biogenesis. 14-16 hour overnight fasts most days is sufficient.

• Sleep. 7-9 hours, consistent timing. Sleep is when most mitochondrial repair happens

1- Universal supplement

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  Creatine - 5g daily. Saturates the phosphocreatine buffer in muscle and brain above natural baseline, and shuttles ATP from mitochondria to where it's spent. Universal, cheap, most-evidenced supplement that exists.

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  Magnesium - 200 - 400 mg daily. Hundreds of ATP-using enzymes require magnesium, including the ones inside mitochondria.

Tier 2 — Specific correctors

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  CoQ10 (ubiquinol) 100-200 mg daily. A core component of the electron transport chain, the part of mitochondria that actually produces ATP. Without enough, mitochondria can't generate energy efficiently.

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  Vitamin B12 if deficient. Required cofactor for a mitochondrial enzyme that processes certain fats and amino acids for fuel. Doesn't optimise above baseline, but deficiency impairs energy production. Common in vegetarians, adults 50+, and anyone on metformin or PPIs. Test before supplementing.

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  Acetyl-L-Carnitine 1-2g daily. Shuttles fatty acids into mitochondria for burning. Endogenous production declines with age, so most relevant for older adults. Healthy young people make a lot.

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  Thiamine (B1), 100-300 mg daily, ideally as TTFD (the form in Thiamax) or benfotiamine for better blood-brain barrier crossing. Required cofactor for the enzymes that turn glucose into ATP. Subclinical deficiency is common in heavy drinkers, high-carb processed diets, or people with gut absorption issues. Dramatic effects on energy and clarity in deficient people.

Tier 3 — Age-related decline correction

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  NR or
  
  NMN 300-500 mg daily. Both are precursors that the body converts into NAD+, a molecule mitochondria need at almost every step of producing ATP. NAD+ levels drop with age, and lower NAD+ means slower energy production. Worth considering 40+ or with metabolic dysfunction.

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  PQQ 10-20 mg daily. Claimed to stimulate the growth of new mitochondria. Animal evidence is decent, human evidence is thinner. Reasonable to stack with NR/NMN if you're already 40+ and optimising, not worth taking on its own.

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  Taurine - 2-3g daily. Stabilises the inner mitochondrial membrane and supports the cardiolipin that holds the electron transport chain together. Taurine levels drop with age.

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  Spermidine - 1-6 mg/day, a compound found in wheat germ and aged cheese which stimulates mitophagy (cleaning old mitochondrial) through related pathways.

Tier 4 — Metabolic dysfunction or active disease state

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  MOTS-c peptide injected subcutaneously. A signalling molecule produced inside mitochondria themselves that tells the rest of the body to improve insulin sensitivity, burn fat, and build new mitochondria.

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  Methylene Blue 0.5-2 mg/kg daily, microdosed. Acts as a backup electron carrier inside mitochondria, letting damaged ones still produce ATP when their normal machinery is failing. Worth considering for actual mitochondrial dysfunction, neurodegenerative concern, or hypoxia. Narrow therapeutic window, stains everything blue, hard contraindication with SSRIs.

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  Urolithin A , 500-1000 mg daily. Triggers mitophagy, the process that clears out damaged mitochondria so the cell can replace them. Mitophagy slows with age, supplementing helps restart it. Worth considering for older adults with declining muscle function. Healthy young people get the same effect from fasting and exercise for free.

Tier 5 — Heavy/experimental (clinical context)

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  NAD+ (clinical, expensive, mostly hype)

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  SS-31 / mitochondrial-targeted peptides (research stage, not retail)