Onboarding

The onboarding call takes 90 minutes. You tell me your medical history and as much as you can about lab results, scans, diagnoses, treatments, medicines, diet, etc. The plan goes like this:

First 6 months - set up. We may adjust your meds or supplements and start a few diet changes. In the gym, we take things slowly and go one step at a time putting new routines in place. Ideally, you're able to dedicate 30-45 minutes per day for weight training and 3 times per week doing some hard exercise like swimming, rowing, running, cycling, etc. During this time we'll get some new lab tests and other tests and see if we want to work with your doctor to make any changes.

Second 6 months - gradually begin to increase the weight. Now you'll work on rucking, using a backpack or weight vest, increase weight in the gym, etc. We are also working on getting body fat into the right range.

Next two years you'll spend adding muscle and losing fat. We want to spend the first 3-5 years building your body into the lean, mean, aging machine that will help optimize your health span. Nothing aggressive. Don't overdo it. Slow and steady wins the race.

Maintenance - after you've built muscle, we'll transition to maintenance mode, which will take more and more of your time as you age. Fortunately, you'll have more and more time as you age, so that by the time you're 80 you still have the muscle and protection you built earlier, and you are still able to handle anything that comes at you.

The name of this game is consistency. If you diligently challenge your muscles every three days, then you take all of December off, you’ll lose months of progress. Once you have a consistent schedule, we can start moving up to the next level.

You'll get weekly individual instruction and feedback, and you'll have access to our private client site, where you can see video instruction and breakdown of all the exercises and concepts you need to keep building your longevity platform.

Medical issues

I'm not your doctor, but I want to discuss your doctors and treatments. We're looking for hypertension, inflammation, insulin resistance, heart disease, visceral fat, osteoporosis, and other conditions that need attention. I may suggest some options to look into. We will discuss new tests for you to get and possible modifications to consider with your doctor. We may even want to change some of your doctors.

Diet

I'm not too insistent on following any particular diet. The idea is to cut out junk drinking, junk eating, sugar, over eating, and make sure you're getting enough protein. We target about 35 percent protein and try to keep red meat to 20 percent of total calories. I don't recommend fasting or a keto diet, but we use the rule that the more insulin-resistant you are, the fewer carbohydrates you should consume.

Weight loss

We want to target your body fat in the 15 - 25 percent range. The longer you've been fat the longer it will take to burn off. There is no magic diet that loses weight and keeps it off. More important is inflammation, insulin resistance, and potential atherosclerosis. We'll design a sensible weight-loss program and make sure you can stick with it.

Stretches

You'll start doing a few stretches that you'll want to use for the long run. The most important is the deep knee bend stretch, which you can practice daily.

Weight training - legs

Leg work will focus on step ups and downs, sled and stairs, lunges, and various kinds of squats. These all start with no weight and work on good form before adding weights.

Weight training - chest

You can build big chest muscles without a lot of weight. I recommend a mix of dumbbell press and various cable/machine exercises, depending what you have available. You want to mix heavy and light weight, but you can do everything you need with not much weight at all. You can also do super-slow pushups, which are very effective.

Weight training - arms

You want to build biceps and triceps, and again you don't need a lot of weight. Dumbbells are best. No need for kettlebells in any of my routines.

Core strength

Abs and core strength are a great asset, and they get you noticed. It will take a few years, but our goal is to lose any belly fat and develop abs to the point where they can be seen. You should also do more core exercises and work on back muscles if you need help there. This is all based on personal goals and preferences.

Floor movement

Floor movement is so beneficial. It works core, legs, arms, and joints. Sometime in the first year, we'll discuss how to start incorporating floor movement into your routine. Not at the beginning, but later, when you are ready. Watch the floor-movement videos on our site to learn more.

Grip strength

You want to build grip strength by grabbing heavy things, doing dead hangs, and a bit of squeezing with a spring-loaded hand grip exerciser. You can also use a gyro ball. A good mix is best, and don't overdo it.

Balance

You should spend a few minutes each day on balance, in various different ways. Standing on one foot is a great place to start and difficult to master. You'll find some balance tools in our store that may help.

Rucking

Start with a 20-pound weight vest that you can adjust, so you can start at around 8-10 pounds and build up. The vest is good for walks, hikes, gym routines, and stairs. As you get stronger, you'll go to a full ruck pack with plates or weights and work up to 30-50 pounds.

Stairs

There are many ways to train on stairs, and you'll learn all of them. You should have access to a building with at least 4 floors, so you can practice your 4-floor time, which will come down as you improve. Never touch hand railings, ever. Build up your weight so you can climb stairs with a fairly heavy weight a few times a week.

You want to develop the habit of dropping your hips a few inches every time you go downstairs. This is a new skill that will take months and years to build, but it will really pay off in later years.

Cardio exercise

Whether it's tennis, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, hiking, or other sports, you should be doing it three times a week. Ideally 1-2 hours. Most of this training will be in zone 2, which is where you are breaking a sweat but you can still talk, and you can do it for two hours but not a lot more. The more intense, the better, but we'll start where you are and learn to do it right before pushing forward. I also like hot yoga, which requires a lot of stamina to do well and is great in winter.

VO2 Max

Some time in the first six months, we'll start working on zone 3, where you work your hardest for 2-5 minutes and have nothing left at the end. This is interval training, and it's the best way to increase speed and lower times for zone 2. It's also the best way to add an extra few decades onto your life. Don't worry, we'll do this slowly and without getting hurt. Just establishing a baseline and moving the needle a bit is a great start.

Personal trainer

You may want a local personal trainer to work with at the gym, but in most cases our clients will rely on us for that. You can send us videos, we can show you the best, safest techniques, and you can even take us to the gym with you via Facetime or Zoom.

Accountability

Many people make better progress with an accountability coach by their side. This is often a daily 15-minute check-in to tick off things on the to-do list, discuss the daily plan, deal with setbacks, and measure performance. We will be happy to discuss this option with you.