Fitness Toolkit: Protocol & Tools to Optimize Physical Health

Perform seated heel raises (soleus push-ups) continuously while sitting to improve postprandial blood glucose regulation and metabolism, especially during prolonged sitting.

Get a long endurance zone 2 session (jog, hike, row, cycle, swim) of 60–75 minutes once per week as the foundation of weekly cardiovascular training.

Wear a 10–50 lb weight vest (or weighted backpack) during walks or hikes to increase the work of endurance sessions when time or pace is limited.

Train legs (quads, hamstrings, calves) hard once per week early in the week to set systemic hormonal/metabolic effects for the week.

Drink AG1 once or twice daily for foundational vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and adaptogens.

AG1 sponsor offer includes a year's supply of vitamin D3/K2.

Use leg extensions as a peak-contraction quadriceps exercise.

Use the hack squat machine as a compound/stretched quadriceps exercise instead of barbell squats.

Use leg curls as a peak-contraction hamstring exercise.

Use glute-ham raises for hamstring training as a stretched/compound movement.

Use standing calf raises for a weighted-stretch calf exercise.

Use seated calf raises as a peak-contraction calf exercise (targets soleus more).

Alternate roughly monthly between heavier low-rep (4–8) higher-volume training and moderate-rep (8–15) lower-volume training across all resistance workouts.

Do a weekly heat-cold contrast session with hot sauna for ~20 minutes alternating with cold exposure for several rounds to drive recovery, growth hormone, and cardiovascular benefits.

Cold plunge (~45–50°F) for ~5 minutes per round, alternated with sauna, to amplify cardiovascular and recovery benefits; do NOT do immediately after strength/hypertrophy/endurance training.

Train chest, back, and shoulders together in a push-pull workout once weekly with 2 exercises per muscle group: one peak-contraction, one stretched.

Use Jeff Cavaliere's free YouTube videos and Athlean-X programs for exercise selection guidance, including neck training videos.

Follow Kelly Starrett's The Ready State channel for mobility and stability content.

Train the neck with light to moderate weights (e.g., plate wrapped in towel, moving head front/back/side) multiple times per week for safety, posture, and injury resistance.

Once weekly, do a ~35-minute run (or row/bike) at ~75–80% of all-out effort, breathing hard but not sprinting, to tap multiple endurance systems.

Travel with a jump rope for portable cardio while away from a gym.

Follow Anna Skips on Instagram for inspiring jump rope progression content.

Use a fan/assault bike (or rower) as a preferred safe modality for HIIT instead of all-out sprinting.

Do weekly HIIT (e.g., assault/airdyne bike, rower, or sprint/jog intervals): 20–30 sec near-max effort, 10 sec rest, 8–12 rounds to elevate heart rate near max once a week.

Once weekly, train arms (biceps/triceps), calves, and neck, including dips and chin-ups to indirectly stimulate torso muscles.

Use the dip as a multi-muscle upper body movement that trains chest, shoulders, and triceps.

Use chin-ups (palms facing) to train biceps and lats together.

Practice hanging from a bar for a minute or more as both training and an assessment of fitness/longevity, gripping the bar tightly to hang longer.

Use static stretching held 30–60 seconds at ~60% of max stretch, exhaling and relaxing into the position, 2–3 sessions per week per muscle group.

Use the physiological sigh (two inhales through the nose, long exhale through the mouth) between sets to rapidly calm the nervous system and conserve energy.

Grip the handle/bar very tightly during lifts — including the non-working hand in unilateral exercises — to recruit more force via nervous-system irradiation.

Train resistance and cardio sessions on an empty stomach (3–10 hrs after last meal) for preferred performance; eat starch and protein after training.

Do NSDR (10–60 minutes) when sleep-deprived, before training, to restore mental and physical capacity rather than skipping a workout.

Pavel Tsatsouline's book on relaxation-based stretching is a useful resource.

After every training session, do 3–5 minutes of deliberately slowed breathing to downshift the nervous system and accelerate recovery.