Daily exercise is one of the most powerful things you can do for health and longevity. Exercise is a power-law of health.

A few important tips

+ Avoid injury. Injuries can create serious limitations, create body imbalances and cause long term complications. It’s worth being cautious even if it means not doing certain things.

+ Create an exercise habit. Do it everyday, no matter what (unless you’re injured, have a limiting medical condition, or under doctor's orders). You don’t even think about it. It just happens out of habit. Do not give yourself the option to decide.

+ Work on strength training, cardio, balance and flexibility.

+ Move throughout the day - after each meal, be active for 5-10 minutes. Every 30 minutes, get up from your desk and move around a bit.

+ Don’t get caught up and paralyzed in all the nuances and rabbit holes of exercise. Being active, in whatever ways you can - it pays big for your health.

Day 1 (strength training + cardiovascular health and endurance)

Activity: full-body resistance training
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Specifics:
General warmup (5 min) (e.g., cycling, walking, etc)
Dynamic warmup (5 min) (arm circles, leg swings, high knees, lateral lunges)
Strength Training (20 minutes):

• Squats (weights held at either side or near chest for goblet stance) 3x10-15
• Push-ups (standard if possible or on knees/wall) 3x8-12
• Single arm dumbbell rows 3x10-12
• Functional movement: kettlebell swings and/or farmer’s walks 3x30 seconds
• Planks 3x20-30 seconds

Stability Work (5-10 min): (e.g., single-leg balance, bird dog, single-leg RDL, single leg toe touch, plank with shoulder tap, dead bug)

Moderate intensity (25 min):

• Brisk walking or slow jogging
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Elliptical

Intensity: If you’re performing these exercises for the first time, focus on form first, then proceed to add more resistance once familiar (progressive overload)
Purpose: Strength training is critical for maintaining muscle mass, bone density, and metabolic health, all of which decline with age but are crucial for longevity (link).

Day 2 (high intensity interval training + cardiovascular health and endurance)

Activity: High-intensity interval training combined with moderate intensity continuous aerobic exercise (also called steady state, Zone 2 training)
Duration: 45-60 minutes

Beginner high intensity interval training

• Work Interval: 20 seconds at all out exertion
• Rest Interval: 20 seconds (very low intensity or rest), or try 40 seconds if user has little to no background of exercise
• Series: 8 rounds
• Modality: Cycle ergometer, track, treadmill, body weight, or resistance exercises
• Total Time: 4 minutes

Moderate intensity Specifics (remainder of time after completing high intensity interval training):

• Brisk walking or slow jogging
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Elliptical

Moderate intensity: Aim to keep HR between 60-70% of max, where you can maintain a conversation but still feel you’re exerting yourself
Purpose: Extremely high intensity to improve anaerobic capacity and aerobic fitness in a short time. Aerobic exercise improves vascular function and myocardial perfusion, reducing the risk of cardiovascular events (link)

Day 3 (strength training + flexibility, balance, mobility)

Activity: Strength training first followed by low intensity exercise with a focus in flexibility and mobility
Duration: 60 minutes
Specifics:

• 10 minutes of dynamic stretching (include hip and shoulder mobility exercises: arm circles, wall slides, thread the needle, hip CARs)
• 30 minutes of strength training. Focus on compound movements targeting areas that are not sore from Day 1
• 15 minutes of beginner yoga poses focusing on balance and flexibility (cat-cow stretch, cobbler’s pose, tree pose, cobra pose)
• 5 minutes of static stretching (think cool down)

Purpose: Flexibility and mobility help preserve functional movement patterns and reduce the risk of falls and injuries as we age (link).

Day 4 (high-intensity interval training):

Activity: interval-based cardiovascular workout
Duration: 25-30 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down
Specifics:

• 5-10 minutes of stability work and dynamic warm-up
• Perform 8-10 rounds of:
• 60 seconds of high-intensity effort (over 90% max HR), examples: jumping jacks, high knees, burpees, sprinting, mountain climbers
• 60 seconds of active recovery (walking or light jogging)

Purpose: HIIT has been shown to improve VO2 max, mitochondrial density, and metabolic health, all of which are linked to increased longevity (link to other doc we worked on).

Day 5 (strength training)

Activity: full-body resistance training
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Specifics:

• Lunges (dumbbells held if you can or bodyweight) 3x10-12
• Overhead press (standard if possible or on knees/wall) 3x10-12
• Dumbbell chest press 3x10-12
• Side plank hold 20-30 seconds each side
• Functional movement: step-ups 3x10 each leg
• Stability Work (5-10 min) (e.g., single-leg balance, bird dog, single-leg toe touch)

Purpose: To target different muscle groups and continue improving muscle strength and function.

Day 6 (high-intensity interval training, Norwegian Protocol)

Activity: interval-based cardiovascular workout
Duration: 30-40 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down
Specifics:

• 5-10 minutes of stability work and dynamic warm-up
• Perform 4 rounds (can do less rounds or less intensity if little to no background in exercise) on treadmill or indoor bike of:
• 4 minutes at 85-95% max HR
• 3 minutes at 60-70% max HR

Purpose: This method specifically has produced a drastic increase in VO2 max (22%) in individuals recovering from CVD. For comparison, the group that did aerobic training saw a 17% increase.

Day 7 (active recovery)

Activity: Light movement and relaxation
Duration: 35-50 minutes
Specifics:

• 20-30 minutes of gentle yoga or stretching (include additional mobility work)
• 15-20 minutes of mindfulness meditation

Purpose: Recovery is essential for muscle repair, mental relaxation, and avoiding overtraining. Proper rest supports longevity and health.

Important notes:

• Progressive overload is key in all types of exercise. Aim to gradually increase the difficulty over time, especially for strength training
• Rotate different types of HIIT workouts to prevent boredom and target different muscle groups
• Consider adding a third strength training session if time allows, possibly replacing one of the cardio days or incorporating it into a lower-intensity day.
• Listen to your body and adjust the intensity or duration as needed.

Exercises based on your fitness level

Beginner

Cardiovascular endurance (steady state): walking, stationary cycling, swimming

Strength training: 2-4 days a week emphasizing compound movements.
Exercises: squats (bodyweight, dumbbell, goblet), push-ups, single arm dumbbell row, lunges, leg press, assisted pull-ups, russian twists

High-intensity interval training: Exercises: jumping jacks, marching in place, bodyweight squats, modified push-ups, plank holds, standing toe taps
Ratio: 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 (e.g., 30 seconds work, 30-60 seconds rest)

Balance and flexibility/mobility: B exercises: tandem stance, single-leg stance (holding onto chair), marching in place, heel lifts
F/M exercises: neck rotations, shoulder rolls, standing side bends, seated hamstring stretch, ankle circles

Intermediate

Cardiovascular endurance (steady state): jogging, rowing machine, elliptical trainer

Strength training: 3-5 days a week with more volume per session, targeting specific muscle groups.
Exercises (including beginner): barbell bench press, incline dumbbell press, dumbbell shoulder press, barbell squat, romanian deadlift, pull-ups, lat pulldown, seated cable row, bent over row, hanging leg raises, deadlifts, Turkish Get Ups, Hang Clean

High-intensity interval training: Exercises: mountain climbers, burpees (no push-up), high knees, jump squats, plank jacks, battle ropes, lunges,
Ratio: 2 to 1

Balance and flexibility/mobility: B exercises: single-leg stance unassisted, tree pose, heel-to-toe walking, single-leg reach
F/M exercises: standing quad reach, lunges with torso rotation, cat-cow stretch, downward dog, standing figure-four stretch

Advanced

Cardiovascular endurance (steady state): outdoor running, stair climbing, jacob's ladder

Strength training: 5-6 days a week with high volume with specific muscle splits.
Exercises (including intermediate and beginner): weighted dips, cable flyers, skull crushers, cable tricep exercises, weighted pull-ups, EZ bar bicep curl, diff. Variations of curls on cable, weighted walking lunges, ham curl, leg extension, calf raises, military press, rear delt flyes, inverted candlestick, bulgarian split squats, Snatch, Single leg squat, Lateral Squat.

High-intensity interval training: Exercises: burpees with push-up, box jumps, jumping lunges, squat-press, Push press
Ratio: 2 to 1 or tabata style (20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest)

Balance and flexibility/mobility: B exercises: single-leg romanian deadlift, stability ball plank, standing elbow-to-knee, pistol squat, overhead squat
F/M exercises: pigeon pose, standing split, crow pose, handstand, deep squat hold and arm reach