Science-Supported Tools to Accelerate Your Fitness Goals

Again, the scientific research tells us that we should all be getting at least 150 minutes, and probably more like 200 minutes, of zone 2 cardio per week.

For every year after age, 40, there's a 1% drop in muscle size that can be offset by resistance training; but that if you don't do resistance training, that you won't offset.

If you weigh, say, 185 pounds to 250 pounds, you can get away and probably should be taking 10 grams or so of creatine per day, which is what I do. Whereas, if you weigh less than that, 5 grams or maybe even 3 grams is sufficient.

A foundational or optimal fitness program, for most people, is going to include anywhere from 2-4 cardiovascular training sessions that are separate... from the zone 2 cardio as well as 2-4 resistance or strength training... sessions.

The best way to get zone 2 cardio is—okay, if you want to schedule it, schedule it as a session—but to simply increase the amount of walking, and in particular walking at a rapid pace that one does, and to increase the total amount of movement that one's getting throughout the week...

There is a 3-5% reduction per year for every year past age 40 in strength & power.

Learning to train hard and enjoy training hard and really making the workout something that is separate from the rest of your life is one of the most gratifying things that you can do to enhance your overall fitness.

If your goal is to improve your fitness, one of the more powerful things you can do with your smartphone is to decide before you cross the line into your workout what you're going to listen to or do with that phone or not. So, for me, I like to designate a playlist of music for that particular workout, and then I just stick to that playlist.

I typically will take 100-200 mg of rhodiola rosea about 10-20 minutes before a workout. However, I've taken as little as 100 mg on a consistent basis. And frankly, I don't really experience much difference whether I take 100 mg or I take 200 mg before a workout...

I think a number of people have come to think that I always delay my caffeine intake 90-120 minutes after waking. That simply is not the case ... If I'm going to do high-intensity resistance training or a long run, I will ingest caffeine sooner than 90-120 minutes after waking.

Zone 2 cardio is... the type of cardiovascular exercise that you can do while maintaining a conversation without getting winded; but that if you were to push a little bit harder, that you would find it hard to complete your sentences.

Zone 2 cardio is the type of movement that... elevates your heart rate somewhat, increases your breathing somewhat, but that still allows you to carry out a conversation without having to pause or to gasp in order to complete your sentences.

The second tool that I've incorporated into my fitness regimen—and that I believe can be of great benefit to frankly everybody—is to start including low repetition pure strength work.

For those of you that are averse to doing heavier resistance training in this 3-5 repetition range because you fear that it will make you too big or too bulky, training the low repetition ranges is actually more geared towards increasing strength and is shifting away, somewhat, from increasing hypertrophy or muscle size.

A great pattern of breathing to incorporate during rest between sets is something that I've talked about before in other contexts, which is the physiological sigh.

The so-called physiological sigh... is, as far as we know, the fastest way to shift your nervous system from so-called sympathetic drive to more parasympathetic drive—to a state of greater alertness to a state of greater calm. Now, the reason do this between sets of resistance training is... the more energy and focus you can devote to exertion during your work sets.

Doing a physiological sigh at the beginning of each rest interval between work sets of resistance training is a very effective way to enhance your focus and your output during your work sets.

My experience has been that, when I take rhodiola rosea, I definitely notice that I can exert myself harder without feeling like I'm bringing myself to the brink of fatigue—either during the exertion or afterwards.

One of the best things that you can do and you absolutely should do for your fitness, now and forever, is to learn to enjoy training hard.