Highlander Program 12/27/22
Zone 2 + Gratitude
The Highlander helps you defy age at every age. Join fellow Highlanders training for strongevity with our daily program:
Highlander Program 12/27/22
To the many new members of the Highlands: Welcome.
The Highlander Program provides a daily health and fitness program for anyone looking to start a longevity practice.
I started writing this because I spent a decade competing in strongman. I was pretty strong, but I wasn’t healthy. I was 38. I just had a second kid. Lots of injuries. My blood pressure sucked. My diet sucked. My cardio health sucked. It was time to start thinking about the long term, not just strength.
While I knew a lot about lifting weights, I didn't know much about how to train for longevity. I spent the last year learning everything I could about longevity and redesigning my own health and fitness program to keep me strong while also optimizing my total health for longevity.
The Highlander Program built on the five major pillars of longevity was the result. The Highlander Standards were the health goals I set for myself. I still use the major principles here and strive to meet the standards even as my own program has become more advanced.
The hardest thing in establishing any new habit is the start. This Substack will serve as a daily reminder, a daily encouragement, even a daily admonition if you need it.
Act. Start. Share it with a friend. Increase your accountability.
Welcome to the Highlands. I hope you enjoy the program.
Here’s today’s Highlander Program:
Total investment of effort: At least 55 minutes.
Exercise — Cardio (at least 25 minutes):
25 minutes of zone 2 cardio. Either on a stationary bike or treadmill on an incline. Do more time if you can, up to an hour, not more intensity. Keep your heart rate in your estimated zone 2 range the entire time. If you don’t know your zone 2 heart rate, use the MAF formula to estimate it.
Nutrition:
Avoid three strikes foods: pasta, bread, desserts, sodas, chips, and alcohol. No more than two total this week.
Eat at least 0.7g protein per pound of bodyweight.
Drink at least 80oz water.
Take supplements: 10g collagen, 5g creatine, multivitamin, magnesium, omega 3s, calcium (women).
Mental Power (30 minutes):
20 minute device-free walk.
5 minute meditation focusing on the area behind your forehead.
5 minute journal topic:
Gratitude day: What are you grateful for? How can you share it? Who can you tell?
Sleep: Get more than 7 hours of sleep, which requires 8 hours in bed.
Life Enhancing Drugs and Tests: None.
Resources
Table of Contents to All Highlander Content
Disclaimer: The Highlander Program is designed for beginners new to practicing for strongevity. As with all exercise and diet programs, consult with a doctor and/or trainer. This is not medical advice.
