365 Days of Exercise, Tracked.

April 4th marked 1 year since starting a workout program designed for longevity. It’s a custom program based on research about healthy aging. Using AI and my own health indicators, I was able to dial in what mattered most.

My data sources included:

1. Garmin Watch. Tracking sleep, steps, runs, VO2 Max.
2. Garmin Scale. Tracking weigh-ins.
3. Morpheus Chest Strap. Tracking heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV).
4. MyFitnessPal. Tracking of foods consumed, nutrients, and macros.
5. Bloodwork. Tracking of cholesterol, lipids, and other health markers (every 90 days).
6. Gym Binder. Tracking every lift and every rep.

I also kept note of my emotions, events, routines, challenges, and more. This helped uncover behavioural patterns.

The Program

Pretty simple stuff, I followed a weekly schedule of:

• Sunday: Long Run
• Monday: Strength (Push)
• Tuesday: Easy Run
• Wednesday: Strength (Pull)
• Thursday: Threshold Run / VO2 Max Test (interchanging weekly)
• Friday: Strength (Legs & Glutes)
• Saturday: Off Day / Recovery

General Findings, Now Quantified.

These weren’t a huge surprise, but it was neat to quantify and confirm results:

• Alcohol Wrecks Recovery. Workouts following alcohol consumption put my heart through gymnastics. I can only describe the graphs as sporadic with a lot of heart-stress (Garmin).
• Calories Drive Weight Loss. Managing calories was the most important factor in decreasing weight.
• Overeating Following a Workout. The mental trap of going to the gym comes after the workout. It’s when we justify eating larger portions or unhealthy foods because we exercised earlier that day.
• Life Events Break Routines. Birthday parties, holidays, and family events disrupt routines (and need to be countered).
• Sickness Interrupts Momentum. Catching a cold puts me out of the gym for 3-4 days. This disrupts the weekly routine, but creating a back-at-it protocol helps.

1. Protein & Weight Loss: A Struggle

Research suggests consuming 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight. Fitness coaches suggest consuming 1g of protein per 1lb of TARGET bodyweight.

In practice, this is hard.

Starting off the program I weighed 268lbs. My target weight was 250lbs for year 1 (achieved). That’s a daily protein goal of 250g (unrealistic).

In order to maintain a calorie deficit – and be able to hold it for months at a time – I had to make cuts. While I prioritized cutting sweets and treats, I eventually had to cut back on protein as well (especially protein shakes).

After a year of pursuing protein, I landed around ~150g of protein per day (while able to hold a calorie deficit over days/weeks/months).

• Breakfast | Overnight Oats | 40g Protein
• Morning Snack | Protein Bar or Select Snack | 21g Protein
• Lunch | Chicken and Diet Coke | 30g Protein
• Supper | Homemade Meal | 40g Protein
• Evening Snack | Protein Bar or Select Snack | 21g Protein

Total Protein: 252g.
Total Calories: ~2,100.

Not optimal on paper, but effective in practice.

2. Holiday Damage Cascades Across Months

Season drift is a dangerous slope. Especially Halloween.

Before Halloween, grocery stores increase the visibility of candy and chips. Next, workplaces do their version of Halloween (cupcakes, chocolate, costume parties). Then Halloween itself comes along (snacking throughout the night).

But it doesn’t end after Halloween.

Going back to work, coworkers bring all their leftover junk to the office. The sweets and treats linger for ~2 weeks. At this point, December is around the corner.

December strikes and so does Christmas. More sweets and treats at grocery stores, workplace gatherings, pot lucks, family get togethers, Christmas shopping, visiting friends, New Years.

Before you know it, it’s January and that little “oh it’s Halloween” snack has become 6-8 weeks of being off-track.

Willpower and discipline only go so far. Thankfully an abundance of birthday parties made me realize I needed a strategy to counter disruptive eating.

The protocol that worked for me heading into birthdays and holidays:

• Keep protein bars nearby.
• Eat healthy meals before birthday parties.
• Exercise ahead of events.

3. Plateaus: The Con of Being Disciplined

This one surprised me.

My original assumption was simple: work hard, get better results. But my body adapted over time.

• Months 1-3. Rapid progress, high effort, visible gains, lots of sweat.
• Months 4-5. Small adjustments and making the program more realistic to sustain long-term.
• Months 6-8. Less sweat, strength increased, risk of overload and injury.
• Month 12. Lowered weight on lifts, maintain program routine, less fatigued (and less sweat).

Unbeknownst to me, I had built up my aerobic base. I opted for heavier weights as a natural response, but that’s where injuries happen.

With the year concluded and data gathered, I went into planning mode.

Planning The Next 365 Days

This is where I reached after a year. A moment of milestones being met and my objectives met.

This program prioritizes the question: will I be able to do this at age 60? All lifts and runs center around that question with optimizations along the way.

Heading into a second year of the program, I plan to shift to performance-based metrics.

• Increasing reps, not weight on lifts (avoiding injury).
• Increasing speed on runs (slightly improving pace).

More than discipline and consistency, choosing to live a healthier lifestyle (and acting on that decision) is what made this first year of the program a success.