Fitness
I want to get stronger and fitter
Strength, cardiovascular fitness and the ability to keep doing both for decades. The consensus here is unusually strong across otherwise very different people.
110 entries · ranked by consensus across 34 stacks
Costs nothing but effort
Protocols and habits, ranked by how many tracked stacks include them. These are listed first on purpose: they are free, and they are where the agreement is strongest.
- Resistance trainingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Lifting weights 2-4 times a week to build and hold muscle
- +22
- Protein-forward eatingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Roughly 1g of protein per pound of target bodyweight, spread across meals
- +10
- Daily walkingHabitFREE, no cost
A long walk most days, often without headphones
- +4
- Zone 2 cardioProtocolFREE, no cost
Easy aerobic work you can hold a conversation through, 3+ hours a week
- +4
- Stability and mobility workProtocolFREE, no cost
Daily joint, foot and breathing work to keep strength usable
- +2
- VO2 max intervalsProtocolFREE, no cost
Hard interval sessions to raise peak aerobic capacity
- Daily stretchingProtocolFREE, no cost
Long, regular stretching sessions to undo years of tightness and keep training possible
- High-intensity interval trainingProtocolFREE, no cost
Short all-out efforts with full recovery in between, a few times a week
- YogaProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Regular yoga practice for flexibility, strength and a calmer nervous system
- Daily minimum workoutHabitFREE, no cost
A floor you never drop below: 20 minutes of movement and recovery on your worst day
- DEXA scanProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Body composition and bone density scan, usually once or twice a year
- Autoregulated training (RPE)ProtocolFREE, no cost
Set the working weight from how the day feels, not from a number written weeks ago
- Brazilian jiu-jitsuProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Grappling practice used as training, stress relief and humility
- Calorie and macro trackingHabitFREE, no cost
Logging food against a calorie and protein target, loosely or to the gram
- CyclingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Steady riding, outdoors or on a stationary bike, as daily low-intensity cardio
- Diet soda and non-nutritive sweetenersHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Zero-calorie sweetened drinks used in place of sugar or as an appetite tool while dieting
- PilatesProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Controlled core and posture work on a mat or a spring-loaded reformer
- Pull-upsProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Bodyweight pulling, from a first rep to high daily volume on a doorway bar
- Regular weigh-insHabitFREE, no cost
Weighing in a few times a week and reading the trend, not the daily number
- RuckingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Walking with a loaded pack: zone 2 cardio plus load-bearing
- Sports massageProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Regular hands-on soft-tissue work from a trainer or therapist
- SwimmingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Lap swimming as low-impact cardio and a reset for the head
- Temptation bundlingProtocolFREE, no cost
Only allow yourself something you want while doing something you avoid
- Training close to failureProtocolFREE, no cost
Finishing most sets with 0-3 reps in reserve, and the last set of safe lifts to failure
- Whole-food plant-based dietProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Plants, legumes and whole grains; little or no animal product
- 15-15-15 workoutProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
45 minutes of cardio split evenly across a spin bike, an elliptical and a treadmill
- AcupunctureProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Fine needles at set points, used by athletes for tight or sore muscle
- Batch cooking proteinHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Cook a week of chicken, lean meat or fish in one session so protein is always to hand
- Bike commutingProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Riding to and from work as built-in training time
- Body recompositionProtocolFREE, no cost
Building muscle and losing fat together by eating near maintenance with high protein
- Cupping therapyProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Suction cups on sore muscle, the source of those circular marks on athletes
- Daily cardioProtocolFREE, no cost
Around half an hour of aerobic work most days, at any pace you can sustain
- Daily step targetHabitFREE, no cost
Hold a fixed daily step count so everyday movement does not quietly shrink on a diet
- Dance trainingProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Choreography and movement classes as conditioning and coordination work
- Eating the same meals every dayHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
A fixed set of meals repeated for weeks so food needs no decisions
- Flexible dieting (macro tracking)ProtocolFREE, no cost
Track calories and macros, keep no food off limits, adjust from weekly trends
- Group fitness classesProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Coached, timed sessions in a room full of people, in place of training alone
- High-fiber eatingProtocolFREE, no cost
Pushing daily fiber well past typical intake with vegetables, fruit, grains and legumes
- High-protein frozen mealsHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Ready meals chosen for protein and fiber when there is no time to cook
- Implementation intentionsProtocolFREE, no cost
Decide in advance: I will do X at TIME in PLACE
- Low-carb dietProtocolFREE, no cost
Cutting carbohydrates and sugar so the body runs mostly on fat and protein
- Minimalist trainingProtocolFREE, no cost
Short, hard sessions built on a few sets per muscle, drop sets and non-competing supersets
- Muscle pliability workProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Deep soft-tissue work plus band-resisted movement to keep muscles long, soft and resilient
- No fried food or artificial sugarHabitFREE, no cost
Dropping fried food, artificial sweeteners and artificial drinks, at least while competing
- One and a quarter repsProtocolFREE, no cost
A full rep followed by a quarter rep in the stretched position before the next one
- Personal trainerHabit$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Paying someone to program the session and push you through it
- PickleballProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Paddle sport on a small court, easy to learn, played by whole families across generations
- Pre-sleep proteinProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
A protein feed, often around 40 grams of casein or whey, shortly before bed
- Pre-training warm-upProtocolFREE, no cost
Easy laps, stretching and light cardio before every session, never skipped
- PvolveProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Low-impact functional fitness with resistance bands, gliders and a weighted ball
- Reverse dietProtocolFREE, no cost
Adding calories back a little at a time after a long diet, instead of all at once
- RunningProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Regular running, from a short daily loop up to ultramarathon distance
- Scheduled rest daysHabitFREE, no cost
Fixed days off training each week, planned in advance rather than taken when exhausted
- Scheduled rest daysHabitFREE, no cost
Fixed days off training each week so recovery is planned rather than forced by injury
- Six small meals a dayProtocolFREE, no cost
Eating every three to four hours instead of three large meals
- Slow fat-loss phaseProtocolFREE, no cost
Losing 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight a week, or slower, so the diet barely registers
- Slow-carb dietProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein, legumes and vegetables six days a week, one cheat day
- SurfingProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Paddling, pop-ups and turns as conditioning, plus hours away from a phone
- Tempo trainingProtocolFREE, no cost
Prescribed rep speeds, usually a slow three to four second lowering phase
- TennisProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Singles or doubles on court, played as a lifelong sport rather than a workout
- The 40% ruleProtocolFREE, no cost
The idea that when your mind says you are done, you are at about 40 percent
- The 85 percent ruleProtocolFREE, no cost
Working at about 85 percent effort so relaxation and form do the rest
- Training first thingHabitFREE, no cost
The workout goes before the workday; a session planned for later tends not to happen
- Weekly cheat mealHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Six days of measured eating, then one planned meal with nothing off the menu
- Whole-body cryotherapyProtocol$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Two to three minutes standing in a chamber cooled by liquid nitrogen vapor
Then, things you can buy
Supplements, gear, books and apps filed under fitness, ranked the same way: by how many tracked stacks include them.
- Protein powderSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Whey or plant protein used to hit a daily protein target
- +9
- Creatine monohydrateSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The best-evidenced supplement in sports nutrition, taken at 3-5g a day
- +5
- Electrolyte supplementationSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Added sodium, potassium and magnesium, especially when fasting or sweating
- +1
- Resistance bandsGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Loop and tube bands for activation work, mobility drills and travel training
- KettlebellGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
One implement covering swings, carries and presses in a small space
- WHOOPGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Screenless wrist strap tracking strain, recovery and sleep
- Collagen proteinSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Hydrolyzed collagen peptides stirred into hot drinks or shakes
- OutliveBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Medicine 3.0 and the case for training decades in advance
- The 4-Hour BodyBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Self-experimentation manual for fat loss, strength and sleep
- Alpha-GPCSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Choline source taken before workouts or hard cognitive work
- Altitude tentGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
A sealed sleeping chamber that thins the air to simulate high altitude
- Beneath the SurfaceBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Michael Phelps's memoir of his early career, written with Brian Cazeneuve
- Betaine (trimethylglycine)Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Beet-derived compound with modest evidence for power output and body composition
- Can't Hurt MeBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
David Goggins's memoir: abuse, obesity, three Hell Weeks and the tools he built on the way
- Carbon Diet CoachApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Subscription nutrition app that sets macros and adjusts them from your weekly check-ins
- CentrApp$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Chris Hemsworth's training, nutrition and meditation app, built with his own team
- Discipline Equals FreedomBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
A short, deliberately blunt field manual for self-discipline
- Fadogia agrestisSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Herbal testosterone-support supplement with very limited human data
- Fat Loss ForeverBook$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Layne Norton's book on losing fat and, more to the point, keeping it off
- Finding UltraBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
From overweight and alcoholic at 40 to ultra-endurance athlete
- Heart rate monitorGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Chest strap or watch that logs heart rate and estimates calories burned
- Herbalife24 CR7 DriveSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Carbohydrate and electrolyte sports drink Herbalife developed with Cristiano Ronaldo
- Home gymGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
A private training space at home, from a garage rack to a fully equipped room
- Lifting beltGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Rigid leather or lever belt worn on heavy squats and deadlifts to brace against
- MacroFactorApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Nutrition tracker that adjusts calorie targets from weekly weight and intake data
- No Limits: The Will to SucceedBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Michael Phelps on the preparation behind his Beijing gold medals
- Percussion massage gunGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Handheld device (Theragun and similar) for sore muscles and recovery between massages
- Pneumatic compression bootsGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Inflatable leg sleeves (NormaTec and similar) that squeeze from the feet upward
- Project Rock training gearGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Dwayne Johnson's own training shoe and apparel line, built for lifting and conditioning
- Rowing machineGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Indoor rower for whole-body conditioning, often in short timed pieces
- STNDRD appApp$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Chris Bumstead's own training app: his programs, daily workouts, nutrition log, coaching
- The Complete Contest Prep GuideBook$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
A start-to-stage manual for natural bodybuilding and physique competition prep
- The Muscle LadderBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Jeff Nippard's 2024 training manual with 20 programs and photo demos of 80-plus exercises
- The Pump Club appApp$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's training app: programs, nutrition tracking and community
- The Rock Says...Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Dwayne Johnson's 2000 autobiography, written with Joe Layden at the peak of his WWF run
- The TB12 MethodBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Tom Brady's 2017 guide to pliability, band training, nutrition, hydration and sleep
- TonalGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Wall-mounted smart home gym that uses digital weight and on-screen coaching
- Tongkat aliSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Herbal supplement used for libido and free testosterone
- Tools of TitansBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Routines, habits and tactics from 200+ podcast guests
- Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life StoryBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2012 memoir, from Thal to Mr. Olympia to Sacramento
- VersaClimberGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Vertical climbing machine for hard, low-impact, full-body cardio
- Vibrating foam rollerGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
A foam roller or sphere with a built-in motor, used before and after workouts
- Weighted vest or rucksackGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Adds load to walking, hiking and carries without needing a gym
- Weightlifting shoesGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Hard-soled shoes with a raised heel for squatting depth and stability
- ZOA EnergySupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Sugar-free energy drink co-founded by Dwayne Johnson, with a pre-workout powder alongside
Nothing on this site is medical advice. It is a record of what public figures have said they do, which is not the same as evidence that it works, and definitely not the same as advice for you. Talk to a clinician before changing anything about your sleep, diet, training or medication. How this works.