5-4-3-2-1 rule
Weekly activity scaffold: five active days down to one long session
Five days being generally active, which can mean stairs, walking or a standing desk. Four days of structured exercise where you actually change clothes. Three of those hard enough to raise a real sweat. Two genuinely hard sessions, intervals or heavy work. One long, low-intensity session for the aerobic base. The countdown covers a week of movement aimed at fat loss, and the spread matters more than any single workout in it.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Andy GalpinRecommends
Exercise physiologist · Perform podcast
His countdown for fat loss: five active days, four structured workouts, three of them sweaty, two genuinely hard, one long and easy. Being active and working out are not the same thing, he insists. Fat loss programs that succeed probably land near that shape, he says.
Source: Perform: The Fundamentals of Training for Muscle, Strength & Longevity
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under fitness or energy.
- Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Resistance training
Lifting weights 2-4 times a week to build and hold muscle
On record from 43 of 62 tracked people: 37 do it, 4 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Zone 2 cardio
Easy aerobic work you can hold a conversation through, 3+ hours a week
On record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 5 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Cycling
Steady riding, outdoors or on a stationary bike, as daily low-intensity cardio
On record from 9 of 62 tracked people: 9 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
High-intensity interval training
Short all-out efforts with full recovery in between, a few times a week
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 has discussed it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Running
Regular running, from a short daily loop up to ultramarathon distance
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 recommends it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Swimming
Lap swimming as low-impact cardio and a reset for the head
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it
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