The Human Operating Manual

The HOM letters intertwined to form a human
Menu

Movement Resources

The resources below are organised by topic rather than by source type, with each entry’s relationship to the underlying research surfaced honestly. Where popular books served as Field Notes references in earlier iterations of this site, they remain. Where primary research provides the foundation for specific claims, that research is what’s anchored here. Where commercial interests warrant sceptical reading, I’ve attempted to flag it.

 

Evolutionary and Foundational Framing

The entry points for understanding why exercise matters to a species that evolved to move only when necessary.

  • Lieberman, D. (2020). Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding. Pantheon. The Harvard evolutionary biologist’s full synthesis of why structured exercise is “biologically abnormal” but evolutionarily essential. Foundational for the framing on the Exercise 101 page.
  • Lieberman, D. (2014). The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Pantheon. Broader treatment of evolutionary mismatch and modern lifestyle disease. The pre-cursor to Exercised covering the broader biological context.
  • Pontzer, H. (2021). Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy. Avery. Duke anthropologist Herman Pontzer’s reshaping of how to think about energy expenditure, exercise, and metabolism. The constrained daily energy expenditure model is now established in the primary literature; Burn is the accessible synthesis. Anchors substantial portions of Energy Systems.
  • Attia, P. (2023). Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. Harmony. The longevity medicine synthesis with substantial sections on training for healthspan. The centenarian decathlon concept is a useful organising principle for thinking about long-term training. Attia has commercial relationships with various clinical services he runs; the underlying training science is well-grounded.

 

Population-Level Epidemiology of Exercise and Mortality

The large-cohort studies that established the dose-response relationships between physical activity and major disease outcomes.

  • GBD 2019 Risk Factors Collaborators. (2020). Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet, 396(10258), 1223–1249. Physical inactivity ranks among the top modifiable risk factors for premature death globally.
  • Schnohr, P., O’Keefe, J.H., Marott, J.L., Lange, P., & Jensen, G.B. (2015). Dose of jogging and long-term mortality: the Copenhagen City Heart Study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 65(5), 411–419.
  • Ekelund, U., Steene-Johannessen, J., Brown, W.J., et al. (2016). Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. The Lancet, 388(10051), 1302–1310. The substantial finding that sitting and exercise are partially but not fully cancelling variables.
  • Paluch, A.E., Bajpai, S., Bassett, D.R., et al. (2022). Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. The Lancet Public Health, 7(3), e219–e228. The walking dose-response data.
  • Stamatakis, E., Gale, J., Bauman, A., Ekelund, U., Hamer, M., & Ding, D. (2019). Sitting time, physical activity, and risk of mortality in adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73(16), 2062–2072.
  • Hamilton, M.T., Hamilton, D.G., & Zderic, T.W. (2007). Role of low energy expenditure and sitting in obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Diabetes, 56(11), 2655–2667. Marc Hamilton’s foundational paper establishing sedentary behaviour as an independent risk factor.
  • Katzmarzyk, P.T., Church, T.S., Craig, C.L., & Bouchard, C. (2009). Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(5), 998–1005.
  • Dempsey, P.C., Larsen, R.N., Sethi, P., et al. (2016). Benefits for type 2 diabetes of interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light walking or simple resistance activities. Diabetes Care, 39(6), 964–972.
  • Leong, D.P., Teo, K.K., Rangarajan, S., et al. (2015). Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The Lancet, 386(9990), 266–273. The widely-cited PURE study establishing grip strength as a mortality predictor across 17 countries.
  • Kraschnewski, J.L., Sciamanna, C.N., Poger, J.M., et al. (2016). Is strength training associated with mortality benefits? A 15-year cohort study of US older adults. Preventive Medicine, 87, 121–127. The 46% mortality reduction with twice-weekly strength training.

 

Energy Expenditure, Metabolism, and the Constrained Model

The primary research from Pontzer’s group and collaborators that reshaped exercise physiology.

  • Pontzer, H., Raichlen, D.A., Wood, B.M., Mabulla, A.Z., Racette, S.B., & Marlowe, F.W. (2012). Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity. PLOS ONE, 7(7), e40503. The foundational Hadza energy expenditure paper.
  • Pontzer, H., Durazo-Arvizu, R., Dugas, L.R., et al. (2016). Constrained total energy expenditure and metabolic adaptation to physical activity in adult humans. Current Biology, 26(3), 410–417. The follow-up paper establishing the constrained model across populations.
  • Urlacher, S.S., Ellison, P.T., Sugiyama, L.S., et al. (2018). Tradeoffs between immune function and childhood growth among Amazonian forager-horticulturalists. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(17), E3914–E3921. Sam Urlacher’s work on energy allocation to immune defence vs growth.
  • Raichlen, D.A., Pontzer, H., Harris, J.A., et al. (2017). Physical activity patterns and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk in hunter-gatherers. American Journal of Human Biology, 29(2), e22919. The detailed daily activity profile of the Hadza.
  • Mountjoy, M., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Burke, L., et al. (2018). IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S): 2018 update. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(11), 687–697. The proper formulation of the female athlete triad expanded for both sexes.
  • Łagowska, K., Kapczuk, K., Friebe, Z., & Bajerska, J. (2014). Effects of dietary intervention in young female athletes with menstrual disorders. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11, 21. The female endurance athlete energy intervention study cited in Burn.
  • Hackney, A.C. (2008). Effects of endurance exercise on the reproductive system of men: the “exercise-hypogonadal male condition.” Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 31(10), 932–938. The longitudinal testosterone-decline-with-endurance-training data.
  • Rimmele, U., Zellweger, B.C., Marti, B., et al. (2007). Trained men show lower cortisol, heart rate and psychological responses to psychosocial stress compared with untrained men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32(6), 627–635.
  • Noakes, T.D. (2012). Fatigue is a brain-derived emotion that regulates the exercise behavior to ensure the protection of whole body homeostasis. Frontiers in Physiology, 3, 82. The central governor model.
  • Levine, J.A. (2002). Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 16(4), 679–702. The foundational NEAT paper from James Levine at Mayo Clinic.

 

Mitochondria and Cellular Adaptation

  • Safdar, A., Bourgeois, J.M., Ogborn, D.I., et al. (2011). Endurance exercise rescues progeroid aging and induces systemic mitochondrial rejuvenation in mtDNA mutator mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(10), 4135–4140. Mark Tarnopolsky’s group at McMaster on exercise reversing mitochondrial ageing.
  • Izumiya, Y., Hopkins, T., Morris, C., et al. (2008). Fast/Glycolytic muscle fiber growth reduces fat mass and improves metabolic parameters in obese mice. Cell Metabolism, 7(2), 159–172. The Akt1 type II fibre metabolic research.
  • Pedersen, B.K., & Febbraio, M.A. (2012). Muscles, exercise and obesity: skeletal muscle as a secretory organ. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 8(8), 457–465. The foundational paper on muscle as an endocrine organ producing myokines.
  • Werner, C.M., Hecksteden, A., Morsch, A., et al. (2019). Differential effects of endurance, interval, and resistance training on telomerase activity and telomere length in a randomised, controlled study. European Heart Journal, 40(1), 34–46. Athletes’ telomere lengths and biological age advantage.

 

Endurance Training and Zone Methodology

  • Seiler, S. (2010). What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 5(3), 276–291. Stephen Seiler’s analysis of elite endurance training distributions and the polarised model.
  • Maffetone, P. (2010). The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing. Skyhorse Publishing. Phil Maffetone’s articulation of the MAF method, including the “180 minus age” heart rate ceiling and the zone 2 emphasis.
  • San Millán, I., & Brooks, G.A. (2018). Assessment of metabolic flexibility by means of measuring blood lactate, fat, and carbohydrate oxidation responses to exercise in professional endurance cyclists and less-fit individuals. Sports Medicine, 48(2), 467–479. Iñigo San Millán’s primary research on zone 2 metabolic adaptations in elite cyclists.
  • Helgerud, J., Høydal, K., Wang, E., et al. (2007). Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(4), 665–671. The 4×4 protocol foundation.
  • Tabata, I., Nishimura, K., Kouzaki, M., et al. (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 28(10), 1327–1330. The original Tabata protocol paper.
  • Gibala, M.J., Little, J.P., van Essen, M., et al. (2006). Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance. The Journal of Physiology, 575(Pt 3), 901–911. Martin Gibala’s foundational HIIT work at McMaster.
  • Hickson, R.C. (1980). Interference of strength development by simultaneously training for strength and endurance. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 45(2-3), 255–263. The original concurrent training interference paper.

 

Strength, Hypertrophy, and Resistance Training

  • Henneman, E., Somjen, G., & Carpenter, D.O. (1965). Functional significance of cell size in spinal motoneurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 28, 560–580. The foundational size principle paper.
  • Schoenfeld, B.J. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2857–2872. Brad Schoenfeld’s stress-tension-damage synthesis.
  • Schoenfeld, B.J., Aragon, A.A., & Krieger, J.W. (2013). The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10, 53. The anabolic window meta-analysis.
  • Schoenfeld, B.J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J.W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(11), 1073–1082. The volume-hypertrophy dose-response paper.
  • Phillips, S.M., Chevalier, S., & Leidy, H.J. (2016). Protein “requirements” beyond the RDA: implications for optimizing health. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 41(5), 565–572. Stuart Phillips on protein adequacy across the lifespan.
  • Loenneke, J.P., Wilson, J.M., Marín, P.J., et al. (2012). Low intensity blood flow restriction training: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 112(5), 1849–1859. Jeremy Loenneke’s BFR meta-analysis.
  • Klika, B., & Jordan, C. (2013). High-intensity circuit training using body weight: maximum results with minimum investment. ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, 17(3), 8–13. The 7-minute workout protocol.

 

Cognitive and Neurological Effects of Exercise

  • Erickson, K.I., Voss, M.W., Prakash, R.S., et al. (2011). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 3017–3022. Kirk Erickson at Pittsburgh on hippocampal volume and aerobic exercise.
  • Blumenthal, J.A., Babyak, M.A., Doraiswamy, P.M., et al. (2007). Exercise and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(7), 587–596. The SMILE trial comparing exercise to sertraline.
  • Cotman, C.W., & Berchtold, N.C. (2002). Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity. Trends in Neurosciences, 25(6), 295–301. Carl Cotman at UC Irvine on BDNF and exercise.
  • van Praag, H., Christie, B.R., Sejnowski, T.J., & Gage, F.H. (1999). Running enhances neurogenesis, learning, and long-term potentiation in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 96(23), 13427–13431. The Salk Institute neurogenesis-with-running work.
  • Raichlen, D.A., Foster, A.D., Gerdeman, G.L., Seillier, A., & Giuffrida, A. (2012). Wired to run: exercise-induced endocannabinoid signaling in humans and cursorial mammals with implications for the “runner’s high.” Journal of Experimental Biology, 215(8), 1331–1336. The endocannabinoid mechanism for the runner’s high.
  • Hillman, C.H., Erickson, K.I., & Kramer, A.F. (2008). Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(1), 58–65. Charles Hillman at Illinois on exercise and cognition in children.
  • Liu-Ambrose, T., Nagamatsu, L.S., Voss, M.W., Khan, K.M., & Handy, T.C. (2012). Resistance training and functional plasticity of the aging brain: a 12-month randomized controlled trial. Neurobiology of Aging, 33(8), 1690–1698.
  • Hamer, M., & Chida, Y. (2009). Physical activity and risk of neurodegenerative disease: a systematic review of prospective evidence. Psychological Medicine, 39(1), 3–11.

 

Sex Differences and Female-Specific Exercise Physiology

  • Sims, S.T., & Yeager, S. (2016). ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life. Rodale. Stacy Sims’ synthesis of female-specific exercise and nutrition physiology. Sims has commercial relationships with various products and protocols; the underlying physiology is well-grounded, with some specific protocol recommendations exceeding the evidence base.
  • Bernhardt, P.C., Dabbs, J.M., Fielden, J.A., & Lutter, C.D. (1998). Testosterone changes during vicarious experiences of winning and losing among fans at sporting events. Physiology & Behavior, 65(1), 59–62. The spectator sports testosterone and oxytocin research.

 

Movement Assessment and Functional Screening

  • Cook, G., Burton, L., & Hoogenboom, B. (2006). Pre-participation screening: the use of fundamental movements as an assessment of function — part 1 and 2. North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 1(2-3), 62-72 and 132-139. The Functional Movement Screen foundational papers.
  • Glassman, G. (2002). What is fitness? CrossFit Journal, October 2002. The ten general physical skills articulation that’s become the most widely-adopted practical taxonomy.

 

Mobility and Stretching Research

  • Wyon, M., Felton, L., & Galloway, S. (2009). A comparison of two stretching modalities on lower-limb range of motion measurements in recreational dancers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23(7), 2144–2148. The microstretching research showing 30-40% intensity is as effective as more aggressive stretching.
  • Bandy, W.D., Irion, J.M., & Briggler, M. (1997). The effect of time and frequency of static stretching on flexibility of the hamstring muscles. Physical Therapy, 77(10), 1090–1096. The 30-second minimum static-hold duration research.
  • Huberman, A. (2022). Stretching protocols newsletter. Neural Network Newsletter, July 2022. The Huberman synthesis of microstretching, PNF, and antagonistic muscle group training based on the primary research above.

 

Hormonal Responses to Training

  • Ho, K.Y., Veldhuis, J.D., Johnson, M.L., et al. (1988). Fasting enhances growth hormone secretion and amplifies the complex rhythms of growth hormone secretion in man. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 81(4), 968–975. The original fasting-and-growth-hormone paper that became the basis for substantial later popular discussion.

 

Books and Practitioner-Level Synthesis

Foundational and Reasonable

  • Lieberman, D. (2020). Exercised. Pantheon. Harvard evolutionary biologist’s full synthesis of the evolutionary biology of physical activity. The strongest single book for understanding the broader context.
  • Pontzer, H. (2021). Burn. Avery. Duke anthropologist’s accessible synthesis of his primary research on energy expenditure and exercise.
  • Attia, P. (2023). Outlive. Harmony. Longevity medicine synthesis with substantial training-relevant content. Attia has commercial relationships with clinical services he operates; the underlying training principles are well-grounded.
  • McGuff, D., & Little, J. (2009). Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body Building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week. McGraw-Hill. Doug McGuff’s articulation of high-intensity training and the super-slow lifting protocol. McGuff is a physician and primary researcher in this approach; the book is heterodox compared with mainstream training advice but well-grounded in the underlying physiology of motor unit recruitment.
  • Sims, S.T., & Yeager, S. (2016). ROAR. Rodale. Stacy Sims’ synthesis of female-specific exercise physiology. The most influential popular treatment of how training and nutrition advice derived from male physiology often misses the mark for women. Some specific protocol recommendations exceed the evidence base; the broader framework is reasonable.
  • Maffetone, P. (2010). The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing. Skyhorse Publishing. Phil Maffetone’s articulation of the MAF method. Practitioner-derived rather than academic-research-derived, but the underlying physiology aligns with the more recent academic work on polarized training from Seiler and others. Useful for endurance athletes wanting an explicit zone-2 training prescription.
  • Goodman, E. (2018). True to Form: How to Use Foundation Training for Sustained Pain Relief and Everyday Fitness. HarperCollins. Dr. Eric Goodman’s Foundation Training protocols for back pain prevention and postural strength. Referenced throughout Greenfield’s Boundless; the underlying biomechanics are reasonable.

 

Useful with Caveats

  • Greenfield, B. (2020). Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging. Victory Belt Publishing. Ben Greenfield’s comprehensive practitioner synthesis. Substantial training programming preserved in The Exercise Rabbit Hole. Greenfield’s commercial relationships with multiple supplement and equipment manufacturers warrant skeptical reading of specific product recommendations. The “detox” elements of his protocols (clay masks, coffee enemas, specific cleansing recommendations) are less evidence-anchored than the training protocols themselves. Useful as a reference for one well-developed practitioner approach with the caveats applied.
  • Sovijärvi, O., Arina, T., & Halmetoja, J. (2019). Biohacker’s Handbook: Upgrade Yourself and Unleash Your Inner Potential. Biohacker Center. Comprehensive practitioner-level reference covering training, nutrition, sleep, and broader optimisation. Some recommendations have strong evidence base; others reflect biohacker tradition and practitioner extrapolation. The Biohacker Manifesto for Exercise (used at the close of Exercise 101) captures the practical synthesis well. Engage critically with specific protocol recommendations.
  • DiNicolantonio, J., & Land, S. (2020). The Immunity Fix. James DiNicolantonio’s research synthesis on immune function with substantial implications for exercise-and-immunity. DiNicolantonio is a primary research scientist; this is the popular synthesis with the caveat that some specific recommendations go beyond what the underlying research directly supports.
  • DiNicolantonio, J., & Land, S. (2021). The Mineral Fix: How to Optimize Your Mineral Intake for Energy, Longevity, Immunity, Sleep and More. Independently published. Similar profile to The Immunity Fix.
  • Land, S. (2021). Metabolic Autophagy. Siim Land. Practitioner-level synthesis of autophagy research and dietary approaches to activating it. Useful for the autophagy-and-training intersection; represents popular extrapolation rather than primary research.
  • Horschig, A., & Sonthana, K. (2021). Rebuilding Milo: The Lifter’s Guide to Fixing Common Injuries and Building a Strong Foundation for Enhancing Performance. Victory Belt Publishing. Aaron Horschig’s practical synthesis of injury prevention and rehabilitation for lifters. Horschig is a physical therapist and practitioner; the protocols are reasonable and well-grounded in conventional sports medicine.
  • Starrett, K., & Cordoza, G. (2015). Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance. Victory Belt Publishing. Kelly Starrett’s mobility-and-movement-quality synthesis. The mobility framework is reasonable; some specific claims about “fixing” everything through mobility work overstate the case. Read as one substantial mobility-focused approach among several.
  • Starrett, K. (2016). Deskbound: Sitting Is the New Smoking. Victory Belt Publishing. Starrett’s treatment of sedentary behaviour. Aligns with the primary research on sitting-as-independent-risk-factor (Hamilton, Katzmarzyk); the popular framing is occasionally more alarmist than the evidence supports.
  • Starrett, K., & Murphy, T.J. (2014). Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally. Victory Belt Publishing. Starrett’s running-specific mobility approach.
  • Splichal, E. (2015). Barefoot Strong: Unlock the Secrets to Movement Longevity. EBFA. Emily Splichal’s foot-and-ankle-focused movement approach. Practitioner-grade detail on barefoot training and foot biomechanics.
  • Bowman, K. (2016). Whole Body Barefoot: Transitioning Well to Minimal Footwear. Propriometrics Press. Katy Bowman’s broader approach to natural movement and minimal footwear. Bowman has been one of the most consistent practitioner voices for movement-as-lifestyle versus exercise-as-prescription.
  • Chek, P. (2018). How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy: Your Personalized 4-Step Guide to Looking and Feeling Great from the Inside Out. C.H.E.K. Institute. Paul Chek’s holistic synthesis. Some elements are reasonable practitioner wisdom; some specific recommendations (zone-based eating recommendations, certain functional medicine framings) outrun the supporting evidence. Read selectively.

 

Useful but Read Critically

Ferriss, T. (2010). The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. Crown Archetype. Tim Ferriss’ broad-spectrum experimentation across body composition, sleep, sex, and performance. Substantial useful content alongside substantial commercial extrapolation. The minimum-effective-dose framing throughout is genuinely useful. Specific protocols often work for some people in some contexts; the framing as universal recipes overstates the case.

 

Practitioner Resources

Specific tools and reference resources useful for individual application.

  • Huberman Lab (hubermanlab.com) and the Neural Network Newsletter. Andrew Huberman’s Stanford-affiliated podcast and newsletter synthesise substantial primary research from neuroscience and exercise physiology. The temperature framework, fat loss neurochemistry, resistance training deep dive, endurance taxonomy, and stretching protocols covered in The Exercise Rabbit Hole all draw from this work. Huberman is a primary researcher in his own right (Stanford ophthalmology and neuroscience) as well as a popular communicator. Specific protocol recommendations occasionally outrun the underlying research; the general synthesis is well-grounded.
  • H. Craig Heller’s lab at Stanford is the primary research source for the AVA and palmar cooling work that Huberman has popularised. Heller’s primary publications are technical but represent the actual scientific foundation for the cooling protocols.
  • Andy Galpin’s work at Cal State Fullerton on exercise physiology, including the hydration equation and the integrated four-kinds-of-endurance taxonomy. Galpin’s podcast appearances with Huberman are the most accessible synthesis; his academic work is published across the sports science literature.
  • Brad Schoenfeld’s research at CUNY Lehman College on hypertrophy and resistance training. Schoenfeld’s meta-analyses on volume, frequency, proximity to failure, and range of motion have shaped the contemporary evidence base. He maintains an active research output through the sports science literature.