Training Specificity & Testing

I. Train to Your Nature

Before we get into the methodology, let’s orient this page…

We all have a greater genetic disposition for certain exercises over others. Some bodies are built for explosive power. Some are built for endurance. Some recover quickly from heavy loads. Some have superior balance and proprioception from the moment they pick up a sport. While it’s possible to discover what types of exercise you’d be better suited for by getting a genetic screen or muscle biopsy, it’s just as easy to go by what exercises you “like.”

More often than not, the exercises you like tend to be the ones you’ve shown promise in or have proven to be good at naturally (social reinforcement is a different story). The positive reinforcement from performing a movement exceptionally well is typically enough of a reward to keep doing it consistently. Pay attention to how quickly your muscles activate, how quickly you develop strength, and how quickly your cardiovascular fitness improves compared with your peers to gauge what you may be better suited for.

It’s possible to alter the composition of your muscle fibres to become more suited to an exercise you weren’t always good at, but if longevity is the goal, it makes more sense to attempt movements your body genetically anticipates you to attempt. We all love a success story about somebody who achieved greatness despite terrible odds, but this is the exception rather than the rule. The entire body works systematically and requires a huge energy demand in order to change its predisposition. Our genetic predisposition is due to generations of environmental adaptation and evolutionary selection. Our bodies are programmed to expect certain physical stimuli and environmental cues, which atrophy without exposure (a common circumstance given our sedentary modern-day lifestyles).

Work smart, not hard, and try not to do something just because somebody told you not to. Then again, breaking the boundaries of what we know is what leads to progress. So, if your goal is longevity, do what you’re good at. If your goal is exploration and to challenge yourself mentally, do whatever you want. Just try to understand that you will elicit greater personal authenticity and psychological alignment by understanding who you are and what you are capable of.

The pages that follow assume you’ve done some honest self-assessment on this front. Don’t let someone else’s protocol dictate your training when your goals and genetic predispositions are different from theirs.

II. The Ten Physical Capacities

Physical performance isn’t a single thing. It’s a collection of distinct capacities, each trainable, each with its own physiology, each requiring specific stimulus to improve. The widely adopted framework (originally formalised by Greg Glassman of CrossFit, drawing on Jim Cawley’s earlier work, with substantial overlap with the National Strength and Conditioning Association taxonomy) breaks human physical capacity into ten components:

1. Endurance: the ability of the respiratory and circulatory system to acquire, process, and deliver oxygen to tissues
2. Muscular endurance: the ability of the muscles to process, store, and utilise energy over repeated efforts
3. Muscular strength: the ability of a muscle or muscle group to produce force
4. Mobility: the maximal range of motion of joints
5. Muscular power: the ability of a muscle or muscle group to produce maximal force as quickly as possible
6. Speed: the ability to perform a recurring action as quickly as possible
7. Coordination: the ability to combine several actions into fluid and continuous movement
8. Agility: the ability to minimise transition time between two actions
9. Balance: the ability to control changes in body position in relation to gravity
10. Accuracy: the ability to control movement of varying intensity and direction

A well-rounded human is reasonably competent across all ten. A specialist athlete will be exceptional in two or three areas and weaker in the rest. Most modern adults are weak in all ten, having gradually lost capacity through a sedentary lifestyle. The training framework that follows addresses each capacity, but the practical recommendation for most adults is to address the worst three first rather than chasing marginal gains in the strongest two.

III. Measuring Your Baseline

You can’t intentionally train what you don’t measure. The following tests, drawn from the sports science and clinical exercise physiology literature, give you a baseline across most of the ten capacities. Pick the ones relevant to your goals. Re-test every 8-12 weeks to confirm whether your training is producing the adaptations you intended.

Aerobic fitness (endurance)

The gold standard is a laboratory VO2 max test on a treadmill or cycle ergometer with gas exchange analysis. For most people, two field tests do nearly as well:

UKK 2km walk test for estimated VO2 max: Walk 2 km on a flat surface as fast as possible. Record time and heart rate at the finish. Adequate accuracy is achieved when the finishing heart rate is at least 80% of maximum. Not recommended for people with very high fitness (the test maxes out).

• Men: VO2 max = 184.9 – (4.65 × time in minutes) – (0.22 × heart rate) – (0.26 × age) – (0.39 × BMI)
• Women: VO2 max = 116.2 – (2.98 × time in minutes) – (0.11 × heart rate) – (0.14 × age) – (0.39 × BMI)

Cooper test (12-minute run): Run as far as possible in 12 minutes on a track or flat surface. The result correlates well with maximal oxygen uptake for trained runners. Better suited to people who actually run as part of their training; less reliable for people whose primary endurance modality is cycling, swimming, or rowing.

Clinical exercise stress test (exercise ECG): Usually performed on a cycle ergometer in a clinical setting. Detects cardiovascular disease potential while measuring aerobic fitness and anaerobic force generation. Arterial blood oxygen and lung function may also be measured. The more comprehensive version (running spiroergometry) measures oxygen consumption, CO2 production, anaerobic threshold, and (with arterial blood draw) lactate response.

Anaerobic fitness

Wingate test: A cycle ergometer test of anaerobic capacity. Five to ten minutes of low-power warm-up followed by 30 seconds of pedalling at maximal power against a standardised load. Best performed in the afternoon or evening during peak power times.

Measured outputs:

• Peak power (PP): power produced in the first 5 seconds (in watts)
• Relative peak power (RPP): peak power proportional to body weight
• Anaerobic fatigue (AF): percentage of power lost by the end of the test vs. starting peak power; indicative of lactic acid tolerance (higher percentage = lower lactic acid tolerance)
• Anaerobic capacity (AC): total work performed during the test

MART (maximal anaerobic running test): Tests properties related to endurance and speed in running athletes.

RAST (running-based anaerobic sprint test): Similar to the Wingate but for ball sports. Six 35-metre maximal sprints. Power calculated as: bodyweight × distance² / time³

Mobility and joint range of motion

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS), developed by Gray Cook and Lee Burton, has become the most widely used clinical mobility assessment. Seven movements scored 0-3 each, with a total maximum of 21:

• Deep squat
• Hurdle step
• In-line lunge
• Active straight leg raise
• Trunk stability push-up
• Rotary stability
• Shoulder mobility

Scores below 14 are associated with substantially increased injury risk in athletic populations. The FMS isn’t a measure of fitness; it’s a screen for movement quality and asymmetries.

Simpler home mobility tests for specific joints:

• Forward bend test (hamstring and lumbar flexibility)
• Shoulder mobility test (reach behind back from above and below, measure gap between fingertips)
• Straight leg rise test (active hip flexion range)
• Lateral flexion test (lateral spinal range)

Balance and agility

• Single-leg balance test (over 30 seconds is good for most adults)
• Y-balance test (reach in three directions while balanced on one foot)
• Balance beam test (walking on a narrow surface)
• Zigzag sprint (agility under directional change)
• Shuttle run test (agility with multiple changes of direction)
• Throw a tennis ball at a wall from 2-3 metres with one hand and catch it with the other
• Agility T-test

Muscular strength

• Vertical jump: Strong correlation with maximal speed strength of the lower body. 60 cm for men and 50 cm for women is good. Measurements up to 120 cm have been recorded. Improves with plyometric training.
• Standing long jump: Measures explosive strength and elasticity of the body.
• Margaria-Kalamen Power Test (step test): Measures strength and power of the lower limbs. A 6-metre run followed by running up stairs as fast as possible while stepping only on every third step (each step 17.8 cm tall). The test measures the time spent ascending from the 3rd to 9th step.
  
  • Power = (9.81 m/s² × mass × vertical height between 3rd and 9th step)/time between 3rd and 9th step
• Medicine ball overhead throw: 2 kg for women, 3 kg for men. Tests explosive force generation for the whole body.
• Medicine ball side throw: Tests the explosive force of the core and upper body. Correlates well with 1RM bench press.
• Hand grip strength test: Uses a Jamar or Saehan hand dynamometer. Elbow at 90 degrees, subject seated, wrist neutral, 5 seconds, 2-3 attempts.

Grip strength has been identified across multiple large cohort studies (most notably the PURE study, Leong et al. The Lancet 2015) as one of the strongest non-invasive predictors of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, and disability in older age. Stronger than systolic blood pressure in some analyses. Translates well into deadlift and pull-up strength as a secondary measure, which is pretty obvious why if you think about it. 

Muscle activation patterns (advanced)

Surface EMG (electromyography) can measure:

• Activation level and force generation of specific muscles
• Muscle fatigue patterns
• Activation of different muscle cell types (fast vs slow twitch)
• Timing of muscle activation in relation to a movement
• Muscular imbalances and lateral asymmetry

This is laboratory-grade testing that most people will never need. Useful for athletes working with sports scientists on biomechanical issues.

Recovery measurement

Objective tools:

• Heart rate variability (HRV). Typically considered the gold standard
• Resting heart rate (trending upward over time signals incomplete recovery or developing illness)
• Heart rate response to exercise (recovery to baseline at X minutes post-exercise)
• Bodyweight (rapid loss may indicate excess fluid loss or under-fueling)
• Reaction time test (slower times indicate impaired nervous system recovery)
• RESTQ-Sport questionnaire for athletes
• Orthostatic test (heart rate response to standing from supine)

Subjective tools:

• Sleep quantity and quality
• Appetite
• Severity and duration of DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness)
• General energy levels
• Sensitivity of the nervous system (jump testing the morning after training)
• General wellbeing

Factors affecting recovery:

• Amount and intensity of exercise
• Nutritional state (quantity over quality, mostly)
• Health and illness status
• Sleep quantity and quality
• Rest and active recovery
• Muscle care (mobility, massage, foam rolling)
• Various medications
• Alcohol use
• Jet lag
• High altitude
• Adapting to a new climate
• Work, social, and emotional stress factors

The HRV framework, in particular, has been a substantial methodological advance. Cleared a substantial portion of guesswork out of training load management for athletes; emerging consumer wearables (Whoop, Oura, Garmin, Polar) have brought it within reach for the rest of us. We’ll cover the specifics later on this page.

IV. Training Endurance

Definition: The maximum amount of oxygen you can utilise, an amount called VO2 max (also called maximal oxygen consumption or peak oxygen uptake). Performance depends on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and on energy management in the muscles (their ability to convert fat and carbohydrate into energy). This is determined by the number of mitochondria, the number of capillaries in the muscles, and various metabolic pathways (glycolysis, Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation).

The minimum effective dose for maintaining VO2 max appears to be five 4-minute high-intensity rounds at 87-97% of maximum heart rate, with approximately 4 minutes of rest or low activity between rounds. This is the “4×4” protocol popularised by the Norwegian endurance research community and Peter Attia.

General weekly endurance volume

The polarised training framework suggests roughly 80% of weekly endurance volume in zone 1-2 (easy, conversational pace, predominantly fat-burning) and 20% in zone 4-5 (high intensity, at or near VO2 max). Very little time in the moderate-intensity middle.

The standard public health recommendation is 2.5 hours per week of moderate-intensity activity. Walking, cycling, swimming, hiking, and even heavy house and yard work qualify. Running, cross-country skiing, fast cycling, or ball games push intensity to drive additional adaptations.

Endurance training can be broken down into:

• Basic aerobic endurance (under 70% of max heart rate, the aerobic threshold)
• Tempo endurance (70-85% of max heart rate, the moderate middle)
• Maximal endurance (85-100% of max heart rate, at or near VO2 max)
• Speed endurance (anaerobic work above VO2 max)

The thresholds:

• Aerobic threshold: the level of effort at which anaerobic energy pathways start to become a significant part of energy production (usually under 70% of maximal heart rate)
• Anaerobic threshold (lactate threshold): the level of exercise intensity at which lactic acid accumulates faster than the body can clear it (approximately 85-90% of maximal heart rate)

Heart Rate Zones and Lactate Levels

A practical zone framework synthesising the standard sports science taxonomy:

Zone 1/Basic Endurance 1 (Recovery):

• Energy systems: aerobic (oxidative)
• % of lactate threshold: 70-76%
• Intensity (% of HR max): 50-60%
• Use: warm-up, cool-down, active recovery. Boosts circulation, removes inflammatory agents, and supports growth hormone secretion. Walking the dog, easy hiking, light swimming, yard work, yoga.

Zone 2/Basic Endurance 2 (Aerobic Base):

• Energy systems: aerobic
• % of lactate threshold: 77-85%
• Intensity (% of HR max): 60-70%
• Use: building the aerobic base. Beneficial for slow muscle fibres and basic endurance. Energy is drawn mainly from adipose tissue. This is where the substantial majority of an endurance athlete’s volume should sit.

Zone 3/Tempo Endurance 1:

• Energy systems: aerobic and glycolytic
• % of lactate threshold: 86-95%
• Intensity (% of HR max): 70-80%
• Use: muscular endurance. Increases exertion and improves aerobic power. Breathing is heavy but steady. Significant consumption of energy reserves; risk of overtraining if you spend most of your time here. This is the “Black Hole” zone that most recreational athletes accidentally live in.

Zone 4/Tempo Endurance 2:

• Energy systems: aerobic and glycolytic
• % of lactate threshold: 96-103%
• Intensity (% of HR max): 80-90%
• Use: muscular endurance, lactic acid tolerance, speed. Takes place on either side of the lactate threshold and improves tolerance. Breathing is heavy and laborious. Improves fast muscle fibres. Useful in interval training (2:1 to 1:3 exertion-to-recovery ratios).

Zone 5/Maximal Endurance:

• Energy systems: glycolytic, creatine phosphate
• % of lactate threshold: 104%-max
• Intensity (% of HR max): 90-100%
• Use: speed maintenance, exercise technique and economy, lactic acid clearance. Exertion exceeds the lactate threshold. Very exhausting. Short interval exercises with longer recovery.

Beyond Zone 5:

• Energy systems: creatine phosphate (glycolytic when duration exceeds 5 seconds)
• Use: explosive speed, power. Short explosive intervals (1:4 to 1:10 work-to-rest ratios). Powerlifting, weight training, plyometrics.

Diagnostic use of zones:

• If your endurance fitness is good but you fatigue as soon as your muscles start producing lactic acid, add intervals in zone 4.
• If intervals pose no problem, but you fatigue during prolonged exercises at a steady pace, add exercises in zone 2 and intervals in zone 3.
• If you can’t sprint to the finish at the end of a 5km run, add intervals in zone 5.
• If your body is slow to recover, add exercises in zone 1.

Common pitfalls: training at the same intensity over and over, training at the same pace, training too hard on lighter days, training too easy on hard days. Get variation.

Structural benefits of endurance training: increased heart volume and stroke volume, increased lung capacity, increased number of mitochondria, increased microvasculature (capillary density), lower resting blood pressure, lower resting heart rate, improved oxygen uptake, positive impact on anxiety and depression, balancing stress response, treatment and prevention of numerous chronic illnesses.

Disadvantages of excessive endurance exercise: cardiac remodelling and increased arrhythmia risk, repetitive strain injuries, impaired muscle mass and strength when chronic cardio crowds out resistance training.

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)

85-95% of maximum heart rate in interval form. The rest phase is usually 60-70% of maximum heart rate. By varying the work phase from 10 seconds to 4 minutes, you can develop different energy systems. The biochemical effects on muscle cells (lactate, ATP, creatine phosphate, H+) don’t track tightly with rest interval length; the benefits of varying rest intervals come more from neurological, hormonal, and cardiovascular changes.

HIIT develops the cardiovascular and circulatory systems, maximal oxygen uptake, insulin sensitivity, sugar metabolism, and lactate tolerance. It increases mitochondria in muscle cells and the volume of oxidative enzymes. Fat oxidation benefits too.

Tabata protocol (Tabata et al. 1996, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise):

• Warm up 5-10 minutes
• 8 sets: 20 seconds maximal effort, 10 seconds rest
• Total work time: 4 minutes
• Cool down 5-10 minutes
• 1-3 sessions per week
• The original protocol used a cycle ergometer; bodyweight or other modalities work similarly

Gibala method (developed by Martin Gibala at McMaster):

• 3-minute warm-up
• 8-12 sets: 60 seconds at near-maximum effort, 75 seconds rest
• Cool down

Sprint Interval Training (SIT):

• Warm up 5-10 minutes with jogging and acceleration drills
• 4-6 sets: 200 metres at 85-95% max effort, 3-4 minutes rest/walk
• Cool down
• 1-3 sessions per week
• Increases myokinase, creatine phosphokinase, glycolytic enzymes, and mitochondrial enzyme activity. Improves aerobic and anaerobic energy expenditure. Increases cross-sectional muscle area and shifts cell distribution toward type IIA fibres. Boosts growth hormone and testosterone.

HIRT (High-Intensity Resistance Training): Shorter recovery periods are better at producing GH and improving muscular endurance.

• Complete full-body workouts
• 5-15 reps per exercise
• 3-4 supersets per workout
• Warm up 10-15 minutes
• 48-72 hours between workouts

Sample HIRT session:

Superset 1 (8-10 minutes without breaks):

• Deadlift (20% 1RM) × 10
• Clap push-ups × 5
• Pull-up overhand × 5
• Ab wheel (knees on ground) × 6-10

Superset 2 (8-10 minutes without breaks):

• Jump squat × 5
• Pull-up underhand × 5
• Bench press (20% 1RM) × 10
• Hanging knee-to-elbow × 6

Superset 3:

• Bulgarian lunges × 5/leg
• Inverted row × 10
• Push-up × 10
• V-ups × 8

V. Training Strength and Power

Physical strength is determined by two factors: the cross-sectional area of a muscle and the volume of muscle fibres plus their contractile intensity. Force generation hinges on the ability of the nervous system to command, recruit, and organise muscle fibres efficiently. The strength of connective tissue (tendons, fibrous tissues) also affects force production. Generation varies with cell type distribution, sex, age, hormonal balance, nervous system function, general health, and nutritional status.

Henneman’s size principle, formulated by Elwood Henneman in 1965, is the foundational principle for understanding how muscles produce force. Motor units are recruited in order from smallest (low threshold) to largest (high threshold) as force demand increases. This staircase pattern means you can’t deliberately recruit high-threshold motor units without sufficient force demand; high-threshold units only come online when low-threshold units are unable to meet the load. Heavy loads (above ~70% of 1RM) or near-failure efforts at lower loads are needed to recruit the high-threshold motor units that produce the largest hypertrophy and strength gains.

Key principles for strength training:

• Perform exercises with correct technique and form (always the priority)
• Favour multi-joint exercises (deadlift, front squat, back squat, pull-up, bench press, dip, shoulder press) over single-joint exercises; the latter don’t provide significant additional benefits for most goals
• Progressively increase weight between exercises (start at 60-70% of maximum performance capacity)
• Progressively increase exercise volume (number of sets and repetitions)
• Vary tempo and time under tension (TUT)
• Get sufficient rest and vary the recovery period length
• Reduce training load every 3-4 weeks (deload)
• Change up your training program every 1-3 months

Loading and rep ranges:

• Maximal strength: 1-5 reps at 85-100% of 1RM. 3-5 sets of 3. Rest 3-5 minutes between sets. 5-10 second TUT.
• Speed, strength and explosive strength: Submaximal loads (40-80% 1RM) in several sets. 7-9 sets of 3. Rest 1-3 minutes between sets. 5-10 second TUT. Bar speed is the goal; move the load fast.
• Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps at 65-85% 1RM. Most effective is 3-5 sets of 8-10. Rest 60-90 seconds. 30-60 second TUT.
• Strength endurance: 12+ reps at submaximal loads (20-70% 1RM). 3 sets of 15-20. Rest 30-60 seconds. More than 60 second TUT.

Varying TUT duration affects different energy systems (ATP, creatine phosphate, anaerobic glycolysis). A set of slower repetitions of longer TUT performed to exhaustion is more effective for hypertrophy than faster reps for the same number of reps.

Volume, frequency, and proximity to failure

This is where the work of Brad Schoenfeld at CUNY Lehman College has substantially shifted the field over the past decade. 

• Volume drives hypertrophy: Schoenfeld’s meta-analyses show a dose-response relationship between weekly sets per muscle group and hypertrophy outcomes, with benefits up to roughly 10-20 hard sets per muscle group per week. Beyond that, returns diminish, and recovery becomes the limiting factor.
• Frequency matters less than volume: For the same weekly volume, training each muscle group 2x per week produces slightly better hypertrophy outcomes than 1x per week, with no further benefit at higher frequencies. The “bro split” (one body part per day) isn’t worse than full-body training per se; it just often produces lower weekly volume per muscle group than alternatives.
• Proximity to failure: Effective hypertrophy sets need to end within roughly 0-5 reps of muscular failure. Sets that stop with 10+ reps in reserve don’t produce comparable adaptations. The “stop a few reps short” guidance from the more conservative literature is correct; “stop when you can’t move the bar” goes too far in the opposite direction.
• Rep ranges are flexible for hypertrophy: 5-30 reps per set produce comparable hypertrophy outcomes when both groups train to similar proximity to failure. The traditional “8-12 hypertrophy range” framing is too narrow. Higher reps with lighter loads work; lower reps with heavier loads also work; the variables that count are total volume and effort.
• Rep ranges for strength: Although hypertrophy is flexible, maximal strength specifically requires heavy loads (above 80-85% 1RM) trained with low reps. You can grow muscle with high reps; you cannot maximise 1RM strength without practising heavy loads.
• Range of motion: Recent work, including from Schoenfeld’s group, suggests that emphasising the lengthened position of an exercise (the bottom of a squat, the stretch portion of a pull) produces superior hypertrophy compared with equivalent volume done in shorter ranges of motion.

Henneman’s size principle in practice:

• 30-80% of 1RM is the working range for most hypertrophy and strength work
• Light loads (30-50%) trained to near-failure recruit high-threshold motor units through the failure mechanism
• Heavy loads (70-95%) recruit high-threshold motor units through the load mechanism
• Both produce growth; heavy loads additionally produce maximal strength

Stress, tension, and damage

The three primary stimuli for muscle growth, as articulated by Schoenfeld’s earlier work:

• Mechanical tension: load on the muscle through the full range of motion
• Metabolic stress: lactate accumulation, “the pump,” metabolite buildup that signals adaptation
• Muscle damage: eccentric (lengthening) loading produces microtrauma that triggers repair and growth

Different rep ranges and tempos bias toward different stimuli. Maximum hypertrophy probably requires all three.

The minimum effective dose for maintaining muscle:

Roughly 5 sets per muscle group per week, trained near failure, appears sufficient to maintain muscle mass in trained individuals. 

Isometric training:

May be used to promote recovery from injury. Can increase strength and muscle mass, but only at the joint angles trained. Dynamic muscular training is required for full range strength.

• Use maximal muscle contractions
• Set length: 1-10 seconds for maximal strength
• 45-60 seconds for hypertrophy
• Use 3 different joint angles
• Rest 1:10 ratio (3s work : 30s rest)
• Can be used to activate the neuromuscular system before a training session or to finish a session

Eccentric quasi-isometric training:

Slow or almost static eccentric movement to strengthen muscles at all joint angles.

• Push-up with hands on blocks
• Dips on parallel bars
• Lunge with feet on blocks
• Pull-up holds
• Under 60 seconds (weak), 60-90 seconds (below average), 90-150 seconds (average), 150-240 seconds (above average), over 240 seconds (excellent)

Super-slow repetitions:

Growth of satellite cells and muscle cell nuclei. Particularly useful for people over 50 (less injury risk than heavy, fast lifting). Drawback: weak development of maximal strength and lesser metabolic impact on energy expenditure and fat burning.

Super-slow eccentric repetitions (40X0 tempo):

Very slow eccentric followed by explosive concentric. Excellent for maximal muscle growth and tendon strengthening.

Negative repetitions:

Purely eccentric loading, allowing higher than 1RM weight to be used. Requires a spotter or safety bars. Very exhausting due to supramaximal loads. Use sparingly.

Pre-set bodyweight circuit (the “7-minute workout”):

Each exercise is 30 seconds with 10 seconds rest. The protocol from Klika and Jordan (2013, ACSM Health & Fitness Journal).

• Jumping jacks or burpees
• Wall sits
• Push-ups or clapping push-ups
• Crunches or knee-ups
• Step-ups or lunge jumps
• Squats or squat jumps
• Dips
• Planks
• Lunges or lunge jumps
• Jump rope, stair sprints, or high-knees running
• Push-ups with rotation
• Side planks

VI. Gymnastics and Bodyweight Progression

Gymnastics develops physical strength, coordination, balance, agility, muscular endurance, and flexibility simultaneously. Excellent foundation for children and remarkable rehabilitation for adults.

Easy:

• Forward/backward roll
• Bridge
• Hollow rock
• Superman
• Pull-up
• Ring row
• Broad jump
• Box jump
• Burpee
• Hip shoots
• L-sit
• Bar hang
• Push-ups

Medium:

• Cartwheel
• Headstand
• Handstand
• Handstand walk
• Dip
• Rope climb
• Toes-to-bar
• Tuck-up
• V-up

Difficult:

• Handstand push-up
• Muscle-up
• Front lever
• Back lever
• Iron cross
• German hang
• Swings on parallel bars
• Kip

VII. Kettlebell Training

Strength, speed, balance, endurance, and maximal oxygen uptake.

Easy:

• Russian swing
• American swing
• Deadlift
• One-arm row
• Goblet squat
• Shoulder press
• Abdominal crunch with straight arms
• Farmer’s carry
• Slingshot
• Halo
• Russian twist

Medium:

• Single leg deadlift
• Turkish sit-up
• One-hand swing
• Push-up on KB
• Walking lunges
• Lateral squat
• Floor press
• Push press

Difficult:

• Turkish get-up
• Front squat with two KBs
• Clean (one or two)
• Jerk (one or two)
• Snatch
• Thruster
• Floor press in bridge
• Overhead squat
• Sots press
• Pistol squat

Sample circuit (one exercise to the next with 30-60 second rest):

Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of slingshot, halo, light jogging, or burpees.

Working sets:

• Russian swing: 3 × 20-30 reps
• Bent-over row: 3 × 15 each side
• Goblet squat: 3 × 15
• Abdominal crunch: 3 × 15
• Shoulder press: 3 × 10 each side
• Deadlift: 3 × 10-15
• Around-the-world: 3 × 20

VIII. Training Mobility and Movement Quality

Optimal mobility is crucial for good posture and the prevention of incorrect positions during exercise. The training framework distinguishes between flexibility (passive range of motion) and mobility (active control through range of motion). For most adults, mobility is the most useful capacity to train.

Dynamic stretching programme (suitable as a warm-up before a workout):

• Warm up first with skipping rope, rower, or star jumps
• Repeat 2-3 times:
• Hand stands × 10 m
• Leg swings (front, back, sides) × 15 each direction
• Lunges with torso twist toward squatting leg × 10 each leg
• Scorpion × 10 each
• Knee to chest walking stretch × 10 each
• Upper arm rotations (individually and both hands) × 10 each
• Upper arm swings (sides and front) × 30 total
• Clavicle press and twist × 10 each

The Huberman stretch protocol (drawn from his Neural Network Newsletter synthesis of the research literature):

Microstretching – research by Wyon et al. has shown that microstretching (30-40% of your maximum stretch intensity, where 100% is slightly painful) is more effective than aggressive stretching for long-term flexibility gains. Whatever stretching routine you adopt, you don’t need to push to a point of pain. Consistency and frequency are the variables that produce long-term flexibility gains, not intensity.

Static stretching protocol:

• 2-4 sets of 30-second static holds per muscle group
• 5 days per week
• Minimum of 5 minutes total stretching per muscle group per week
• Alternative: longer holds (60 seconds) with reduced frequency

PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation), also called contract-relax stretching:

• The nervous system and muscles are in constant communication to keep joints within a “safe” range of motion. Intrafusal spindle fibres communicate muscle stretch to the spinal cord and brain. If a stretch becomes excessive, spindle fibres activate motor neurons that cause the muscle to rapidly contract, bringing the joint back to a safe range. Golgi tendon organs (GTOs) sense load or tension on a muscle; if too high, they inhibit motor neuron firing, preventing injury.
• PNF stretching leverages both mechanisms by contracting and then relaxing the target muscle while stretched. This temporarily resets the spindle fibre threshold, allowing a greater range. PNF is generally more effective than static stretching for acute flexibility gains.

Antagonistic muscle group training:

Alternating exercises of antagonistic muscle groups (e.g., rows alternating with bench press) leverages reciprocal inhibition: contracting the biceps “relaxes” the triceps and vice versa. This allows higher-quality work in less time and reduces some forms of muscular tension.

Natural movement (Parkour-style training):

A useful adjunct to gym work for restoring movement patterns the body expects.

Deep bodyweight squat hold:

• Start at 1 minute per day in a squatting position
• Increase by 1 minute until reaching 30 minutes per day after one month
• Improves mobility of ankles, hips, knees, back, and pelvis

Hanging on a bar (passive):

• Start at 15 seconds per day, increase to 7.5 minutes after one month
• Improves shoulder mobility and grip strength

Wall support hold:

• A few seconds at a time, building to 30 seconds
• Improves upper body and core strength

Walking on all fours, jogging, sprints, and jumps:

• Start lightly, 15-30 minutes a few times per week

Bodyweight exercises work muscle groups and certain functional muscle-tendon-fascia lines that conventional resistance training often misses. The Katy Bowman and Erwan Le Corre frameworks for natural movement (covered in Resources) provide more substantial protocols if this approach interests you.

IX. Recovery and Adaptation

The supercompensation theory:

Training consumes common resources, biochemical cascades, energy reserves, and the nervous system. Training represents a catabolic activity. The body needs rest, hydration, and nutrition to bounce back from the catabolic state. If recovery is optimal, the body becomes stronger and more capable by the next workout. If recovery is too short, the next workout consumes even more of the body’s resources, leading to overtraining. If recovery is too long, the supercompensation window closes, and progress is lost.

This is the foundational concept of periodisation: cycle training, stress, and recovery to maximise adaptation.

HRV (Heart Rate Variability)

Higher HRV indicates more parasympathetic nervous system activity, less stress, and better recovery. Lower HRV indicates more sympathetic activation, more stress, and incomplete recovery. Decreased HRV has been shown to predict mortality after myocardial infarction, cancer, and sudden cardiac death, and is associated with heart failure, diabetic neuropathy, and liver cirrhosis. The risk of dying after a heart attack is more than 5-fold higher for those with low HRV vs. high HRV.

If your HRV is low, it isn’t a good idea to train hard or impose other hormetic stressors (sauna, cold exposure), since there’s an increase in sympathetic drive during and potentially after the acute stressful event. Sauna sessions may lower HRV acutely but have been shown to reduce arrhythmias and improve HRV in patients with chronic heart failure. Sauna and cold exposure can have cardiovascular benefits long-term, while looking neutral or negative on HRV in the short-term. Context matters; one HRV reading isn’t a diagnosis.

There’s a clear association between elevated pro-inflammatory IL-6, higher C-reactive protein, and decreased HRV. Elevated heart rate and body temperature, combined with low HRV, are often a sign of an active infection.

Things that lower HRV and impair recovery:

• Emotional turmoil and chronic worry
• Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance
• Alcohol (in excess)
• High inflammation
• Sleep deprivation
• Excessive training without adequate recovery

Things that raise HRV:

• Regular exercise (long-term, not acutely)
• Intermittent fasting (within reasonable limits)
• Heat exposure (sauna, long-term)
• Meditation, yoga, tai chi
• Biofeedback and breathwork
• Music therapy, singing, humming (anything involving breath control)

Periodisation

Varying training volume and intensity to achieve optimal performance while avoiding overtraining.

• Microcycle (1 week or 2-14 days): one training cycle
• Mesocycle (2-12 weeks): commonly a 3:1 paradigm where training increases in intensity for 3 weeks, then deloads for 1; several mesocycles can be stacked
• Macrocycle (2-12 months): an athlete’s macrocycle typically includes training season, competition season, and transitional/recovery phase; can be divided into mesocycles emphasising different qualities

Progressive loading

Train with weights light enough for proper form. Add 2.5kg per session for squat and deadlift; for other exercises, add weight every other session. Continue adding weight until you can no longer complete 3 × 5. Reduce set weights to what they were 2-3 weeks ago and begin again from there (a deload-and-reset).

Overtraining

The deep mechanistic breakdown of overtraining hypotheses (glycogen depletion, CNS fatigue, glutamine, oxidative stress, ANS imbalance, hypothalamus changes, cytokine storm) lives in The Exercise Rabbit Hole for those interested in the underlying physiology.

• Trouble maintaining balance and motor control
• Chronic muscle soreness or nagging injuries
• Brain fog, forgetfulness, distractibility, dullness
• Trouble falling asleep and difficulty waking
• Higher basal heart rate than normal
• Losing muscle strength and power despite training
• Lack of motivation to train and move
• Decreased performance and plateaus in progress
• Increased perceived effort above what’s normal
• Mood swings, agitation, mild depression
• Low thyroid markers, elevated cortisol

Recovery supplementation

Pre-workout (if you train hard enough to warrant it):

• L-carnitine: 2g
• Taurine: 1-2g
• Citrulline: 3g
• Carnosine: 2g
• Caffeine: 80-160mg

Post-workout:

• Whey protein: 20g (up to 40g after full-body workouts)
• Creatine: 5g
• Hydrolysed collagen: 5-20g
• Glycine: 2-3g
• Vitamin C: 50-100mg (low dose; high-dose vitamin C may impair adaptation)

Antioxidant supplements, NSAIDs, and cryotherapy after working out reduce inflammation and exercise-induced oxidative stress, which slows or completely negates the adaptive signal needed for growth and improvement. Pre-workout antioxidant supplementation has been shown to interfere with mitochondrial biogenesis (a key endurance adaptation). Multiple studies have found that antioxidant supplementation impairs anabolic signalling and muscle hypertrophy. The popular framing that “more antioxidants are better” is wrong for trained athletes; some oxidative stress from training is the signal that drives adaptation. Save the antioxidants for periods of high stress or illness; reduce or skip them around training sessions.

Caveat: High-quality food will always beat supplementation, so don’t obsess over them. Seriously… The desire for convenience and shortcuts has made us nuts. 

X. Training Fasted

A brief note before we get into the material: the full write up on fasting and metabolic flexibility lives in Fasting in Part II. This section covers specifically the training-while-fasted dimension. When the Fasting page is rebuilt, some of this material will move there and be cross-referenced; for now, it lives here.

Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

To lose fat, you have to be in an energy deficit (burn more than you consume). To build muscle, the conventional framing is that you need to be in an energy surplus (consume more than you burn). 

Calories aren’t just calories because they can be partitioned differently depending on macronutrient ratios, nutrient quality, hormone levels, training status, and overall energetic demands on the body. If your workouts stimulate the muscles sufficiently, and you follow with adequate muscle protein synthesis by consuming enough protein, the rest of what you need for growth can come from stored body fat. You can also gain fat and lose muscle simultaneously by doing chronic cardio for hours and overconsuming calories with very little protein.

The adipose tissue consists of stored triglycerides (three fatty acid chains and a glycerol backbone). This single fat particle can cover most of the body’s metabolic needs in the short term. Fat is fuel that most tissues and muscles can use.

Lactate is the byproduct of glucose metabolism and contributes up to 18% of skeletal muscle glycogen synthesis after high-intensity exercise. During high-intensity workouts, you produce lactic acid by burning muscle glycogen. To eliminate the burn effect and restore lost glycogen, the body uses some of that lactate for muscle glycogen resynthesis.

There are times the body needs more fuel and amino acids than others:

• After working out, muscles are more prone to shuttle the nutrients you’ve consumed into glycogen stores and stimulate muscle protein synthesis. In that scenario, all the calories you eat are primarily directed toward positive muscle growth rather than fat accumulation, because the body prioritises recovery rather than storage.
• Eating a bunch of excess calories without having moved is more pro-fat-gain because the body isn’t in such energetic conditions that would favour high energy intake. What the body doesn’t need right away is used for storage.

In the case of intermittent fasting, you would see a much bigger lean muscle gain if you consumed most of your calories after a resistance training workout. The dominos are all set up: mechanical overload from exercise, depleted glycogen stores, activated mTOR, nervous system fatigue, and the conditions are favourable for building muscle as long as you stimulate muscle protein synthesis and bring in the building blocks.

Intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding can be effective tools for building muscle and burning fat simultaneously:

• During fasting periods, you burn more fat, suppress hunger, and elevate growth hormone (which helps maintain muscle)
• Resistance training requires less fuel than people assume; strength work is sustained primarily by the phosphocreatine and anaerobic systems, which don’t deplete the way endurance work does
• Eating after working out promotes more muscle growth than fat gain
• Eating substantial calories before training (when in a caloric deficit) may cost you more muscle than the benefits provided, because of nutrient partitioning and meal timing

Losing muscle while fasting

Growth hormone increases substantially during fasting; older research suggested 2000-3000% increases at the 24-hour mark, though more recent work has shown the relative increase is more variable than this older framing suggests. Testosterone is another anabolic hormone affected favourably by short-term fasting:

• Short-term fasting (24-72 hours) has been shown to increase luteinising hormone (LH), a precursor to testosterone. In a study on obese men, LH increased 67% after 56 hours of fasting.
• Another study found obese men saw a 26% increase in GNRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone). Men who were also working out saw a 67% increase in GNRH, leading to a 180% boost in testosterone.

Why might you lose muscle while fasting?

• Gluconeogenesis: If your body isn’t yet keto-adapted to burning ketones, and you’ve depleted glycogen, the next available fuel source is protein. Skeletal muscle protein can be broken down to produce glucose for tissues that require it (red blood cells, certain brain regions).
• Inhibition of autophagy: Autophagy is needed for maintaining muscle mass. If you do a caloric restriction diet but block the effects of autophagy (by consuming any meaningful calories during your “fasting” window), you keep yourself in a semi-starvation state because your body never switches into ketosis. This leads to gluconeogenesis.
• If you allow autophagy to kick in (through strict water fasting or a fasting-mimicking ketogenic diet), you stimulate the growth hormones discussed above and preserve muscle.
• Even as little as 50 calories or 2-3 grams of leucine will stop autophagy and shift you into a fed state. For fat loss, muscle preservation, and longevity, avoid all calories during your fasting window.

A ketogenic diet preserves muscle through several mechanisms:

• Low blood glucose stimulates adrenaline secretion, which regulates skeletal muscle protein mass and directly inhibits protein breakdown
• Ketone bodies provide a plentiful fuel source for brain and muscle tissue, suppressing protein oxidation and muscle gluconeogenesis. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) has been shown to decrease leucine oxidation and promote protein synthesis in humans.
• Dietary protein consumption has a greater muscle-sparing effect than carbohydrates. Eating protein increases protein synthesis by increasing amino acid availability.
• When eating at a caloric deficit, higher protein intake reduces muscle loss and promotes fat loss.

Can fasting build muscle?

Studies have found fasting lowers the expression of mTOR and IGF-1, both needed for cellular growth, by increasing one of their inhibiting proteins (IGFBP1). mTOR is anabolic but also anti-catabolic. It protects the body against the harmful effects of cortisol and glucocorticoids on muscle tissue.

The rationale for trying to build muscle with intermittent fasting isn’t to maximise muscle growth or performance. It’s to prioritise longevity and avoid over-stimulating the anabolic effects of mTOR all the time.

When resistance training, you induce damage to muscle cells and tissues. If you consume adequate protein after the workout, you heal that damage and produce sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy. However, when working out fasted, you have limited amino acid availability and are subject to increased muscle damage. This may not be ideal for someone trying to build maximum muscle because they may end up with a NET negative muscle homeostasis.

The “anabolic window” panic from older bodybuilding literature has been substantially retracted; current research suggests post-workout protein intake within 2-3 hours is sufficient for maximal muscle protein synthesis, and that 24-hour total protein intake is the variable that counts more than acute timing. That said, some amino acids in circulation during a workout may minimise muscle damage and promote MPS afterwards.

Advantages of training fasted:

• Consuming carbohydrates and raising insulin suppresses lipolysis and fat burning during exercise; training fasted accesses adipose tissue more readily
• Training fasted improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, which doesn’t help muscle growth directly, but helps you stay leaner while building muscle
• Fasting increases blood flow in abdominal subcutaneous fat (a 3-day fast increased abdominal subcutaneous blood flow by 50% in one study), which may help with stubborn belly fat
• Fasted resistance training causes a bigger anabolic response to eating post-workout than fed training by increasing p70S6 kinase activity. Theoretically, you create a bigger super-compensatory effect for muscle hypertrophy by working out fasted and then refeeding properly.
• Increased growth hormone from fasted training may help preserve lean muscle and protect against excessive catabolism

Targeted Intermittent Fasting Protocol

To maximise the autophagic benefits of fasting, fast for as long as possible each day. In most cases, that means about a 20-hour fasted window.

For optimal muscle growth, have a small amount of amino acids in your system before working out.

For better body composition and nutrient partitioning, backload most of your calories into the post-workout window where your body prioritises recovery.

Here’s what the protocol looks like:

• Fast for the majority of the day before working out
• Consume only water, zero-calorie teas, or coffee up to 18-20 hours of fasting
• When starting to work out at 18-20 hours, consume a protein shake with 20-30g of protein. Drink it during the actual workout. Use quality protein powders without artificial sweeteners or additives.
• During the workout, focus on compound movements and hypertrophic exercises to stimulate muscle growth. Sip the protein shake between sets.
• Post-workout, eat the rest of your calories within 2-3 hours, ideally in a single meal. Get adequate protein.

Post-workout nutrition while fasting

• Eating immediately after isn’t ideal because you may still be under the influence of cortisol and digestive stress, which can promote gut issues and fat gain. The sweet spot for muscle protein synthesis without catabolism is between 60-195 minutes after training, not before 60 minutes.
• Protein shakes have the most effect either immediately before or intra-workout (the targeted intermittent fasting approach). If you wait 2 hours and eat, it’s better to get amino acids from real food. The shake is a great alternative when real food isn’t available.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners (sucralose, saccharin, fructose, aspartame) in any fitness supplements; they’re linked to insulin resistance and other issues and can disrupt the microbiome by promoting the proliferation of gut bacteria that extract more calories from food.
• In general, work out somewhere between the 16-20 hour mark of fasting and wait at least 60-120 minutes before eating anything. The fear of missing the “anabolic window” wherein you’ll start building more muscle exponentially is overblown.
• Refeeding after fasting, especially on carbohydrates, raises the thermic effect of food, producing excess body heat and contributing to favourable body composition changes.
• Cholesterol contributes to muscle growth through its antioxidant properties and the repair mechanisms it triggers. Cholesterol improves the membrane stability of cells, enhancing their resiliency against muscle damage during exercise and controlling inflammation during recovery. Cholesterol supports mTOR and IGF-1 signalling by helping form signalling pathways.

XI. The Gist

After several thousand words of methodology, the practical takeaways come down to a manageable list:

For most adults pursuing general fitness:

• Build the aerobic base with 80% of cardio in zone 1-2 (easy, conversational)
• Add high-intensity intervals 1-2× per week (zone 4-5)
• Resistance training 2-3× per week, hitting all major muscle groups
• Each muscle group: 10-20 hard sets per week, trained close to failure
• Mobility work 15-30 minutes daily (can be folded into warm-ups and cool-downs)
• One genuine recovery day per week (active recovery, easy movement only)

Testing baseline:

• Aerobic: 12-minute Cooper test or UKK 2km walk
• Strength: vertical jump, grip strength, hand grip dynamometer
• Mobility: Functional Movement Screen (with a qualified practitioner)
• Recovery: HRV trend over 2-4 weeks (with a wearable)

Progressing over months and years:

• Periodise training: build for 3 weeks, deload for 1 week, repeat
• Change your programme every 1-3 months to avoid stagnation
• Re-test capacity every 8-12 weeks
• Keep a basic training log; track weights, reps, sets, and subjective recovery markers

Where to dig deeper:

• The Longevity Program for the longevity-specific training framework, sarcopenia prevention, and the relationship between training and ageing
• The Exercise Rabbit Hole for deeper dives on temperature, fat loss neurochemistry, the Huberman protocols, Greenfield’s Boundless programme, and the overtraining hypotheses
• Energy Systems for the underlying metabolism
• Fasting (when rebuilt) for the broader fasting framework

The training methodology is rich, and the protocols are well-established. The hard part isn’t knowing what to do; it’s doing it consistently for years and decades. The framework’s general position on training is the same as its position on nutrition and sleep: foundational principles applied with consistency over time beat elaborate protocols applied inconsistently. Build the aerobic base. Lift heavy things twice a week. Move every day. Sleep well. Eat well. Re-test occasionally. Adjust based on what you find. Don’t fight your biology.