The Longevity Routine I Can Actually Stick With

While the pursuit of longevity is admirable, the practicality of maintaining such advice in a lively family setting can often be daunting. There’s a lot of longevity advice out there. The problem is that some of it sounds great on paper—but becomes pretty difficult to maintain in real life.

So instead of giving you another list of 27 things you should be doing, I thought I’d share what I actually do.

This is my current weekly routine for health and longevity. It isn’t perfect, and it’s always evolving as I learn more. But the biggest thing I’ve discovered is that the best longevity routine is the one you can sustain.

Movement: 4–5 Days a Week

When I’m not traveling, I try to exercise four or five days a week. My routine combines cardiovascular exercise with resistance training because I want to maintain both my aerobic fitness and my strength as I get older.

For cardio, most workouts involve walking or recumbent biking at a comfortable Zone 2 intensity. About once a week, I add a higher-intensity StairMaster workout: four minutes hard, followed by four minutes of easy walking, repeated four times.

I also lift weights throughout the week. I generally divide my resistance training into:

• One day: Legs

• One day: Chest and Back

• One day: Shoulders and Arms

• One day: Full-body movements

Depending on how busy the gym is, I can usually get one of these workouts done in about an hour.

I don't train to become a bodybuilder or destroy myself in the gym. The goal is to maintain muscle, strength, balance, and the ability to perform everyday activities as I get older.

And that's an important part of longevity that can sometimes get lost in the discussion about cardio: being able to move is great, but being strong enough to keep moving matters too.

Food: Mostly Simple, Whole Foods

My diet is pretty boring—and I think that's a good thing.

I aim for roughly 0.75 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. Breakfast is usually eggs and Greek yogurt with protein powder. Coffee in the morning only and no more caffeine after that. Water thruout the day including sprarkling water, and stop at least two hours before going to bed. Lunch and dinner varies, but generally includes a good protein source along with vegetables or a salad.

Do I eat perfectly? Absolutely not.

I have a sweet tooth and enjoy dessert a few times a week. Whoops.

I also drink very little alcohol. Maybe a beer while watching football or a glass of wine with my wife. I've never found much benefit to drinking other than the social enjoyment that sometimes comes with it.

My philosophy is simple: eat mostly real food, minimize highly processed foods, and don't obsess over perfection.

Supplements: Keep It Simple

In the morning, I take creatine and a multivitamin. In the evening, I take vitamin D3/K2 and magnesium glycinate about 30 minutes before bed. A few mornings a week, I'll also take vitamin C and zinc.

But I don't view supplements as a substitute for a good diet. If you consistently eat a variety of whole foods, you're already doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Sleep: My Non-Negotiable

This may be the most important part of my routine.

I try to go to bed at roughly the same time and wake up at roughly the same time every day.

Our bodies respond remarkably well to consistency. Sleep isn't something I try to squeeze in after everything else gets done. I make it part of the schedule.

Working in a busy internal medicine office has given me a front-row seat to what can happen when health continually gets pushed down the priority list.

I'm not perfect. This is a work in progress, and I'm always open to new information and better protocols.

But that's the point.

Longevity isn't about finding the perfect routine. It's about building a healthy routine you can still be doing five, ten, or twenty years from now.

For more practical, science-informed strategies to improve your health, energy, mobility, and longevity, subscribe to 10-Minute Longevity.