June Longevity Challenge
June Longevity Challenge: Design a 3-Month Protocol
With the myriad of longevity recommendations available, deciding which ones to include in your routine can be overwhelming. That’s why this month our Zest Longevity Challenge community will be focused on helping our members design a personalised 3-month longevity protocol.
Join our Facebook group if you haven’t already and post any questions or comments you may have around how to create your optimal longevity protocol and how to measure the results.
To help get you thinking, below are what we consider to be the most important aspects of a longevity protocol, along with some key questions to consider:
Exercise and physical health
Zone 2/Cardio/Aerobic training
- How many hours/sessions per week?
- What measurement method? (e.g. heart rate, distance, time)
- What type of exercise? (e.g. running, cycling, rucking, swimming, hiking)
Strength and conditioning
- How many hours/sessions per week?
- What specific exercises and number of sets/reps?
HIIT/VO2max training
- What protocol? (e.g. Hickson 5/2 x 6, Attia 4/4 x 4)
- How many sessions per week?
Flexibility, mobility and balance
- What stretches/movements and what length of hold/reps?
- How many sessions per week?
Cold and heat exposure
- What method of cold exposure (e.g. cold showers, plunges), duration and number of sessions per week?
- What method of heat exposure (e.g. sauna, hot bath), duration and number of sessions per week?
Diet, fasting and supplementation
- What foods to avoid? (e.g. highly processed, ones causing high insulin spikes)
- What foods to add? (e.g. healthy protein sources, rich in vitamins and minerals)
- What intermittent fasting duration and eating window start/finish times?
- Water fast how often and for how long (24hr+)?
- What supplements to have as part of your regimen?
Sleep
- How many target daily hours in REM and deep sleep?
- What target daily sleep and wake times?
- How often and how long for morning sunlight exposure?
Social relationships, hobbies and mental health
- What key relationships you would like to prioritise and nurture?
- What activities help you achieve flow? (e.g. board games, climbing, martial arts, reading fiction)
Assess your current pace of aging and biological age
Below are some ways you can measure and assess your current status to help you determine what to include in your protocol:
- VO2max - a measure of your cardiorespiratory fitness that is strongly associated with longevity and can be calculated by most wearables
- HRV - a measure of your general heart health and nervous system that is equated with healthy sleep
- Blood tests - e.g. HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Albumin, hsCRP, HbA1c, fasting glucose, free testosterone (Male only), SHBG (Male only), oestradiol (Female only) and DHEAS (Female only)
- Continuous glucose monitors - wearables that provide a valuable insight into your metabolic health and insulin sensitivity
- Microbiome tests - these give a glimpse of your gut health that can help you decide how you might like to change your diet
- Epigenetic tests - by analysing DNA, these can give an idea of your current biological age
- Strength benchmarks - functional tests such as grip strength allow you to know what to target with your exercise regime
Join our Facebook community to discuss testing and specific vendors based in your region.
Set goals, define your protocol and measure progress for next three months
Once you’ve assessed your current longevity using the tests and measurements available to you, the next step is to decide which areas you most want to improve and why.
If you’re below average or not in your optimal range for your target biological age in any of the tests you’ve done then you could look to improve by implementing specific interventions that could positively impact your score.
For example:
- To increase your VO2max, you could add more HIIT sessions to your routine.
- To improve HRV, you could look to optimize your sleep health and incorporate meditation or non-sleep deep relaxation sessions.
- To improve glucose levels and insulin sensitivity, you could try removing certain foods from your diet or implementing regular intermittent fasting.
For more ideas, have a look at our previous blog articles, where we discuss these topics in-depth.
Finally, the most important consideration when designing a longevity protocol is ensuring that you will be able to consistently follow it.
Our Zest Monthly Longevity Challenges community is designed to provide you with an extra dose of inspiration, motivation and accountability, while giving you fresh exciting challenges that will allow you to test various longevity recommendations. Our team will be sharing their own experience and protocols in the group and answering any questions you may have when designing your own protocol. Look forward to seeing you there!
