All protocols

Use an indoor sport during the colder-weather cardiovascular phase; examples given include kickboxing or jiu-jitsu.

Use cardio machines once or twice during the fall/winter cardiovascular phase.

Example cardio machine for the fall/winter cardiovascular phase.

Continue to get outside by walking twice per week during the fall/winter cardiovascular phase.

If one poor night of sleep occurs during an important adaptation phase, still train, potentially using acute hacks to feel better in the moment.

If poor sleep is chronic rather than acute, back off and prioritize recovery rather than pushing through.

When recovery is needed, use moderate restorative training rather than hard training; examples given include breathing drills, mobility work, or riding the bike at about 50% heart rate.

If you think you may be getting sick, do restorative training and avoid pushing much past about 70% effort.

If you already have a significant cold, generally stop training rather than trying to push through.

Some ice exposure may be used cautiously when sick, but not a lot because it is a major stressor.

If illness makes you very sleepy, sleep rather than train.

A sample three-day split: day 1 speed and power then hypertrophy; day 2 pure strength then higher-heart-rate work; day 3 steady-state long-duration endurance. Do speed and power before hypertrophy in the same session. This can be done in about 45 minutes of work plus warmup/downregulation, generally under 60 minutes total.

Treat structured exercise and general physical activity as distinct; both matter for health.

Avoid doing only hard workouts while sitting the rest of the day. Increase daily movement with strategies like parking farther away, aiming for about 30 minutes per day of moderate to low intensity activity, and adding several hours of walking if you sit all day.

Do not rely solely on low-intensity physical activity without structured exercise.

One way to increase physical activity is to do a 10-minute walk three times per day.

A sample four-day split: day 1 strength in the 5–10 rep range; day 2 long-duration work; day 3 11–30 rep muscular endurance/bodyweight/yoga/Pilates/gymnastics/group class/circuit work; day 4 medium-intensity conditioning plus a short max-heart-rate finisher. Favor mostly whole-body, multi-joint exercises. Place long-duration work after strength because it can be restorative when the whole body is sore.

A group activity class can fit well on the muscular-endurance day; examples given include spin class or dance class. If a dance class mainly trains the legs, finish with about 10 minutes of upper-body light weights, such as sets of 30 reps, to balance the body.

For the fourth day, use medium-intensity conditioning with alternating harder and easier periods rather than all-out work; a sample protocol is one minute on, one minute off on the bike, with the hard minute at about 85–90% heart rate and the easy minute around 50%.

A favored protocol on the Assault Bike: do a solid 10-minute warmup, recover, then go five minutes and cover as much distance as possible, followed by about 10 minutes of gradual cooldown. During the last ~2 minutes of cooldown, use deliberate 5-second nasal inhales and 5-second nasal exhales.

If you did not sleep well or do not feel recovered, slide the workout forward by a day rather than forcing it.

If very sore, use low-intensity cardio such as jogging, biking, skipping rope, and walking to help dissipate soreness.

To create a six-day program, run the three-day split back-to-back and take one day off.

If you modify the plan, make it a deliberate program change rather than changing things ad hoc every day.

Balance listening to your body with honest self-assessment so you do not confuse true recovery needs with laziness.

When training with others, invite them into your plan rather than abandoning your plan to follow theirs.

When traveling, use simple hotel-gym workouts to get movement in and help with jet lag; one sample workout is one set of 10–15 reps on every machine in the order they are laid out.

Occasionally do fun off-program training with others if the recovery cost is no more than about three days; downregulate your effort if needed to keep the cost manageable.

Use breathing techniques and patterns as a first lever to improve endurance; improve your breathing pattern and overall approach, avoid over-breathing early, and use more strategic breathing to prevent later problems.

Maintain proper posture and positions during endurance training; avoid being hunched over, especially on a bike.