Loose Programming: A Different Path to Longevity

Why a life lived for tomorrow can cost you today; and how to have both

Somewhere in the past few years, longevity stopped being a quiet aspiration and became a competitive sport in itself. A long life used to be thought of as the natural result of living well: moving daily, eating decently, and having people to laugh with. Now it’s something to optimize; tracked in sleep scores, glucose curves on CGMs, and heart rate variability charts.

I see this pattern in clients all the time. They begin with clear, simple intentions; lift weights to keep bone density, get their steps in, eat more vegetables. But the checklist grows. Blue-light blocking glasses. Cold plunges every morning. Meals timed to the minute with circadian rhythms. Before long, the routine has crowded out life. They leave dinner parties early to protect their bedtime, skip trips because the hotel gym doesn’t have their exact barbell setup, and worry more about glucose spikes than whether the meal tasted good.

I’m not immune to it either. I’ve fallen into the same spiral; listening to every podcast, reading every new study, adding a new “must‑do” habit each week. Last year, after running the NYC Marathon, I had to take a break from running and intense training; not because I wanted to, but because my body gave me no choice. After a year of structured, high‑intensity training, I was the fittest I’d ever been on paper, but I felt awful most of the time; constantly tired, digestion a mess, and every morning sitting on the edge of the bed for five minutes before I could put my feet on the ground from the pain. On multiple occasions I found myself negotiating with my wife about leaving a friend’s wedding rehearsal dinner or birthday party early so I could wake up at 5 a.m. to run 18 miles.

At first, stepping away from that level of structure was frustrating. It’s easy to feel like you’re doing something important when all your mental and physical energy is poured into chasing it. But in that dead space, my perspective shifted. Without the constant pressure to hit metrics, I started making choices based on how they actually made me feel, not just what my trackers and apps reported. And the surprising part was that almost none of my performance metrics suffered in any meaningful way.

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The Science of Longevity and the Allostatic Load Problem

The actual science of living longer is refreshingly simple. Four pillars, backed by decades of research, show up again and again: move your body, eat nutrient-dense foods, sleep enough, and manage your stress while staying socially connected.

Strength and aerobic capacity matter. Higher VO₂ max is consistently linked to lower all-cause mortality (Kodama et al., 2009). Grip strength, a surprisingly powerful proxy for overall health, is tied to cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes in older adults (Leong et al., 2015). Nutrition matters, though there’s no single “longevity diet.” The eating patterns of long-lived populations range from plant-heavy Okinawan staples to Mediterranean olive-oil-rich meals, but they all emphasize nutrient density, adequate protein, and moderation. Sleep matters too, with research showing the lowest mortality risk at 7–9 hours per night (Cappuccio et al., 2010). And strong social ties, not just casual connections but meaningful, engaged relationships, reduce mortality risk as much as quitting smoking (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010).

The problem is not these pillars; it is what happens when we chase them too hard. That is when we run into allostatic load, the cumulative wear and tear from chronic stress. Robert Sapolsky’s work has shown that when the nervous system is stuck in a state of hypervigilance, with cortisol elevated and the sympathetic system overactive, recovery, immunity, and cardiovascular health all suffer. Over-optimization can put you right into that state.

Skip a gathering to protect your sleep schedule, and you chip away at the social connection that may matter more than a single night’s rest. Push training too hard and too often, and you risk the immune suppression and heart changes seen in extreme endurance athletes (O’Keefe et al., 2012). Stay in a calorie deficit for months on end, and you lose muscle and bone density in the name of “metabolic health.” Obsession turns the very tools of longevity into stressors.

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Loose Programming: Structure Without Obsession

The fix isn’t to abandon structure, it’s to loosen it so that its actually useful and adaptable to your life.

Something I use for myself and in all of my work with clients is a concept I call "loose programming" which basically just means structuring training from broad buckets instead of more rigid prescriptions. I’ll outline what I want the main focus to be over a 4-6 week mesocycle (e.g. strength) and a scaffolding for how to get there across a week (e.g. Two hard lifting days, one lighter general resistance workout, one mobility/durability session, and two recovery-focused modalities).

The details within that scaffolding are extremely flexible though. In the example of a strength phase, if I’m feeling great, that “hard lift” might be heavy squats. If I’m more run down, maybe it’s single-leg work and accessories to continue to build in that direction without beating myself up unnecessarily. The point is to keep moving toward the big rocks without micromanaging the small ones.

Most of the health benefits from exercise come very early on the dose-response curve. About 150 minutes of moderate activity and 2–3 strength sessions a week deliver most of the longevity payoff (Arem et al., 2015; Saeidifard et al., 2019). Precision beyond that might help athletes chasing a podium, but for most people, the incremental benefit is small and the stress cost can be high.

Loose programming also helps with overall allostatic load. You’re not constantly negotiating with yourself over whether you’re “on plan” because you know you're working in the desired direction over time, letting your current state guide the details so you don't overdo any aspect, and leaving room for actually enjoying all of this stuff you spend so much time doing in the process; crazy concept.

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Living Long, Living Well

Longevity isn’t about arriving at 95 looking like you’re 45. It’s about being able to do the things you care about for as long as possible and hopefully enjoying as much of them as possible along the way.

You don’t have to choose between living healthy and living well. You just have to stop treating health like a fragile machine that only runs with perfect calibration. Build your life around the habits that matter most, adapt them to the season you’re in, and keep space for the parts of life that make it worth living.

The goal isn’t to arrive at 95 perfectly preserved; it’s to arrive well-lived, with enough health to keep doing the things you love doing as long as possible.

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What Else I’m Reading

1. “High Exercise Capacity Attenuates the Risk of Early Mortality After a First Myocardial Infarction” — Shaya et al. (2016, Mayo Clinic Proceedings)

In a study of over 2,000 adults who had treadmill tests years before their first heart attack, higher fitness was strongly linked to better survival over the following year. Very low exercise capacity (<6 METs, VO₂max ~21) carried about a 1-in-3 risk of death within a year, while the highest capacity (≥12 METs, VO₂max ~40+) was closer to 1-in-8. Each 1-MET increase in fitness reduced the risk by 8–10%, even though the fitness tests had been done on average six years before the heart attack.

📌 Takeaway: Cardiorespiratory fitness long before a cardiac event can dramatically influence survival odds afterward.

2. “Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease” — Aron et al. (2025, Nature)

Making headlines this week, this study found that people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s had much lower lithium levels in the prefrontal cortex, the brain region hit early in the disease, despite normal blood levels. The authors suggest amyloid plaques may sequester lithium, stripping it from where it’s needed for protection. In mice, reducing brain lithium accelerated amyloid buildup, tau tangles, inflammation, and neuron loss, while supplementing with a plaque-avoiding form (lithium orotate) prevented damage and preserved memory without signs of toxicity.

📌 Takeaway: Lithium loss in the brain may be an early driver of Alzheimer’s pathology, and targeted replenishment could offer a new prevention or treatment avenue.

3. “Effects of Creatine and β-Alanine Co-Supplementation on Exercise Performance and Body Composition: A Systematic Review” — Ashtary-Larky et al. (2025, Nutrients)

This review looked at 7 studies testing creatine and β-alanine together for at least a month. The combo gave athletes a small boost in short, high-intensity efforts, like sprints or repeated bursts, compared to taking either supplement alone. It didn’t improve max strength beyond what creatine already does, and changes in muscle mass or body fat were inconsistent. No benefit was seen for endurance performance.

📌 Takeaway: Creatine plus β-alanine may help if your sport relies on repeated explosive efforts, but for strength or endurance, creatine on its own is probably enough.

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Before you go 💬

I started writing because I kept having conversations that didn’t quite fit into a session or an Instagram post. If you’re thinking through something, training, nutrition, mindset, whatever, or just want to share what’s been working for you, hit reply. I read everything, and I’m always open to talking through it. And if someone in your life could benefit from this approach, feel free to share it. The more people thinking clearly about performance and health, the better.