The Protocol
Everything I Do, Daily
Last updated: March 2026
Revision 4
Don't Die #97
This is my full protocol — every supplement, every habit, every training decision. Nothing hidden. The philosophy is simple: build a system boring enough to sustain for decades and measurable enough to optimize along the way.
I update this page whenever something meaningful changes. The revision number tracks major shifts. Minor tweaks happen between revisions and get noted in The Protocol Weekly.
Quick Stats
6’2” / 215
Height / Weight (lbs)
23.5
Functional Age (Actual: 33)
46
VO2 Max
6.4
Active Days / Week (avg)
Protocol Cost Calculator
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Prices based on retail/subscription pricing as of March 2026. Your costs may vary. Gym and device subscriptions estimated at typical rates.
The Full Day
Click any entry to jump to the deep dive.
Morning
6:30–7:00a Wake + Hydratehydration
Check WHOOP recovery and Oura readiness. Drink ~20oz water first thing. Both device scores inform whether it’s a push day or recovery day.
7:30–11:00a Protein Shakenutrition
Bryan Johnson Metabolic Protein or Premier Protein (~160 cal, 30g protein). Timing is flexible within this window — whenever it fits the morning.
9:30–10:30a Longevity Mix + Creatinesupplements
Longevity Mix mixed in water with 5g creatine monohydrate plus 2 Blueprint Omega-3 (algae oil) capsules. Morning supplement block — all taken together at the desk.
~10:30a Double Espressonutrition
First and usually only caffeine of the day. Hard cutoff at 4pm — no exceptions. This single rule added ~18 minutes of deep sleep on average.
Afternoon
11:00a–12:00p Lunchnutrition
Mediterranean-style when possible. High protein, vegetables, healthy fats. Prioritize meals that won’t cause an afternoon crash.
11:30a or 3:30p Training — PPL at Crunchtraining
Push/Pull/Legs rotation, 3–4x/week. Midday or mid-afternoon depending on schedule. Avg 59 min, avg strain 10.2. Woke AF pre-workout on lift days.
Throughout day Step Breaksmovement
Multiple breaks for steps. Cubicle work means deliberate movement — walks around the building, stairwells. Outdoor walks after work and weekends.
~5:00p Afternoon Protein Shakenutrition
Second 30g protein hit. Bridges lunch to dinner and keeps daily total on target without forcing oversized meals.
Evening
6:00–6:45p Dinnernutrition
Mostly chicken and fish — Sabrina is pescatarian so fish and vegetables dominate. EVOO on everything. High fiber. Goal: done by ~7pm for 3.5–4hr sleep buffer. Timing flexes with toddler life.
~9:00–9:30p Screens Offrecovery
All screens off 1–1.5 hours before bed. No TV in the bedroom — ever. This is when the real wind-down starts.
~10:00–10:30p Stretch + Breathworkrecovery
10–15 min light stretching (whatever was worked that day or prior). Then 5 min deep breathing to lower resting heart rate and prep the nervous system for sleep.
10:30–11:00p Lights Outrecovery
Blackout shades. Thermostat 70°F (would prefer 67° but wife and toddler outvote me). WHOOP + Oura tracking. Target 7.5–8 hours.
Hydration
First thing in, every day. ~20oz of water before anything else — before coffee, before supplements, before the phone. After 7–8 hours of sleep your body is dehydrated. Rehydrating before caffeine is non-negotiable; the difference in morning alertness is noticeable, and WHOOP confirms it with lower resting heart rates on well-hydrated mornings.
Throughout the day I target a minimum of 100oz, though the real goal is closer to 150oz. Working in a cubicle makes this easy to track — same bottle, refill and count.
Supplement Stack
Intentionally simple. I’ve tested dozens and cut everything that didn’t move a measurable needle in bloodwork or biometrics. What remains earned its place.
Longevity MixDaily
9:30–10:30a
Foundational daily greens + micronutrient blend. Mixed in water with creatine. Covers the baseline so I’m not stacking 15 individual capsules.
Creatine MonohydrateDaily · 5g
9:30–10:30a
Most studied supplement in existence. Cognitive benefits, strength, recovery. No cycling needed. Mixed with Longevity Mix — tasteless, effortless, compounding.
Blueprint Omega-3 (Algae Oil)Daily · 2 capsules
9:30–10:30a
800mg EPA/DHA from algae — the source fish get their omega-3 from, without the ocean contaminants. 1:1 EPA/DHA ratio in delayed-release capsules for better absorption. Supports brain, heart, and joint health. Currently tracking to measure impact on inflammation markers in upcoming blood panels.
Men’s One A DayDaily
Morning
Insurance policy. Fills micronutrient gaps. Blood panels consistently show no deficiencies — and that’s the point.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil3–4x/week
With meals
2 tablespoons, high polyphenol count. The Mediterranean longevity data has been there for decades. Anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, and gut health benefits. Goes on basically everything at dinner.
Woke AF Pre-WorkoutGym days only
Pre-training
Only on lift days. Always well before the 4pm caffeine cutoff. I’ve tested several — this one doesn’t wreck my sleep architecture according to Oura data.
What I don’t take: No testosterone boosters, no nootropic stacks, no “longevity pills” with unproven compounds. If the evidence is thin or the bloodwork doesn’t move, it gets cut. I’d rather have conviction in 6 than hope in 15.
Nutrition
Mediterranean-leaning, high protein, high fiber, not obsessively tracked. I’m not counting macros to the gram — I’m building a sustainable framework that keeps blood panels clean and body composition stable year-round.
Principles
High protein (~180g/day across meals + two 30g shakes). Whole foods first. EVOO and fish as primary fat sources. Vegetables at every meal. Fiber at every opportunity. Minimal processed food.
The Home Advantage
Sabrina is pescatarian, so dinner is fish- and vegetable-heavy by default. This is a structural advantage — I don’t have to choose healthy options, they’re just what we eat. Chicken rounds out the protein on meals I handle.
Hard Rules
No caffeine after 4pm. Alcohol ~1x/month max. Dinner done by ~6:45pm for a 3.5–4 hour buffer before sleep. These three rules moved my sleep metrics more than any supplement.
Typical Day — Meals
7:30–11aProtein shake — Bryan Johnson Metabolic Protein or Premier Protein. ~160 cal, 30g protein. Light, functional, no crash.
11a–12pLunch — Mediterranean-style when possible. High protein, vegetables, healthy fats. No heavy carb-dominant meals that cause an afternoon crash.
~5:00pProtein shake #2 — Another 30g protein. Bridges lunch to dinner and keeps daily totals on target without forcing huge meals.
6:00–6:45pDinner — Fish, chicken, vegetables, EVOO. High fiber focus. Timing flexes with toddler life but the goal is done well before bed.
Training
Push/Pull/Legs rotation, 3–4 sessions per week at Crunch Fitness. Either 11:30am midday or 3:30pm afternoon slot depending on the workday. Golf once a week. Active 6.4 days/week on average.
Push Day
Bench press, overhead press, incline dumbbell press, lateral raises, tricep work. Progressive overload on compounds, accessories to fatigue.
Pull Day
Deadlifts or barbell rows, pull-ups, cable rows, face pulls, bicep work. Back thickness and posterior chain are the priority.
Leg Day
Squats, Romanian deadlifts, leg press, walking lunges, calf raises. Highest WHOOP strain — avg 12.4 vs 10.2 upper body.
Active Recovery
Golf (weekly), outdoor walks after work and weekends, light mobility. WHOOP shows HRV improves more with active recovery than full rest days.
By The Numbers
59 min avg session
10.2 avg WHOOP strain
46 VO2 Max (+31% in 14mo)
Daily Movement
Working on-site in a cubicle means movement has to be intentional. I take multiple step breaks throughout the day — walks around the building, stairwells, anything to break up long seated stretches. My WHOOP data confirms that days with more distributed movement produce better recovery scores than days where I train hard but sit the other 15 hours.
Outdoor walks are a priority after work when possible and especially on weekends. Sunlight, fresh air, low-strain movement — cheapest longevity intervention there is.
Sleep Optimization
Sleep is the multiplier. Every other protocol element delivers diminished returns on bad sleep. I treat it like the most important appointment of the day.
~9:00pScreens off — All screens down 1–1.5 hours before bed. No TV in the bedroom. Phone charges outside the room.
10:00–10:30pStretch — 10–15 minutes light stretching targeting whatever was worked that day or prior. Nothing intense — mobility maintenance and a signal to wind down.
10:15–10:35pDeep breathing — 5 minutes controlled breathwork. Designed to lower resting heart rate and downregulate the nervous system. Oura shows measurably lower nighttime RHR on nights I do this vs skip it.
10:30–11:00pLights out — Blackout shades. Thermostat 70°F (compromise — ideal would be 67° but wife and toddler outvote me). WHOOP + Oura tracking. Target 7.5–8 hours.
The Three Rules That Changed My Sleep
~1x/mo
Alcohol (near-zero)
+12% avg HRV vs regular drinking
4pm
Caffeine cutoff
+18min avg deep sleep
3.5hr+
No food before bed
+6pts avg Oura sleep score
Tracking & Measurement
If I can’t measure it, I can’t optimize it. Every decision in this protocol is informed by data, not vibes.
WHOOP 4.0WORN 24/7
Primary strain and recovery tracker. HRV, resting heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temp, blood oxygen, workout strain. Recovery score drives daily training decisions.
Oura Ring Gen 4WORN 24/7
Primary sleep architecture tracker. Superior at detecting sleep stages and cardiovascular age. 600+ nights continuous data. CV age: 25 (chronological: 33).
Don’t DieGLOBAL RANK #97
Aggregates WHOOP, Oura, and manual inputs into a single longevity score. Functional age: 23.5 — nearly a decade younger than chronological.
Quarterly Blood PanelsEVERY 3 MONTHS
Comprehensive metabolic panel, lipids, hormones, inflammation markers, vitamin levels. 41 biomarkers tracked. Zero currently out of range. Wearables show trends — bloodwork shows facts.
What I Quit (and What the Data Showed)
Removing things is just as important as adding them. These are the biggest wins from subtraction.
Alcohol → ~1x/Month MaxI haven’t eliminated alcohol entirely, but the data made cutting back easy. A night out (5–6 drinks) tanks my HRV by 20–35% and suppresses deep sleep by 30+ minutes — effects that linger into the next day. I still go out maybe once a month, but I go in with eyes open knowing the biometric cost. The data doesn’t lie: every time I drink, the next 24–48 hours of recovery data takes a visible hit.
Late-night eating → EliminatedEating within 2 hours of bed elevated resting heart rate by 5–8 BPM overnight and reduced Oura sleep scores by an average of 6 points. Now I maintain a 3.5–4 hour buffer with dinner done by ~6:45pm.
Excessive supplements → Cut to 6Tested ashwagandha, magnesium threonate, NAD+ precursors, collagen peptides, and a dozen others. Most showed no measurable impact after 60+ day trials. I’d rather have conviction in 6 than hope in 15.
The Operating Philosophy
I run my health the same way I run operations at work: systems over willpower, data over intuition, consistency over intensity. The boring truth is that a protocol you actually follow beats the “optimal” protocol you abandon in three weeks.
This protocol is designed to survive real life — a demanding job managing seven retail locations, a toddler, a marriage, travel, stress, holidays. If a habit can’t survive all of those, it doesn’t belong in the system.
I’m not trying to live forever. I’m trying to be the strongest, sharpest, most present version of myself for as long as possible — for Emmett, for Sabrina, and for the work I care about.