Scott’s Age 35 Health and Fitness “Protocol”

I’ve been asked by a few BiggerPockets Money listeners about my Fitness and Health Plan.

I’ll start with a disclaimer here. I am no “Fitfluencer”, and have no intention of diving deeply into this space, beyond this blog post and maybe 1 more follow up. I am not an elite athlete, and I am very privileged to have the time, money, and space in my house to build a luxury home gym complete with a sauna to pursue my fitness goals with essentially no excuses.

My plan here is self-researched, and heavily influenced by Mike Matthews, with a spin to bias, where there’s wiggle room, to lifts I grew comfortable with back in high school. Special shout out to my old football coach, Tom Gruneberg. My weekly workout log still has quotes on the bottom of my printouts, embedded in the depths of the Excel formatting, that provide sage wisdom like, “If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak.”

A significant portion of the weightlifting, diet, and supplement portions of this plan are derived directly from Mike Matthews’ excellent work in Bigger, Leaner, Stronger, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger (I consider myself beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger and also not realistically capable of implementing the optimized approach in Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger) and his work over at Legion Athletics.

This is also heavily influenced by the work of Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman, and others. It is not a perfect application of the very best that science has to offer – it is my application that is realistic in my setting, with my resources, and tailored to my constraints.

The Goal: Build a Body that:

1. Looks Strong and Lean.
2. Meets Objectively High Strength and Aerobic Fitness Standards for my Age.
3. Keeps me looking and feeling young and energized.

Philosophy: 

Cardiorespiratory fitness (Usually expressed via VO2 max) is the one of the strongest correlates to longevity, brain function, and mood regulation. 

Muscle mass is a strong independent correlate to the same.

The above two goals conflict but are still worth pursuing simultaneously – VO2 max directly penalizes me for having significant muscle mass, and for increasing it further from here. My cardiovascular health is much better measured via my 5K and 1 mile times, my absolute oxygen capacity, and my resting heart rate.

Secondary fitness expressions, including explosive power (which declines rapidly after age 35), and mobility create adaptations that improve quality of life everywhere else and/or speed recovery.

The training required to express elite combined fitness (sub-5:30 mile + Advanced to Elite powerlifting totals + advanced to elite explosive measurements in areas like broad jump, hang clean, vertical jump, 40m sprint, and med ball throw) creates adaptations that cascade into every area of life.

Advanced strength and muscle mass have multiplicative benefits for men aging 35-45 in improving appearance, bloodflow, testosterone, brain function, and self-confidence.

I’d also like to, within reasonable constraints, slow facial aging, slow hairline recession, and applies smart science to brain function.

My Advantages and Constraints:

• For now, I constrain my supplement stack to Fish Oil, Multivitamin, Protein, and Creatine and topical facial/hair treatments.
• The plan allows for moderate alcohol (As my wife says, “Whiskey was invented Scotland, perfected in America… and the Irish really tried”) and 20% flexible dieting (junk food, wings, smoked meats, etc.). I accept this as a limitation in realizing “optimal” outcomes.
• My plan is constrained by the following time commitments:
  • I will commit to 45-60 minutes, 6 days per week of exercise. 
  • I will commit to 15 minutes, 3X per week as part of, or on top of this for dedicated recovery. 
  • All other components of my plan need to be no more than 1-2 minute extensions of basic routines (shower/morning routine, food prep, etc.)
• My unique advantages are:
  • Home gym and flexible schedule: This is a double bonus, because I can work out in any free hour in a given day, AND bring my work with me, completing emails while resting 3+ minutes between lifting sets. 
  • My active lifestyle – walks, bikes, hikes, skiing are fun family activities for me, and work naturally with this plan.
  • Meaningful initial and ongoing budget:
    • $15K+ all-in for home gym, home sauna, bikes, peloton bike and tread, and more.
    • $200+ per month supplement, subscription, and recreational budget (includes annual ski pass, equipment)

Components: 

1. Weightlifting (Goals by December 31st 2026 – 305X6 Bench, 355X6 Squat, 455X6 Deadlift – downgraded – the cross training really took it’s toll this year!)

• 4X Per week Powerlifting Program 
• Focuses on Squat, Bench, Deadlift, and Military/Overhead
• Warm up routine, then 1-2 power movements for sets of 5 (broad/vertical jump, explosive pushups, med ball slams, push press, popper, etc.)
• Ancillary Exercises to bulk up and emphasize certain muscles
• 4 Week cycle: 4 movements, per workout, each movement receives 3X8 (setsXreps) week 1, 3X6 week 2, 3X4 week 3, deload/Yoga week 4, reset
• Emphasis on Squat as first exercise targeted with full energy (Worst Relative Current Lift) 
• Sets are hard but not to the point of injury risk – 2-3 RIR on keystone lifts, 0-1 for secondary / ancillary lifts
• 3 minutes recovery between sets for keystone lifts, 2 minutes+ for secondary. 

2. Cardio Goal 22:30 5K Time at Sea Level – Achieved! July 4th 2026 22:19 5K at 220 lbs!

• 1X Intervals/Speed – All out. 400M repeats, 800M repeats, 1000M repeats, deload, reset
• 1X Threshold Run – 2x 8minute threshold blocks, 2x 10M threshold blocks, 15M threshold block, deload, reset
• 2-5 weekly 45-90 minute walks, easy runs bikes, hikes, rucks, or play (focus on strict nasal breathing on truly easy stuff)

3. Diet (Goal Achieve and Maintain <15% Body Fat)

• 2750 Calories when Maintaining
• 3000 Calories when Bulking
• 2500 Calories when Cutting
• Watermelon is my cheat food – I do not count towards calorie target, even if I gorge. Accept this will delay progress when cutting.
• 215g Protein, flexible balance of Carbs/Fat (leans carb)
• Generally healthy, diverse foods
• Often eat Superfoods
• Eat healthy, 2-4 meals per day
• 1 Scoop Costco/Whey Protein supplement within 60 minutes of each strength workout. 
• Banana, sourdough, or apple prior to lift / run.
• Drink 1 LMNT packet in 1 liter of water every morning. 3-4 liters of water/day.

4. Recovery (Goal: Stay Injury Free Year-Round)

• Supplement with 2X Scoops protein Powder daily
• 5-10g Creatine per day (gummies or powder, varies throughout the year)
• High quality Fish Oil with high Omega 3 concentration like the one here.
• Well-Researched Multivitamin – Legion Triumph (includes magnesium 200 mg and Vitamin D 2000 iu)
• 7-8 hours of sleep or more
• 1+ Full recovery day per week
• 1 Deload week every 6 weeks or less (target every 4 weeks)
• 1 Easy Run (3x) only week every 6 weeks or less
• Sauna post strength or 1-2 hours before bed

5. Skincare and Haircare (Goal: Delay Aging and keep my hair)

• Haircare routine daily (minoxidil, no DHA blocker)
• Skincare routine:
  • SPF 30 Daily
  • Rinse face in Shower
  • CE Ferulic topical
  • Moisturizer
  • Eye moisturizer
  • Retinol/Retinal in evening

6. Prevention and Screening (Goal: Detect health problems early and correct pre-emptively)

• Annual Dermatology Scan
• Colonoscopy at 45
• 2X per year dentist visit, once every 2.5 year vision screen
• 2X Annual Bloodwork:
  • ApoB
  • LPa (one time, upcoming Q3 2026)
  • Full Metabolic Panel (Fasting Glucose, A1C, Liver/Kidney Enzymes
  • Lipid Panel: LDL, HDL, triglycerides
  • hs-CRP: inflammation – scrap this.
  • Hormones: testosterone, SHBG (sec hormone binding globule), estradiol, TSH, free T3/T4
  • Vitamin D + B12
  • CBC (complete blood count)
• Annual (may switch to quarterly) DEXA Scan

Current Numbers (August 2026): 

– Squat 335 X 6

– Bench 275 X 6

– Deadlift 425 X 6

– 5K 22:19 minutes

– Body Fat estimate: 18% (Visual estimate, no DEXA Scan)

– Waist – 34 Inches

– Weight 220 lbs

– Height 6’1 Inch

– Resting Heart Rate 46

– No blood work Data yet

– HR, HRV, and other metrics tracked daily with Garmin Watch

Targets by 12/31/2026

– Squat 355 X 6 

– Bench 305 X 6

– Deadlift 455 X 6

– Sub 22:30 5K (Achieved July 2026 22:19)

– Sub 5:45 mile at sea level

– Body Fat 15%, Weight ~207 lbs

*I recently joined the affiliate program for Legion after having pursued the program developed by Mike Matthews and followed the advice on his site and in his books for the past year.