Science is boring. Call me a simpleton, but I don’t want to listen to three-and-a-half-hour podcasts and hour long speeches and deep dives into the minutiae of data, research, studies, hypotheses, counter studies and convoluted mixed messages of what we should and should not be doing all in the name of health and wellness.
I’m interested in health and wellness, not biohacking.
Big difference.
We’ve over-indexed and have men thinking that if they don’t do all of these things, take all of these things, hack every aspect of their health and spend countless hours, time, energy and money all in the name of longevity, then they’re not going to be “optimized.”
And it’s wrong.
I have other things in my life that are much bigger priorities—like my kids, my wife, my business, finances, friends, fun and my actual health and wellness.
When it comes to health, longevity, fitness, nutrition, recovery, and subscribing to all of the science, and listening to the Hubermans, Mark Hymans, David Perlmutter’s, and the rest – the vast majority of it is completely impractical, unrelatable, unattainable, unsustainable, undesirable and not even aspirational for me to try to live by.
I had dinner with Don Saladino on Friday night in Palm Beach just before the Eudemonia Summit began and we got to talking about the basics.
What actually really works in application.
What we’ve experienced in 30 years of trial and error. Testing and retesting. And quite frankly, we’re doing pretty fucking well for a couple of men in their late 40s and early 50s; who are husbands, fathers, run businesses, AND prioritize our health, fitness and overall wellness.
I was captivated by Timbaland’s story at Eudemonia, and his personal transformation to lose over 100 pounds and get healthy. I enjoyed hearing exactly how he did it alongside his trainer Phil Daru and how it encompassed the simple, measurable, quantifiable basics along with discipline and consistency. No hacks, no shortcuts. And each time Dave Asprey kept trying to take him down some obscure rabbit hole he was just like “Nah, man…”
And that’s what I want to get at in this Viewpoint.
There’s a lot of whitespace between being unhealthy, sedentary and complacent about your health as you age versus constantly running tests, protocols, overtraining, biohacking, reading, listening, supplementing and over-applying everything.
Once again, and as always: the middle is the sweet spot.
The greatest emphasis should be placed on determining what health and wellness success looks like for you, establishing a sustainable daily standard, and adhering to it.
Yes, there are all these people out there with degrees, credentials, and initials after their names taking to stages, panels and social media, and becoming niche celebrities.
But what happened to following the advice of a smart personal trainer who’s looking out for you, specifically?
Or following the advice of a nutritionist that you actually meet with and doing the basic work—push, pull, squat, run, hinge, lift. Eat good, clean protein, carbs, limited fats, no alcohol, sugars and get plenty of sleep.
Here’s the significant, drastic, truthful irony: All of these experts, scientists, researchers, PhDs, MDs — everyone else — when you ask them what we should do as normal human beings who want to be better than 99% of the population out there, they tell us exactly that.
“Go back to the basics.”
When put on the spot during his Eudemonia talk and asked what three supplements everyone should take, Andrew Huberman gave the same answer anyone educated on health and fitness would have:
“Assuming you’re exercising regularly and eating a healthy, balanced diet, the top three are Creatine, pre- and probiotics and omega-3’s.”
Done, done & done. You already know this.
Now, I’m not trying to disparage or discourage science or research. I’m thrilled there’s a guy like Huberman out there grinding away in a lab to help us learn more about optimizing our health.
What I’m saying is that you aren’t falling short if you don’t jump into the latest wellness trend or take the hottest supplement or try the cutting-edge device.
The bottom line is this:
I spent three days listening to smartest minds in health, wellness and longevity, from Huberman to Bryan Johnson to Mark Hyman and more, and despite all the science and research and studies and hacks presented, the basics still win:
Exercise regularly. Mix in cardio and weight training and mobility work 4-5 days a week. Eat whole foods with lots of protein, fruits and vegetables. Limit stress. Prioritize getting high quality sleep every night. Don’t drink. Don’t smoke.
But you knew that already.
In Health,
Greg
