Foreword:

First and foremost; if you are reading this resource:

Congratulations on being one step closer to a healthier, happier and more functional you!

This resource is an accumulation of best practices I've collected related to becoming the healthiest and happiest version of yourself. This resource represents about a decade of reading, implementing, testing, iterating and I hope it serves you well.

Your goal may be to run around with your children, grandchildren, walk without that wobble in your left knee or to get more girls. Whatever the case may be: I truly hope that this resource will be an asset to you on your quest. No matter what your current circumstances are, remember that you have the power to change your life.

With gratitude and to your success,

Hans Kang

Additional notes:

  • This is not medical advice. This is a documentation of all of my current health and wellness protocols as a male health hobbyist standing 5’5 and weighing 133lbs.

  • I am not the strongest, fastest, most flexible nor optimized athlete. I am passionate about trying to help people realize their goals in any way I can. This resource represents a never ending effort to share my attempts to be as functional, strong and pain free for as long as possible.

  • About the links in this resource: As someone who loves to learn, teach and help. It was important for me to put together this resource and share it for free. If you would like to support my work: most of the links in this book are affiliate links. When you make a purchase through on of these links, I will get a small kickback at no cost to you. If you do decide to use these links to support my work: I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Chapter 1: Establishing Your Why

The most important thing you can do before starting an endeavor is to understand why you want to do it in the first place. Without a clear and sincere “reason why” your quest will most likely end in failure in your first moments of difficulty. Below are a few questions that may help to reveal or clarify your motivations.

Write or type your answers to the questions below:

  • How do you feel in your body? Use 5 words to describe the sensation.

  • How would you like to feel in your body? Use 5 words to describe your ideal body and what it would feel like to embody.

  • What does the fit and healthy version of you have, that you currently do not?

  • In your eyes, what are your greatest physical weaknesses?

  • In your own eyes: what are your greatest psychological weaknesses?

  • How important is this to you on a scale of 1-10? Why not a lower number?

  • Have you tried getting into shape before? What has prevented you from succeeding in teh past? How can you make sure you are not stopped in the same way?

  • What are your challenges in life right now?

  • What are the things that are most likely to cause you to fail this time around?

  • How would you feel if nothing had changed in 1 year? How would this feel?

  • How will feel 1 year from when you have succeeded in improving your health?

  • The 7 Whys: ask yourself why you want to improve your health, then to your response: ask “why” again. Repeat this until you have asked yourself “Why” 7 times. This exercise will help you give to the true roots of your motivation.

Human motivation can be categorized into two buckets. Every action we take is fueled by either an:

  • Internal motivation or

  • External motivation

Human motivation can be further categorized into two buckets. Every action we take aims to accomplish one of two things:

  • To experience pleasure (chase heaven)

  • To avoid pain (escape hell)

Furthermore:

  • Internal motivators tend to be stronger than external motivators.

  • Pain and pleasure are not equally weighted in the mind. Pain is more painful than pleasure is pleasurable.

Knowing this: the most effective motivators are those which make us feel as if we are escaping an internal hell.

If we want to take it a step further, can can run away from a future we don’t want, and chase a future we do want at the same time. A person is maximally motivated when they are simultaneously:

  • Chasing internal heaven: “If you could have exactly what you wanted - what would that actually look like?”

  • Escaping internal hell: “What kind of future / what kind of future pain do you want to avoid at all cost?”

Actionable step #1:

Write down all of your reasons why: whether they are internal or external or something you are chasing or running away from.

Further reading & Resources:

Chapter 2: Establishing a Visual Baseline

Day to day, it can be difficult to feel that you are making any progress at all. A useful exercise in times like these is to extend the timeline of your judgement to encompass the last few weeks, months or even years. The purpose of this chapter is to do just that: to set a visual benchmark your future self can look back on to to see how far you've come.

It may be tough to bring yourself to do this: especially if you have never done something like this before or don't like the way you look. There may be feelings of shame, nervousness or embarrassment associated with taking this type of action but I promise you that in 3, 6, 9, 12 months from now - you will be able to see how far you have come and that you will be incredibly proud of yourself.. So do the thing: take the pictures and commit to making a change today.

Actionable step #2:

  • Take photos of your current self (front, side, back) and print them out.

  • Staple your answers to the questions from chapter 1, your visual baseline, and your “reasons why” together and place them somewhere you will be able to see them every day.

Chapter 3: Sleep & Recovery

You probably did not expect a book on how to achieve the body of your dreams to start with sleep - yet here we are. It is my belief that sleep is the most fundamental and important pillar of a healthy life, and I take it extremely seriously. It is my belief that without sleep, all other efforts mentioned in this resource would be fruitless. For the average person I would recommend getting between 7-9 hours of sleep. You may be one of the rare few who are able to operate well on 4-5 hours of sleep but statistically: if you were to take the percentage of the population who fell into this category and round that number up, it would be 0%. My strong belief of the value of sleep comes primarily from four sources:

General tips for better sleep:

  • If you are trying to reset your sleep schedule: waking up at the same time is more important than falling asleep at the same time

  • Get 20 minutes of sunlight in the morning outside thanks, Huberman Labs

  • No caffeine after 12pm noon

  • Develop a nightly wind down routine

  • Sleep in complete darkness with the help of a sleep mask

My personal wind down routine:

  • Writing out any emotionally stirring thoughts onto a sheet of paper

  • Gratitude journaling (one thing I learned, one blessing I gave to another, one blessing bestowed onto me, 3 things I am grateful for)

  • Planning the next day

  • Reading

Other products I use to help me sleep:

Other forms of rest:

  • Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)

  • Naps (I try to keep mine around 20 minutes, or 90 minutes if I have more time)

Chapter 4: Diet

This is the point of failure for most people. For me, the key to remaining on a consistently healthy diet is to make it as easy as possible to give my body what it wants and needs. To accomplish this, I:

  • Eat mostly the same foods every day, prepared in the same way

  • Use a blender and an air fryer to cook and eat faster

My current protocol is draws heavily from the work of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint.

General Diet Guidelines: Thanks again, Dr. Chatterjee

  • Denormalize sugar (no more processed carbs)

  • Eat five different vegetables every day

  • Eat your food within an 8 hour window

  • Drink 8 glasses of water a day

  • Avoid processed foods, or foods with more than 5 ingredients

  • If you are going to eat out: choose healthy and unprocessed alternatives. Example: Sushi > Hamburgers, fries, and beer

My Personal Diet: I stand 5'5 (165cm) at 133lbs (60kg). I eat two meals a day

Morning: 9am

  • 3 scrambled eggs + rice + cheese + 1 pickle + nuts + prunes

  • Modified Nutty Pudding

Evening: 8pm

  • Protein (steak, chicken, pork, fish) + rice + fermented stuff (pickles, kimchi, pickled radish, etc..)

  • Modified Super Veggie

Modified Super Veggie Recipe: 1 portion. I cook three days worth at a time and use a blender to process mine into a paste.

  • Black lentils, 45 grams dry, ~150 grams cooked

  • Broccoli, 250 grams

  • Cauliflower, 150 grams

  • Shiitake or Maitake mushrooms, 50 grams

  • Garlic, 1 clove (a piece)

  • Ginger root, 3 grams

  • Lime juice, 1

  • Cumin, 1 tbsp

  • Apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp

  • Hemp seeds, 1 tbsp

  • Honey, 2 tbsp

Modified Nutty Pudding Recipe: 1 portion. I blend three days worth at a time and store in the fridge.

  • Water, 35ml

  • Macadamia Nuts, 2 tbsp

  • Almonds, 2 tbsp

  • Walnuts, 2 tbsp

  • Chia Seeds, 2 tbsp

  • Ceylon Cinnamon, 1 tsp

  • Berries (strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries), 1/4 cup

  • Honey, 1 tbsp

  • Ripe / Overripe Bananas, 1

  • Brazil Nuts, 1 tbsp

  • Flax Seed, 2 tbsp

  • Lemon Juice, 1 tsp

Instructions on How to Cook Super Veggie and Nutty Pudding

Equipment I use to prepare meals:

Chapter 5: Supplements

Morning Supplements:

Evening Supplements:

Chapter 6: Workouts

My workout routine is designed to keep me feeling: strong and mobile with pain free posture. The three hallmarks of physical youth are: VO2 max, explosiveness and grip strength. As someone who is trying to remain as physically young as possible, I address each of these aspects separately.

My workout routine is heavily based off the work of:

Below is my weekly workout routine complete with exercises, reps and sets. This is not medical advice or whatever, simply a documentation of exactly what I do on a weekly basis.

Monday: ATG 1
Floor 1:

  • Stretch big toes

  • Forward / backwards sled

  • tibialis strengthening

Small elevation:

  • Single leg slant board calf stretch

  • ATG Split squats

Big elevation:

  • Incline pigeon pose (internal and external hip rotation)

  • Couch stretch

  • Regular nordics with nordic bar (attachment on squat bar)

  • Jefferson curl

  • Seated good morning

  • Sissy squat

  • Lat stretch / bench pullover

Floor 2:

  • Reverse Nordics

  • Butterfly stretch (weights + lift with groin)

  • L-Sit / seated hip training

  • Bridges

  • Shoulder external rotation (90 degree angle on arm)

Back extension machine:

  • Back extension (glutes / hamstring /lower back variations)

  • Trap 3 raise (y raise on incline bench)

  • QL training

Incline bench:

  • Powell raise (rear delt on incline bench)

Pull up Bar:

  • Reverse squat on floor or bar (knees to chest) or knees to chest

Parallettes:

  • Deep pushups

Barbell:

  • Rows

Tuesday: Tricking, explosivity

  • Work towards practicing up to and unlocking next progression(s)

Wednesday: Super Murph

  • Pullups / L-sit Pullups / Muscle ups (5)

  • Pushups / Decline pushups / Dips (10)

  • Squats / Lunge lunge squat / Jumping squats throwing arms overhead (15)

  • Jackknives (15)

  • Supermans / Medicine ball y flies (15)

  • Jumping Lunges with weight / Walking orbit with overhead weight

Thursday: ATG 2 (same routine as ATG 1)

Friday: Bouldering + Sprints, grip strength + HITT

  • Boulder for an hour or two for fun, can be social

  • 5 sets of 1:30 min sprints on the upstairs treadmill (at least 0.25 miles)

  • 5 sets of 20 sec sprints on the downstairs treadmill

Saturday: Long run, VO2 Max

  • 40 minutes of zone 2 inside or outside

Sunday: rest day or light recovery workout

Chapter 7: Lifestyle Adjustments

If you work at a desk I would highly recommend setting up a walking desk, complete with a treadmill or at the very least: a standing desk. As someone who regularly spends 6-8 hours in front of my computer, the walking desk was a huge improvement for me. Within weeks of using it I noticed I had:

  • Better breathing / less shortness of breath

  • Better stools

  • Better sleep regulation

Other recommendations for a healthier life:

  • Incorporating "movement snacks". Short breaks where you allow yourself to walk away from the screen, stretch your legs, and move your body.

  • Minimalist shoes for daily use

  • Getting involved in physical activities or hobbies that you enjoy. For me, these are bouldering and tricking. For you it could be basketball, dance, roller skating or even theater. Anything that gets you off your butt and moving!

The End?

That’s all for now. This resource will continue to be updated when I find new exercises, or protocols, or when I would like to add or change something I think may be useful to you. I thank you, and sincerely hope that this resource has been useful to you. If you have any recommendations or would like to get in touch - you may do so on my contact page.

Until next time.

With love,

Hans Kang