Level 1

• Print out and build up your exercise towards this slowly, so as to avoid injury.
• ALWAYS use good, non-worn-down correct trainers. I can't stress this enough. 
• Cut it out and stick to your monitor using bluetac.
• This protocol is correctly balanced for 3-4 hrs moderate 2-3 hours vigorous

iOS app: Download here. Android not available until 2022.

Cost: Free

METTracker app is a great app for tracking your weekly exercise and whether you reach the minimum amount of exercise across the week (18 MET hours per week).

METs are 'metabolic equivalents' i.e. how many times harder your metabolism is working than sitting down doing nothing. METs are the gold standard for tracking exercise to ensure you get the health benefits.

Be sure to type in 'mettracker' with two t's in your phone's app store to find the app.

These types exercise bands are my preference for strength training, they are portable, can be used for different strength levels and low risk of injury.

I do 20 mins strength training 3 x per week, using bodyweight exercises and exercise bands.

I recommend apple watch for tracking pace during running and walking, as well as heart rate during strength training. This is more convenient than having to get your phone out

Series 3, 38 mm size rather than 42 mm can be bought for around £100 on ebay second hand or £130 on Amazon to save costs. The advantages of the newer versions are not dealbreakers for most people.

Haven't got iPhone?

Any watch that can measure pace and heart rate during exercise will do, Fitbit, polar or galaxy watch for example.

Whoop watch has no display and may lose battery so requires you to open the app during the run, likewise with Strava app. This is why I recommend watch based solutions that don't require the phone to function.

I have tried a lot of apple watch straps, and particularly for men they get caught in your arm or hand hair causing pain. This is the only one that doesn't in my experience.

Make sure to choose one that matches your apple watch's size (38 mm / 42 mm).

You can also add a small piece of transparent present packing tape to around the bottom of the apple watch where the strap joins to prevent hairs getting caught there.

Outside UK

Search for any 'velcro sport strap' similar to this one.

I recommend sticking this to your monitor, where it is the most easy place to see. You will see it a lot and start to learn it!

There are 4 items to 'reduce' (yellow items) and 6 items to 'increase' (blue items).

Purchase link: Amazon UK - £120 (no affiliate)

These scales calculate BMI (weight in kg divided by height in meters^2) and also accurately calculate arterial organ biological age through measuring Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV).

The body fat measure is accurate to +/- 25%, so if it says 16%, your true body fat is 12%-20%.

For reference, my body fat is 5%, my BMI 19 and my PWV 5.5 meters per second.

Scales are used for tracking your diet in cronometer periodically, for portion sizing and for learning how to 'eyeball' how much a certain portion of food weighs.

Cronometer is the gold standard app for measuring caloric intake accurately.

I recommend setting an event in your diary to track your diet using cronometer for 1 week every month.

The 1 hour introductory video to use it can be found here. Essentially you want to make sure foods you add are accurate, and ideally from the NCCDB database rather than USDA or other databases, as this is the most accurate database.

Whilst it requires some skill to learn and master it is still the best diet tracking solution out there, until cronometer develop AI scales and crockery that automatically measure types and weights of food (these are already on the market in basic from Q4 2021).  

It allows you to track all major micro and macronutrients (all vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, omega 3, omega 3, amino acids etc.) and to set custom targets for each.

This is essential for taking supplements. I take AM supplements with breakfast and PM with supper. These meals are the 'triggers' to trigger the 'take supplements' habit.

I recommend buying 2 of these and preparing 2 weeks' supplements in a row.

These ones are easy open from the back so enable much easier and faster filling.

I recommend essentially everyone take this unless they are getting over 500 mg vitamin C a day in cronometer app consistently (e.g. eat a head of broccoli a day).

This makes it easier to reach the optimal intake of 500 mg a day. Ideally this should all be done via food, but for some people this is hard due to side effects of food.

Higher doses of vitamin C, e.g. 1g a day, might not be safe long term, but may be useful short-term during infections, or in people that exercise more than 8 hours a week and get infections often (e.g. athletes).

Dose should be guided by plasma or serum vitamin C level, to reach a blood level of 70 - 100 umol/L.

Studies show, contrary to most doctors knowledge, iodine deficiency in countries where iodated salt is not used (e.g. UK, EU) is very common (see my CRON guide for references).

Kelp or dietary seaweed should not be used in most cases as it is unreliable dose and you are prone to overdose. Potassium iodide is a reliable dose.

Dose should be 50% of RDA (75 micrograms) to prevent iodine deficiency in people without iodine deficiency. Dose should be 100% of RDA (150 micrograms), and only higher if advised by your clinician, in people with diagnosed iodine deficiency.

Dose should be guided by urine iodine, urine iodine:creatinine tests, and blood thyroglobin (which can be used to diagnose iodine deficiency), as well as free T4, free T3 and TSH levels to see if the thyroid responds. Studies show it can take 6 months of 150 micrograms a day iodine to reach a maximum effect on thyroglobin and urine iodine in mild or moderate iodine deficiency.