Subject: 7 science-backed exercises that reverse aging
From: Dan Go <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 16:31:36 +0000 (UTC)

​
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A few months ago, a client named Robert told me something I
haven’t been able to shake.

He’s 58, fell on a ski trip, and couldn’t get up without help. He
said the worst part wasn’t the embarrassment. It was the moment
afterward, when he realized his body had quietly stopped being
something he could rely on.

I think about this a lot because most of what we call aging isn't
aging at all. It's the slow accumulation of damage due to lack of
use.

You get weaker when you stop loading your body. Joints get
tighter when you stop using them through their full range. Power
fades faster than strength. Your cardiovascular engine declines
the moment you stop pushing it.

The body is adaptable at any age. The trick is that you only get
to keep what you use.

In today’s newsletter, I’m sharing the 7 exercises I’ve built my
own training around, plus the ones we use with clients in their
40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Each one targets a specific science-backed capacity you lose with
age.

You ready? Let's go 🔥

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#1 - Bar Hangs
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​
If you sit for 8 hours a day, take a good look in the mirror. You
might see your head pushed forward, your shoulders rolled in, and
your upper back curled. The modern desk worker is starting to
look like a croissant.

Researchers call it Upper Cross Syndrome, and the data isn’t
pretty. It’s linked to chronic neck pain, reduced lung capacity,
shoulder impingement, and tension headaches. Desk workers are the
demographic that gets hit the hardest.

The antidote is hanging. Grab a bar, let your body weight pull
you long, and let gravity do the work in reverse. The spine
decompresses, the shoulders open, the chest stretches, and the
lats wake up.

Start with 10 seconds, and place your feet on a chair if you need
to take some weight off. Build up to 30-second hangs, and work up
to 2 to 3 minutes a day, broken up however you want. Hang every
day, and your body slowly uncurls. You start to stand like
someone who owns the room again.

--------------------
#2 - The Asian Squat
--------------------

​
This isn't an exercise. It's the human resting position your body
was designed for.

A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found
that adults who struggled to sit down and rise from the floor
without support were nearly six times more likely to die within
six years.

We lose the ability to sit in a squat position, but we can get it
back through proper training.

Keep your heels elevated on a book if your ankles are tight.
Chest tall. Hold a door frame for support.

Accumulate 2 to 5 minutes a day. Get comfortable down there
again.

------------------------------
#3 - Zone 2 And REHIT Training
------------------------------

​
Most people approach cardio the wrong way: they work out at a
moderate intensity for 30 minutes, three times a week, and wonder
why their fitness has plateaued. But pros don’t train that way.
They train two cardio systems, and they barely overlap.

Zone 2 builds the engine. It's a pace where you can barely hold a
conversation and your heart rate sits around 60-70% of its max.

This is the zone where your mitochondria multiply and get more
efficient. More mitochondria means more energy, better metabolic
health, and a higher ceiling for everything you do.

REHIT works the heart itself. Reduced-exertion high-intensity
interval training is what happens when scientists stripped HIIT
down to its minimum effective dose. The protocol: 3 minutes of
easy cycling with two 20-second all-out sprints inside it. 10
minutes total.

An 8-week study compared REHIT to traditional moderate-intensity
cardio. The REHIT group improved cardiorespiratory fitness by 12
percent. The moderate cardio group improved by 7 percent. The
REHIT group also saw a 62 percent drop in metabolic syndrome
severity.

Low cardio-respiratory fitness is a strong predictor of early
death, more so than smoking or diabetes. Zone 2 raises your floor
while Rehit raises your ceiling. For a strong cardiovascular
system, we want both.

---------------------------------
#4 - The World's Greatest Stretch
---------------------------------

​
This is one flow that hits four of the joints that lock down
first with age: hips, t-spine, hamstrings, ankles, and shoulders.

Step into a deep lunge, drop your opposite hand to the floor, and
rotate your top arm to the ceiling. Three reps per side. Five
minutes a day.

If you only had time for one mobility drill, this would be it.

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#5 - Plyometrics
----------------

​
Strength fades slowly with age. Power fades twice as fast, around
3 to 4 percent per year after 40.

Power is what catches you when you trip. It's what gets you out
of a chair without thinking about it.

Beginners: ankle pogos and line hops. Stay light, almost silent
on the ground.
​Intermediate: broad jumps, skater bounds, low box jumps.
​Advanced: depth jumps and single-leg bounding.

Two short sessions a week, 5 to 10 minutes each, before a
workout.

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#6 - Loaded Carries
-------------------

​
If I had to pick one strength exercise for the rest of my life,
this would be it.

Carries train grip, core, posture, breathing, and full-body
integrity in a single movement. They also mimic real life.
Groceries, suitcases, your kids, furniture. This is the strength
that shows up when life asks for it.

Loaded carries are among the best exercises for spinal stability
and core integrity.

Start with a suitcase carry: one heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in
one hand, 30 seconds per side, walking tall.

Progress to farmer's carries with both hands, then heavier loads
and longer distances.

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#7 - The Hip Hinge
------------------

​
Bar hangs fix what sitting does to your upper body. The hip hinge
fixes the lower body.

Sit 8 hours a day, and your glutes, the biggest muscle group in
your body, go quiet. Stuart McGill calls this gluteal amnesia.
The lower back and hamstrings take over jobs they were never
built for. It's why so many men in their 40s have chronic back
pain even though they're "active."

The hip hinge wakes the posterior chain back up. Strong glutes
mean a stable spine, healthy knees, and a lower body that picks
things up off the ground for the next 40 years.

Beginner: kettlebell deadlift. Push your hips back, drive the
floor away. Three sets of eight.
​Intermediate: kettlebell swing. Two or three sets of 10 to 20.
​Advanced: trap bar deadlift and low back extensions.

The hinge is the lift that ages best. Done right, it's a strength
move you keep doing in your 70s.

***************************
The Body Keeps What You Use
***************************

Most people lose their independence in one capacity at a time,
and they never see it happening until something breaks.

I consider these seven movements non-negotiable because each one
helps your body maintain something it will quietly give up if you
lose it and starts compensating.

I'm 46. I plan to be more capable at 76 than I am today. Not
because I'm chasing youth, but because I refuse to give up things
I can keep with a few hours of work a week.

The body keeps what you use. Use it on purpose.

Onward and upward. 🚀

- Dan

P.S. The Lean Body Mastery group for May is filling up.

If you're over 40, your body is the operating system everything
else runs on. Your business, your relationships, your energy,
your future. Let it decline, and everything else declines with
it.

If you've got 15+ pounds to lose and a body that's started
feeling older than you are, my team and I will get you stronger,
leaner, and more capable in 4 months.

​Click here to apply (
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Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and
informational purposes only and does not constitute providing
medical advice or professional services. The information provided
should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or
disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult
with a licensed physician.

​

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