Addendum

to How To Live Forever

Ch.7 Workout Protocol

After decades of consistent training I can tell you what it feels like from the inside: working out every other day feels like subtracting one day of aging from the calendar. The recovery day is when the biology actually happens. Working out every day would eliminate the recovery cycle and with it most of the benefit.

A February 2026 GeroScience study of 309 participants found resistance training slowed brain aging by 1.4 to 2.3 years measured by MRI-derived brain aging clocks. The heavy resistance training group specifically showed increased prefrontal functional connectivity — enhanced communication in the brain regions governing decision-making and executive function. The workout protocol maintains the brain architecture that makes choosing to run the protocol possible.

Codewell, C., “Strength Training May Slow Brain Aging by Up to 2.3 Years, Study Finds“, 09/17/2026, Natural News

The Workout Protocol chapter already makes the BDNF argument and the brain health case for resistance training. This adds MRI-clock validation with specific year measurements — 1.4 to 2.3 years of brain age reduction — which is exactly the kind of quantifiable outcome the book uses throughout.

“Randomized controlled trial of resistance exercise and brain aging clocks“, GeroScience. February 2026. doi: 10.1007/s11357-026-02141-x