It’s January 2nd.
By now, the “New Year, New Me” crowd is already sore, hungry, and looking for an exit strategy. They set vague resolutions based on guilt. They signed up for gym memberships they won’t use in February. They are trying to “fix” themselves because they feel broken.
That is not how we operate here.
If you’re reading this, you aren’t interested in the standard narrative of “aging gracefully.” You know that “gracefully” is usually code for “quietly accepting decline.” You are here because you want to age disruptively and embrace High-Performance Aging. This approach focuses on achieving a vibrant, energetic, and resilient aging experience through High-Performance Aging.
We don’t do resolutions. We do audits. We look at the data, cut the liabilities, and double down on the assets.
To dominate 2026, you don’t need more willpower. You need a better protocol. Here is your High-Performance Keep/Toss List for the coming year.
TOSS: What to Leave in 2025
1. The “Maintenance Mode” Mindset The biggest lie sold to people over 50 is that you should just try to “hold on” to what you have. Biology doesn’t work that way. You are either anabolic (building) or catabolic (breaking down). There is no neutral.
- The Shift: Stop exercising to “burn calories” or “stay the same.” Start training to build. If you aren’t challenging your capacity, your capacity is shrinking.
2. “Gentle” Cardio as Your Primary Movement Walking is great. Walking is essential. But walking is not enough. If your entire fitness strategy is low-intensity movement, you are ignoring the fast-twitch muscle fibers that keep you independent and explosive.
- The Shift: Leave the “fear of intensity” in 2025. You don’t need to be reckless, but you need to be breathless. Rucking, intervals, or heavy carries need to replace the endless elliptical sessions.
3. Ignoring Your Sleep Architecture “I just don’t sleep well anymore” is an excuse, not a diagnosis. Wearing the “I only need 5 hours” badge of honor is a one-way ticket to cognitive decline and hormonal imbalance.
- The Shift: Stop treating sleep like a luxury. It is your primary performance drug. If you aren’t tracking it, you aren’t managing it.
KEEP: The Non-Negotiables
1. Heavy Resistance Training This is the 401(k) of your physiology. Muscle mass is the organ of longevity. It regulates your glucose, protects your joints, and predicts your survival rate.
- The Protocol: If you lifted in 2025, keep doing it—but get stronger. Progressive overload is the key. If you aren’t lifting, you are voluntarily winding down.
2. Radical Ownership of Your Schedule You’ve spent decades building a career and raising a family. You’ve earned the right to say “no.”
- The Protocol: Continue to guard your time fiercely. Stress is cortisol, and chronic cortisol is the enemy of the aging brain. Prioritize deep work and deep connection.
3. Protein Prioritization As we age, we become “anabolically resistant.” We need more protein just to get the same muscle-building signal we got in our 20s.
- The Protocol: Keep focusing on high-quality protein at every meal. It fuels the machine.
AUTOMATE: The 2026 Upgrades (Biohacks)
This is where we separate the “healthy” from the “high-performers.” In 2026, we are using technology to gain an unfair advantage.
1. Red Light Therapy & PEMF We mentioned this in our welcome email for a reason. Cellular energy (ATP) naturally drops as we age. Red Light Therapy (Photobiomodulation) and PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) therapy aren’t sci-fi; they are tools to recharge your mitochondria.
- The Upgrade: Stop hoping for energy. Generate it. Make 10 minutes of morning light or red light therapy a non-negotiable system, not a “nice to have.”
2. Data Over Feelings “I feel fine” is a dangerous metric. High blood pressure and insulin resistance are silent until they aren’t.
- The Upgrade: This year, get the data. Whether it’s a wearable to track your HRV (Heart Rate Variability) or a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) to see how that “healthy” oatmeal actually affects your blood sugar. You can’t hack what you don’t measure.
The Bottom Line
The world expects you to slow down this year. The world expects you to complain about your joints, your energy, and “the good old days.”
Let them.
While they wind down, we rewire. While they reminisce, we rebuild.
Take this list. Audit your routine. And let’s make 2026 the year you stop aging gracefully and start living with fire.
Welcome to the tribe.
