Compare experts › Gary Brecka vs Brad Stanfield

Gary Brecka vs Brad Stanfield

Gary Brecka (wellness entrepreneur (not a doctor)) and Brad Stanfield (general practitioner (gp)) side by side: how they train, eat, supplement and sleep, how strong the evidence is, and how to build a plan from either or both.

Build a plan from both See the protocols

Words explained (13)

Zone 2: Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
Intervals: Short hard efforts with easy recovery in between, such as 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds slow.
4 × 4: Four rounds of 4 minutes hard with 3 minutes easy in between. Also called Norwegian intervals.
Loaded carry: Walking while holding something heavy, like shopping bags or dumbbells.
Mobility: Moving your joints freely through their full range.
Creatine: A well-studied supplement that supports strength and muscle.
Omega-3 (EPA, DHA): Healthy fats found mostly in oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines.
Fibre: The part of plant foods you don't digest. It feeds healthy gut bacteria and keeps you full.
ApoB: A blood test that counts the particles carrying cholesterol. Linked to heart disease risk.
Mitochondria: The parts of your cells that turn food and oxygen into energy.
Rapamycin, metformin: Prescription drugs that some experts take hoping to slow ageing. Not proven for that, and never part of your plan.
MTHFR, methylation: A gene and the chemical process it helps with. The common variants are very frequent, and testing them is not recommended for most people.
NAD: A molecule cells use for energy. Supplements are sold to raise it, but evidence in people is limited.

At a glance

Measure	Gary Brecka	Brad Stanfield
Background	Wellness entrepreneur (not a doctor)	General practitioner (GP)
Training split	20% strength · 55% aerobic · 5% intervals · 20% mobility	40% strength · 30% aerobic · 25% intervals · 5% mobility
Signature habit	Sunlight, breathwork, cold	4 × 4 intervals twice a week
Protein	~30 g soon after waking	~1.2 g/kg ideal weight
Training style	Morning rituals	Guideline-first
Overall evidence	Mostly weak	Strong
Following	Instagram 3M · YouTube 63K	YouTube 364K

Training splits are our estimates from each expert’s published routine. Following checked October 2026.

The key differences

Stanfield puts more of the week into strength: about 40% against 20%.
Brecka puts more of the week into aerobic base (zone 2): about 55% against 30%.
Stanfield puts more of the week into intervals: about 25% against 5%.
Brecka puts more of the week into mobility and stability: about 20% against 5%.
In plans in their style, Brecka's hard sessions are 1-minute intervals; Stanfield's are 4-minute intervals (Norwegian 4 × 4).
We rate the evidence behind Stanfield's protocol higher: strong, against mostly weak for Brecka.
Supplements that go into a plan: Brecka, omega-3 fish oil, creatine monohydrate; Stanfield, creatine monohydrate, omega-3, psyllium husk. Prescription items and personal stacks stay out of every plan.
Only Brecka has a mobility or movement routine of their own.

Protocols side by side

Each line is rated for the evidence behind it. “Doctor only” items never go into a plan.

Training

Gary Brecka

About 30 minutes of low-intensity movement in the morning (part of the '30-30-30' idea he promotes)Strong evidence
Stay mobile and active every dayStrong evidence
Exercise while breathing extra oxygen (EWOT)Personal habit
Gives few specific strength-training targetsNote

Brad Stanfield

Cardio: 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week. His template: two interval sessions and three brisk 30-minute walks.Strong evidence
Intervals: 4 rounds of 4 minutes hard and 3 minutes easy, after a 10-minute warm-up, twice a week and never on consecutive days.Strong evidence
Strength at least twice a week (4–5 if you can): 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps per exercise, stopping 1–2 reps short of failure, about 2 minutes' rest, with pushing, pulling and compound lifts.Strong evidence
Add power training as you age: heavier weights moved quickly.Some evidence
Zone 2 only if you have time beyond your vigorous minutes; he argues the evidence favours harder cardio for fitness.Note

Eating

Gary Brecka

About 30 g of protein within 30 minutes of wakingSome evidence
Avoid processed foods; eat whole foodsStrong evidence
Lower-carb or ketogenic plans for weight loss in some clients, guided by blood testsDoctor only

Brad Stanfield

Protein about 1.2 g per kg of ideal body weight a day (check with your doctor if you have kidney disease).Some evidence
Favour plant protein over red meat and dairy.Some evidence
Salt (sodium) under 1,500 mg a day, water as the main drink, few sugary drinks including juice.Strong evidence
Two to three cups of coffee at most, early in the day.Personal habit

Supplements

Gary Brecka

Vitamin D3, ideally guided by a blood testDoctor only
Omega-3 fish oil in the morningSome evidence
Methylfolate and methylated B vitamins based on a methylation gene testPersonal habit
Hydrogen water tabletsPersonal habit
Creatine (sold under his brand)Some evidence
Peptides such as BPC-157 and TB-500 (he is a fan)Doctor only

Brad Stanfield

Creatine monohydrate 5 g a day.Strong evidence
Omega-3 (EPA and DHA) up to about 1 g a day; higher doses are linked to a higher risk of atrial fibrillation.Some evidence
Psyllium husk fibre, building up to about 5 g a day.Some evidence
A low-dose multivitamin and mineral.Some evidence
Trimethylglycine (TMG), hyaluronic acid, GlyNAC from 45, and a low-dose melatonin formula: on his personal list, with early evidence.Personal habit

Sleep & recovery

Gary Brecka

Morning daylight to set the body clockStrong evidence
Short daily cold water exposureSome evidence
Red light therapy bed, about 20 minutesPersonal habit
Hyperbaric oxygen and cryotherapy at homePersonal habit

Brad Stanfield

7–9 hours, a regular schedule and about 30 minutes of morning daylight.Some evidence
Bedroom at about 18–20 °C and dark; no hard exercise in the 2 hours before bed; alcohol stops 4–6 hours before bed, ideally altogether.Personal habit

Stress & mind

Gary Brecka

Wim Hof-style breathing: 3 rounds of 5–30 breaths, then a breath hold, always seatedSome evidence
Same routine at the same time each dayPersonal habit
Barefoot grounding outdoorsPersonal habit

Brad Stanfield

No specific guidance in what we reviewed.

Weak spots to know

Gary Brecka

He is not a medical doctor or a research scientist; McGill University's Office for Science and Society (Jonathan Jarry, 2025) called his expertise questionable and said the health interventions he points customers to run from unproven to pseudoscientific.
His MTHFR claims run against medical genetics guidance: the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics has advised against routine MTHFR variant testing since 2013 (updated 2020).
Hydrogen water, grounding and red light are presented with more certainty than the research supports; the McGill review described hydrogen research as small and early, and grounding as pseudoscience.

Brad Stanfield

He sells supplements through his own company, MicroVitamin, alongside his supplement reviews. His site says he discloses this.
Several items on his personal list (TMG, hyaluronic acid, GlyNAC, a melatonin formula) rest on small or early studies.
His cholesterol targets are stricter than general guidelines for people without heart disease, and his own page gives slightly different ApoB figures in different places.

Build a plan from Brecka, Stanfield or both

Your free plan shows a week of gym sessions, cardio, a day of eating, supplements and mobility, fitted to your age, time and health.

Plan in Brecka's style Plan in Stanfield's style Mix both

Questions

What is the main difference between Gary Brecka and Brad Stanfield?

Their training split differs most in aerobic base (zone 2): Brecka about 55%, Stanfield about 30% (our estimate from their published routines). Brecka's signature habit is Sunlight, breathwork, cold; Stanfield's is 4 × 4 intervals twice a week.

How much protein do Brecka and Stanfield recommend?

Brecka: ~30 g soon after waking. Stanfield: ~1.2 g/kg ideal weight.

Whose advice has stronger evidence?

We rate the evidence behind Stanfield's protocol higher: strong, against mostly weak for Brecka.

Do Brecka and Stanfield disagree?

Not directly in what we reviewed. Their differences are in emphasis: stanfield puts more of the week into strength: about 40% against 20%.

Can I combine Brecka and Stanfield?

Yes. In Build my mix you choose one expert per area, for example one for strength and another for eating. Your free plan shows the result straight away.

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Full sources are on each profile: Gary Brecka · Brad Stanfield. Reviewed October 2026.