Zone 2
From our Brad Stanfield profile
Stanfield says the evidence favours harder cardio for fitness and adds Zone 2 only if time allows; Attia and Galpin give easy Zone 2 work a central role.
Compare experts › Peter Attia vs Brad Stanfield
Peter Attia vs Brad Stanfield
Peter Attia (physician) 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.
Words explained (15)
- Zone 2
- Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
- VO2 max
- The most oxygen your body can use in hard exercise. A good measure of fitness; higher is better.
- 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.
- Hinge
- A movement that bends at the hips with a straight back, like a deadlift or picking a box up from the floor.
- 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.
- Time-restricted eating
- Eating all your meals within a set window of the day, for example 8am to 6pm.
- ApoB
- A blood test that counts the particles carrying cholesterol. Linked to heart disease risk.
- Rapamycin, metformin
- Prescription drugs that some experts take hoping to slow ageing. Not proven for that, and never part of your plan.
- NAD
- A molecule cells use for energy. Supplements are sold to raise it, but evidence in people is limited.
- Medicine 3.0
- Peter Attia's name for preventing disease early instead of treating it late.
- Centenarian
- Someone aged 100 or older.
At a glance
| Measure | Peter Attia | Brad Stanfield |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Physician | General practitioner (GP) |
| Training split | 40% strength · 40% aerobic · 10% intervals · 10% mobility | 40% strength · 30% aerobic · 25% intervals · 5% mobility |
| Signature habit | Zone 2 + VO2 max | 4 × 4 intervals twice a week |
| Protein | 1.6–2.2 g/kg | ~1.2 g/kg ideal weight |
| Training style | Balanced | Guideline-first |
| Overall evidence | Strong | Strong |
| Following | Instagram 1.6M · YouTube 1M | YouTube 364K |
Training splits are our estimates from each expert’s published routine. Following checked October 2026.
The key differences
- Attia puts more of the week into aerobic base (zone 2): about 40% against 30%.
- Stanfield puts more of the week into intervals: about 25% against 10%.
- In plans in their style, both use 4-minute intervals (Norwegian 4 × 4) for hard sessions.
- We rate the overall evidence behind both protocols as strong.
- Supplements that go into a plan: Attia, omega-3; Stanfield, creatine monohydrate, omega-3, psyllium husk. Prescription items and personal stacks stay out of every plan.
- Only Attia has a mobility or movement routine of their own.
Where they disagree
Protein
From our Brad Stanfield profile
Stanfield suggests about 1.2 g per kg of ideal body weight and favours plant protein; Lyon and Attia go up to about 2.2 g per kg.
Protocols side by side
Each line is rated for the evidence behind it. “Doctor only” items never go into a plan.
Training
Peter Attia
- Zone 2 cardio (a steady pace where you can still talk) about 3 hours a week, for example 4 × 45 min. Start with about 2 hours if new to itStrong evidence
- VO2 max intervals: 4 min hard, 4 min easy, repeated 4–6 times, once or twice a weekSome evidence
- Heavy strength training 3–5 times a week, focusing on grip, slow lowering, pulling and hip-hinge movementsStrong evidence
- Stability and balance work woven into most daysSome evidence
- Benchmarks such as carrying half your body weight in each hand for 1 minute (men; about 75% of that for women) and long dead hangsPersonal habit
- Choose the physical tasks you want to manage at 100 and train toward them nowNote
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
Peter Attia
- Protein at least 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day. About 2.2 g/kg is the better target for active people with healthy kidneysSome evidence
- Spread protein across about four meals of roughly 40–50 gPersonal habit
- Follows no named diet. Focuses on energy balance and avoiding junk foodNote
- Doubts time-restricted eating as a general tool and saves longer fasts for specific patientsNote
- Says alcohol has no biochemical benefit. Personally keeps it to 0–8 drinks a week, at most 2 a dayPersonal habit
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
Peter Attia
- Fish oil reported at about 2 g EPA + 1.5 g DHA a day, aiming for a blood omega-3 level of about 8–12%Some evidence
- Vitamin D, reported at about 5,000 IU a dayPersonal habit
- Magnesium from several forms, about 1 g elemental a day in total (reported)Personal habit
- Methylfolate and vitamin B12 to keep homocysteine below about 9 µmol/L, based on blood testsDoctor only
- Prescription drugs such as statins or PCSK9 inhibitors to lower apoB when neededDoctor only
- Treats rapamycin and metformin as unproven, experimental options, not general adviceNote
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
Peter Attia
- Allow 8–9 hours in bed with a fixed wake-up timeStrong evidence
- Cool, dark bedroom, about 18 °CSome evidence
- No food in the last three hours and no alcohol close to bedtimeSome evidence
- Screens off well before bed. He keeps a second phone with no social appsPersonal habit
- Sleep aids he has reported using: glycine, ashwagandha and magnesium L-threonate. Melatonin only for jet lagPersonal 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
Peter Attia
- Treats emotional health as a pillar as important as physical healthNote
- Journaling as a regular practicePersonal habit
- Keeps social media off his evening phone to protect wind-down timePersonal habit
Brad Stanfield
No specific guidance in what we reviewed.
Brain health
Peter Attia
- Regular dry sauna (Outlive cites about 4 × 20 min a week at 80 °C or more, linked in Finnish studies to lower dementia risk)Some evidence
- Sees ketogenic eating as a possible alternative brain fuel in early cognitive decline, based on small trialsSome evidence
- Says the benefit of vitamin D for dementia risk is unclearNote
Brad Stanfield
No specific guidance in what we reviewed.
Weak spots to know
Peter Attia
- Many of his exercise targets lean on observational studies that link fitness or strength to longer life. These show association, not proof that hitting a given number will add years.
- A 2026 review in the Australian Journal of General Practice called the book's research base superficial. It said his intensive, personalised approach suits only a few affluent people, and that routine full-body MRI scans use a lot of resources and bring risks from incidental findings that the book does not discuss.
- Some critics argue that the medications and screening tests he recommends for healthy people lack strong trial evidence, and that the risks could outweigh the benefits.
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 Attia, 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.
Questions
What is the main difference between Peter Attia and Brad Stanfield?
Their training split differs most in intervals: Attia about 10%, Stanfield about 25% (our estimate from their published routines). Attia's signature habit is Zone 2 + VO2 max; Stanfield's is 4 × 4 intervals twice a week.
How much protein do Attia and Stanfield recommend?
Attia: 1.6–2.2 g/kg. Stanfield: ~1.2 g/kg ideal weight.
Whose advice has stronger evidence?
We rate the overall evidence behind both protocols as strong.
Do Attia and Stanfield disagree?
Yes, on zone 2, protein. See "Where they disagree" on this page.
Can I combine Attia 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: Peter Attia · Brad Stanfield. Reviewed October 2026.