A guide to men’s movement, muscle, and metabolism, exploring how strength training, hormones, and metabolic health work together to support energy, resilience, and longevity.

The men's wellness blueprint hero

Men’s health advice is everywhere, but clarity is rare. Eat this, avoid that, lift more, stress less, get your hormones checked, sleep better, take these supplements. The information piles up, but without a framework to organize it, most of it just becomes noise.

The result? Men either do nothing because it feels overwhelming, or they chase one piece of the puzzle while ignoring everything else. They optimize testosterone but neglect gut health. They train hard but sleep poorly. They eat clean but stay chronically stressed. And despite doing “all the right things,” they still feel tired, foggy, or stuck.

The problem isn’t effort. It’s integration.

This guide, created by IMA Senior Fellow Dr. Kristina Carman, brings together the most impactful levers for men’s health into a single, actionable framework: the labs to track, the habits to anchor, and the daily rhythms that compound over time. It’s not about perfection. It’s about patterns, progress, and personalization.

Download it below 👇

The men's wellness blueprint cover

📖 What’s in the Guide?

This guide synthesizes the core pillars of men’s health into a practical system for tracking, optimizing, and sustaining vitality across the lifespan.

  1. 🏛️ The 6 Pillars of Men’s Health
  2. 📊 Your Personal Health Dashboard
  3. ⚡ High-Impact Habits for Busy Men
  4. 🔗 Your Health is a System, Not a Silo

1. 🏛️ The 6 Pillars of Men’s Health

The guide organizes men’s health into six interconnected pillars. Each one influences the others, and sustainable vitality comes from addressing all of them over time:

  1. Hormone optimization: tracking key markers annually and supporting the endocrine system through lifestyle and, when needed, targeted interventions
  2. Gut and nutrient health: ruling out silent issues, prioritizing digestive function, and ensuring micronutrient sufficiency
  3. Mental and emotional resilience: anchoring nervous system balance and using movement, connection, and breathwork as tools for stress regulation
  4. Movement, muscle, and metabolism: strength training, Zone 2 cardio, daily walking, and fueling for performance
  5. Prevention and proactivity: annual bloodwork, age-appropriate screenings, and monitoring inflammatory markers
  6. Lifestyle rhythms and recovery: sleep optimization, meal timing, detox support, and prioritizing connection and purpose

The full guide breaks down each pillar with specific action items, testing recommendations, and strategies for implementation.

stretching matters

2. 📊 Your Personal Health Dashboard

The guide outlines the 10 most impactful categories of labs and metrics to track for a complete picture of male health:

  • Hormones: testosterone, SHBG, DHEA-S, estradiol
  • Metabolic: fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, waist circumference
  • Inflammation: hsCRP, homocysteine, ferritin
  • Gut and nutrients: B12, folate, vitamin D, iron panel, GI testing
  • Recovery: HRV, resting heart rate, sleep quality
  • Fitness: VO₂ max, grip strength, step count
  • Thyroid: TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3
  • Cardiovascular: ApoB, lipoprotein(a), triglycerides/HDL ratio
  • Liver: ALT, AST, GGT
  • Prostate: PSA (in context, especially with family history)

These markers go far beyond standard annual physicals and offer a functional view of how well the body is actually performing.

eating for longevity

3. ⚡ High-Impact Habits for Busy Men

When life gets busy, the temptation is to put health on the back burner. This section outlines simple, sustainable habits that deliver outsized returns:

  • Start the day with 30–40g of protein for hormonal support and blood sugar balance
  • Walk 8,000–10,000 steps daily for metabolic and nervous system regulation
  • Strength train 3–4x/week with compound movements
  • Include Zone 2 cardio or sauna sessions 2–3x/week for mitochondrial health
  • Practice intentional breathwork daily for cortisol and HRV improvement
  • Hydrate strategically with water and electrolytes
  • Track labs annually to guide decisions with data, not guesswork
  • Prioritize sleep quality with consistent timing and a proper wind-down routine

The full guide expands on each habit with implementation tips and the science behind why they work.

vitality and unity go well together

4. 🔗 Your Health is a System, Not a Silo

The final section reinforces a core principle: every system in the body is connected. Gut health influences inflammation, nutrient absorption, and testosterone. Hormones shape energy, libido, mood, and the ability to build muscle. Muscle drives metabolic health, strength, and resilience. Mood and focus reflect sleep quality, blood sugar, and nervous system tone.

You don’t need to address everything at once. Start with the core. Nourish the system, not just the symptoms.

Men are often taught to push through, ignore symptoms, or downplay physical and emotional shifts. But real strength lies in paying attention and responding with strategy, not suppression. Whether you’re in your 30s or your 60s, it’s never too late to build muscle, optimize hormones, sharpen your mind, and reclaim your energy.

Becoming the CEO of Your Health

Men’s health isn’t about a single metric or an easy one-time fix. It’s a system that responds to consistent inputs over time. The men who thrive long-term are the ones who track what matters, prioritize recovery, and treat vitality as a skill to be built rather than a gift to be lost.

The full guide brings together the key pillars, labs, and daily habits into one practical framework you can return to again and again.

📥 Download the Full Guide + explore our other men’s health tools below:

Dr. Kristina Carman

About the Author

Dr. Kristina Carman is a registered nutritional therapist, naturopathic doctor, and Senior Fellow in Nutritional and Holistic Health at the Independent Medical Alliance. Based in South Carolina, she brings a “leave no stone unturned” approach to functional medicine—supporting patients with accessible, sustainable care rooted in food, lifestyle, and integrative healing. Explore more of Dr. Carman’s work here or read her full bio here. Your support makes Dr. Carman’s voice—and independent medical insight like this—possible. Donate today.

More on: Fitness | Men's Health