A renowned biochemist has identified what she calls the \u201cgold standard\u201d exercise routine that could turn back the clock on your heart by up to two decades, taking less than an hour to complete and needing to be performed just once or twice weekly.<\/p>\n
Dr. Rhonda Patrick<\/a>, a prominent researcher with a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from the University of Tennessee, recently appeared on The Diary of a CEO<\/a>, the popular business podcast hosted by British entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. During the interview<\/a>, Patrick championed what\u2019s known as the \u201cNorwegian 4\u00d74 protocol\u201d as the most effective exercise method for reversing age-related damage to the cardiovascular system.<\/p>\n The science behind Dr. Patrick\u2019s claims<\/p>\n Patrick, who completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Children\u2019s Hospital Oakland Research Institute and currently serves as founder of FoundMyFitness, has built her reputation<\/a> on translating complex scientific research into actionable health insights. Her academic credentials include published research in journals such as\u00a0Nature Cell Biology\u00a0and\u00a0FASEB Journal, with extensive work<\/a> on aging, nutrition, and disease prevention.<\/p>\n The Norwegian 4\u00d74 protocol<\/a>, developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), involves four rounds of four-minute high-intensity intervals followed by three-minute recovery periods. Patrick described the routine as sustainable intensity exercise where \u201cyou\u2019re not really having a conversation while you\u2019re doing it,\u201d but it\u2019s \u201cfar from all-out\u201d effort.<\/p>\n The exercise can be performed<\/a> on various equipment including stationary bikes, rowing machines, or assault bikes, with participants maintaining approximately 75-80% of their maximum heart rate during the active intervals. The total workout, including warm-up and cool-down, takes roughly 30-40 minutes and needs to be performed only once or twice per week.<\/p>\n The protocol\u2019s effectiveness stems from landmark research published in\u00a0Circulation<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s leading cardiovascular journals. The study<\/a>, led by Dr. Benjamin Levine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, followed 61 healthy but sedentary middle-aged adults (average age 53) for two years.<\/p>\n Participants who followed a structured exercise program<\/a> that included the Norwegian 4\u00d74 protocol once weekly showed remarkable improvements: an 18% increase in maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and a more than 25% improvement in left ventricular compliance, effectively reversing structural heart changes by approximately 20 years.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we age, our hearts get smaller and stiffer,\u201d Patrick said during her Diary of a CEO interview. \u201cAfter those two years of 5 to 6 hours of physical exercise every single week, their hearts looked 20 years younger in terms of structure.\u201d<\/p>\n Central to the protocol\u2019s anti-aging effects is its impact on VO2 max<\/a>, the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during exercise. Research consistently shows<\/a> VO2 max as one of the strongest predictors of longevity and cardiovascular health.<\/p>\n A major study published in\u00a0JAMA<\/a>\u00a0involving over 122,000 participants found individuals with the lowest VO2 max values had a fourfold increased risk of mortality compared to those with the highest values. Simply moving from the bottom 25th percentile to the 25th-50th percentile was associated with a 50% reduction in all-cause mortality.<\/p>\n Performing the exercise safely<\/p>\n Patrick emphasized the Norweigan 4\u00d74 protocol requires progressive implementation. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy, you can\u2019t just start doing it right out the gate,\u201d she said. \u201cYou want to kind of work your way up to that\u2026 work your way up as you do it one week, two weeks, you know, a month later, two months later.\u201d<\/p>\n For business professionals seeking efficient health optimization, the Norwegian 4\u00d74 protocol offers significant advantages. Its time-efficient nature, requiring less than an hour total including warm-up and cool-down, makes it practical for busy schedules while delivering outsized returns on investment in terms of cardiovascular health and longevity. And the research suggests this minimal time commitment could provide protection against heart failure, particularly the type known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which becomes increasingly common with age and sedentary lifestyle.<\/p>\n You can watch Dr. Patrick\u2019s full interview below.<\/p>\n For this story,\u00a0Fortune\u00a0used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.<\/p>\n