WHAT WE’VE Tried
Just want to know what we are currently using? See the circled items below. (Last Updated: January 2026) (Some links below are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
FITNESS GEAR | TRAINING METHODS | ADVENTURES | WELLNESS PRACTICES | BODYWORK | SUPPLEMENTS + NUTRITION | HOME HEALTH
FITNESS GEAR
Compression Therapy Boots
Cat: I first tried these at a running event and thought they were the best things I ever put on my legs after running 10+ miles. We recently bought them to try them out at home and they really didn’t do much for everyday recovery. So I would only use them after something really intense.
Zach: I wanted to love these but just didn’t. And I didn’t notice much of a difference in recovery when using them.
Concept 2 Rower + Concept 2 SkiErg
Cat: Rowing is something I love throwing into my circuit workout and will always do. I was so excited to get the skierg and to add that into arm day because of the tricep work I get out if it.
Zach: Love these machines. Really high quality and last forever.
Garmin Watch
Cat: I really love this watch. It is a must have for Zone 2 training.
Zach: Must have for tracking heart rate and your running pace. Has a lot of other features too, but I use mainly for those two reasons.
Cat: My favorite thing for walking lunges!
Zach: Love these. Indestructible and use them for tons of exercises.
Cat: I have such a love hate for this bike. The good is it doesn’t take much time to get in a full body workout. The bad is that it’s a tortuous ride.
Zach: Brutal and painful workouts, but that’s why I love it. Built like an absolute tank and seems like it will last forever.
TRAINING METHODS
Pilates
Cat: I’ve been doing pilates randomly since college and I still enjoy putting it into my fitness routine a few times a month. Zach and I tried out a studio years ago, but I prefer doing YouTube videos at home now.
Zach: When I hurt my back every physical therapist I talked to recommended Pilates as the fix. Which at the time was pretty annoying. I don’t particularly love Pilates and don’t do it often at all anymore, but it did help me learn how important core strength is.
Rucking
Cat: We first got interested in rucking when we read The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter a few years ago. At the time, we were planning to go on a pretty long hike that would’ve required wearing a heavy pack, so we started rucking as training for that. We never ended up doing the hike so now we just use our ruck for weighted lower body workouts. When we decide to do a hike then we would definitely use it again for training.
Zach: Same. Not a huge fan of rucking itself, but will definitely use it when training for something that requires it.
Yoga
Cat: I am actually a trained yoga instructor but I don’t teach. I really did the course to grow and it was amazing for that. There are so many variations in the yoga world so I would recommend trying out all the different forms because I definitely resonate more towards some than others.
Zach: I want to do yoga more often because my flexibility has never been good at all, but it’s always been hard for me to stick with it for any extended period of time.
Zone 2 Cardio Training
Cat: For someone who doesn’t necessarily love running, but wants to get better at it, it has made it a more fun process. I would definitely recommend it to people to try.
Zach: Love using this to build up my cardio base. I’ve never been good at running and part of the reason was I always ran too fast and couldn’t last long. Highly recommend this.
AdventureS
12 Hour Walk
Cat: I have yet to try this one but happily cheered Zach on.
Zach: I stumbled upon The 12 Hour Walk by Colin O’Brady and spontaneously decided to give it a try and really enjoyed it. It’s a much harder mental test than physical test, but also wasn’t physically easy. Probably because I decided to do it on a 95 degree sunny day. Was it transformational like some people say it is? Not really. But it was something hard to do and a fun story to tell.
Hyrox Races
Cat: I am so glad we found this because it has really elevated our workouts. Not only do you get to see your progression over the course of training, but its such a fun workout to do with a partner.
Zach: This is our current (as of 2026) motivational race of choice. (I have to be working towards some sort of race or adventure to keep me motivated.) It’s a hard race, but not too hard that it is unattainable without a ton of training. The events themselves are really fun and we do the co-ed doubles division so it’s a good way for us to train together.
Kauai
Cat: Such a special place on Earth. Love all the ways you can be active and the sights are unmatched. If you ever get an opportunity to go here definitely take it!
Zach: Definitely my favorite I have visited so far. It’s not technically an adventure, but if you are into health, fitness and wellness this place is amazing.
Obstacle Races
Cat: These were great in the beginning of leveling up our fitness journey. They kept us motivated and gave us a goal to work towards. I would do one again if there was one close by and friends wanted to do it with us, but for just Zach and me, I think we have moved on from these types of races.
Zach: We have done a few of these over the years, including Spartan Race and Rugged Maniac, and we used these earlier on in our journey to use as motivation before we wanted to do harder races. I think these types of races are fun, but I got sick of the mud part quickly. I would do more of them now as a fun thing to do with a group of friends, but that’s pretty much it.
WELLNESS PRACTICES
Breathwork
Cat: I love doing all the variations of breath work out there depending on what I need. I currently use box breathing in the ice bath and when I am feeling tired I like to do the 1-minute breath I learned about in yoga. Zach and I used to be really good about doing the Wim Hoff method, but it currently has escaped out routine. I would love to put it back into our daily practice because I do think it makes a difference.
Zach: I believe that breathwork is one of the best things I can do for my health. I have tried to consistently do it for years now, but for some reason it’s one of those things that I just can’t get to stick. I also did a holotropic breathwork class at a fitness festival once and it felt like I was flying which was pretty awesome. But just haven’t really done it again for some reason.
Contrast Therapy
Cat: This is such a fun one to experience. I don’t do it as a daily practice, but when Zach and I are on vacation we love to find a spa or place that we can do this. I would definitely recommend it to try at least one time.
Zach: I have enjoyed this the handful of times we have done it. The sensations are definitely unique and you feel good and energized during and right after it. A few of the times I have felt more fatigued later in the day though. This hasn’t become a regular part of my routine and probably won’t, but it’s always something fun to do from time to time.
Float Tank
Cat: I’ve done this once and definitely want to try it again. I remember having vivid dreams in the tank because you drift in and out of sleep. It is such a cool sensation to be floating in water and I remember feeling really energized after as well.
Zach: We tried this one time years and years ago when float tank studios first started coming out. It was incredibly relaxing, but also a bit terrifying at first. Depending on the one you choose it can be a very small space and complete darkness is hard to get used to. I did feel pretty good after, but haven’t ever done it again.
Ice Bath
Cat: My favorite thing to do besides the sauna. I love how mentally challenging it is and you feel incredible once you get out. I think I will always do some version of this whether it’s the actually ice bath or a cold shower.
Zach: We have doing ice baths pretty consistently since 2020. When we first started doing them we definitely jumped in way too cold and too long which caused us to feel exhausted later in the day. But over the years I have found what works best for me. Fun Fact: I find cold showers significantly harder than ice baths.
Red Light Therapy
Cat: I do this most days because I have paired it with my ice bath time to make sure I do it. I know it is so good for you but it is hard for me to get all these modalities squeezed into one day without stacking them.
Zach: This is another thing we started back in 2020 but I haven’t been as consistent over the years. When I use it I do enjoy it, but it’s one of those things that you can’t really feel or see a huge difference so it makes it harder to stick with.
Sauna
Cat: I absolutely love the sauna and can’t picture my daily routine without it. All the sweating feels so cleansing and its a perfect before bed addition to my routine. Also knowing all the health benefits of using a sauna, I can’t see a life without it.
Zach: I love saunas and do it most days. I’m a big fan of traditional, really hot saunas, but they are big and difficult to install. So we have also used the Therasage Thera360 Sauna when we were moving around a lot. For that style of sauna I like it a lot and it gets really hot for an infrared sauna (170 degrees). It’s also really low EMF if you are into that sort of thing.
Bodywork
Acupuncture
Cat: I just tried this recently just to see what it was like. It was a relaxing experience but since I don’t have any health issues that need to be addressed it is not something I see myself doing again.
Zach: I tried this once when I had some back pain and it was relaxing, but it didn’t help my back pain at all. Open to trying this again at some point though.
Chiropractor
Cat: This isn’t for me. We went consistently a few years back and it over stimulated my nervous system and was creating anxiety. (Which I’m the least anxious person so this says a lot). But I do feel like I am the rarity and would still recommend it for people who have issues that a chiropractor can help.
Zach: When I was in my early 30s I went to chiropractors weekly for 5 years. It seemed to make a difference for a while, but I found it got repetitive. Now, I would only go to a chiropractor if I got injured where they could work on a specific issue for a short time, but even then I would probably try something else as well.
Dry Needling
Cat: I have never tried it and really don’t have a desire to.
Zach: When I had some back and shoulder pain from work (really from poor posture) I went to a Physical Therapist who did dry needling on me once. It didn’t really help my pain or tightness, but man did it hurt. I was sore for days after. I wouldn’t do it again mainly because I’ve heard some people talk about the risks of it.
Massage Therapy
Cat: I get massages occasionally, but they are always a bit of a disappointment because even if they feel good they don’t seem to make much of a long term difference. I keep going back thinking it will be different, but its always the same type of experience. The only exception was a massage therapist I found who was life changing. We since moved and now I will never be the same and I miss this therapist so much!
Zach: I’m not a huge massage guy. Either they are super soft and are just relaxing massages but don’t really do anything for my tight muscles, or they are really firm and just hurt. I did use that same therapist Cat did years ago and she was amazing and could really help me feel a difference without beating me up. But since we can’t use her anymore I haven’t had a massage since.
TENS Unit
Cat: I recommend having this on hand if you ever get tension in your shoulders or back issues. When you need it you need it! This has saved my back from seizing and helps release tension in the shoulders so the tension headache fades away.
Zach: Tried it for fun to feel the sensation of it, but never used it for any real purpose.
Supplements + Nutrition
Prolon Fasting Mimicking Diet
Cat: This was our first intro into fasting and it was a great experience. We have done this twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time I got more clarity than the second round a few years later. I have also done two 3 day water fasts. Neither offered the clarity I was looking for but it was fun to challenge my mental strength and still gave me the physical benefits.
Zach: We got into fasting quite a bit back in 2020 and have tried a lot of different short, and long fasts. I tried straight water fasts and had mixed results. However I have done Prolon twice and both times had some pretty amazing results. (In fact, the idea for this community came from our first round of Prolon.) The mental clarity on days 3-5 on Prolon is just next level for me.
Home Health
Air Doctor Air Filters
Cat: I love having this in our home and am amazed how much dust it collects when I clean the filter.
Zach: We have been using these for a while, and while none of us have bad asthma or anything to notice a huge difference from using these, they seem to work great. They also look nice and aren’t overly loud unless you are cooking.
Aquatru
Cat: I love having this filter and I feel good about the clean water we are using to fuel our bodies. Eventually, though, I want a full house water filtration system.
Zach: We have tried tons of water filters over the years. This one is a bit of a pain because with a family of 5 you have to refill it often and it wastes a lot of water during the purification process. But from everything I have read reverse osmosis water is some of the cleanest you can get.
Blokes/Joi Blood Tests
Cat: This was an ok experience. I prefer to order my own blood work online and analyze the results myself. It didn’t offer anything else that I already do on my own.
Zach: I have used these as my full health blood tests and like them quite a bit. They can test for a lot and it’s nice to have it all in one place. The included phone call with their health provider about my results was okay at best. They didn’t tell us anything ChatGPT hadn’t already. So that’s not something I see a real need to do going forward unless I have specific questions. They provide their own supplements but don’t overly push them on you which is nice. Going forward I may use them again or may just get them done on my own like Cat does.
WHAT WE Want To TrY SOON
Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike
Cat:
Zach: This is a bucket list adventure that I want to do. Logistically it’s a bit tricky, but we plan to do this soon.
PEMF Mat
Cat:
Zach: I have been on the fence of getting a PEMF for years. I have heard a lot of good things about them, but also have read how if you are going to do it you need one that is much stronger than your typical home PEMF mat. Will try these at some point for sure.
Sound Therapy
Cat:
Zach: That breathwork class we took was partly as amazing as it was because they had music and instruments. So that made me want to find someone great at sound therapy to try it out.
Sedona, AZ
Cat:
Zach: Definitely want to visit.