Dr. Howard Luks

02/07/2026

I just wrote a free guide for exercise that should be relevant to almost everyone out there.

Most people understand that we need to move to be healthy and fit. You can call it exercise or not. But movement is critical for proper human function to follow.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of friction that stops people from moving intentionally. Often it’s that they don’t know what to do or where to start. They more often think they need to do far more than they need to. That’s enough friction to stop most from ever starting. Worse... they've been told they have meniscus tears, arthritis, degenerative discs or whatever and think they shouldn't exercise...

Now... I focused on three buckets...
Enough: What you need to do to significantly move the longevity needle.
Better: If you want to do a little more, and get even more longevity benefit.
Optimal: For those of you like me who want to push it as far as we safely (usually) can... understanding that there's only marginal longevity improvement over the "better" group...

Here you go.... let me know what you think!!!

Including "Enough", "Better" and "Optimal" Training Plans....

02/07/2026

Have We Been Looking in the Wrong Place?

I’ve been a surgeon for over 25 years, and the longer I practice, the less I’m interested in structure — and the more I’m drawn to physiology... the entire person sitting before me.

I don’t ignore the structure… but I weigh the findings differently.
Early in my career, I obsessed over images. MRIs, X-rays, cartilage wear, meniscus tears — the structure told the story, or so I thought.

But experience humbles you. It teaches you that what shows up on a scan often matters far less than what’s happening in the body that scan belongs to.

Many cases of adult joint/tendon pain are just another manifestation of metabolic disease. It's true. The inflammation from your fatty liver, insulin resistance, diabetes, etc. It all plays a role in how much pain you're currently having.

Most of my patients are metabolically “sub-optimal”. And that has made me care less about what’s torn, worn, or frayed — and far more about inflammation, insulin resistance, central adiposity, elevated uric acid, and being under-muscled.

Again, I don’t ignore the structural changes… I see their contribution to the plan differently.

Lean muscle, central adiposity, systemic inflammation, mitochondrial health — these are the quiet variables that determine how someone feels, heals, adapts, and recovers.

Structure breaks down when our foundational physiology fails. Tendons degenerate when uric acid/ insulin, glucose and inflammation stays high. Cartilage thins when inflammation rises. Bone weakens when load is absent.

As surgeons, we were trained to fix anatomy. But biology is where the leverage is. Improve the chemistry, improve the outcome!! Remember that's one.

I still look at the images — but I look through them now. Because behind many joints that hurt is a system that’s out of balance.

02/06/2026

7 Things This 62-Year-Old Orthopedic Surgeon Would Tell His 30-Year-Old Self

I turned 62 this year. That's 32 years of orthopedic practice, thousands of patients, and enough pattern recognition to see who ends up on my surgical schedule at 60 and who's still hiking at 80.

If I could go back, here's what I'd tell my 30-year-old self:

1. Your joints have a finite number of hard efforts—budget them wisely
The runners you see at 75 aren't the ones who went hard every day at 30. Tissue capacity is a resource you spend, not a limitless well. Recovery isn't weakness, it's a strategy.

2. Muscle mass in your 30s is cognitive insurance for your 60s
The muscle (myokine)-brain axis isn't theoretical—you'll see it in your patients. Building capacity now means maintaining function later. Your central nervous system adapts faster at 30 than it ever will again. Use that window.

3. The patients who age well aren't optimizers—they're maintainers
Consistency beats intensity over 30 years. The boring habits compound. Your healthiest 75-year-olds never had perfect programming. They had sustainable habits that didn't require heroic willpower or constant optimization.

4. Learn to train around injuries now, not through them
Your ego at 30 creates your limitations at 60. Every tissue has a breaking point—inflammation doesn't make you tougher. The guys who "pushed through" are often the ones on your surgical schedule.

5. Metabolic health is invisible until it isn't
Your fasting glucose at 80 feels the same as 105—until it doesn't. Insulin resistance is silent for years before diagnosis. The lifestyle choices you make now about walking, eating, and moving determine whether your 60s are spent managing diabetes or staying off medications.

6. Horizontal movement > vertical achievement
The status you're chasing at 30 won't matter at 60. But your ability to hike, cycle, and play with grandkids? That matters immensely. Train for capacity, not PRs.

7. The injuries you ignore at 30 become chronic pain at 60
That shoulder twinge you're training through will limit your ability to lift your grandkid. Scar tissue doesn't heal like young tissue—it compensates. See the physical therapist now. You'll wish you had when you're sitting in my clinic.

02/06/2026

Strength, health, and independence aren’t built on endless hours or perfect routines. They’re built on strategy, intensity, and consistency. A few focused, deliberate sessions each week are enough to stimulate your muscles, bones, and connective tissues.

But that’s only part of the story. Your body thrives on daily movement walking, stretching, standing, reaching, balancing small habits that keep your heart pumping, your metabolism active, and your joints and muscles ready for life’s demands.

The real magic happens when these two pieces work together: strategic intensity plus consistent daily motion. That’s how you stay strong, resilient, and capable not just for the next workout, but for decades of living fully.

02/06/2026

It’s the freedom to live life without fear. To move without hesitation.
To say yes to adventures, hugs, and moments that matter without wondering if your body will keep up.

Strength is love for the life you haven’t lived yet.
It’s protection for the people you haven’t hugged yet.
It’s courage for the moments you haven’t dared to step into yet.

Your body may age.
Your bones may weaken.
But the strength you build today buys freedom, dignity, and joy tomorrow.

It’s never too late to start.

02/06/2026

Here’s what that really means: clarity isn’t something the world suddenly gives you. It’s a skill you build over time through experience, through mistakes, and through paying attention.

When you’re young, everything feels urgent.
Every pain, every decision, every outcome seems monumental.
But as you live, you start learning what truly matters, what your body and mind respond to, and what doesn’t deserve your energy.

The noise of life doesn’t disappear.
But you learn to filter it.
You start trusting yourself more your instincts, your body, your judgment.

You don’t magically see the path better.
You learn to walk it smarter.

So yes, life doesn’t get clearer.
But your ability to navigate it, to protect yourself, to make choices that actually matter? That improves, every single day you pay attention.

02/05/2026

It’s the landing that matters 😉.
Yes, the jump helps with power.
But navigating the landing was the goal.

02/05/2026

Measles isn’t just an acute rash-and-fever illness. It can erase years of immune protection, leaving people vulnerable long after the fever resolves.

I’m referring to measles-induced immune amnesia.

This is a well-described biological effect.

What that means:
• Measles infects immune cells, particularly memory B and T lymphocytes.
• During infection, the virus destroys pre-existing immune memory—the antibodies and immune “lessons” you built from prior infections and vaccinations.
• After recovery, the immune system is partially reset to a naïve state, similar to that of a young child.

Why that matters:
• Even previously fit, healthy people can be affected.
• After measles, people are more susceptible to other infections they were once protected against (pneumonia, diarrheal illness, ear infections, etc.).
• Large population studies show increased morbidity and mortality for 2–5 years after measles—not from measles itself, but from secondary infections.

So. For those who say… let it rip…

02/05/2026

Yesterday, we built a snowman.
And somehow, time folded in on itself.
It wasn’t really about the snowman
though I smiled like it mattered more than it should.

It was about standing in a moment that felt small,
yet quietly enormous.
Cold air, warm laughter, and the strange awareness that this memory was already traveling forward waiting to be remembered.

I could almost see the future version of us, years from now, smiling at this exact moment without knowing why.
Just a soft feeling.
Just warmth.

It was about becoming.
About loving something temporary without trying to freeze it in place.
About understanding that letting things change doesn’t mean losing them
but allowing them to live on in different forms.

The snowman will melt.
But the moment is already archived
stored somewhere beyond time, replayed in ways we don’t yet understand.

Some days aren’t meant to last.
They’re meant to echo.

02/05/2026

Tendon pain is one of the most common reasons people stop moving.
And unfortunately, that’s often the beginning of the problem not the solution.

Most tendon pain isn’t the result of a single injury. It’s the result of underuse or sudden overload. Long periods of rest tell the tendon it’s no longer needed. Sudden bursts of activity ask it to do more than it’s prepared for.

Tendons don’t heal through avoidance.
They heal through movement the right kind, at the right dose.

Gentle, controlled loading signals the tendon to adapt.
To remodel.
To regain strength and tolerance.
This is why complete rest often makes tendon pain linger, while thoughtful movement helps it calm.

Pain does not always mean damage.
Discomfort during rehabilitation is often a sign that the tendon is being reminded of its job.

The goal isn’t to push through recklessly.
It’s not to protect the tendon into weakness either.

It’s to keep moving deliberately, progressively, and consistently
so the tendon can relearn how to handle life.

You are not fragile.
Your body is adaptable.
Movement isn’t the enemy.
It’s the medicine.

02/05/2026

Longevity is built through consistent habits.

Not hacks. Not shortcuts. Not a single perfect decision.
But the quiet repetition of the basics: nutrition, movement, stress management, and sleep.

What you eat fuels repair.
How you move preserves strength and independence.
How you manage stress protects your heart, hormones, and immune system.
How you sleep allows your body to rebuild what the day wears down.

There is no fast track to aging well. And that’s not bad news. Because it means longevity isn’t reserved for the lucky or the genetically gifted. It’s shaped by what you practice most days.

Small, consistent choices compound.
Miss a day, you return.
Miss a week, you restart.
Nothing is ruined.

Longevity isn’t found in shortcuts.
It’s built in daily care, repeated over a lifetime.

02/05/2026

We’ve been taught to fear injury… fear making something worse... to fear aging… to fear doing too much. But the real danger? Doing too little for too long.

"But I have ...." One of my least fav phrases.
- Degenerative discs --I can't do that.
- arthritis-- I can't do that.
- Osteopenia- I can't do that. .. etc.

Movement is medicine. It protects your heart, brain, bones, and independence. Every step, every rep, every effort, no matter how small, is an investment in your future self.

You don’t need to go hard. You just need to go.
Because it’s not exercise that wears us down.
It’s the stillness that steals our strength.
You can build the resilience to do most anything you want.

I know that I sound like a broken record… and those of you who are upset by this, I’m sorry.