Burn fat and build muscle naturally and sustainably with whole foods and minimal supplements.
Extend your lifespan and healthspan by staying youthful and reducing the risk of disease.
Eat more while consuming fewer calories with accessible ingredients.
Develop mental and physical mastery for sustained energy and peak performance.
🔍 Evidence-based research
Unified theory of fitness: The interdependent core pillars of nutrition, exercise, and sleep contribute to microbiome, physical, mental, and metabolic health.
Simple Science Fitness provides clear, evidence-based insights, supported by over 400 cited links to clinical journals and research papers, along with powerful fitness calculators designed to deliver actionable results.
⚙️ Biohacking doesn't have to be complicated
A sensible approach to a healthy lifestyle, requiring only minimal equipment and whole foods, will give you results—no matter your age, weight, gender, or fitness level. It worked for us. Become a superhuman!
🤝 Why should you trust me?
The author behind this site, at age 40, embodying the principles shared here. Proven results through consistent effort.
I take pride in having lower visceral fat than leading longevity experts and biohackers like Bryan Johnson, who ranks in the top 99.5% worldwide with 0.42 litres (25.6 in³) or Siim Land, with 57.2 cm³ (3.49 in³). In comparison, my visceral fat is among the lowest recorded in the world at just 0.12 in³, as confirmed by my DEXA scan (see results below).
As someone naturally curious, I'm always trying to make sense of the world around me. One puzzle I keep returning to is why fitness and nutrition seem so confusing in our society. The truth is, we already have the answers, but we've surrendered our power instead of empowering ourselves:
We oversimplify complex systems, creating half-truths where nuance is needed.
Online media distort information for profit, fueling misinformation, petty arguments, dietary tribalism, and the rise of misleading influencers.
For over 20 years, I've spent a lot of time:
Researching the science behind health and fitness
Using myself as a citizen scientist
Optimizing my own health
In my 40s, my biological age reflects someone much younger. The results speak for themselves: excellent biomarkers, athletic-level blood pressure, and virtually no visceral fat. Despite how it may appear, I'm actually genetically predisposed to obesity [markers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
A+ score across 50 biomarkers, reflecting excellent health, achieved pre-optimization (04/24, before diet optimization). I expect to be within the 95th percentile in my next annual test.A typical reading of 106/62 mmHg, common in healthy, active individuals, indicating a lower risk of hypertension-related issues like heart disease or stroke.
I am among the individuals with the world's lowest visceral (abdominal) fat, weighing exactly 0.00 lbs—likely down to the hundredth of a gram—according to my VAT results. This places me at the lowest risk for health complications associated with visceral fat.
8.4% body fat as of my last DEXA scan at age 40, 5'10" (177 cm), and 170 lbs (77 kg).
As a husband, a parent to a special needs child, and the son of deaf immigrants, I balance full-time work, hobbies, family, friends, and maintaining this website. I don't make excuses when it comes to health and fitness. Believe me, I understand the challenges firsthand and can share with you how I manage my lifestyle effectively.
My goal is to share the most up-to-date, reliable information on health and fitness. This is my contribution to society. ✌️
This site was developed to help individuals achieve their health and fitness goals. Accurate knowledge, when applied consistently, leads to successful results. Those who achieve high levels of fitness inevitably prioritize quality nutrition, regular exercise, and sufficient sleep, all within a disciplined lifestyle.
About the author
The author and his son.
Simple Science Fitness was created in 2012 by Joachim Lapiak and is continuously maintained by the author to ensure the health and fitness content and tools remain current, comprehensive, and timeless. Simple Science Fitness was entirely researched, written, designed, and developed by Joachim.
The author brings over two decades of research and experience in health and fitness. Having earned an NCAA-accredited certification in Personal Training, he has explored various training and dietary regimens, meticulously documenting results through biofeedback. He may hold the world record for the lowest visceral fat adjusted by age, with 0.12 in³ (1.97 cm³ or 0.00197 litres).
Joachim is a son to deaf parents, husband, and father to a special needs child.
The information on this site is intended for healthy adults of all ages. The content, including charts and visuals, is grounded in logical reasoning and empirical evidence. Science, by its very nature, is a self-correcting mechanism, and as a result, this site strives to uphold the principles of rigorous research.
Simple Steps
🪞 Your body is a reflection of how well you take care of yourself.
The Four Horsemen of age-related diseases: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. Let us evade them a while longer by extending healthspan to match potential lifespan.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, responsible for 32% of all deaths. Sadly, for many, the first sign of cardiovascular disease is a sudden and fatal heart attack.
Imagine your doctor telling you that your blood tests are "normal," only for you to suffer a heart attack shortly thereafter due to undetected atherosclerosis—something that an ApoB test might have uncovered. Or consider why we wait until reaching "pre-diabetes" to finally take action, rather than addressing lifestyle factors earlier. Would you start smoking at 20 if you knew it would lead to lung cancer by age 50? Even if you don't end up getting lung cancer, why take a chance? Consider the importance of prevention.
Prevention can eliminate the need for a cure—it's often the difference between thriving and merely surviving.
While medicine can help extend lifespan, it doesn't prevent age-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or Alzheimer's. These conditions can abruptly shorten your life or make your final years, as well as your family's, deeply challenging and distressing. This can start earlier than you expected, especially if you spend a lot of time eating ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and sitting for extended periods.
Consider that:
A high waist circumference increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer by 2–3x.
A high waist circumference increases the risk of developing diabetes by 2–5x.
Ensure that your healthspan (the period of life spent in good health) keeps up with your lifespan. Rather than dying longer, let's live longer. This requires consistent commitment to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Our goal is to align healthspan with lifespan, ensuring a longer life is also a healthier one.
If you don't make time for exercise, you'll probably have to make time for illness.
Robin Sharma
Problems
"I'm always hungry."
Appetites are increasing and we're eating larger portions.
Many of us are suffering from anxiety, depression, stress, obesity, diabetes, and lack of sleep. Many of us require medication.
"No matter how hard I try, I can't get the weight off."
We're confused and frustrated. Orange juice is bad for you, yet oranges are good. Why?
Oranges have more fibre and nutrients, which promote satiety and better health. Fibre slows the digestion and absorption of sugar, meaning orange juice can cause a rapid sugar spike. It takes about three oranges to make one cup of orange juice, effectively tripling the sugar concentration.
Solutions
Most of your meals must be prepared or cooked at home—this is non-negotiable. Restaurants, fast food outlets, and convenience foods and beverages are almost always lacking in nutrition, high in calories, packed with inexpensive carbs, fats, and salt, and deliberately designed to make you hungrier and overeat.
Consume mostly plant-based foods, such as fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and twice as many vegetables as any other portion. Don't forget the herbs and spices!
Does it contain added sugar? Don't eat or drink it!
For every hour spent on computer, television, or phone screen time, match it with an equal amount of exercise. Too much? Then aim for just 30 to 60 minutes of exercise each day.
Many of us can improve our quality of life, feel happier, appear younger, and live longer simply by making sustainable lifestyle changes.
The solutions are here. Internalizing them is a process.
The Big Buts
"But I don't have time!"
Consider the time it takes to travel to a restaurant, wait for a meal (and dessert), wait for the bill (and determine the tip), then consider the time it takes to travel back home (hopefully avoiding traffic congestion). You could argue it's quicker at a fast food restaurant, but it's certainly not healthier nor cheaper.
Cooking can actually save you time if you make lots of meals in advance and produce leftovers in bulk. Some are quick to make, like porridge with nuts, seeds, and berries.
"But healthy foods are expensive!"
Not necessarily. I'm not talking about healthy food products, but rather whole foods. Many fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and seeds can be very cheap—especially in bulk or available frozen. While prices of whole foods do vary by location, it's important to know what's inexpensive in the region you live in. For example, if you live near the coast, fish is likely cheaper.
Buying food in bulk (hello, Costco!) or buying from a local produce or ethnic market will save you significantly more than from most commercial grocery stores and supermarkets. Do a bit of research in your area and you'll discover hidden gems. Online retailers such as Amazon or your local farms can be economical, especially if again, ordering in bulk.
Do consider that individual and societal medical- and health-related costs can be much, much more expensive. Imagine living without needing to buy and take prescription or over-the-counter drugs, or if you're already on them, reducing them.
Lastly, you don't really need supplements, especially since they can be quite expensive—as long as your whole food choices are optimal.
Add in an apple, a handful of sunflower seeds, and some walnuts and you'll ultimately feel like having more motivation.
Author's Anecdote
There's a paradox when it comes to the energy and time spent on healthy foods, exercise, and sleep. By investing time in a healthy lifestyle, I've actually increased my energy and productivity by avoiding burnout, fatigue, lethargy, sugar crashes, brain fog, low stamina, and lack of motivation caused by suboptimal choices. The mental clarity and physical vitality that a healthy lifestyle brings provide me with focus and drive all day long.
Moderate, conversation is possible but requires noticeable effort, shorter phrases preferred
Aerobic endurance
Improves cardiovascular fitness and increases aerobic capacity
Steady jogging, moderate cycling, fast swimming
Zone 4: 80–90% of MHR
Hard, breathing heavily, conversation is very difficult, only a few words at a time
Anaerobic endurance
Increases maximum performance capacity and improves lactate threshold
Running, fast cycling, swimming sprints
Zone 5: 90–100% of MHR
Very hard, maximum effort, conversation is impossible, focus entirely on breathing
Peak performance, VO2 max
Builds speed and power, and increases the body's ability to handle high-intensity efforts
Sprinting, high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
* Note: This table is designed for the average person with a resting heart rate (RHR) of 60–80 BPM. A lower (<60 BPM) RHR indicates a larger heart rate reserve (HRR) and better cardiovascular fitness, and so would result in lower BPM values within the heart rate zones.
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Burn fat and build muscle naturally and sustainably with whole foods and minimal supplements.
Extend your lifespan and healthspan by staying youthful and reducing the risk of disease.
Eat more while consuming fewer calories with accessible ingredients.
Develop mental and physical mastery for sustained energy and peak performance.
