Citizen Kevin

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

@max_maksutovic I'm about to light up my next VO2max test 🔥🔥😂

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

🤔 I'm watching the "down with VO2max conversation" (😂) unfold on X, and it has raised something interesting to me: how the distinction between "health" (mitigating risks/addressing dysfunction) and "fitness" (building/maintaining functional capacity to meet demands) is often lost.

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

FWIW, I really enjoy seeing actual scientists like you share their work (and relevant developments in the filed) here. Please continue to do so. 🔥

(Next on my wish list is seeing it become more common to document research investigations via video. Starting to see a tiny bit of it here...)

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

@wgibson Let's get it 🔥

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

For those interested in frontier cancer research, follow @wgibson

[William Gibson @wgibson]

While a 20% overall response rate, is not the kind of thing that makes a big splash in NEJM, there's reason to be very excited about this. The "impossible" label on TP53 has been ripped off.

This is just the first of what I think will be many p53-targeted compounds to come.

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(from 2.19 workout)
🏆 Cuz reps with the 45lb plate on pull-ups feels pretty metal 😎🔥

Started recording my full daily workouts in January for "The 15-min Physique" project (2026 edition). More on that soon...

Let's see if I can get that last rep this week 😂

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(Dec. 19th VO2 lab test)

🏆 VO2max clocked in at 56 (> top 5% for my age) in the lab. This is up from 54 in august despite testing reduced exercise time over the past 12 weeks (15 min/day down from 20 min/day). 🔥

🏆 The 15 min/day pattern feels very, very sustainable and enjoyable. I don't feel interested in trying to reduce it further because I like having that minimal amount of movement in the day no matter what. 🔥

🏆 15 min/day exercise pattern held up despite disruptive conditions. (See notes below.) 🔥

🏆 Test felt much more comfortable thanks to the 15-minute runs/time trials I've been doing...I was very sleep deprived during this test and was distracted by a disconcerting conversation just prior to the test, but still felt much more comfortable than last time. Usually poor sleep is punishing for hard runs... 🔥

Full test video attached. Same machine. Same test operator. Same protocol—constant speed with grade increasing every 3 minutes.

However, base speed was set to a 6:31 pace this time (down from 6:48).

The 15 minutes of exercise per day also includes strength training. I didn't really have any goals other than getting a little better at my 15-min run each week. I was also in a different environment about every 2 weeks due to travel. I also had a bike wreck that set things back. Execution was very imperfect (particularly sleep and diet), which was a good experiment to demonstrate the 15-min pattern could still hold up in non-ideal conditions...

Feeling interested in seeing what gains I can make by just dialing up the intention and execution....

Also interested in getting some beast mode shoulders and calves, getting kinda jacked again, and running a really good 5k time, just to demonstrate the method. Considering upping to 150-minutes per week just because "The 150-minute Physique" project (which comes out to ~21min/day) title pairs well with "The 15-minute Physique" project I did previously.

We'll see what 2026 has in store.

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

🏆 first official Heart Power/vo2max lab test complete 🔥

Full testing portion in the video (warmup not included). Protocol was the incline of the treadmill increased every 3 minutes. Speed stayed constant. (I think it was at 6:48 for me).

Clocked in at 54, which was a little lower than expected but not far since i was pretty sure wrist heart monitors miss heartbeats...

Ive got a ways to go to get to 60 in a lab test, but the good news is that i already feel the best ive ever felt both cognitively and cardiovascularly with just 20 minutes per day. (Ive definitely *looked* better in other chapters, but it just shows that u cant really see Heart Power.)

Also, i definitely recommend finding a health study to participate in. Ive enjoyed the 2 ive done and learned something interesting.

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(Dec. 17th Run)
🏆 What felt like a "tough run"/low performance day would've been a PR less than a month prior 🔥
🏆 Lucas reached his 2-mile goal 🔥
🏆 Lef soleus muscle held together, looking forward to getting it upgraded 🔥
🏆 Enjoyed the final run for the Brickell Route to close 2025 🔥

Lost a lot of ground on the final incline. But still outperformed expectations given the conditions.

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

@max_maksutovic I think thawing out from monday's run helped 😂 (as did having access to a bike of some kind)

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

🏆 Set a new personal record on the Brickell Route: 2.48 miles in 15 minutes 🔥
🏆 Ran my all-time fastest 2-mile within it (11:58) and finally broke the 12-minute barrier 🔥 🔥
🏆 As I say in the video, the experience was "fucking transcendent." 🔥 🔥 🔥
🏆 Historically, I've rarely celebrated reaching a goal, because I just expected myself to reach my goals. This pattern comes with costs. I realized this a few years ago. But still don't think I've fully changed the pattern.... But after this run I definitely felt a moment of bliss and celebrated when I saw my watch (you would've heard me shout if you were within half a mile)—I felt a gain instead of an "avoided loss." That was also a victory.
🏆 My method seems to be working. I've made this progress running less than 1 hour per week, and only *30 minutes per week* (plus some warm-up time) for the last 10 weeks, as part of my "2hrs per week method," which as far as I can tell is unheard of...

Last set of inclines on the route definitely got me a bit towards the end, but less than last time.

Pace chart has a pretty funny shape, basically looks like I was running .7 mile intervals 😂 (The drop marks when I had to change direction, since the route is just back and forth on a .7 mile strip.)

I think this is partially because on the changes of direction my watch momentarily showed me as being below my target pace, so I would over-compensate.

A great run and a great experience 🔥

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(Dec. 8th run)
🏆 Unlocked the Sand Francisco Fort Mason 15-min route: The Marina Green.
🏆 First run with @max_maksutovic @TheNameIsBondss and others from the Founders Inc crew (need to add @atharvavaidya , @Prafulfillment , and @real_vaishak soon) 🔥
🏆 Got to see @max_maksutovic complete an impressive 1 mile PR at 8:59 within the 15 minutes 🔥🔥
🏆 Very clear now that biking is definitely a major lever for keeping my legs feeling good during these 15-min runs.
🏆 Was surprised to see people wanted to do it again next week 🔥 🔥 🔥

The cold was quite the adjustment. Really enjoyed the route design.

Would've been too perfect to have hit my 2.5 mile goal (felt like I could've done it despite having a lot of changes in direction on this route). But I get to continue the pursuit 🔥

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(Dec. 3rd run)
🏆 debugged pacing issue: 9-13 minute mark when I can't see my watch very well but need to be pushing a lot harder to maintain pace.

Great run for the Brickell route.

🤔 Watch might be selling me short. One of the guys that finished behind me went 2.41 and he thought I was at least .05 ahead. Also, when running the Coco Grove route with one of the guys, watch put my distance ~.04 shorter than theirs as well.

Pushing to get past the bridge next week, so I have a visual landmark 🔥

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(11.30 run)
🏆 Unlocked the merits of more even pacing 😂
🏆 Feeling the rhythm of a very good run coming up soon 🔥

Laying off focusing on heart rate until I get a chest strap monitor. Based on last week's run, watch claims heart rate doesn't pick up for over 7 minutes no matter how hard I run. (For the record, i think the measurement has been more off than usual. Re-setting it may have helped.)

Focused on keeping a an even 6min/mile pace, which was a very different experience. Feels easy at that pace in the beginning...until it doesn't...

Dreaming of running the Brickell route with the team. 🔥

[Citizen Kevin @valuesplayer]

(11.26 Brickell heartbeat run session)

🏆 Thanksgiving eve run complete!

🥵 humid night that felt very hot once i got going, probably didn't help i came out even faster than usual. Time was "slow," but just a few weeks ago that would've been fast. Thus the pendulum swings and spirals up....

Lot of the team absent. And those that were present were hurting from holiday fun 😂

Will have to rally in december 🔥