The Exact Gear Longevity Expert Peter Attia Uses to Stay Fit
If you’re a fitness buff, you know that the right gear can make or break your workout. And longevity expert Peter Attia, M.D., agrees.
Take gym clothing for starters—the right fit can make all the difference between hitting a PR and getting distracted when your shorts ride up mid-squat. And quality equipment could take your at-home workouts to the next level when you don’t have time to hit the gym. For Attia, this means investing in gym gear that trains his body to perform at its best during the activities he loves.
From fueling his latest obsession with rucking to optimizing his resistance exercises, here’s all the equipment Attia is using.
GoRuck Rucksacks
Attia is basically the new poster boy for rucking—an intense, military-inspired zone 2 cardio workout that involves hiking with a weighted pack.
“I’m now at the point where anyone that comes over for a visit must go for a ruck with me,” Attia says. “I like to use about 1/3 of my bodyweight, but when friends come out for the first time I have them start closer to ¼ of their bodyweight.”
He has (at least) three GoRuck Rucker 4.0 rucksacks as part of his collection.
Hex Trap Bar With Exercise Bands
Attia revealed his new favorite trap bar deadlift variation—another workout his personal trainer Beth Lewis put him onto. This workout uses a hex trap bar and a rubber exercise band around the sleeves of the trap bar and under his feet.
“As I lift the weight off the ground I’m feeling the exact resistance of the weight,” Attia writes. “But as I ascend the resistance increases.”
Attia explains that this variation makes it feel like he’s lifting more from the top, which is safer. He also loves that the exercise bands provide more resistance on the eccentric—or down— phase of the lift.
“Because the band is really pulling hard—beyond just gravity—I get that special warm fuzzy feeling of really controlling the descent,” Attia writes. “But be prepared to go considerably lighter than normal.”
BlazePods
No, Attia wasn’t playing whack-a-mole in his recent Instagram Reel. While similar to the classic arcade game, BlazePods are a reaction training device meant for the gym. The pods come in a set of four and light up intermittently. When the light flashes, you race to tap the top before the light turns off.
Attia and Lewis went head to head with their BlazePods in a straight-arm plank for over ten rounds. Gamifying this workout has many benefits like enhancing cognitive and physical skills, stepping up your reaction time, agility, decision-making, problem-solving, and dual-tasking skills—and, not to mention, taking your mind off your burning shoulders.
Foot Trainer
Attia uses a foot trainer to keep his ankles flexible for rucking, which he says exacerbates any existing problems with your gait.
“I have a lot of mobility in my feet. Which doesn’t sound like a bad thing, but it can be problematic when you’re under an enormous load. I tend to always be pushing into the extreme range [when rucking],” Attia says in a recent Instagram Reel.
He uses a BlackBoard foot trainer to improve his posterior foot stabilization. He sets up the tool by stabilizing the front of his foot on the large board, and allowing his ankle to rest on the back end that pivots. Then, he balances while doing a “mini pistol squat.”
Indoor Bicycle Smart Trainer
Want to train on your favorite bike frame instead of the cycling machines at your gym? Attia uses a Wahoo KICKR indoor bicycle smart trainer, a machine that allows you to attach your bike frame to use for indoor cycling, on a Pinarello Dogma F8 T1101K frame. He says he uses TrainerRoad’s cycling app to plan and track his workouts.
Attia flexes his intense zone 2 indoor cycling workout in an Instagram post—bloody gym rag and all.
Blood Flow Restriction Cuffs
Attia uses blood flow restriction (BFR) cuffs four times a week at the end of his lifting sessions to boost his gains. BFR training works by wearing a tourniquet on the limb you’re working out to reduce blood flow during rest and exercise.
This tricks your body into thinking that you’re working harder—and lifting heavier—than you actually are by creating a low-oxygen environment in your muscle. Research shows that BFR may have benefits like reduced muscle atrophy and increased strength (1, 2).
In an Instagram post, Attia sports KAATSU Air Bands BFR cuffs while he finishes a set of bicep curls.
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