Health & WellnessBeginnerPreview
Men's Health Basics
A practical beginner course covering preventive screening schedules, hormonal health, cardiovascular risk reduction, and mental health strategies tailored specifically to men.
Men at any age who want to understand their health numbers, build protective habits, and stop putting off that overdue check-up.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns each course module into concrete actions you can take this week. Use it alongside the course — complete each section after watching the corresponding module. All exercises are for general self-education; always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to medications, diet, or exercise based on any results you record here.
Preventive Screenings: What to Check and When
Map your current screening status, identify the gaps, and book the checks that are overdue.
Exercise: Your Personal Screening Audit
Work through each screening test in the decade-by-decade list from Lesson 2. For each test, note the last time you had it done (or 'never') and whether it is currently overdue based on the recommended interval. Use this to build your priority list.
- List the three screenings most overdue for your current age and risk profile.
- What is stopping you from booking them — logistics, cost, discomfort, or something else? Write it down honestly.
- What is one concrete action you will take this week to address the most overdue screening (e.g., call the clinic, look up the cost, ask your employer about benefits coverage)?
- Who could you ask to help hold you accountable to booking this?
Worksheet: Screening Tracker
Fill in your current health numbers where you know them, and leave blank anything you need to get tested. Bring this sheet to your next doctor's appointment.
- Date of last full check-up
- Blood pressure (systolic/diastolic mmHg)
- Total cholesterol (mmol/L or mg/dL)
- HDL cholesterol
- LDL cholesterol
- Fasting glucose (mmol/L or mg/dL)
- HbA1c (%)
- BMI
- Waist circumference (cm or inches)
- Date of last colonoscopy (if 45+)
- Date of last PSA test (if 50+ or higher risk)
- Next scheduled GP appointment
Checklist: Appointment Preparation Checklist
- Written list of top 2–3 concerns, ranked by importance
- Current medications and supplements with doses noted
- Symptom log: what, when, how often, severity 1–10
- Previous blood test results to bring
- One specific screening question prepared
- Decision made to ask for actual numbers, not just labels
- Follow-up appointment booked before leaving the clinic
Hormonal Health: Testosterone, Cortisol, and Insulin
Identify which hormonal lever is most relevant to you and design a targeted one-month experiment.
Exercise: Hormonal Health Self-Assessment
Rate yourself honestly on each symptom cluster below using a scale of 0 (not present), 1 (mild/occasional), or 2 (significant/frequent). This is not a diagnosis — it is a map for your conversation with your doctor.
- Testosterone signals: Rate persistent fatigue, reduced motivation, low libido, difficulty maintaining muscle, mood flatness (0–2 each). What is your total? Which symptom is most disruptive in your daily life?
- Cortisol signals: Rate chronic irritability, difficulty switching off, sleep disruption despite tiredness, frequent minor illness, craving sugar or salt when stressed (0–2 each). Which of the five cortisol-reduction strategies from Lesson 2 is most realistic to trial this week?
- Insulin resistance signals: Rate energy crashes after meals, difficulty losing abdominal fat despite effort, strong carbohydrate cravings, brain fog post-lunch (0–2 each). Is your waist circumference above 94 cm? Have you had a fasting glucose in the last 2 years?
Worksheet: 30-Day Hormonal Lever Experiment
Select the ONE hormonal area most relevant to your self-assessment above. Define your 30-day experiment with a single measurable behaviour change and a way to track progress.
- Target hormonal area (testosterone / cortisol / insulin resistance)
- Current behaviour you want to change
- Specific new behaviour (what, how often, for how long)
- How you will track it (app, paper log, wearable)
- Measurable indicator of success at 30 days
- Doctor review: blood test(s) to request after 30 days
- Start date
- 30-day review date
Checklist: Weekly Hormonal Health Habits
- Resistance training session completed (aim: 2–4 per week)
- In bed by target time 5 out of 7 nights
- No alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime
- 10-minute walk after at least one meal today
- One cortisol-reduction practice used (breathwork, cold shower, or exercise)
- Caffeine cut off by 1 pm
- Waist circumference recorded (weekly measurement)
Cardiovascular Health: Know Your Risk and Reduce It
Calculate your current cardiovascular risk score, identify your highest-impact modifiable lever, and design a 90-day action plan.
Exercise: Cardiovascular Risk Deep Dive
Before completing this exercise, gather your most recent blood pressure reading, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. Use the free AHA/ACC Pooled Cohort Equations calculator online (search 'ACC ASCVD Risk Estimator Plus'). Complete the calculator and record your result below.
- What is your 10-year ASCVD risk percentage? How does it compare to the risk categories (low <5%, borderline 5–7.5%, intermediate 7.5–20%, high >20%)?
- Which of your five inputs (blood pressure, LDL, smoking, age, HDL) has the most room for improvement based on what you can control?
- If you reduced systolic blood pressure by 10 mmHg or LDL by 1 mmol/L, what do you estimate would happen to your overall risk? (Run the calculator again with improved numbers.)
- What single 90-day lifestyle target would move your highest-impact lever most meaningfully?
Worksheet: 90-Day Cardiovascular Action Plan
Set one primary and one secondary cardiovascular goal for the next 90 days. Be specific — vague goals do not produce measurable change.
- Current 10-year CVD risk score (%)
- Target risk score at 90-day review
- Primary modifiable lever chosen (blood pressure / LDL / smoking / exercise / weight)
- Primary goal — specific and measurable
- Weekly action to achieve primary goal
- Secondary lever
- Secondary goal — specific and measurable
- Week 4 check-in: progress note
- Week 8 check-in: progress note
- 90-day reassessment date and what to measure
Checklist: Heart Health Weekly Tracker
- At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity this week
- At least 2 resistance training sessions this week
- Sodium intake roughly estimated and kept under 2,000 mg on most days
- Alcohol limited to 14 units or fewer per week (ideally less)
- Blood pressure self-checked if you have a home monitor
- Post-meal walk after at least one meal per day
- No smoking this week (or one fewer day if working toward cessation)
Exercise: Know Your Family History
Family history is a major independent risk factor that calculators can underestimate. Use this exercise to document what you know and identify questions to ask relatives.
- List any first-degree relatives (parents, siblings) who had a heart attack or stroke before age 65. Include their approximate age at the event.
- Do you know of any family history of high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolaemia), type 2 diabetes, or hypertension? Note what you know.
- What questions would you ask a family member to fill the gaps in this picture?
- Based on what you know, does your family history change which risk lever you should prioritise?
Mental Health, Daily Habits, and Building a Sustainable Routine
Design your minimal viable daily health routine and build a sustainable plan for mental and physical wellbeing.
Exercise: Mental Health Check-In and Barrier Mapping
Use the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 questionnaires (freely available at phqscreeners.com) to complete a self-assessment. Record your scores below. These tools are used by healthcare professionals worldwide — they are a useful starting point for a conversation with your doctor, not a diagnosis.
- PHQ-9 score (0–27): What category does it fall into (minimal 0–4, mild 5–9, moderate 10–14, moderately severe 15–19, severe 20–27)? How does this compare to how you thought you were doing before completing it?
- GAD-7 score (0–21): What category (minimal 0–4, mild 5–9, moderate 10–14, severe 15–21)? Were there any items that surprised you?
- Identify the single biggest barrier you personally face in seeking mental health support (stigma, cost, not knowing where to start, believing it will pass, practical access). What would make that barrier smaller?
- Name one person in your life you could have an honest conversation with about how you are doing. When could you do that this week?
Worksheet: My Minimal Viable Daily Routine
Design your personal daily health routine using the anchor habit method from Lesson 3. For each time slot, identify the anchor habit you already do reliably, then attach a small health behaviour that takes 2 minutes or less to start.
- Morning anchor habit (existing behaviour)
- Morning health behaviour to attach
- Midday anchor habit (existing behaviour)
- Midday health behaviour to attach
- Evening anchor habit (existing behaviour)
- Evening health behaviour to attach
- Weekly review: day and time scheduled
- How I will track consistency (app / paper / habit tracker)
- 30-day review date to assess what is sticking
Checklist: Annual Men's Health Review Checklist
- GP appointment booked in the calendar (recurring annually)
- Blood test panel requested: glucose, HbA1c, lipids, testosterone if relevant
- Blood pressure measured and recorded
- Waist circumference measured and recorded
- PHQ-9 and GAD-7 self-assessments completed
- Cardiovascular risk score recalculated (if 40+)
- Screening schedule reviewed and any overdue tests noted
- Current medications and supplements reviewed with doctor
- Sleep quality discussed if persistent issues
- Mental health honestly addressed in the appointment
Your Action Plan
- Book a GP appointment within the next 2 weeks — put it in your calendar now before finishing this workbook
- Request a fasting blood panel at that appointment covering glucose, HbA1c, lipid panel, and full blood count
- Measure and record your blood pressure and waist circumference this week
- Complete the AHA/ACC ASCVD Risk Estimator online and write down your 10-year risk score
- Complete the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 self-assessments and bring results to your next doctor's visit
- Choose your single highest-impact lifestyle lever and set a specific 90-day target for it
- Set a consistent wake time and get morning light exposure within 30 minutes for 7 consecutive days
- Add a 10-minute walk after lunch every workday this week — attach it to the end of your lunch break
- Tell one trusted person how you are actually doing — not the edited version
- Schedule your next annual health review appointment 12 months from today
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