YOU CAN’T MISS the saguaros at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. They’re majestic sentinels for this OG wellness destination that’s been celebrating healthy food, exercise, and nature for more than 45 years. These cacti endure all kinds of stress, have postures that would make yogis envious, can live for up to 200 years, and don’t even start growing secondary limbs until 100. Talk about #gainsatanyage.
The resort’s new Longevity8 program takes the idea of a wellness vacation and, well, 8x’s it. The itinerary includes sessions on flexibility, strength, endurance, emotional health, spiritual wellness, nutrition, sleep, and (because we’re in Arizona) connection to nature. While I’ve enjoyed dipping my toes in self-care on other trips, L8 offers everything—top doctors, trainers, dietitians, therapists, even a spiritual guru—all in one place. If it sounds like an elaborate doctor’s visit, know they also offer archery, qi gong, miles of trails, two outdoor pools, and a huge gym.
The view of the Santa Catalina mountains from the health center at Canyon Ranch, Tucson.
After I strolled past those saguaros on the sprawling 150-acre campus, the work began. The medical assessments were front-loaded: blood work for a lipid panel plus hundreds of other biomarkers, an electrocardiogram, a DEXA scan for fat and muscle composition, a carotid ultrasound, the Galleri multi-cancer test, and a genetic test. (Not bad before breakfast on day one.) Then Canyon Ranch’s medical director, Stephen C. Brewer, MD, reviewed the results and gave me sleep, medication, and diet recommendations so I could follow up with other experts during L8 and, eventually, with my PCP.
Later that morning, I attached a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and underwent a diet audit with nutrition director Eric Williamson, PhD, RD. We discussed what I tend to eat in a week, and he plugged the info into a formula, which also considered my blood work, CGM, and DEXA scan data. The result: a five-page eating plan with advice for every meal and snack, with the goal of reducing my bad cholesterol and visceral fat levels. One of the big takeaways was creating a custom meal replacement shake to make on nights when I don’t feel like cooking and to eat something healthier than pizza or fast food.
Ben’s 40-g Protein Smoothie
Enjoy this as a meal replacement or snack ≥3 days per week.
3 tbsp 0% plain Greek yogurt
1 scoop Protein powder
1-1.5 cups of berries.
½-1 cup frozen dark leafy greens
1 tbsp seeds (especially flaxseed and chia).
1 tbsp psyllium husk.
1 tbsp cocoa powder.
4 oz kefir.
5 grams of creatine monohydrate.
Unsweetened almond milk to desired consistency.
1 banana
ice to taste
I also took on-site classes on cooking fish, making lentils, and sharpening knives—skills that make cooking and eating healthier even tastier.
Power breakfast at Canyon Ranch.
That led me next to dialing in my fitness. L8’s intense, multiday program included a VO2 max test, a functional movement screener, a grip test, and force-plate jump drills. The overall goal was to identify areas of fitness that I can improve to enhance my healthspan,
explained senior performance scientist Samuel Barthel, CSCS. As with my eating plan, I received a data-tailored workout prescription and even picked up tips on avoiding my nagging back pain: Sit back in a chair so my hips better support my posture, and brace my core more often—at 50 percent when walking and more intensely during strength exercises.
But, as I heard often at L8, connection is the other key to helping me live a long, healthy life. One afternoon, I met with Canyon Ranch’s director of mental health and wellness, Amy Hawthorne, LMFT. She ran me through a kind of speed therapy to “find my whys.” We discussed the important relationships in my life—family, friends, colleagues—and what I’d like to improve. Thinking and talking about who matters to me was exhausting, largely because it wasn’t something I had explored, but it felt gratifying.
Another afternoon, I sit down with Adam Smith, spiritual wellness provider, who guides me in an introspective conversation about purpose and if I’m the character I want to be in my story, and, if not, how I can become the hero of my own narrative. Both stress the importance of making time to think about this kind of thing consistently and write down my thoughts and develop an emotional wellness practice. Luckily, there’s also a high-tech recovery romper room, featuring an infrared light chamber, an infrared light sauna, and neuromuscular stimulation chair, and all the percussion machines and compression devices. I dim sum all the modalities.
The author recovering in the infrared sauna at Canyon Ranch.
On the final day, I went with a group for a sunrise hike in nearby Sabino Canyon. It’s the most explicitly connect-to-nature part of the program, and also an opportunity to connect the dots of the whole experience and think Big Picture. Crystal-clear air, warm light, and epic rock faces will do that. Despite hitting the smoothie bar daily and gorging on plates of produce and protein, I’d lost five pounds and felt revitalized. And relaxed. (Perhaps a benefit of my room being bright during the day, but dark and cold—optimized for deep sleep—at night.) All the testing and data and insights have given me a much better sense of where I am and the specific kinds of exercise, diet, and mindset changes I need to make to maintain and extend vitality as I age.
Sunrise at Sabino Canyon
While it’s still daunting to think about what the next 50 years will be like for me, I feel optimistic. I have a strategy now. On that hike, there were saguaros everywhere, some 35 feet tall and likely 150 years old. When I commented on how their longevity was inspiring, our hiking guide, Zain Kimbrell, noted that another local plant is even more impressive: the creosote bush. It can go two years without water, clone itself, and live as long as 10,000 years.
This story appears in the May-June 2025 issue of
Men’s Health.
Ben Court is the Executive Editor of Men’s Health. He has a decade of experience writing and editing stories about peak performance, as it relates to health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss, and sex and relationships. He enjoys yoga, cycling, running, swimming, lifting, grilling, and napping.
