My Peptide Protocol at 43: BPC-157, Tesamorelin, NAD+, and What Actually Changed
I'm going to walk you through exactly what I take, why I take it, and what shifted in my body composition, recovery, and daily performance after integrating peptides into a system I'd already spent two decades building.
A few things before we get into the protocol. I'm not a physician. I'm an ISSA Master Trainer, an MBA who built three companies to multi-million-dollar revenue, and a consultant and advisor in the regenerative medicine space. I advise several companies in this industry — NDAs prevent me from naming them publicly. Everything I'm sharing here is my personal experience under the supervision of licensed medical professionals. This is not medical advice — it's a firsthand account from someone who has tested protocols on himself with the same rigor he applies to business and training.
I also need to be transparent about who else I advise on this: my private consulting clients include billionaires in finance, professional athletes, and C-suite executives at major companies — people who have access to the best medical teams money can buy and still come to me because they want someone who integrates training, nutrition, and regenerative protocols into one system, not just someone who prescribes compounds. I've also guided hundreds of regular people through workout, nutrition, supplement, and peptide recommendations both online and in person. The science doesn't change based on your tax bracket.
With that said, let's get into it.
The Protocol
My current peptide stack is designed around three objectives: fat metabolism, cellular repair, and systemic detoxification. Here's what it looks like:
BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157). This is the foundation of my recovery protocol. BPC-157 is a synthetic peptide derived from a protein found in human gastric juice. It's been studied extensively in preclinical research for its effects on tissue repair — tendons, ligaments, muscle, and gut lining. For me, the impact on recovery time between training sessions has been the most measurable change. Soreness that used to linger for 48-72 hours now resolves in 24. Joint inflammation that I'd been managing for years with ice and mobility work has reduced significantly.
Tesamorelin. This is a growth hormone-releasing hormone analog — it signals your pituitary gland to produce more growth hormone naturally rather than replacing it synthetically. I use it primarily for its effects on visceral fat reduction and body composition. At 43, maintaining the same body composition I had at 30 requires more than training and nutrition. Tesamorelin addresses the hormonal component that declines with age.
5-Amino-1MQ. This compound targets an enzyme called NNMT that's associated with fat cell expansion and metabolic dysfunction. It's one of the more interesting molecules in the longevity space because it works on a metabolic pathway that training and diet alone can't fully address. The research is still emerging, but my experience has been measurable improvement in metabolic efficiency — specifically in how my body partitions energy between muscle and fat storage.
NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide). NAD+ is a coenzyme found in every living cell that's essential for energy metabolism, DNA repair, and cellular signaling. Levels decline significantly with age. Supplementing NAD+ has been the single most noticeable change in my daily energy and cognitive clarity. The difference between a day with optimal NAD+ levels and a day without is the difference between operating at 80% and operating at full capacity.
Glutathione. This is the body's master antioxidant — involved in detoxification, immune function, and cellular protection. I use it as the systemic cleanup component of the protocol. When you're pushing your body through intense training, running businesses, and adding regenerative compounds, the detoxification load increases. Glutathione handles that load.
Why Peptides Changed My Approach to Training
I've been designing training programs for over a decade. My ISSA Master Trainer certification is not decorative — it's the operational backbone of every workout I program, including all 70 days of training in The Unbroken Code.
What peptides changed wasn't my training philosophy. It was the ceiling on what training could produce.
Before this protocol, there was a hard limit on recovery speed, body composition at age 43, and the accumulation of joint wear from two decades of heavy training. I could manage it. I could work around it. But I was managing decline, not optimizing output.
After integrating the protocol — under medical supervision, with bloodwork monitoring, through a physician-supervised clinic and licensed compounding pharmacy I advise in the regenerative medicine space — the calculus shifted. Recovery accelerated. Body composition improved without changing caloric intake. Joint inflammation decreased. Cognitive clarity sharpened.
This is not a magic solution. Peptides without a training foundation, a nutrition system, and disciplined daily habits are a waste of money. The protocol works because it sits on top of twenty years of built infrastructure. You don't skip the foundation and jump to optimization. That's supplement-culture thinking, and it doesn't work.
If you're over 35, training hard, eating right, and still watching your recovery slow and your body composition drift in the wrong direction — you're not failing. You're hitting a biological ceiling that training and nutrition alone cannot break through. That's exactly where I was before this protocol. And that's exactly where this protocol was designed to intervene.
The Regulatory Landscape in 2026
If you're reading this in 2026, you know the peptide space is at a pivotal moment. The FDA has been restricting access to compounded peptides over the past several years, adding substances like BPC-157 and Thymosin Beta-4 to restricted lists. At the same time, there's significant political pressure to reverse those restrictions and expand access to regenerative therapies.
My position is straightforward: peptide therapy should be administered under the supervision of licensed medical professionals, sourced from regulated compounding pharmacies, and guided by bloodwork and ongoing monitoring. The gray market — buying research-grade peptides from unregulated suppliers — carries real risks including contamination, incorrect dosing, and zero quality control.
That's part of why I consult in this space. The companies and practitioners I work with are building the infrastructure for responsible, medically-supervised peptide therapy at scale. The potential of these compounds is extraordinary. The pathway to accessing them safely requires the same operational discipline that builds any other system worth trusting.
What This Has to Do With The Unbroken Code
The Unbroken Code is a 70-day covenant program that fuses Biblical scripture, Stoic philosophy, and physical training. Every workout in the book was designed from my ISSA Master Trainer foundation. The peptide protocol I've described here is the biological optimization layer that sits beneath the physical training layer — which sits beneath the philosophical and spiritual layer.
Performance Architecture means all of these systems operate as one. You don't compartmentalize the body from the mind from the spirit from the biology. You build them together.
The Unbroken Code is the daily system. The peptide protocol is the biological substrate. The business operations are the external expression. It's all one architecture.
Your first step isn't this protocol. Your first step is a comprehensive bloodwork panel — not the basic panel your GP runs, but a full hormone, metabolic, and inflammatory workup. Know your baseline. Know what you're actually working with before you optimize anything.
Learn more about The Unbroken Code at theunbrokencode.com. The book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GLQZ92R8
Follow me on Instagram @Jonathan_Coyle where I post protocol updates, training content, and real-time results from the integration.
Important: This post describes my personal experience with peptide therapy under licensed medical supervision. It is not medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any peptide or hormone optimization protocol.
In my next post, I explain why the smartest coaches in the fitness industry are moving into regenerative medicine — and what most of them are getting wrong. If you're a trainer, a coach, or someone who takes physical programming seriously, this one will reframe how you think about the future of your craft.
Read it here: From ISSA Master Trainer to Regenerative Medicine jonathancoyle.net/blogs/news/issa-master-trainer-regenerative-medicine
