primary prevention
Acting before anything is wrong: building strength, fitness, sleep and recovery while they are cheap to build. The opposite of waiting for a diagnosis, and the foundation the whole programme stands on.
Glossary
the words we use.
Plain definitions of the vocabulary of the house, so nothing here needs decoding.
the residency
The six-day stay at the quinta in Sesimbra: assessment on day one, a personal protocol built overnight, four days of implementation, and a re-measure on day six.
baseline
Your measured starting point, taken on day one across strength, fitness, sleep, recovery, blood pressure and stress, on validated tools. Every session that follows is programmed from it.
protocol
Your personal programme for the week and beyond: the right stressors at the right hours, met with the right rest, adjusted daily from your numbers.
the re-measure
The same markers, on the same tools, taken again on the last morning and set side by side with day one. The proof of the week, in your own numbers.
The Return
The first month after the residency, included with every stay: weekly check-ins with the team that ran your week, and your protocol adjusted to your real life.
Atlas Cove Membership
The year-round continuation, by invitation, from month two: monthly reviews, remote coaching, member terms on return residencies, and the month-twelve re-measure.
Atlas Capacity
The living health profile behind the experience: your baseline, re-measures and check-ins in one place, growing sharper with every data point.
cohort
The guests who arrive and leave together, once a month. Ten rooms, one long table, first names by the first dinner.
fit call
A twenty-minute conversation after your application with the team who would host you. Fit is decided in both directions; your figure and dates are confirmed plainly.
the energy account
Health seen as a bank account for energy: daily deposits and withdrawals, and a growth rate. The week resets the slope from quietly draining to compounding.
supercompensation
The sports-science principle behind the week: the right dose of stress, followed by the right dose of rest, rebuilds the body slightly stronger than before.
the sleep window
The protected 9.5 hours from 21:30: devices down, lights warm, the house quiet. Sleep treated as the most important session of the day.
zone two
Steady, conversational-pace endurance work. On the Arrábida trails, it rarely feels like training.
HRV
Heart-rate variability: the quiet morning marker of how recovered your system is. Tracked daily through the week.
healthspan & joyspan
Healthspan is how long you can do as you wish; joyspan is the part of it that actually feels good. Both are what capacity is for.
chronobiology
The science of the body clock. Light, training, food and rest are timed to it: build in the morning, recover in the afternoon, repair after dark.
enhancements
The few things arranged on request before arrival: a sea-facing room, a partner, extra one-to-one work, hands-on recovery, a seventh day, an extended baseline.
Atlas Protocols
The programme that turns your baseline into the week: sessions, nutrition, timing and rest, sequenced by chronobiology and adjusted each night from your numbers.
the quinta
The estate in Sesimbra that holds the residency: ten rooms, a long table, a movement deck, a recovery wing, gardens and pools, an hour south of Lisbon.
Sesimbra
The town on Portugal's Arrábida coast where Atlas Cove is held, between the Serra da Arrábida and the Atlantic, about an hour from Lisbon.
the long table
The single table where each cohort eats together. First names by the first dinner; good company by design, not by chance.
VO2max
The gold-standard marker of aerobic capacity and one of the strongest predictors of healthspan. Measured at baseline and again on day six.
grip strength
A simple, validated proxy for whole-body strength and longevity. Part of the day-one baseline and the day-six re-measure.
the shala
The open-air movement and yoga deck where the morning and evening sessions are held.
the recovery wing
Sauna, cold plunge and hands-on recovery, used deliberately as part of the protocol rather than as an extra.
PAR-Q
A short, medically reviewed readiness screen taken before you train. A flag never blocks you; it prompts a quiet check-in so the week is built safely around you.
the deposit
A 20% deposit, taken only after your fit call, reserves your room. Cancel 60 or more days before the start for a full refund, deposit included; inside 60 days, everything you've paid is held as credit toward another Atlas Cove retreat.
longevity retreat
A stay built around healthspan rather than pampering: measurement, training, food, sleep and recovery, arranged so the gains outlast the week. Ours runs six days, ten rooms at a time, near Sesimbra in Portugal.
the method
Assess, build, implement, re-measure: the four beats of the six days. No diagnosis, no generic plan, only your numbers and what they ask for.
the quinta
The private estate near Sesimbra that holds the residency: ten rooms, the shala, the recovery wing, gardens and pools, behind one gate inside the Serra da Arrábida.
the long table
One table, every dinner, all ten rooms and the team. Where the week's conversations happen and first names stop needing reminders.
VO2max
The maximum rate at which your body can use oxygen, one of the best-studied markers of fitness and long-term health. Part of the day-one baseline and the day-six re-measure.