Section 3 of 440
Before You Begin: The Safety Screen
Before the screen below: if physical, cognitive or emotional exertion reliably makes you worse afterwards — especially if the worsening is delayed by hours or days and takes a long time to pass — stop here and read section 5.7, “When the standard loop does not fit you”. The core method in this book is not safe for you, and the general screen below was not written to catch that.
This book discusses health and performance practices that can carry material risk. Titan does not provide general-use extended-fasting, temperature-exposure, breath-hold, controlled-substance or aggressive-supplement progressions. The screen below is a routing aid for lower-burden work and professional referral; it is not medical clearance.
Some activities may be adaptable. Only an appropriate qualified professional can assess whether a particular route is suitable when health, medication, disability, pregnancy, injury, symptoms, or another material concern is present.
If this describes you | Get qualified clearance before |
|---|---|
Heart condition, chest pain, or known cardiac risk | Intense or maximal exercise, cold exposure, sauna and heat, breath-holding, stimulants |
High or unmanaged blood pressure | Cold exposure, heat, breath-holding, heavy lifting, stimulants |
Diabetes or other metabolic disease | Fasting, very-low-carbohydrate protocols, cold and heat, large changes in exercise intensity |
Kidney or liver disease | Fasting, high-protein loads, most supplements, all substances |
Pregnancy, or trying to conceive | Fasting, sauna and heat, cold extremes, intense training, most supplements, all substances, any hormonal protocol |
History of an eating disorder | Fasting, calorie restriction, body-composition tracking, rigid dietary protocols |
Major depression, or any thoughts of suicide or self-harm | See the note below—intense protocols and isolation should be avoided, and care comes first |
Severe anxiety or panic disorder | Breathwork, cold exposure, stimulants, fasting |
Addiction or substance-use history | The substances chapter in full, and any protocol you find yourself using compulsively |
Chronic pain, injury, or recent surgery | Strength, power, combat, and heavy mobility work—return-to-training needs professional guidance |
Sleep apnea or a breathing disorder | Breath-holding protocols and certain sleep and recovery interventions |
Taking any prescription medication | Any protocol that may interact with it—fasting, supplements, substances, heat and cold; check interactions with a pharmacist or doctor |
Under 18, or older with fall or fracture risk | Most advanced protocols, which require adaptation and supervision |
A specific word on mental-health crisis: if you are currently experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or you are in any kind of crisis, this book is not the right tool for you right now, and nothing in it should take the place of immediate help. Please reach out to a doctor, a mental-health professional, or a crisis line in your country today. The work in these pages will still be here when you are well. Your safety comes first, always. In an emergency, contact your local emergency number immediately.
The screen is a routing aid, not medical clearance. If nothing above applies, begin only with a low-burden task inside its stated limits and remain alert to symptoms. If anything applies, or if you are unsure, use the relevant qualified route first. A checklist cannot determine that an individual is safe for every protocol.
And whatever you are doing, stop the moment your body signals danger. Chest pain or pressure, faintness or a racing heart, severe breathlessness, sudden confusion or other neurological symptoms, sharp or worsening pain, a panic response that will not settle, or—if you manage your blood sugar—any dangerous change in glucose: each is a reason to stop the practice at once and seek help. In an emergency, contact your local emergency number. No protocol in this book is worth pushing through a warning like that.