Do you have book or link recommendations about how to put together such a wellness program?

There are so many out there. But good nutrition, physical fitness, and psychological fitness is not hard to accomplish; it is mostly what you already know. I can recommend some references to use, but I do not subscribe to any particular program.

Mindset

This is a good beginning. Your mindset is critical.

Flourish

Pretty much anything by Martin Seligman is useful.

You have to start with the head. There are so many sources for mindfulness training out there, and it has been so long since I have used any outside resources. Many years ago, I was taught by someone very good, but years before it was even called mindfulness. Use some critical thinking when selecting a resource.

As for physical fitness and nutrition, I don't even know where to begin. There is too much out there. Common sense (which may not be so common) is a good guide. And as I said, you have to experiment and find what works. Just think "whole person", which is life in general. Eat well, get exercise, and have a good, growth mindset. Resilience is important in all aspects of life. I am sorry, but I don't have any particular program to point you to. I did it for myself from what I have learned through life.

This really is a great topic! In the context of wilderness survival- but really, just living from day to day- physical fitness is so important. I have kind of neglected it a bit lately. Right now I'm about three months into a new Executive Chef job in a new town so I'm working 70 hours a week and haven't found a new gym. So I need to get back in the saddle and return to lifting weights.

There are probably a lot of couch potato preppers with piles of guns, food, etc which which to survive a calamity while ignoring the thing that's even more important to survival- fitness. What good is a year's suppply of food if you drop dead of a heart attack? Or a well stocked 75 pound bugout bag when you can't walk two miles without getting winded?

When it comes to working out, I like to keep it simple. I’ve reverted to routines I used decades back when I started power-lifting. Learn the form and do those basic lifts correctly so you don’t hurt yourself; you will increase your strength, but don’t cheat on form. I’ve decreased the weights I train with considerably and mostly just do squats when I’m at the gym. Still, I broke form about a year ago and my back took a major hit. That was my last gym work-out for 2 months. It’s all good now, but coming back was slow.

A good place to start is at: Weight Training

I mentioned the dumbbells I have at home; those are good for some isolation exercises but its not a lot of weight for the compound exercises I prefer. For squats as an example, I go to the gym where they have a squat rack and Olympic style bars. I can go as light or heavy as I choose, lots of reps or just one depending...

As for aerobics, I walk. Lifting brings my heart-rate up but not for long and recovery is quick. OTOH my walk to the ATM this morning had my heart-rate way above my theoretical training zone. This is a good thing to watch if you are just starting an exercise regimen. It’s kinda important to not over-rev your heart or your exercise routine may get cut short.

That calculation says something about 220-(age in years)=Max heart-rate? — only if you’re in bad shape. I won’t give a specific number, suffice to say I exceeded my theoretical max heart-rate walking today — it may have been the hills When I was 43 my heart-rate on a run was 200+ bpm and it would stay there most of the run, (I wore a heart-rate monitor so that’s not an exaggeration). Watch your heart-rate and if it starts to climb into a red zone, back off on your intensity.

Killing yourself working out is only cool if you’re an elite athlete attempting to break a record or a personal best, but even then, no points on the board. For us old guys, killing ourselves working out is just bad form ‘cause we shoulda known better (as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not 20 anymore). If you start feeling dizzy, take a knee, it’s a shorter distance to the ground if you do pass out.

I mostly stick to squats, bench press, military press and curls. Lunges when I'm in decent condition but they're a little risky if you're out of shape. As Russ says, proper form is key.

Fitness, health and a good diet are very important for survival and for managing stress. If you are in good shape and healthy, your chances of surviving just about anything go up, a lot. These things also significantly aid in management of stress in general. It does get more difficult to stay in shape as we get older (but we have the advantage of wisdom, I hope, to help offset) and when you are very busy.

single best recommendation for you is walking.

walking in fresh air is very healthy, and I encourage you to do this - if at all possible. But i understand that you said ... there is a limitation.

Next best thing is an in-home treadmill. I suggest that you get one that can incline up to angles of 10-degrees, and preferably 12-15 degrees. That way you can easily adjust the "rate of exercise" from ...easy workout ... to real calorie burner. It is WORTH spending the money to get a good-quality machine delivered and installed to your home. One extra nice thing - you can watch TV or movies while walking.

Other machines, including "elliptical machines" and stair climbers ... are also effective. But if you are over 60, the basic treadmill is the best, I think.

by the way ... interesting fact.

scientists did a study over the last couple of years to find the "people group" in the world with the best overall health and cardiovascular health. The winner was a tribe living in eastern Bolivia, and they 'won' the competition by a significant margin. Their cardiovascular systems are way ahead of everyone else, even to a ripe old age.

So what are they doing right?
The answer was ... lots and lots of walking. every day.
The tribe has a daily average that is three times the distance walked by people in western countries. they do this largely through necessity - its how they gather food. but it has become an in-grained habit for them to walk big distances every day.

Stationary bikes are also good for small spaces. Back when I was running I had knee issues (tendinitis?) on a couple occasions, I could still ride my bike and I could run on some treadmills; not all treadsmills are the same from the perspective of cushion/give.

From a survival forum perspective though, I agree that walking is the best way to prepare oneself for walking.

Putting together an overall program seems like an interesting idea. If you're not just, say, doing a selection of random stuff, what are the guiding principles for finding mental activities, dietary plans, and physical exercises?

Off the top of my head, I can think of a comprehensive wellness program, though in its cultural context it is not regarded as such: yoga. Yoga is a traditional program that includes dietary rules, physical exercises (asanas), as well as mental stuff. The guiding principles are cultural and philosophical. Of course, people who practice all eight limbs of yoga are generally motivated by what they term spiritual reasons, rather than by the pursuit of wellness.

On the other hand, maybe we just don't know enough scientifically about wellness. At the end perhaps all we know is just meditate some, eat well, and exercise.

I wonder whether Andrew Weill has written on developing a program. This seems like it would be up his alley.