Huberman Lab - Science Supported Tools to Accelerate Your Fitness Goals
In this episode, Dr. Huberman explains a set of fitness tools gleaned from a 6-part series on fitness, exercise and performance with Dr. Andy Galpin. All of these tools aim to improve your fitness in meaningful ways and can be easily layered into existing exercise programs.
Tools To Improve Fitness (5:14)
What constitutes a core or a foundational fitness program?
Checks off the major boxes that science tell us are important for health and life span (cardio, bone density, mobility, etc)
Can help us improve various aspects of performance
Improves various aspects of aesthetics (fat loss and muscle growth)
Ideally, a person needs anywhere from 150-200 minutes of Zone 2 cardio weekly. Zone 2 cardio is the type of cardiovascular exercise that you can do while maintaining a conversation without getting winded. Aside from Zone 2 training, you should include 2-4 higher intensity cardiovascular training sessions (getting winded) weekly. As well as 2-4 resistance trainings weekly.
First Tool (13:33)
Mesh your zone 2 cardio with your daily activities. Zone 2 cardio is critical to health. In addition, it does not impose and can in fact enhance other aspects of cardio and fitness (speed work, strength training, and hypertrophy training). Ideally you don’t schedule Zone 2 training as a “legit session”. Instead try to just work more of it into your daily life
Getting groceries (park far away while running errands)
Playing with your kids
Walking with coworkers on break or during meeting
Take the stairs when available
Make the effort to move around more in your daily life activities. If you look at Zone 2 cardio as part of your daily life, you’re more likely to get it in.
Second Tool (20:53)
Include a low repetition strength workout. There’s a tremendous benefit to training in the 3-5 rep range. One of the most obvious benefits of this is getting stronger. In addition, your cardiovascular system improves. That’s because your muscle gets stronger and you’re able to maintain better posture/form during cardiovascular exercise. Another benefit is decreased soreness by doing such low reps. Ideally, the workout consists of 3-5 exercises, for 3-5 sets, for 3-5 reps and rest for 3-5 minutes between each set. A proper warm-up is suggested: start with high reps (10-12) at very light weight, and then progress to less reps (6-8) with more weight. Finalize the warm-up with even less reps (4-6) reps and even higher weight.
Aging and Performance (33:33)
We see some very interesting patterns with the data in regard to aging and performance. For every year after age 40, there’s a 1% drop in muscle size, but that can be offset with resistance training. This can be done with 6-10 working sets per muscle, per week. There’s also a 3-5% reduction in strength and power and a decrease of 8-10% in speed/explosiveness every year after 40.
Tool 3 - Cardiovascular Fitness (38:08)
The Sugarcane Protocol (named for Kenny Kane) is an efficient, yet brutal way to increase your cardiovascular output. It’s the kind of exercise that you throw in every 2-4 weeks as a replacement for your other high intensity training. You can apply this protocol to running, rowing, and stationary bikes. The type of exercise isn’t important, what’s very important is that you’re able to generate a lot of intensity. The Sugarcane Protocol involves 3 rounds of work (warm-up beforehand).
Round 1: Go the max distance that you can in 2 minutes, then rest for 2 minutes.
Round 2: Go the same distance you did in round 1, as fast as possible. If you maxed out in round 1, it should take you longer to complete the distance in round 2. Mark down how long round 2 took. Rest for 2 minutes.
Round 3: Go all out, max effort for the same length of time taken in round 2. If you finish the distance of round 1 before the time of round 2, keep going until the time requirement is reached (cool-down).
The Sugarcane Protocol will raise your heart rate substantially and by doing so, your improving your VO2MAX. VO2MAX is correlated with all sorts of important methods relating to health, life span and performance.
Tool 4 - Exercise “Snacks” (43:29)
By adding exercise “snacks” to your training regimen, it can further improve things like VO2MAX and muscular endurance. Especially when traveling or too busy with family and/or work, “snacks” can be helpful to maintain the fitness that you’ve developed. These can be done without a warm up, and should be included in your day at least once weekly. Let’s divide them into 2 categories:
Those that maintain/improve your cardiovascular fitness:
-x100 jumping jacks (30-90 seconds)
-find a stairwell and go up it as fast and safe as you can (20-40 seconds)
-spot your car in the parking lot and run to it (assuming you’re not carrying anything and not a sprint)
Those that maintain muscular endurance:
-wall sits (30-60 seconds)
-as many push ups as you can (one set)
Tools 5 & 6 - Rest Periods and Respiration (55:32)
Perform a deep inhale through your nose, followed by a short 2nd inhale (sip of air) and finished with a very long exhale through the mouth. Do this between sets. The more calm achieved between sets, the more energy devoted to the work set itself. Then perform the same breath work at the end of every workout, taking 3-5 minutes for down regulation breathing. Remember, you get fitter not during your workout, but afterwards. As soon as you’re done with your workout, shift towards a recovery mindset.
Tool 7 - The Line (1:05:38)
The next tool is a psychological one, geared towards enhancing focus during a workout. The Line is a physical location that separates workouts from the other parts of the day. For example, the entrance of the gym might be “The Line”. Once you cross that line, you’re all about business. When you cross that line, you’re training. When you cross out of it, you’re done!
Tool 8 (1:09:55)
Set boundaries for smartphone use while working out. Be thoughtful and intentional with phone use. Focus during the workout and the recovery times won’t be disrupted.
Tool 9 - Omega 3 (1:13:44)
Omega 3 is a fatty acid found in fatty fish. Most people do not get enough EPA (form of Omega 3) and that’s why supplementation is recommended. 1-2 grams per day is the recommended dose of Omega 3. Getting sufficient amounts of Omega 3 has been show to:
-improve mood
-offset depression
-improve neuromuscular performance
-reduce inflammation
Tool 10 - Creatine (1:15:37)
Although creatine is found in red meat, the amount needed to have a performance enhancement would be far too high. Creatine Monohydrate is the most effective form for supplementation; it is also the least expensive. [There is no evidence in Huberman’s opinion as to the superiority of any other form.] If you weigh 185-250lb, you can get away with 10g per day. If less than 185lb, you can do anywhere from 3-5g per day.
Tool 11 - Rhodiola Rosea (1:20:09)
This supplement is a cortisol modulator. It neither suppresses nor increases cortisol. The method in which it modulates cortisol is still under investigation. The hypothesized mechanism relates to neurons in the brain that control glands in the body (adrenal) that respond to stress.
Tool 12 - Nutrition - Fasted or Fed (1:27:47)
Don’t be afraid to eat before morning training sessions, this is in reference to those who fast. There is no specific rule as it relates to training fasted or fed, except what you can handle in regard to gastric distress. Figure out what works best for you. By being flexible with either being fasted or fed, it allows you to fit workouts into any type of schedule.
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“Science-Supported Tools to Accelerate Your Fitness Goals.” Open.spotify.com, 3 July 2023, open.spotify.com/episode/6ELxWmL2sfg9RtxMlTPq6e. Accessed 10 Sept. 2023.