Dr. Andy Galpin: How to Build Physical Endurance & Lose Fat | Huberman Lab Guest Series

I believe this summary will help us all. There you go: 03:00 ⚡️ Endurance boils down to two main factors: fatigue management and fueling. Training encompasses managing fatigue signals and energy input restrictions. 11:21 🤸‍♂️ Any vigorous activity, not limited to stair climbing, can improve endurance in short bursts of exertion. It's about the intensity rather than the specific exercise. 13:14 🔄 Frequency and duration in these short bursts of activity aren't rigid. The key is periodic elevations in heart rate multiple times a day, making it flexible to fit into daily routines. 18:23 🌟 Endurance isn't solely about physical activity; it extends to maintaining energy throughout the day, muscular endurance, maximal efforts, sustaining positions, and covering maximum distances feeling good after. 26:08 🌬️ Breathing serves to offload CO2, triggered by increased CO2 levels; oxygen intake primarily facilitates CO2 removal rather than serving as a fuel source. 31:55 🌱 Human metabolism differs from plants' ability to photosynthesize carbon; humans must ingest carbon sources (starches, fruits, proteins) for energy and metabolic processes. 32:51 🍔 Fat, carbohydrates, and proteins consumed are stored differently in the body, needing metabolism to break carbon bonds for energy, releasing carbon for elimination via respiration. 35:48 🔄 Weight loss primarily involves reducing carbon intake or increasing carbon output (exhalation), emphasizing that different diets or exercises can effectively achieve fat loss by regulating carbon balance. 53:41 🔄 Burning fat during exercise doesn't directly equate to losing body fat. The body's fuel usage is a complex balance, where high-intensity exercise can tap more into carbohydrates, while low-intensity activities might utilize a higher percentage of fat but contribute less to total energy expenditure. 57:09 🤔 Exercise primarily burning carbohydrates can still lead to fat loss due to a balanced game in the body. Depletion of carbohydrate stores during high-intensity exercise can prompt the body to utilize fat as a fuel source. 01:06:12 🧠 Liver depletion and neural signals: Low liver glycogen triggers signals to protect the body from harm, shutting down physical activity to preserve survival. 01:09:25 🍖 Fat utilization during exercise: In a sub-caloric state, if body glycogen isn't replenished through diet, body fat is mobilized to replace glycogen stores, but fat doesn't convert directly to muscle. 01:29:46 🍝 Consuming carbohydrates at night does not necessarily lead to increased fat storage, debunking the myth about late-night carb intake. 01:35:11 🏃‍♀️ To enhance fuel utilization, specific training protocols cater to improving either fat or carbohydrate utilization through pre-exercise meals and exercise intensity. 01:37:01 🧬 Energy production involves various cellular processes—anaerobic glycolysis, aerobic metabolism in mitochondria, and the importance of managing waste products during intense exercise. 01:45:44 ⚡️ Higher intensity exercise initiates anaerobic glycolysis for quick energy, but with limited ATP production and increased waste products requiring efficient management to avoid fatigue. 01:46:25 🏃‍♂️ Energy from pyruvates or acetyl-CoA moves into mitochondria for aerobic processing. Mitochondrial activity is essential for complete carbohydrate metabolism. 01:47:47 ⚙️ Glucose breakdown results in six carbons entering the Krebs cycle, releasing CO2, completely metabolizing the carbohydrate molecule. 01:49:19 🔄 Anaerobic and aerobic systems aren't separate but interdependent; compromising one impacts the other. They funnel to the same endpoint, and limitations in either system hinder overall performance. 01:53:28 🏃‍♂️ Short, intense exercise mainly utilizes phosphocreatine, followed by anaerobic glycolysis from carbohydrate stores for quick energy production. 01:56:05 🥤 Anaerobic glycolysis breaks down glucose, yielding limited ATP and producing pyruvate, which enters the mitochondria for aerobic metabolism if sufficient oxygen is available. 02:06:42 🍌 Carbohydrate intake before exercise can cause blood sugar fluctuations leading to a crash during prolonged activities. Pre-race nutrition should mimic your training routine to avoid unexpected reactions. 02:07:54 📚 Consistency in training, nutrition, and supplementation before events is crucial. Avoid trying new things right before an important race or test. 02:11:10 ⏱️ For endurance events beyond 90 minutes, managing muscle and liver glycogen becomes crucial. 02:11:38 🏋️ Strategies like increasing muscle glycogen storage or enhancing acid buffering systems can maximize endurance. 02:12:58 🥩 Protein contributes minimally to energy output, usually at best about 10% during long-duration exercises. 02:14:07 🥖 Carbohydrates start anaerobically and end aerobically in the exercising muscle tissue. Fat, however, mostly comes systemically from stored sources. 02:26:36 🍖 In extremely low-carb diets, adaptation occurs to generate glucose from other sources, but it can hinder performance, especially in anaerobic-based activities. 02:28:00 🏋️ Physical activity is effective for weight management and energy stabilization throughout the day, supported by research and observation. 02:29:08 🍽️ Weight loss necessitates restriction, whether of time or macronutrients, highlighting various options to achieve a caloric deficit based on personal preference. 02:30:28 🏋️ Muscular endurance involves local muscle endurance, emphasizing exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, focusing on acid buildup and waste clearance rather than fuel depletion. 02:35:20 🔄 Precision in exercise choice is crucial for muscular endurance training, emphasizing movements specific to improving endurance in targeted muscle groups. 02:37:27 🏋️‍♀️ Training frequency for muscular endurance with low loads allows for more frequent sessions (3-4 times per week), focusing on targeted muscle groups, sets, and progression. 02:45:18 🏃‍♀️ Anaerobic capacity training involves high-intensity activities for seconds to a few minutes, pushing the limits of acid buildup and oxygen transportation, requiring specific practice and aerobic support to enhance overall performance. 02:49:22 🏃‍♂️ Understanding exercise zones: Zones 1-5 represent a spectrum from easy walking (Zone 1) to a level where conversation becomes difficult (Zone 3), and Zone 5 signifies an all-out effort. 02:53:06 🌬️ Breathing control for efficiency: Controlling breath patterns (e.g., nasal breathing) during low-intensity activities is crucial to prevent unnecessary carbohydrate utilization and maintain efficiency. 02:58:21 💪Exercise choice for anaerobic capacity: Opt for exercises you're comfortable with to ensure focus on performance, avoid heavy eccentric loads, and consider total body movements like cycling or uphill running. 03:08:49 🚴‍♂️ Optimal weekly anaerobic training: Aim for about 5-6 minutes of all-out work per week, potentially achieved through three one-minute sprints, two to three times a week, to achieve significant benefits in minimal time. 03:12:02 🏋️‍♂️ Try the "Kenny Kane" protocol: Cover a certain distance in 2 minutes, rest 2 minutes, then match that distance in a subsequent 2-minute round, aiming to surpass it in a third round. Failure in one round makes the next harder, lasting 6 minutes total. 03:21:16 🏃‍♂️ Combining high-intensity anaerobic work (60/20) and long-duration aerobic work (10-minute max effort) into a week can effectively optimize fitness by reaching maximum heart rate twice weekly. 03:30:20 🏃‍♂️ Different endurance training methods can be woven into schedules: Longer single sessions, shorter durations with increased intensity (30-60 mins), or blended workouts combining various intensity levels. 03:31:29 🔄 Flexibility in scheduling endurance training allows for various combinations: standalone days, active recovery days, or even on strength training days before or after workouts. 03:32:12 🌬️ Nasal breathing during endurance training can aid in a smooth cooldown, allowing for a thoroughly regulated cool-down phase. 03:33:24 💡 A well-rounded endurance training regimen spans roughly 10 minutes of running or sprinting, short bouts of high-intensity training, and longer workouts of 30 mins to an hour. 03:34:47 🤸‍♂️ An effective endurance training program, when consistent, enhances metabolic flexibility, developing a proficient fat and carbohydrate burning system for overall fitness. 03:35:42 🏋️‍♂️ A comprehensive endurance training system incorporating aerobic, anaerobic, and muscular endurance can promote energy, aesthetics, and longevity, impacting sleep, mood, and mitigating metabolic issues. 03:42:23 📅 Distributing the additional 30% of training supporting endurance work can be split across days focusing on tempo runs, bursts for speed, and high-intensity VO2 max training,

This is not a podcast. It’s a masterclass and I’m taking notes!

3:33:18 for summary of activities and duration. Do these once per week: 1. 10 min run or high output activity - threshold 2. 6 mins high intensity 20-60s with rest 3. 30-120 min steady state activity 4. muscular endurance

You two are changing my life and giving me the education I can’t afford. I have the upmost gratitude and appreciation for you both.

Andy Galpin is by far your best guest and best teacher. He is so incredibly knowledgeable and articulate and structures his presentation of concepts so beautifully that 3 hours fly by and we come away with loads of new and actionable knowledge. Thank you!! This is such a gift.

Takeaways: Endurance comes down to two factors: fatigue management and fueling. Endurance is not just about being able to perform a task for a long time, but it is also about having the ability to perform it properly. People exercise for three reasons: to feel better, look a certain way, and do it for a long time. Endurance training is not just for people looking to lose weight or maintain good health, but also for performance and longevity. Improving endurance is not just about doing a task for longer periods, but also about maintaining proper mechanics, starting with breathing and posture. The endurance adaptation can be amplified by proper mechanics and breathing, which can improve endurance exponentially. Endurance training should focus on managing fatigue and understanding fuel storage. There are other forms of training that can improve endurance, not just running or swimming longer. Fatigue management and fueling are crucial components in overall health, regardless of being a high-performance athlete or a general public. Heart rate exercise: Heart rate should be increased multiple times a day for quick benefits. It doesn't require warm-up or sweating and can be done in just 10 seconds. Example of heart rate exercise: Sprinting for 30 seconds during breaks in between meetings or zooms. Office exercise: A simple airbike can be placed in the office for quick exercise. Levels: A program to see how different foods and activities affect health by giving real-time feedback on blood glucose levels. Element: An electrolyte drink with the correct ratio of sodium, magnesium, and potassium for optimal mental and physical performance. Hydration and electrolytes: Hydration is key for performance but proper cellular functioning also requires the correct ratio of sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Importance of electrolytes: People who drink caffeine, exercise, or follow a clean diet are at risk of not getting enough electrolytes for optimal performance. Potassium needs to be present in the correct ratio to optimize mental and physical performance. Element contains a science-backed ratio of 1,000mg of sodium, 200mg of potassium and 60mg of magnesium. Endurance is not just about physical performance, but also includes energy throughout the day, focus, posture, and ability to sustain positions. Endurance is not just about being able to do something, but also feeling good afterwards. When thinking about endurance, consider energy, fatigue management, and energy production. Endurance includes five different things - energy throughout the day, muscular endurance, maximum anaerobic capacity, sustained position, and maximum distance. Endurance is not just about being able to perform physical activities, but also about feeling good afterwards. Fatigue management and energy production are related to endurance. Endurance is about being able to handle different types of activities and still feel good afterwards. When considering endurance, think about the different factors that contribute to it, including physical performance and energy. The central source of energy for living beings is ATP, which is produced by breaking carbon bonds in molecules. Fat molecules are chains of carbon that need to be moved out of the body. Breathing is triggered by the level of carbon dioxide in the system and is used to offload carbon dioxide. Oxygen is not a fuel source but is necessary for metabolism to occur. The carbon cycle of life involves plants breathing in CO2 and exhaling O2, while humans breathe in O2 and exhale CO2. The carbon cycle of life is maintained by plants and humans breathing in opposite gasses. Fats are chains of carbon and can be either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Plants use energy from the sun in photosynthesis to form bonds with the carbon they inhale. Protein synthesis requires energy and forming a new bond between atoms also requires energy. If a plant does not have carbon dioxide or oxygen in the air, it has no fuel. The energy from the sun is used in photosynthesis to form a bond between atoms. If a plant does not have oxygen or carbon dioxide in the air, it has no fuel. Forming a new bond between atoms takes energy. Protein synthesis also requires energy. A plant's fuel source is carbon dioxide and oxygen in the air. Discusses the process of plants inhaling carbon and storing it in root vegetables (starches) The stored carbon is broken down into smaller form of carbohydrates such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose Fruit contains glucose, fructose, or a combination of both in the form of sucrose Biology or chemistry is almost identical between plants and humans in terms of storing carbon Discusses how humans get carbon into their system by ingesting starch, fruit, or other stored carbon Humans store carbohydrates in the liver, blood, or muscles as glycogen Fat is stored in adipose tissue with a small amount in muscle cells Protein is used for structure and not as fuel Discusses how metabolism is used to break down carbon bonds to release energy Oxygen is needed to bind the carbon molecule to create CO2 and exhale it Discusses the relationship between exhaling carbon and fat loss Asks if increasing the duration or intensity of exhales can accelerate fat loss Provides a possible path of interesting protocols if the answer is yes The main take-home message is that the key metric for fat loss is the same rate of oxygen in and CO2 out. Different diets and training protocols can work effectively because they all lead to increased carbon exchange. Increasing lung capacity is not necessary to enhance fat loss because if you exhale more CO2 than needed, it leads to inefficiency and burning more energy. The heart has a metric called cardiac output (heart rate multiplied by stroke volume) that is specific to energy needs and will automatically adjust to keep you at the same level. As endurance improves, resting heart rate will lower, with a goal of sub 60 beats per minute. The focus is on resting heart rate as a metric to pay attention to in optimizing physical performance. Improving endurance leads to a lowering of resting heart rate. A resting heart rate over 70 beats per minute is a sign of not being physically fit. The goal is to have everybody's resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute. The focus is on optimizing physical performance for professional athletes or individuals in a good spot who want to feel incredible. Explanation of exercising fasted: the idea of exercising fasted being better for fat loss is irrelevant because even without breakfast, there's plenty of fuel in the system. The concept of "crossover" shows that as exercise intensity increases, a higher percentage of fuel comes from carbohydrates and a lower percentage from fat. However, the total fuel expenditure is still low. Misunderstanding of "fat adapted": The idea of "fat adapted" is a real thing but often misunderstood. Enhancing fat oxidation during exercise does not enhance fat loss. At the highest, only 70% of fuel can come from fat, but in high-intensity exercise, it can be 100% carbohydrate and zero fat. Burning carbs vs. burning fat: The idea that burning carbs is not desirable for weight loss is misguided because all fuel has to come out as carbon. The only difference is in exercise efficiency for performance. If the goal is weight loss, it doesn't matter where the fuel comes from. Question of where fat loss comes from: If all the fuel burned is carbohydrate, where does the fat loss come from? The answer is that it all comes out as carbon and it doesn't matter where the fuel comes from. Recap:

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I'm blown away how informative this series has been. Andrew is a boss at formulating questions that the average person wants answers to. So many fitness podcasts tease good information but then gloss over actionable protocols. Really enjoying this!

Bringing my favorite guest on for a 6 part series is just incredible. I feel like a sponge being dipped in an ocean of knowledge and soaking up what i can. Thank you so much

I am a personal trainer and own my own business and I can't tell you how much your words have helped me communicate better and clearer to my clients! I listen to your podcasts on my way to clients, while I cook dinner and when i am visiting my kids in college! They help bring clarity and makes so much sense!!! Thank you thank you!!!!

People are out there paying for this knowledge. I truly appreciate your podcasts and sharing this for free. ❤

This is INCREDIBLY helpful. Huberman & Galpin- As a 2 years now, dedicated exerciser- I have spent a lot of time, money and effort in understanding both rehab(for me,specifically) and physiology so that I know what I am doing. I struggle with muscle fatigue and am aware of breathing protocols. But the carbon chain, energy chain & waste disposal mechanism, is truly one of the best things I have learnt to date. Connects ALL the dots and makes a WORLD of difference to my life . Humbled and awed by your genorosity in sharing this! I will pay this forward..

These podcast lengths are just immense. I cant wait for the stress/sleep/nutrition episode.

This is really informative and interesting! One of the biggest things that have helped me loose weight aside from spending time in the gym has been a custom meal plan from Next Level Diet. I use it every week and I love it!

The opportunity to learn “everything exercise” from you and Andy Galpin is beyond awesome. Towards the end, just as I was wishing for my next question to be answered- Dr. Galpin stated what he wanted to do for the next session. I was like “Yes!” Can’t wait! Thank you both!

I am so grateful for this Dr. Gaplin series because I don’t think I’ll be able to get into the school where he is teaching just to hear his lectures. Same to Dr. Huberman. Thank godness for the internet, and thanks a lot to people who don’t gatekeep scientific information like this. It’s a lot to absorb right now, so much information dump but I will listen to this again and again until I can fully digest it.

Loving this series. Dr Galpin is just a joy to listen to, and i love how lengthy the episodes are, but never boring.

HONESTLY, i cannot believe this sort of content is free. Imagine if this existed 10 years' ago. Unbelievable. Thank you for providing.

Many thanks from germany for the deep insights in human physiology and exercise guidelines to become more fit and healthy! It‘s always a pleasure to listen to both of you!

Dr's Huberman and Galpin: What a phenomenal series. Thank you both so much! You are making a positive difference in the world!