Dr. Duncan French, Ph.D. (@dr_duncan_french) is the Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute (@ufcpi).
Andrew Huberman and Duncan French take a deep dive into using exercise and recovery for optimal muscle growth and hormone balance. They breakdown specific resistance training regimens to impact hormones in men and women, effectively varying load and rest, mindset, rest protocols – and tons more!
Host: Andrew Huberman (@hubermanlab)
Heavy lifting increases androgens (e.g., testosterone, DHT, etc.)
The theory behind hormone release is that it’s a downstream stress response – in men released through testes or adrenal gland; in women, it’s released through adrenal glands (though significantly less)
Testosterone impacts performance by benefiting muscle growth, ligaments, tendons, bone density
Testosterone is stimulated by intensity and volume
Training Protocol to increase testosterone production: 6 x 10 protocols (6 sets of 10 reps) at 80% of 1RM with 2-minute rest between sets
Tip: adjust load for sustainable reps over all 10 reps in each set
Growth hormone release is mainly driven by the intensity if the workout
Rest is as important in load an intensity
If you increase rest periods, you’re influencing the metabolic system and triggering the removal of waste products and lactates, and removing needed stress for muscle development
If the objective is muscle growth (not necessarily strength), err on the side of high intensity with short duration rest
Work at high intensity loads 2x per week; the remainder of workouts should be high volume and low intensity
Most athletes have diverse needs in their sport beyond muscle growth
Huberman Lab Hormone and Support Bundle
In the short term, a sharp increase in stress hormone can promote the release of testosterone
Epinephrine and norepinephrine spike in anticipation of difficult workout ahead and prepare the body
“The greater the arousal, the higher the performance.” – Dr. Duncan French
Low stimulus pre-workout or during a workout will likely lead to lower performance levels throughout the workout
The more you do the challenging workout you become accustomed to it and need to vary training
Discomfort in exercise is beneficial!
Cold causes stress but it’s paradoxically good for recovery as well
You can use cold stress to disrupt system and manage mindset
From a physiological perspective (i.e., flushing or redistribution of blood flow), cold exposure clamps down vascular system and will trigger a stress response
Your body can’t tell the difference between the types of stress you are exposing it to – you have to have a purpose for using cold exposure
Emerging research is showing cold exposure can actually hinder strength, power, hypertrophy
Periodization of cold exposure is the best route to explore: inversely tweak the level of cold exposure depending on whether you are in a high or low intensity phase of training
Heat is stress the same way cold is stress
“Heat is a stressor and when managed incorrectly you can have detrimental responses instead of beneficial responses.” – Dr. Duncan French
To acclimate to heat: start with 15 minutes in the sauna at 200 degrees F
You can train the body to tolerate heat the same way you train the body for anything else
Diet is highly individualized – no diet is the best and only way to go
In general, high-intensity efforts require carbohydrates for fueling
Mordern Martial Arts (MMA) athletes often use ketones after fights to maintain fueling and energy supply for the brain because it might have experienced trauma
Ketone cycling may be beneficial for metabolic efficiency
In general, stay away from standard American diet (SAD)
Be deliberate in exposure to carbohydrates and use for fuel immediately before and after exercise, keeping relatively low carb the rest of the meals
“At low intensities of exercise or just day to day living, we shouldn’t be tapping into carbohydrate fuel source extensively; that’s for high-intensity work or fight or flight needs.” – Dr. Duncan French
Teach the body to preferentially use a specific fuel source through diet & exercise manipulation – fat at low intensity, carbohydrate at high intensity
Try nutrition periodization – “needs-based eating”: consume higher carbohydrates for high-intensity weight training and interval training; try lower carbohydrate diet for lower intensity and volume exercise; if entering a competition stack carbohydrates and ketones
Skill development is about the rehearsal & repetition of accurate movement patterns
Skill training is quality over quantity: stop as soon as fatigue is influencing the quality of repetition
You should leave training a session mentally and physically fatigued
Huge variety of technical skills and demands
Considerations you have to make are unprecedented
You always have to be ready – you don’t necessarily know when the next fight will be
It places a high demand on physical and mental resilience
Fighters live in the regular fluctuation of high and low stimulus
The goal is to inspire the global community around optimizing human performance