Dr. Andy Galpin (@DrAndyGalpin), Professor of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, and one of the foremost experts in the world on the science and application of methods to increase strength, hypertrophy, and endurance performance.
In this episode of Huberman Lab, Andrew Huberman and Andy Galpin continue with Part 4 of a 6 part series on all things fitness. Learn how to design an effective training program for fitness, health and longevity, goal setting, exercise selection, recovery, and more! Host: Andrew Huberman (@hubermanlab)
The two main reasons people don’t see results from their fitness program are (1) adherence and (2) lack of progressive overload – both of which are difficult to achieve without a training plan
  • Have a loose tracking system, like a notebook, you can track weights used so you can dial up
“Construct a plan that lives within your realistic limitations.” – Dr. Andy Galpin
Define your training goal – when you leave your house, ideally you know the optimal route to your destination
Arbitrarily choose something or understand your largest deficit and focus on that
Follow SMART goal setting: specific (be as specific as possible), measurable (objective measure), attainable (something within your control), realistic (set balance of stretch and reality, think about 10% improvement), time-sensitive (give yourself time constraints)
A note about intermediate goals: be specific about goal and time domain ahead of time so you can track progress over time
Progress isn’t always linear: don’t tether the system only to exact numbers
“The more specific and precise you can be with a single goal, the faster you will get there.”– Dr. Andy Galpin
  • Some combinations of goals are compatible but some will distract from the primary goal – for example, you can optimize speed and power together but you’d be less successful at optimizing hypertrophy and strength at the same time
  • Recall the 9 main training adaptions – the closer they are to each other on the list, the more compatible they are: skill, speed, power (function of speed and strength), strength, hypertrophy (growing muscle mass), muscular endurance, anaerobic power (ability to produce and sustain work in short bursts), VO2 max (max heart rate), long-endurance (30+ minutes with no break)
You can have performance-based goals – athletes don’t lift weights because that’s their goal, with specificity it makes them better at their sport
Example: Instead of “I want to get stronger” think – “I want to be able to run this 2-mile loop around my neighborhood faster and/or with a lower heart rate”
  • Be realistic about what’s hindered you before (such as injuries, loss of interest, etc.) and address that thing and adjust accordingly
Get real about limitations – imagine everything in your life falls into one of four quadrants: business, relationships, fitness, recovery – distribute 10 total points across the four areas
Quadrant example: business 5, relationships 2, fitness 2, recovery 1 – this means you spend 2.5x more time on the business than relationships, and so on
  • Recovery needs to be a minimum of half of the fitness allocation (shoot for 20% of the total)
  • Consider recovery as things that give you energy back, not just muscle rest days
  • Break it all down – is this the optimal split for you? Is 2 out of 10 sufficient to hit your fitness goals?
Implement the “Drop everything and ‘blank’” rule (e.g., drop everything and read for recovery) – then print it and put it in the place you fail for and in the hands of someone who will keep you accountable
Work training backward around life or you will fail – it’s not always realistic to exercise 90 minutes per day, 5 days per week
Choose the number of days per week and length you can exercise based on the reality of your calendar
Before you even worry about exercise selection: think about where you want to go, how you’re going to get there, and restrictions based on the reality of life, lastly select exercises and balance across the week
Checklist for progressive overload: (1) make sure you can do the exercise perfectly with assistance (e.g., box squat); (2) make sure you can do the movement without assistance (e.g., air squat); (3) assess whether you can do the movement well with added load in eccentric position (e.g., goblet squat); (4) can you hold an eccentric position with a load while maintaining control (e.g., goblet squat, hold the bottom); (5) now you can add speed; and (6) go to fatigue
  • The progression checklist might take you one session or two years – it doesn’t have to be a fixed timeline depending on experience
Do what’s most important first in the workout – maybe it’s a muscle group or specific lift you want to maximize
  • This requires going through steps 1-4 so you know what the priority is no matter the circumstances
  • Things might get more chaotic as the week goes on, maybe choose the most demanding workout or movement on Mondays if you can be more consistent
It might be difficult to do a hard workout by Friday night – create a plan accordingly and maybe do something like biceps/triceps or whatever feels easier for you
Bookend the day you can anticipate having your best day and worst day and plan accordingly
Consistency always beats intensity
Try to exercise at least 4-6 hours prior to sleep
  • If you can’t, finish with down-regulation breathing to slow down heart rate and relax mentally
Athletes, you do need to train at the same time you will play/compete
Note: 30 minutes of total zone 5 exercise per week positively impacts deep sleep as long as it’s done early in the day far apart from sleep time
Remember the adaptation you’re training for (see previous episodes) and pick the appropriate rep range, total sets, and intensity to get the corresponding adaptation
Intensity: shoot for 3% progression per week
Volume: shoot for about 5% progression per week and no more than 10%
Progressive overload can come in the form of any modifiable variable: intensity, load, volume, time under tension, number of sessions per day, rest intervals
Increase load or intensity for 6 weeks then take a de-load week – this should leave you progressing well and avoiding injury
Programming reminders:
  • Strength: 3-5 exercises, 3-5 repetitions, 3-5 sets, 3-5x per week, rest 3-5 minutes
  • Hypertrophy: 10-20 sets per muscle group, anywhere 6-30 reps getting close to failure, per week – in a single session or multiple sessions as long as you hit volume
Higher rest intervals (2-5 minutes) for speed, power, and strength; endurance rest intervals vary depending on the type of training
Block programming in 4-8 week chunks, backing off one week for a de-load before resuming
Think ahead: come up with possible places of failure or friction before you start so you can address and make adjustments in advance
  • Maybe it’s an exercise, maybe the calendar isn’t realistic, etc.
Outline what you want to do then take a day to think about it
General goals of exercise: (1) look a certain way; (2) perform a certain way; (3) do that across the lifespan
Physical fitness parameters for both lifespan and healthspan: grip strength, leg strength, total muscle mass, speed and power, VO2 max, physical fitness
Importance of proprioception in staving off neurodegenerative disease: work on balance to improve awareness of where you are in space – you can get this from sport, deliberate work, trial running, etc. shooting for one workout per week
Sample structure training program for the year:
  • Q1 you want to add muscle and work on sleep (hypertrophy)
    • Increase calories by 10-15% for bulk
    • 7 sessions per week of physical activity (not necessarily 7 days, could be a combination of walking, sports, lifting)
    • Lift weights 4x per week + outside time when you can
    • Focus on sleeping more, critical to recovering and growing muscle – this helps because days are darker
  • Q2 you want to lean out
    • Bring calories down – this plays into life because you’re more likely to be at social events, at the beach, in the sun, etc.
    • Days are longer, shoot for outdoor sports like paddleboarding, kayaking, and walking 2x per week
    • Fitness or exercise class 2x per week (take the pressure of programming off and enjoy the benefits of group dynamic) + 2x per week lifting
  • Q3 get into great cardiovascular shape (higher heart rate training)
    • Maintenance calories
    • Choose outdoor sports 2x/week
    • Include track workouts, hill sprints, etc. 2x per week
    • Lift 2x per week
  • Q4 pure cardiovascular fitness (moderate to long-form, aerobic capacity)
    • Increase calories (which works out through holidays and cold weather – this plays well into life)
    • Transition back into indoor sports like kickboxing, martial arts, etc. 2x per week
    • Hit machines or lift 1x per week
    • Indoor cardio machines or walk outside if you can 2x per week
  • At the end of every quarter, take one week’s rest or de-load the week
  • If you want to run fitness testing, target 3rd week of December
  • You can easily adjust the programming based on what matters to you, and what comes up in life, and use this template repeatedly
  • The variety will keep you engaged and give you the flexibility to choose what you enjoy which makes adherence easier
General 3-day schedule – can be in and out of the gym in under 60 minutes or less as fits your schedule:
  • Day 1: speed and power finished with hypertrophy
    • Training speed and power first won’t hinder hypertrophy
  • Day 2: pure strength than higher heart rate (aerobic or anaerobic getting high heart rate)
  • Day 3: steady state, long-duration endurance
Either totally off or active recovery on days off
Important reminder: you will not hit optimal health by engaging in intense physical activity for 1 hour per day than sitting around the other hours of the day
For longer program (i.e., 6 days), cycle this format
General 4-day schedule
  • Day 1: full body multi-joint exercises, strength training, staying in a 5-10 rep range
  • Day 2: long-duration exercise – could be a swim, sport, jog, etc.
    • If you’re feeling good it can be harder and longer; if you’re fatigued it can be slower and shorter
  • Day 3: 11-30 rep range lifting or muscular endurance bodyweight or yoga training where you will get muscular burn but it’s light
    • Group activity or spin could be good and finish with light upper body
  • Day 4: medium intensity – could be boxing, bike intervals at moderate heart rate – then finish with 5-6 minutes of max heart rate work
    • Example: solid 10-minute warm-up at moderate pace on bike then 30-second faster bursts on the bike then cool down on the bike
One bad night of sleep: it depends on the phase of training – if you are trying to push adaptation and make progress, train
  • If it’s close to a de-load week, give yourself recovery – this could be a sauna, restorative exercise
Hot water immersion, if you’re ill, might be restorative as well
Cold exposure can increase stress negatively when you’re run down
Soreness and time to recover can hinder the ability to train again – recovery is important
Full recovery episode coming next!
Guest Series | Dr. Andy Galpin: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness
3-Day Training Program (XPT)
Chart of Interference
10-Step Approach to Designing a Training Program