(Part 1 of 6) How to assess and improve all aspects of your fitness - Dr Hubarman podcast summary

 Author - Ravi Kulkarni

Here is a podcast on strength training along with my summary. It is a 6-part podcast and I will send more once HL posts the remaining episodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEYE-vcVKy8

Dr. Andy Galpin: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Huberman Lab Guest Series (Part 1 of 6)

For the long term health and wellness it is important to focus on both endurance and strength. Focusing on any one is not going to be enough to ensure optimal health.

There are nine major adaptations that the body can make in response to exercise. These are:

1) Movement or skill development

2) Speed 

3) Power

4) Strength 

5) Muscle hypertrophy

6) Muscular endurance are adaptations to exercise that can improve functional and/or appearance outcomes.

7) Anaerobic capacity. Maximum heart rate, VO2 max, and long duration endurance are the 3 physiological limitations of anaerobic

8) maximal heart rate or aerobic test and 

9) long duration training

One metric to keep track of health is vo2 max (volumetric oxygen). It is measured in milliliters per kg (of body weight) per minute. If this number is lower than 18, you need to live in an assisted facility. Another equivalent metric is the resting heart rate. It should be below 60 for a really healthy person.

There are two types of muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Fast twitch fibers atrophy as you age and they are needed for heavier weight lifting and other high force activities. If you don’t have fast twitch fibers, you lose the ability to prevent falling and/or bracing against impact because you can’t act fast enough. Due to body adaptation, consistent and long term endurance training alone could reduce fast twitch muscle fiber in the body.

Most of the things you hear about strength training are not based on real science. For example, there is no evidence that you have to isolate muscle groups and work on them one day at a time.

Tests to determine if you are fit.

Movement/Skill

Check your elbow, shoulder, lower back, hip, knee and ankle movements. There are four aspects of movement: symmetry, stability, awareness and range of motion. Record frontal view and a side view with three to ten repetitions. Do two for upper body and two for lower body exercises. For example, push ups, pull ups, squats, jerks etc. Check for the four aspects and improve.

Speed

For most people it is not necessary to test. Sprint athletes may want to do a 40 yard dash test.

Power

Do a broad jump from a standing position. You should be able to jump as long as your height. Alternatively try a two handed vertical jump to achieve a height of 2 feet. In other words, hold both hands over your head and touch the wall and you should be able to touch a point 24 inches above that point by jumping.

Strength

Grip strength should be around 40kg in your dominant hand. Another test is a dead hang. Hang by a bar for at least 30 seconds, 60 seconds is ideal.

Leg extension strength with at least body weight

Hold a dumbbell with ½ of your body weight and go down in a squat position and hold for 45 seconds.

Hypertrophy or enlarged muscles

Use FFMI score. For this you will need to know the total body fat %, which is available with a Dexa scan. Should be 20 or better for optimal health. Don’t exercise for 24-48 hours prior to the test. 

Muscular endurance

Front plank for 60 seconds and side plank for 45 seconds. Men, 25 or more pushups, no pause. For women 10 or more pushups.

Anaerobic capacity

Exercise for about 45 seconds to 1 minute at peak rate and once you reach your maximum heart rate (220 - age) per minute, measure your heart beat for the next 2 minutes. The heart rate should slow down by about 0.5 beats per second. In other words at the end of two minutes it should have come down by 60 beats per minute. If not there is some issue with anaerobic capacity or cardiovascular health.

Maximal heart rate test (equivalent to VO2 max test). Also called a Cooper Test

Run as hard as you can for twelve minutes and measure the distance. There are many online sites which talk about this. 

Long duration steady state exercise

Maintain a steady pace, faster than walking, for 20-30 minutes. 

Few tips on testing

Test at least once a year 

Don’t have to test all of them in one day, spread them across a week

Test those that you need to improve more often

Do the Dexa scan first