Summary
In this episode of the Huberman Lab Guest Series, host Andrew Huberman and guest Dr. Andy Galpin discuss the importance of recovery in fitness and exercise. They explain that while stress causes adaptation, recovery is where the real results occur. The hosts discuss different ways to enhance recovery and how to ensure that recovery outpaces stress input. They also touch on the topic of muscle soreness and explain that it is not necessarily a result of muscle damage, but rather a neural feedback loop. The episode ends with a discussion of different modes of recovery and how to accelerate them.
The speakers break down the recovery process into four distinct levels: acute overload, functional overreaching, non-functional overreaching, and overtraining. The recovery period for acute overload is minutes to days, while functional overreaching has a recovery period of a few days to a week. Non-functional overreaching takes weeks to recover from, and overtraining can take months to recover from. The discussion also touches on the importance of paying attention to markers and being careful when reading research or social media posts.
The speakers also discuss the use of biomarkers, such as sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and cortisol to DHEA ratio, to monitor training load and prevent overtraining. The speakers also discuss the use of supplements like rhodiola and ashwagandha to modulate cortisol levels, but caution that more research is needed. The context also discusses ways to improve motivation and performance during workouts, including using tactics such as music, motivational quotes, coaching, and finding one's "why."
Overall, the episode emphasizes the need to practice recovery techniques and not rely on substances like caffeine, which can lead to a decrease in sensitivity. The different methods of recovery include resistance training, cardiovascular training, thermal training, and breathwork. The speakers recommend measuring recovery through one subjective measure, such as mood, and one objective measure like HRV or CO2 tolerance test. Other metrics that can be measured monthly or quarterly include body fat, cortisol, testosterone, and testosterone to cortisol ratio. Hidden stressors can also be measured through blood work, including glutamine, glutamine to glutamate ratio, tnf alpha, interleukin-6, and neutrophil lymphocyte.
