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How to Build Endurance in Your Brain & Body

Andrew Huberman・105 minutes read

The Huberman Lab Podcast provides science-based tools for everyday life, focusing on topics like endurance training, neural energy, and muscle endurance, supported by sponsors like ROKA and InsideTracker. The podcast covers essential topics on physical performance, mental factors in pushing one's limits, and the importance of balancing mental and physical aspects for long-term health and well-being.

Insights

The Huberman Lab Podcast, hosted by Andrew Huberman, focuses on providing free science-related information to the public, separate from his roles at Stanford.
ROKA, a sunglasses and eyeglasses company sponsoring the podcast, designs products with a focus on performance, optical clarity, and sunlight filtering, incorporating science into their design.
Endurance training involves physical and mental components, with the ability to persist being neural rather than solely mental or physical.
Anaerobic endurance exercises aim to push the body beyond its VO2 max, enhancing mitochondrial respiration and neuron engagement, emphasizing the quality of movement and longer rest periods for effectiveness.

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What is the Huberman Lab Podcast about?
The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses science and tools for everyday life, hosted by Andrew Huberman, a Stanford professor.

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Summary

00:00

"Science, Health, and Performance Insights Podcast"

The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses science and science-based tools for everyday life, hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor at Stanford School of Medicine.
The podcast aims to provide free science-related information to the public, separate from Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford.
ROKA, a sunglasses and eyeglasses company, sponsors the podcast, founded by two All-American swimmers from Stanford.
ROKA's products are designed with a focus on performance, optical clarity, and sunlight filtering, incorporating science into their design.
ROKA glasses offer contrast, clarity, and adaptability to different light conditions, essential for eye health and circadian rhythm.
InsideTracker, a personalized nutrition platform, analyzes blood and DNA data to provide insights on metabolic and hormonal factors for better health.
InsideTracker offers guidance on nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle factors based on individual markers, aiding in long-term health goals.
Athletic Greens is an all-in-one vitamin, mineral, probiotic drink that supports gut health, metabolism, immunity, and general health.
Athletic Greens provides essential nutrients in a convenient drink form, promoting overall well-being and covering various health needs.
The podcast series covers topics on physical performance, skill learning, strength gain, fat loss, and now delves into endurance training, hydration, and the importance of resistance training for muscle maintenance and overall health.

12:52

Endurance, ATP, Oxygen, Willpower: Factors of Effort

Endurance is the ability to engage in continuous exercise or effort, impacting both physical and mental performance.
ATP is crucial for energy production in the body, derived from various sources like carbohydrates, fats, and creatine.
Oxygen is essential for converting fuel sources into energy, enabling sustained effort.
Willpower is governed by neurons in the brain, determining our ability to endure or quit.
Neurons in the brain stem release epinephrine, influencing our readiness and motivation during effort.
An experiment showed that mental perception of progress affects our willingness to continue exerting effort.
Glia cells monitor epinephrine levels and can halt its release, signaling the brain to stop exerting effort.
Neurons play a vital role in both initiating and halting physical effort, with mental factors often determining when we quit.
Neurons connecting to muscles control movement, but the decision to quit is primarily a mental one.
Caution is advised against pushing oneself to the point of injury, emphasizing the importance of mental and physical balance.

27:09

Neural Persistence: Fueling Endurance and Strength

Our ability to persist is neural, not mental or physical.
Neurons are responsible for all thinking processes.
Nerves need glucose, electrolytes, sodium, potassium, and magnesium to function.
Muscle uses phosphocreatine and glycogen for energy during intense efforts.
Temperature and pH levels are crucial for muscle function.
Blood provides glucose and oxygen as fuel sources for neurons and muscles.
The heart and lungs are essential for distributing oxygen and fuel to muscles and neurons.
Endurance can be built through various types of training protocols.
Muscular endurance allows muscles to perform work over time.
Muscular endurance can be trained by performing 12 to 25 repetitions of an exercise like push-ups.

41:06

Building Muscular Endurance Through Exercise Training

Muscles fail during push-ups due to muscular endurance, not lack of oxygen or blood flow.
Military training focuses on push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and running to build muscular endurance.
A good protocol for muscular endurance involves 3-5 sets of 12-100 repetitions with rest periods of 30-180 seconds.
Exercises like push-ups, planks, and pull-ups without eccentric loading are ideal for building muscular endurance.
Muscular endurance training enhances the ability to engage in long bouts of low-intensity endurance work.
Isometric exercises like planks help build endurance in postural muscles.
Compound exercises are recommended for building muscular endurance, avoiding strong eccentric loads.
Muscular endurance training mainly relies on neural energy rather than cardiovascular fitness.
Long-duration endurance involves continuous effort for 12 minutes or longer, relying on fuel utilization and central pattern generators.
Failure in long runs occurs due to the depletion of glycogen and energy sources in muscles and the brain.

54:36

Efficient Decisions Boost Endurance and Performance

Overthinking decisions burns up valuable energy that could be used for productive activities like running.
Willpower involves allocating resources efficiently, which includes making decisions promptly.
Prolonged contemplation on decisions consumes neural energy, primarily glucose and epinephrine.
Long-duration efforts, lasting 12 minutes or more, enhance efficiency of movement and build mitochondrial density.
Engaging in runs for 30 minutes or longer aids in repeating performances with increased efficiency and reduced fuel consumption.
Long-duration efforts help in developing capillary beds within muscles, enhancing oxygen delivery and energy utilization.
Building capillary beds through long-duration efforts increases oxygen availability to muscles, improving endurance and performance.
Anaerobic endurance training involves 3 to 12 sets with work-to-rest ratios ranging from 3:1 to 1:5.
Anaerobic endurance exercises focus on pushing the body beyond its VO2 max, enhancing mitochondrial respiration and neuron engagement.
Quality of movement is crucial in anaerobic endurance training, with longer rest periods promoting safer and more effective repetitions.

01:08:10

Enhancing Exercise: Boosting Endurance and Motivation

Fatigue during exercise is linked to motivational components.
Training neurons to access more energy and ATP is crucial for muscle endurance.
Mitochondria's ability to use oxygen improves with high-intensity interval training.
High-intensity interval training builds capacity for short bouts of intense effort.
It supports endurance and muscle ability to generate force repeatedly.
High-intensity aerobic conditioning involves 3-12 sets with varying ratios.
One-to-one ratio in aerobic conditioning is powerful for building aerobic capacity.
High-intensity aerobic conditioning can prepare individuals for long-distance running.
Resting heart rate decreases with regular aerobic exercise, increasing stroke volume.
Exercise, especially high-intensity training, enhances brain function through increased blood flow and oxygen delivery.

01:21:13

Enhancing Brain Function Through Oxygenation Training

Standard strength and hypertrophy workouts do not activate blood oxygenation and stroke volume increases for the heart like the training discussed in the text.
Endurance work, particularly high-intensity and long-duration training, has positive effects on brain function through oxygenation and microvasculature development.
Oxygen delivery to neurons is crucial for their survival, as lack of oxygen can lead to ischemia and micro strokes.
Intense heart rate-increasing exercises, if safe for the individual, can improve brain function through oxygen delivery and increased stroke volume of the heart.
High-intensity aerobic conditioning can enhance the ability to perform long bouts of intense work and can complement strength and hypertrophy training.
Rest days are essential for recovery, with most individuals needing one to two full rest days per week.
The carbon dioxide tolerance test can indicate recovery status, with a slow exhale of 60 seconds or longer suggesting a recovered parasympathetic nervous system.
Nasal breathing is more efficient and beneficial than mouth breathing, especially during endurance work, to optimize oxygen delivery.
Warming up the intercostal muscles and diaphragm before endurance work can enhance breathing efficiency and oxygen delivery to muscles and neurons.
A double inhale-exhale technique can alleviate side stitches during physical activity by activating the phrenic nerve and improving breathing patterns.

01:33:56

Optimizing Performance: Breathing and Hydration Essentials

Warming up the intercostals and diaphragm is crucial for high-intensity work.
Strengthening exercises for the intercostals and diaphragm can enhance performance during intense efforts.
Focus on maximizing diaphragmatic expansion and chest lifting for optimal performance.
Deep inhalation to expand the intercostals and deliver more oxygen to the system is beneficial.
Accelerating during long runs or intense efforts can tap into different muscle fiber energy sources.
Elite athletes rely on carbohydrates and ketones for energy during races or prolonged efforts.
Hydration is essential for all forms of physical work, with electrolytes like sodium and potassium crucial for muscle and brain function.
Losing 1 to 5 pounds of water per hour during exercise can significantly impact work capacity and mental performance.
The Galpin equation recommends drinking fluid based on body weight divided by 30 in ounces every 15 minutes of exercise.
Parasympathetic downregulation post-training, involving slow breathing or relaxation, can accelerate recovery and improve performance.

01:47:01

Optimizing Performance Through Mental and Physical Strategies

Mental and physical work affect recovery and performance, involving both local muscle use and systemic factors like neuron activity.
After training, it's beneficial to relax for 5-20 minutes to calm the nervous system and enhance performance.
Focusing on landmarks during endurance activities can improve efficiency and reduce mental fatigue.
Alternating between focusing on a landmark and relaxing the visual field can optimize effort and energy output.
Visual cues, like pace runners or cars, are not allowed in competitions as they enhance performance by activating alertness systems.
Utilizing visual targets can trigger additional effort and energy, even when one feels maxed out.
Programming workouts for endurance and strength can be personalized based on individual preferences and lifestyles.
Three different workout combinations for endurance, strength, and hypertrophy are provided as resources for free.
Stimulants like caffeine can enhance endurance and power output, while magnesium malate can reduce muscle soreness.
Beet juice and supplements increasing nitric oxide can improve vasodilation and blood flow during endurance activities, but individual responses vary.

01:59:58

Enhancing Endurance with Magnesium Malate and Tools

Magnesium malate can reduce soreness and is a beneficial supplement.
Behavioral tools are emphasized for endurance, accessible without specialized equipment.
Endurance encompasses both physical and mental components, with different forms like muscular endurance and long-duration efforts.
Long-duration endurance work includes activities like mowing lawns, while high-intensity training taps into different fuel sources.
Support for the podcast can be provided through subscribing on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify, leaving feedback, checking out sponsors, and considering supplements from Thorne.

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