FoundMyFitness FoundMyFitness Health

Download the 12-Page "Omega-3 Supplementation Guide"
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
Join over 300,000 people and sign up for my newsletter
Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a Stanford professor, neurobiologist, and host of the incredibly popular Huberman Lab Podcast. He’s also the guest on this episode of the FoundMyFitness podcast. Our conversation encompasses an in-depth discussion of the brain’s dopamine system and provides a toolkit for enhancing motivation and focus.
In this episode, we discuss:
(00:07:58) Dopamine is a neuromodulator, not a neurotransmitter (00:09:50) Dopamine's role in motivation & pursuit (00:14:56) The dopamine wave pool analogy (00:20:19) Strategies to minimize the dopamine-triggering effects of smartphone use (00:23:53) Why dopamine peaks without effort are dangerous (00:27:13) The number one sign of a highly motivated individual (00:29:20) Dopamine reward prediction error (00:31:39) How effort and anticipation influence dopamine release (00:33:42) Does lacking motivation reflect dopamine system deficits? (00:38:21) Why focus & motivation circuits are like exercise (00:42:37) Why attaching reward to effort itself is the holy grail of learning (00:44:03) Unpacking the concept of “limbic friction” (00:47:53) How setbacks provide crucial feedback to your dopamine system (00:52:09) Why the real reward lies in the process (00:53:12) Why parents should reward verb states instead of providing adjectives (00:55:26) Boosting motivation with visualization of negative outcomes (00:58:12) How to overcome procrastination (01:04:12) How does exercise affect the dopamine system? (01:08:56) Deliberate cold exposure vs. drug highs (01:10:50) The entrainment effect of same-time exercise (01:14:45) Why you shouldn't rely on stimulants when lacking motivation (01:15:29) How caffeine affects motivation (01:16:02) Why Dr. Huberman limits his nicotine consumption and may quit (01:19:26) The pitfalls of artificial stimulants (01:22:13) Why Andrew "counts walls" during deliberate cold exposure (01:27:05) Cold exposure parameters for increasing dopamine (01:29:39) Cold plunge alternatives for replenishing the dopamine pool (01:30:56) Why Andrew limits most workouts to 80-85% intensity (01:33:58) Using exercise & cold exposure as stimuli for the brain (01:36:29) The anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) (01:38:52) Transcranial magnetic stimulation (01:41:43) What does Dr. Huberman think of Neuralink? (01:44:49) How non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) replenishes dopamine levels (01:51:24) Why NSDR may teach people to become better at sleeping (01:55:06) Rhonda's experience trying NSDR after a night of poor sleep (01:56:25) Possible creativity & trauma therapy benefits of NSDR (01:59:36) How to cultivate a healthy relationship with social media (02:01:09) Dr. Huberman's insights on social media detachment and usage limits (02:06:05) Dr. Huberman on the unique psychosocial dynamics of X (formerly Twitter) (02:07:26) Andrew's recommended daily use limit for Instagram (02:10:00) Is social media increasing the prevalence of ADHD? (02:11:41) Why Andrew recommends setting social media constraints (02:13:44) Social media makes grown adults behave like teenagers (02:14:53) Is social media increasing divorce rates? (02:17:33) How low solar angle sunlight affects the circadian rhythm (02:27:31) How to limit the adverse effects of late-night artificial light (02:29:18) The light bulb that mimics sunrise and sunset (02:30:30) How to spike morning cortisol by 50% (02:31:42) What's the optimal time to view morning sunlight? (02:32:32) Can light panels replace viewing morning sunlight? (02:33:54) Combatting laptop & phone use with long distance viewing (02:40:27) Why Andrew recommends limiting alcohol to 0-2 drinks per week (02:48:30) How does alcohol affect the dopamine and serotonin systems? (02:54:08) Treating ADH

Download the 13-Page "Omega-3 Supplementation Guide"
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
Join over 300,000 people and sign up for my newsletter
Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more
Everyone has to get old sometime, but what if, at least for some aspects of aging, we didn't have to? Imagine if the loss of heart size and the stiffness that often comes with aging could be reversed, even well into late middle-age.
And not by a little - by a lot. Today's guest, Dr. Benjamin Levine, has shown that with the right exercise protocol, people who were sedentary most of their lives could reverse up to 20 years of heart aging. Dr. Levine is one of the world's leading experts in understanding how the heart adapts under a variety of conditions, whether that's exercise, elite athleticism, or hospital bedrest. Or even highly exotic conditions, like prolonged exposure to microgravity. He is the founding director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at UT Southwestern in Dallas, a leading facility renowned for its research in cardiovascular physiology. His expertise also extends into space medicine, where he advises NASA, underscoring his broad, deeply fundamental understanding of how the heart changes over time. Additionally, he is a recognized authority in sports cardiology, consulting for organizations such as the NCAA, NFL, NHL, and various professional sports leagues.
In this episode, we discuss:
(00:06:21) Are 3 weeks of bed rest worse for fitness than 30 years of aging? (00:10:08) Why untrained individuals recover fitness faster than athletes following bed rest (00:11:40) Does exercise protect against long COVID? (00:14:31) "COVID triad testing" guidelines for evaluating heart health in athletes (00:16:17) Why strict bed rest is a model for space flight (00:17:14) How 12 weeks of bed rest affects heart size (00:18:42) Why a brand-new rubber band mimics a lifetime of endurance training (00:22:14) The exercise dose that preserves youthful cardiovascular structure (00:24:22) The exercise regimen that reversed 20 years of heart aging (00:28:05) What it takes to reverse vascular age by 15 years in 70-year-olds (00:33:29) Benefits of starting an exercise regimen in your 70s [benefits that don't involve cardiac remodeling] (00:39:17) Considering the risks of high-intensity exercise (00:42:42) Balancing high-intensity & moderate-intensity training (00:47:39) Training for health vs. training for performance (00:48:47) Why muscle mass & cardiorespiratory fitness are like retirement funds (00:49:58) Make exercise a part of your personal hygiene (00:51:01) Why does VO2 max correlate with longevity? (00:58:29) The 2018 JAMA study on cardiorespiratory fitness & mortality (01:04:06) How does change in fitness over time affect mortality? (01:06:19) Why exercise non-responders should consider "increasing the dose" (01:10:08) The 2 limiting factors for improving VO2 max in competitive athletes (01:13:05) How marathon training affects heart size in sedentary young people (01:17:20) Heart adaptations in purely strength-trained vs. endurance athletes (01:23:09) Why pure strength-trainers should incorporate endurance training (01:26:53) How strength training affects blood pressure (exercise pressor reflex) (01:31:27) How exercise influences cardiac output in mitochondrial myopathy patients (01:33:25) Does CrossFit count as endurance training? (01:35:50) What's the best exercise for improving blood pressure? (01:40:57) Lifestyle strategies for treating hypertension (01:43:26) Why recovery is key to reaping the benefits of a training stimulus (01:47:22) The best indicator of being overtrained (01:48:22) Heart rate brackets & running pace estimates for training zones 2-5 (01:54:46) Why heart rate variability is a poor indicator of recovery (02:00:02) Why do men tend to be faster runners than women? (02:03:34) Can women achieve similar aerobic ex

Download the 9-Page "Cognitive Enhancement Blueprint"
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
Join over 300,000 people and sign up for my newsletter
Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more
I recently had the privilege of presenting at the CrossFit Health Summit, where I explored a constellation of factors contributing to longevity. In this context, I placed a special emphasis on the pivotal role of vigorous exercise throughout life.
In this episode, I discuss:
(03:12) Why "below normal" cardio may be a great starting point (for adding years to your life) (05:07) The simple math of 45 days of life extension (per 1 mL/kg/min VO2max) (05:15) Is there an upper limit to the longevity benefits of VO2 max? (06:12) Why poor cardiovascular fitness is nearly as bad as a chronic disease (06:52) Why zone 2 training may not improve VO2 max (for some people) (08:08) Protocols for improving VO2 max quickly (09:10) How to estimate VO2 max in 12 minutes (without a lab) (10:07) What it takes to reverse 20 years of heart aging (12:41) Blood pressure benefits of vigorous exercise (13:10) The role of blood pressure in dementia (13:29) The BDNF brain benefits of high-intensity exercise (14:05) The signaling role of lactate production by muscle (16:13) How training effortfully improves focus & attention (17:04) Protocols for maximizing BDNF from training (HR training targets and duration) (17:23) Anti-cancer effects of vigorous exercise (18:11) Why shear stress kills circulating tumor cells — an experiment in three cell lines (18:33) Why reducing circulating tumor cells likely greatly increases survival (19:00) What if you exercise in short bursts all day long? (20:06) Why "exercise snacks" are a crucial pre- and post-mealtime activity (20:49) The best ways to improve mitochondrial biogenesis — and metabolism (21:47) The mortality benefits of breaking up sedentary time (26:17) Why the protein RDA is too low (and the flawed experiments that lead to that) (27:19) How much protein is needed for muscle? (29:07) Does omega-3 reduce muscle atrophy? (30:41) Why we should lift for aging and to prevent the 8% per decade decline of muscle (32:03) Is lifting heavy necessary for gaining muscle? (33:06) What the sauna has in common with exercise (34:45) Does the sauna enhance the benefits of exercise? (36:44) How heat shock proteins prevent plaque aggregation & slow muscle atrophy (38:23) Can sauna after resistance training boost hypertrophy? (39:06) Sauna parameters (temperature, duration, frequency, & humidity) (39:59) Comparing traditional saunas to infrared (40:59) Are hot baths a valid sauna alternative? (42:15) Audience Q&A (42:19) Is EPA or DHA responsible for omega-3's effects on disuse atrophy? (43:53) Are endurance athletes at risk for cardiovascular injury? (44:57) What mechanisms are responsible for sauna's benefits? (47:08) Is a sauna temperature above 200 °F too hot? (49:31) My recommended sauna temperature & duration Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes are available by clicking here

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
If you’ve been following FoundMyFitness for a while, you may remember that we have our members-only podcast, The Aliquot. I want to share a preview of our newest Aliquot episode, "The Science of Optimizing Sleep," available to everyone, not just our Premium Members.
Adequate, quality sleep is essential for the body's recovery and repair, promoting optimal physical and mental health. Getting a good night's sleep can be challenging, especially in our modern world, but we can take steps to overcome those challenges. In this Aliquot, we present a mashup of our best resources on sleep, featuring insights from Dr. Matthew Walker, Dr. Satchin Panda, and me.
 
In this preview, we discuss:
 
(00:02:13) How exercise timing affects deep sleep (00:08:03) Do saunas and hot baths increase sleep-enhancing hormones? (00:12:33) Can learning and meditation boost deep sleep? (00:14:10) Do scented oils, like lavender, impact sleep? (00:14:47) The insulin-tryptophan-melatonin connection (00:19:20) Why carb-heavy meals make us sleepy
In the full episode available only for Premium Members, we also discuss:
Can calming music, akin to lullabies, curb pre-sleep ruminations? The effect of air quality on sleep The effect of low-level noise on sleep fragmentation Whether or not time in nature transforms sleep quality Could melatonin supplementation increase REM sleep — at the cost of decrease deep sleep? How my sauna and hot tub routine preps me for sleep Is there evidence white noise helps sleep and can calming music curb pre-sleep ruminations? The differential impact of morning vs. evening light in slow wave sleep Can adjusting our body's thermal cues unlock deeper sleep? (increase deep sleep) Improving sleep with science-backed heat therapy protocols and how my sauna and hot tub routine preps me for sleep The four pillars of sleep How much sleep is enough? (from newborns to older adults) The surprising lifestyle factors that synergize to maintain glymphatic clearance in aging brains (sleep, exercise, and omega-3s) Are modern lifestyles and "social jetlag" turning us into shift workers? Building resilience against circadian disruptions Five immediate steps to enhance sleep quality tonight How long caffeine stays in the system The effect of alcohol and marijuana on sleep, particularly REM sleep

Download the 9-Page "Cognitive Enhancement Blueprint"
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
Join over 300,000 people and sign up for my newsletter
Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more
In this solo episode, I'm taking an in-depth look at magnesium – a critical yet frequently underestimated mineral in our health. Magnesium stands tall among vital nutrients for its significant role in multiple aspects of human physiology. During this podcast, we'll delve into the widespread negative health effects caused by a lack of magnesium and discuss why increasing your magnesium intake might be key to achieving optimal health.
In this episode, I discuss:
(00:04:27) Why the effects of magnesium are far-reaching (00:06:47) Why athletes need at least 10-20% more magnesium than the RDA (00:10:54) Why magnesium deficiency & insufficiency are common (00:12:19) How to determine if you're getting enough magnesium (00:12:23) The problem with magnesium blood tests (00:15:14) Magnesium supplements (00:18:17) Is magnesium threonate better at crossing the blood-brain barrier? (00:25:08) Why magnesium threonate shouldn't count toward your RDA goal (00:17:50) The effectiveness of epsom salt baths (see also 01:12:41) (00:26:04) What magnesium supplement do I take? (00:26:31) The effect of stress on magnesium balance (00:30:15) Why the energy demands of workouts affect magnesium balance (00:32:56) Does magnesium supplementation improve sleep? (00:34:04) Why trials in the field of nutrition are often misleading (00:37:26) Does higher magnesium intake improve cognition? (00:39:07) Does magnesium have a role in preventing Alzheimer's disease? (00:42:09) The effect of creatine on the brain (and its relationship to magnesium) (00:42:42) Why magnesium may prevent excitotoxicity in the brain (00:43:32) Magnesium's potential for managing migraines (00:46:41) The role of magnesium in aging (00:47:39) Why magnesium deficiency impairs DNA repair (00:49:13) Magnesium's role in cancer prevention (00:51:14) Why magnesium is intertwined in genomic stability (00:54:04) Why we shouldn't disregard observational data in nutrition (00:54:52) How magnesium intake affects mortality risk and cancer (00:57:49) Magnesium in osteoporosis prevention (00:59:21) Why magnesium intake in early life affects bone accretion (01:01:06) The effect of magnesium on vitamin D metabolism (01:06:36) Does magnesium treat high blood pressure? (01:10:12) Does magnesium help manage muscle cramps? (01:12:41) Is transdermal absorption of magnesium effective?
Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes are available by clicking here

Download the 9-Page "Cognitive Enhancement Blueprint"
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
Join over 300,000 people and sign up for my newsletter
Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more
In today's episode, I'm bringing you along to the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine's Longevityfest Conference, where I had the honor of presenting a keynote last December. We'll explore some foundational yet effective tactics to enhance longevity and prevent diseases. Additionally, we'll delve into more intensive lifestyle modifications that, despite their demands, offer significant longevity benefits.
 
In this episode, I discuss:
(04:48) Vitamin D (09:08) How vitamin D deficiency affects all-cause mortality risk (12:34) Optimal vitamin D levels & supplementation (14:20) Why magnesium deficiency impairs DNA damage repair (18:00) Dangers of inadequate omega-3 intake (20:17) The correct omega-3 index level (24:42) How to correct vitamin D, omega-3, & magnesium inadequacies (26:27) Vigorous exercise is the best longevity drug (28:00) How increasing VO2 max affects life expectancy (32:46) Protocols for increasing VO2 max (35:37) How to measure VO2 max (36:44) What it takes to reverse 20 years of heart aging (39:41) Blood pressure benefits of vigorous exercise (40:58) The BDNF brain benefits of vigorous exercise (44:08) How vigorous intensity exercise improves focus & attention (45:21) Exercise protocols for maximizing BDNF (46:23) Anti-cancer effects of vigorous exercise (48:40) Exercise snacks ​ Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes are available by clicking here