We’re all trying to improve our lifespan, but what about our healthspan? Why would you want to live 100+ years old if you spend 30 of them in a motor scooter? Our healthspan is our quality of life in those extra years.
As we age, our physical abilities start to decline gradually. This decline typically begins after age 25, as our heart’s maximum capacity, known as VO2 max, decreases by about 10 percent every decade. After the age of fifty, this decline can accelerate, with a potential drop of up to 15 percent according to this 2016 study. Therefore, while you may be able to hike five miles effortlessly now, by the time you reach 70 years old, you might need to take a break to climb a few flights of stairs.
Physical fitness is essential for overall mental health, physical health, and longevity. When you follow the Andrew Huberman fitness protocol, you can meet your individual needs while following what science has proven to be effective for overall short-term and long-term health. Continue reading to find out more about the Andrew Huberman fitness program.
2023 Update: Momentous has partnered with Huberman Lab and is what Huberman currently takes for the majority of his supplements. Use code ‘brainflow’ for 15% off on the Momentous website.
What is the Andrew Huberman Foundational Fitness Protocol?
Andrew Huberman created his fitness protocol to address all significant fitness goals. In addition to his supplement routine, Huberman’s fitness protocol includes endurance, strength, hypertrophy, and cardiovascular training. He acknowledges that a range of practices can achieve maximum activity within his protocol.
All parts of the protocol, such as the schedule and exercises, can be modified to meet your exact needs. It’s intended that the protocol is flexible so you can work it into your everyday life.
Andrew Huberman’s workout keeps some principles in mind. The basic concepts around fitness are limited; however, many different methods exist.
There are nine main concepts of Andrew Huberman’s training:
- Skill
- Speed
- Power
- This is a combination of speed and strength.
- Strength
- Hypertrophy
- This is growing muscle mass.
- Muscular endurance
- Anaerobic power
- This is the ability to produce and sustain work in short bursts.
- VO2 max
- This is your max heart rate.
- Long-endurance
- This is 30 or more minutes with no break.
You must have progressive overload to see results and make the main concepts work. You can add reps, increase or add weight, change the frequency, or vary the complexity. Progressive overload occurs when you push yourself beyond your limits. This causes changes to the body because of stress placed upon it. You will undoubtedly hit a plateau if you do the same exercises repeatedly. This is why you need progressive overload.
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Fitness Tips to Keep in Mind
There are two fundamental principles for resistance training to maximize your results with the foundational protocol. The first principle is to alternate your training schedules (A & B) to gain the most strength and muscle mass growth.
Each month you should switch between Schedule A and Schedule B.
Schedule A: ~4-8 repetitions (heavier weights) and 3-4 sets per exercise with 2-4 minutes rest between sets
Schedule B: ~8-15 repetitions (moderate-lighter weights) and 2-3 sets per exercise with ~90 seconds rest between
The second principle is to select two exercises per muscle group each day. The first exercise should focus on shortening or contracting the muscle at its end range. These include leg curls, leg extension, and seated calf raise. The second exercise should resist the muscle group while it’s lengthened. This includes deep squats, standing calf raises, or incline press.
Any workout with weight should be about 50 to 60 minutes of hard work, the ideal amount of time to be adequate and aid recovery. It would be best if you always warm up, and your workout time should be at most 75 minutes with a warmup. The 75 minutes does include rest time between sets.
Whatever exercise you choose, you must be able to perform it correctly. This means you must follow it through the full range of motion. In addition, you must use proper form. If you can’t perform the exercise correctly, it’s not the best exercise for you. Adjust the exercise according to your strengths and weaknesses.
The specific days you perform each workout are unimportant; however, spacing between them is critical because it helps with proper recovery. If you miss a day, you can double up on some other workouts later in the same week. You can also swap days if that fits better in your schedule. For example, some days, you won’t have time to do the longer cardio workout.
It’s important to note that if you switch your workout days, you should use cold submersion, such as an ice bath, when not doing resistance training. If you want an ice bath on a resistance training day, you should wait about 6 to 8 hours after training. Or you could have an ice bath before training.
Additional Tips
Breathing is an integral part of the Andrew Huberman workout program. You should spend 3 to 5 minutes after each training session doing yoga nidra, as it helps you to relax your mind and body while helping with muscle recovery.
You want to remain flexible. You should do 30 to 60-second static stretches three times a week. A good plan is to have three days of cardio, three days of weight training, and one day of hot/cold recovery. It would help if you considered stretching before you go to bed and after you wake up in the morning.
To get the most effectiveness out of your cardio, you should vary it. One day your cardio should be long-endurance, one day should be high-intensity sprints, and one day of moderate cardio. Consider neck exercises to help correct posture and reduce the risk of injury. A great way to pump out toxins is to have 20 minutes in the sauna and five minutes in an ice bath or cold shower.
Andrew Huberman Fitness Protocol
Listed below is a breakdown of the Andrew Huberman Fitness Protocol.
Day 1 (Sunday): Long Endurance Workout
- >30 minutes Zone 2 cardio, ideally 60-75 minutes (work up to it)
- Zone 2 cardio: breathing faster than normal, but just able to maintain a conversation
- Aim for 180-200 minutes of Zone 2 cardio per week
The focus for day one is long endurance. Ideally, Sunday is day 1. This day should include more than 30 minutes of Zone 2 cardio. Zone 2 cardio means you are breathing faster than average. You should be able to hold a conversation, but barely. You want about 180 to 200 minutes of Zone 2 cardio each week.
This workout session should be 60 to 75 minutes long. You may have to work up to that amount of time. Examples of cardio exercises are rowing, jogging, swimming, or hiking. You can use a weight vest if you want to increase the difficulty. Focus on nasal breathing.
Deliberate breathing helps to bring down the nervous system while relaxing the body and mind. It also helps with muscle recovery. After each training session, you should work on your slow and deliberate breathing for three to five minutes.
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Day 2 (Monday): Legs Resistance Training
- 10-minute warmup + 50-60 minutes of training
- Alternate Schedule A & B monthly
Day 2 is leg day baby! A recent meta-analysis done by the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that strength training was associated with almost a 20 percent lower risk of cancer, diabetes, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. Again, you should alternate between Schedule A and Schedule B (see above). You want a 10-minute warm-up and about 50 to 60 minutes of training.
This workout includes exercising the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Huberman advises doing one exercise for each group in the lengthened position and one in the shortened position.
To work the quadriceps, Huberman recommends leg extensions and hack squats. Leg extensions have the muscle in the lengthened position, and hack squats have it shortened. To work your calves, you should do standing raises and seated raises. For the hamstrings, you would do leg curls and glute ham raises.
You want to lower your heart rate between sets when doing resistance training. You can do this with physiological sighs. A physiological sigh is when you take two full inhalations through the nose and one complete exhalation through the mouth. You want to try to release all the air in your lungs during the exhale.
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Day 3 (Tuesday): Heat & Cold Exposure/Recovery
- Sauna (20 minutes) + Ice Bath/Cold Shower (5 minutes) repeat 3-5x
- Start slowly when using deliberate heat & cold exposure
The focus of day three should be recovery from exposure to heat and cold. This should happen on Tuesday.
This day should include 20 minutes in the sauna followed by 5 minutes in an ice bath or cold shower. You should repeat this three to five times. You should start slowly and build up to the time amounts and reps. You want to be deliberate in your usage of heat and cold exposure.
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Day 4 (Wednesday): Torso & Neck Resistance Training
- 10-minute warmup +50-60 minutes training
- Push/Pull Training
- Alternate Schedule A & B monthly
- Commonly overlooked; however, specifically training the neck will reduce the risk of injury and correct posture
The daily focus of day four is torso and neck resistance training. This workout session also indirectly trains your arms.
You should have a 10-minute warm-up and about 50 to 60 minutes of training for this session. This is also considered push and pull training. The neck is commonly overlooked but should be trained to help reduce injury. It can also help you gain correct posture. You should also alternate Schedule A and Schedule B each month for this session.
Examples of these types of exercises are incline press and cable crossover for the chest. The first exercise is in the lengthened position, and the second is in the shortened position. For the back, you should perform a chin-up and a pull-up. You could also choose a seated row and a dumbbell row. For shoulders, you should do shoulder presses and lateral raises. Watch the video below for Huberman’s neck exercises.
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Day 5 (Thursday): Cardiovascular Training
- 35 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
- 75-80% of maximum effort
The daily focus on day five is cardiovascular training. It is 35 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio. Moderate intensity means using about 75 to 80% of your maximum effort.
Examples of these exercises include running, rowing, cycling, and jumping jacks. You can also stair-climb. Another great exercise is jumping rope, but preferably ideally done outside.
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Day 6 (Friday): High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
- 20-60 seconds all-out sprint + 10 seconds rest x 8-12 rounds
- Sprint: try to get to maximum heart
- rate
- Max. Heart Rate = 220 minus your age
The daily focus on day six is High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Falling on Friday, this workout indirectly trains your legs. According to AARP, studies have shown that on a cellular level, HIIT workouts can slow down the aging process.
This session should include 20 to 60 seconds at an all-out sprint followed by 10 seconds of rest. You should do this 8 to 12 times. During the sprint, you want your heart rate up to its maximum. To determine that, you take 220 and subtract your age.
Examples of these exercises include assault bikes, sprint/jog intervals, rowing, and ski machine. You should perform this exercise with perfect form to prevent injury.
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Day 7 (Saturday): Arms, Neck & Calves Training
- 10-minute warmup + 50-60 minutes of training
- Alternate Schedule A & B
- Indirectly trains torso (especially if you include dips)
The daily focus of day seven is arms, neck, and calves. Again, this should be done on Saturday. We once again train the neck as Huberman is a big believer in training the neck, which he considers a highly avoided and underlooked but vital aspect of total body stability, strength, and safety.
This session includes a 10-minute warm-up and 50 to 60 minutes of training. You should alternate Schedule A & Schedule B. This can indirectly train your torso.
Examples of these exercises include incline curls and dumbbell curls for the biceps—overhead extensions and tricep dips or regular dips for the triceps. Standing calf raises and seated calf raises for calves. For neck exercises, watch the same video for day four.
FAQs
What are Andrew Huberman’s best protocols?
Huberman has a multitude of beneficial protocols such as his sleep protocol, supplement protocol, as well as his fitness protocol described above.
What exercises does Andrew Huberman do?
Andrew Huberman incorporates many strength training exercises into his fitness routine such as leg extensions, hack squats, calf raises, leg curls, incline presses, cable crossovers, pull-ups, rows, dumbbell curls, tricep dips, and many others.
Should I Train While Fasting or After Eating?
This is mainly based on personal preference. If you train fasted, you should train before noon, as long as you don’t feel sluggish. If you have limited time, it’s always better to train than not to train. If training keeps you awake, you may not want to train at night.
Should I Train if I Feel Sick?
If you have mild cold symptoms, short, lighter training may help you feel better. Lighter training means you decrease the duration and/or intensity by 50% or more. If you are severely sick, skipping training and giving yourself time to recover is better. After you recover, slowly go back to your regular training program over three to seven days. According to Huberman, “Consider skipping your workout if you are under chronic stress…Focus on getting a good night’s sleep or relaxing, and double up on workouts later in the week.“
