Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin
Dr. Andy Galpin outlines nine major physiological adaptations from exercise (skill, speed, power, strength, hypertrophy, muscular endurance, anaerobic capacity, VO2 max, and long-duration endurance) and provides specific, cost-effective assessment protocols and standards for each. He emphasizes that optimal fitness requires testing all nine areas annually to identify performance bottlenecks and guide training priorities.
Summary
Andrew Huberman and Dr. Andy Galpin discuss a comprehensive framework for assessing and improving fitness across multiple dimensions. Galpin begins by establishing that fitness goals typically fall into two categories: aesthetic (appearance) and functional (performance), both requiring understanding of where training focus is needed.
Galpin identifies nine distinct physiological adaptations created through exercise: (1) Movement skill/technique, which he assesses through a four-step joint-by-joint evaluation looking for symmetry, stability, awareness, and range of motion, scored on a 0-1-3 scale; (2) Speed, which Galpin suggests most people shouldn't test unless they're high-performance athletes; (3) Power, measured via broad jump distance (should equal your height, or 15% less for females); (4) Strength, assessed through grip strength (minimum 40kg for men, 35kg for women), dead hang (minimum 30 seconds), leg extension tests (bodyweight as baseline), and goblet squat holds (half bodyweight for 45 seconds); (5) Hypertrophy, evaluated using FFMI (fat-free mass index) targeting 20+ for men and 18+ for women; (6) Muscular endurance, tested via planks (60 seconds), push-ups (25+ for men, 15+ for women), or 75% of 1RM for repetitions (8+ reps desired); (7) Anaerobic capacity, requiring 30-60 second maximal effort tests with heart rate recovery metrics (approximately 30 bpm drop per minute); (8) VO2 max, tested via 12-minute Cooper run, 1-mile walk test, or laboratory testing, with targets of 35+ mL/kg/min for men and 30+ for women (ideally 50+ and 50+ respectively); and (9) Long-duration endurance, requiring sustained submaximal work for 20+ minutes without breaks, preferably with nasal breathing only.
Galpin recommends a full testing battery once annually, optimally spread across 3 days. The testing order matters: non-fatiguing tests (body composition, movement) first when fresh; skill and maximum strength/power tests next; then fatiguing tests (muscular endurance, anaerobic, aerobic). He emphasizes warm-up standardization and notes that strength tests don't require true 1RM attempts—using repetition conversion equations from submaximal efforts yields accurate estimates. Galpin stresses that the goal isn't optimization across all areas but rather eliminating severe performance constraints ("anchors") that limit other pursuits, allowing individuals to focus on areas they're passionate about while maintaining adequate baseline fitness across all dimensions.
About this episode
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Andy Galpin, PhD, an exercise physiologist. We revisit the first episode of his Huberman Lab Guest Series to discuss the nine major components of physical fitness and how to assess your abilities. We explain practical tests for movement quality, power, strength, muscle mass and endurance, including grip strength, push-ups and VO2 max. We also discuss how to organize fitness testing, track progress and identify which areas to prioritize in your training to support long-term health and performance. Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/7sgI40w Huberman Lab Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab X: https://x.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Dr. Andy Galpin X: https://www.instagram.com/drandygalpin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drandygalpin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andy.galpin.1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-galpin-a90a2b262 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@drandygalpin TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drandygalpin Timestamps 00:00:00 Andy Galpin 00:00:44 Fitness Goals, Appearance & Performance 00:02:32 Nine Components of Physical Fitness 00:06:03 Movement Skill, Tool: Assessing Movement Quality 00:09:53 Speed Testing 00:10:15 Power, Tool: Standing Broad Jump 00:11:36 Grip Strength, Dynamometers & Dead Hangs 00:13:35 Lower Body Strength, Leg Extensions & Squat Holds 00:16:10 Safe Testing, Technique & Consistent Warm-Ups 00:17:08 Muscle Mass, Body Composition & Fat-Free Mass Index 00:19:14 Muscular Endurance, Planks & Push-Ups 00:20:44 Anaerobic Capacity, Maximum Effort Tests 00:22:18 Maximum Heart Rate & Heart Rate Recovery 00:23:33 VO2 Max, Running & Walking Tests 00:25:19 Long-Duration Endurance, Steady-State Exercise & Nasal Breathing 00:26:20 Testing Frequency, Test Order & Training Priorities 00:30:38 Acknowledgements #hubermanlab #hubermanlabpodcast Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer
Key Insights
- Galpin argues that there are nine distinct physiological adaptations to exercise (skill, speed, power, strength, hypertrophy, muscular endurance, anaerobic capacity, VO2 max, and long-duration endurance), each requiring specific assessment and training approaches
- Movement skill assessment uses a four-step evaluation process examining symmetry, stability, awareness, and range of motion across major joints, scored simply as 0 (unsafe), 1 (minor flaw/caution needed), or 3 (acceptable)
- Galpin states that most people should not formally test pure speed unless they are high-performance athletes, as it is generally not necessary to assess
- For power assessment via broad jump, the standard is that individuals should jump approximately their own height (with 15% reduction for females), not the elite NFL standard of 9-11 feet
- Grip strength and dead hang duration serve as accessible proxies for overall strength; minimum standards are 40kg grip (men) and 30-second dead hang, with 60kg grip and 60+ second hangs indicating strong performance
- VO2 max targets differ significantly from common assumptions: while 35 mL/kg/min for men and 30 for women are minimums, Galpin states he is 'not even really stoked until' men reach 55+ and women reach 50+
- Galpin recommends annual full fitness testing spread across three days, claiming the process does not significantly interrupt training and provides valuable barometer data for prioritizing training focus for the next six months
- The goal of fitness testing is not optimization across all nine areas but elimination of severe performance constraints that limit other pursuits, allowing individuals to specialize while maintaining sufficient baseline fitness
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance. I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and opthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. And now for my discussion with Dr. Andy Galpin. Dr. Professor Andy Galpin, super excited to have you here. You're such an immense treasure trove of information on physical training and optimizing for specific goals and outcomes. How should [0:31] I or anyone else for that matter think about their level of fitness in terms of really assessing whether or not I'm as fit as I could be and should be both for sake of health and performance.…
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