Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman has been creating waves across the internet for his various health-related protocols. His daily routine and sleep stack have been a subject of discussion amongst several wellness enthusiasts, especially due to his reasoning and logic associated with them. This might have piqued the curiosity of Dr. Mike Israetel, who wanted to go through and critique his workout.
The exercise scientist made a detailed video dissecting the neuroscientist’s training style and program. He was impressed by Dr. Huberman’s energetic start to his weekly sessions on Sundays.
Israetel first focused on the neuroscientist’s habit of jogging with weighted vests and breathing through the nose. While he approved of the 8-10 lbs vest for its endurance and strength-building potential, he disagreed with the supposed benefits of nasal breathing during workouts.
“Nasal breathing is almost certainly a gigantic waste of time. Humans were not meant to breathe just through their nose. The benefits of it are absolutely by no means clear…”
Huberman’s leg routine mostly consists of exercises like tib raises, which the exercise scientist didn’t consider necessary for most fitness enthusiasts. However, when Dr. Huberman admitted that he didn’t train his back as frequently as he did his other sets of muscles, Dr. Israetel wasn’t opposed to it.
Israetel also approved of Huberman’s 5-30 repetition range, with the prerequisite of ensuring hypertrophy when going close to failure.
Apart from this, Dr. Huberman continued talking about his routine and how he incorporated hot and cold exposure for recovery. Dr. Israetel firmly believed it had no evidence backing its efficacy, nor did he think it offered any benefits toward the recovery of muscles. The neuroscientist’s low-volume training trend was very specific to his needs.
“I think he weighs like 240? The fact that he can run is really impressive. And that…he’s like…48 which is just like, g***mn. This guy’s in some g***mn shape!”
Lastly, Dr. Israetel commented on the neuroscientist’s focus on VO2 max and how his idea of enhancing his fast twitch muscle fibers might not be in the right place. Generally, high endurance athletes have a great VO2 max level, and for them, these muscle fibers are a limiting factor. The best way to get the levels up is to include high-power cardio into the mix.
So, what did Dr. Mike Israetel conclude about Dr. Andrew Huberman’s routine?
After looking through an entire week’s worth of workouts, Dr. Israetel sat down to give his final notes on Dr. Huberman’s workout routine. He first observed that the 48-year-old trained most of his muscle sets only once a week and yet managed to keep in shape.
This, he observed, was because of Dr. Huberman’s terrific genes that gave him the best results with minimum input. It also gave him less chance of injuries in a way, keeping him physically fit.
While the workout is traditionally low in volume for an average young fitness enthusiast who’d look for more stimulation, it worked well for the neuroscientist. Most of the reasoning behind each exercise also made sense, along with the ideal rep range that ensured proper hypertrophy.
