No one is immune to exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel’s workout critiques, including neurobiology expert Dr. Andrew Huberman. Taking to his YouTube channel, Dr. Israetel broke down and analyzed Huberman’s training routine.
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a leading name in fitness, thanks to his science-based content that has spread like wildfire on social media. His ability to translate exercise information into material that’s easy to understand is second to none. Huberman has also been celebrated for his impressively ripped physique and knack for fitness outside of the laboratory.
“Today, I’m going to be analyzing with my super analysis eyes science… Dr. Andrew Huberman’s workout routine. Am I going to be nice or mean, you never can tell,” shares Dr. Mike Israetel.
Exercise Scientist Analyzes Workout of Dr. Andrew Huberman
Slow Jogging and Nose Breathing During Exercise
First, Dr. Israetel examines Huberman practicing a slow jog for 75-90 minutes.
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“Make sure that if you’re using weighted vests for jogging that you have jogged a little while with your body weight. Adding weight to your jogging could put a little bit of acute stress on the joints. It’s really good for you in the long term but in the short term it could be a bit much.”
“It’s like Dragon Ball Z training with increased gravity, in this case, literally so.”
As for nasal breathing, Dr. Israetel describes the practice as a “gigantic waste of time.”
Leg Day
Israetel deep dives into Huberman’s leg day routine, offering critiques and insight into optimal lifting practices.
“If you’re trying to get really at hypertrophy muscle growth, trying to become a higher level bodybuilder, it’s definitely good to train legs when they are more fresh.”
He believes tibia raises are not ideal if the goal is to stimulate hypertrophy or grow muscle.
“Unless you’re doing this [tibula raises] for some sort of rehabilitative perspective, the tibialis raises help your knees and ankles be healthier somehow in your own experience. Tib raises are usually a profound waste of time for most people. In hypertrophy and bodybuilding circles, it’s not a muscle that gets judged, so training it is just a gigantic waste of time.”
Israetel was complimentary of Dr. Huberman’s preference for slow eccentrics when lifting.
“Slow eccentric is dope. Marginally reduces the probability of injury and is otherwise super effective. Pull-ups are awesome but if your hand strength and grip ability is limiting you, your lats and all the muscles in your back are not actually being pushed close to failure and thus, not getting the best gains.”
Heat and Cold Exposure
Given Dr. Andrew Huberman’s use of heat and cold exposure, Israetel laid out whether or not they have a profound impact on muscle growth.
“I’ll save you, spare you the expense, the amplification of growth hormone from alternate heat and cold exposure is so tiny as far as how much area under the curve of excess growth hormone stimulation you get, that it basically affects almost nothing as far as anabolism is concerned or recovery is concerned.”
Neck Training
Huberman is a proponent of neck training for a stronger spine, leading Israetel to weigh the pros and cons of such routines.
“I wonder what part of the spine, is he referring to the musculature around the spine or the actual bones itself. A strong spine, I wonder what that means. Training your neck is cool, when your Andrew Huberman’s size, the bigger your neck gets, especially at his age, likely it is that you’re getting obstructing sleep apnea which is really bad.”
“You can add neck training in. If you’re doing rowing, deadlifting, overhead pressing, and lateral raises, you get so much ancillary activation of your neck, you probably don’t have to train your neck,” shares Dr. Mike Israetel.
Short Workouts/High-Intensity Training
Israetel gave his thoughts on the effectiveness of Huberman’s high-intensity training workouts as well:
“Vo2 max, the people in this world with the highest Vo2 max, relative, or almost all endurance athletes that don’t have profoundly impressive fast-twitch muscle fibers. If you’re trying to train to get the biggest Vo2 max, you can get endurance training that is of a very high intensity, so something like doing a run that’s not sustainable for you, a half sprint for a minute.”
Andrew Huberman wasn’t the only big name in fitness critiqued by Dr. Israetel. The famous physiologist has examined the workout routines of bodybuilding stars including Jay Cutler, Dorian Yates, and reigning five-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead.
From nose breathing, and leg day workouts to neck training, Dr. Israetel believes Dr. Huberman’s routine has merit. However, if muscle-building efforts are the primary goal, he doesn’t believe Huberman’s routine is the best way to get there.
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