Tim FerrissPerformance Coach Andy Galpin — Rebooting Tim’s Sleep, Nutrition, Supplements, and Training for 2024
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,000 words- 0:00 – 0:53
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- AGDr. Andy Galpin
There are data [laughs] on NBA players and their tweeting activity, so how much they tweet post-game-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... as a de facto measure of, like, who's asleep and who's not, and that can predict almost 2% of shooting accuracy the next day.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs] I'm just imagining all, all of the quants who are gonna go out and start betting on [laughs] games now based on analyzing-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
No, dude
- TFTim Ferriss
... tweet volume-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So, uh-
- TFTim Ferriss
... and timing.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
No, uh, uh, Sherry, actually, I think, um-
- TFTim Ferriss
It's actually clever
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... I don't know her at all, but I've seen all her stuff. I think she worked for ESPN for, like, three years.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And she did this thing where she would predict NFL games, like who would win or lose, based strictly on circadian rhythms.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And I think she was, like, 70 to 80% accurate-
- TFTim Ferriss
Wow
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... for a three-year span.
- TFTim Ferriss
That's wild. [upbeat music]
- 0:53 – 13:39
Training priority.
- TFTim Ferriss
Dr. Galpin, Andy, nice to see you.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Nice to see you.
- TFTim Ferriss
And I'm so happy to have this opportunity to [laughs] do a podcast, which is really a self-interested, self-directed session with you in the guise of a podcast. But there-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Anytime you can do something for yourself-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... and only yourself, it's a win.
- TFTim Ferriss
You have a history of competition.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yep.
- TFTim Ferriss
Been a competitive athlete. You have an extensive history of injuries which have forced you to become creative. Well, you could have not been creative, but you had the capacity to think creatively about your own training and training, and then you also have deeply technical foundations. And that combination of competitive experience, creativity, and then technical capability, I think produces a lot of what you've been able to do, which is why, in part, I'm excited to have you here today. For a lot of folks who are listening to this, who have listened to many other podcasts, perhaps read many books, they think to themselves, "For fuck's sake, there are a million different things I could be doing."
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
[laughs] Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
And it's helpful, even if it's imperfect, to sometimes rank order things, and I'll give you an example. So I've known Pavel Tsatsouline for a long time, perhaps best known as popularizing the kettlebell in the United States, by and large, and his position would be strength first, right? Like, focus on strength first. That is the mother quality.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
And then also important as we age, for a host of reasons that I'm sure we can get into, and then you can add in other things sort of below that, let's just say top of the pyramid or bottom of the pyramid, depending on how you look at it. How do you think about the cultivation of attributes, training, and how to prioritize those things?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I will acknowledge my bias.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Uh, at this point, I played college football. I got into the sport of weightlifting, Olympic weightlifting, as, as you may know it, but technically called weightlifting. I enjoy that side of the spectrum much more than I enjoy anything else, right? So I'm a sport kinda guy. I don't really have as much love for physique.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Bodybuilding, stuff like is... It's always impressive, but it hasn't gripped me, because I'm always more interested in sport. So I value being able to hit a golf ball 350 yards, being able to dunk a basketball, to being able to skate on ice. Like, I, I like it when people can do a whole bunch of things in a well-rounded area. So that's my just personal preference. At the same time, I acknowledge when other folks have a preference towards endurance or-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... in that case, physique. That's important to understand-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... because the way that I answer this question is built fundamentally upon my own bias, as we'll probably talk about through the entire conversation. We all have that filter.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Right? And so we're all aiming it at a lens, and it's just personal preference. And I will do my best as the conversation evolves to when I feel like that's a fair representation of the science-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... versus just my personal preference, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Right.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And that's not always the same thing, though sometimes it is. So technically, personally to me, you outlined my injury history, and I know you have just a touch yourself.
- TFTim Ferriss
Oh, yes.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Just a touch.
- 13:39 – 19:09
Building Tim 4.0.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That can't be the pattern.
- TFTim Ferriss
Let's take this to the personal on my side. We're gonna talk about Tim 4.0, and-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, I like it.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Not even 2.0. It's 4.0.
- TFTim Ferriss
Not even 2.0.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Is it like the shoulder, the-
- TFTim Ferriss
2.0 was a while ago.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
4.0, which will hopefully involve fewer MRIs, fewer emergency room visits, and I'll lay out some of the basic specs and mysteries maybe, and then we can go from there. The first I think will be time-bound in a way that will resonate with a lot of people listening, and that is we're recording this in late December, and in early January I'm going to be-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... looking to reengage with all sorts of training.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You and the whole rest of the world.
- TFTim Ferriss
Me and the entire world. And in this particular case, I do have two months blocked out for skiing and ski training, and I've got lessons already booked with a technical coach. So I have the technical side, let's just say it, organized. I will be at altitude. I'll be doing ski touring in addition to downhill s- which I find very meditative, I also find very challenging cardiovascularly. And so far so good. That is the same as last year, and I made a ton of progress technically last year, physically as well, lots of great adaptations. The big difference is that, as we were talking about a bit before we started recording, I've had effectively nine months of deconditioning.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
Right? N- and I've had this persistent, sometimes crippling constellation of low back issues, which thankfully are seemingly on the mend, although I do have some questions for you about it. And so I'll, I'll give you sort of a laundry list of things that are going on. But before I get to that, I wanted to say that for a lot of folks, they're going to go through cycles, if they're not consistently competitive athletes, of detraining, retraining. And at least for me, as someone who used to be very competitive in various sports, there's a higher risk of believing that I'm 15 or 20 or 25 again-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... and attempting to do things I used to do and getting myself into trouble. I suppose the broad question is, if you were coaching me, sort of how would you have a conversation about training, maybe program? Couple of wrinkles. So the first is that I know my low back, as an example, and probably a lot of the posterior chain is weak because I've avoided anything that would potentially lead to inflammation, and I've had 1,000,001 different diagnoses of this low back compression sensitivity, which I do think is a thing, some stenosis at L4, L5 on the right side, et cetera, et cetera. However, I've been told by a number of folks, like inflammation is not the issue. However, when I address inflammation, symptoms by and large vanish, right? I was on like Meloxicam and all sorts of anti-inflammatories for a period of time. Ended up doing an extended fast a few, let's just call it two months ago. So a week-long water fast. And in combination with a few other things, complete remission of symptoms for weeks. That raised a lot of interesting questions. When I am training for two months, unlikely I'm gonna take a week to fast, water fast, and I could, but it would present some challenges. So I'm trying to figure out how to approach things, recognizing in my older years, which I did not perhaps recognize in my younger years, that there's a high potential for injury here if I approach it the wrong way. A few other notes. Last season when I was skiing, I noticed that I got more chatter on my right leg. So if I took like a carving turn to the left, I would get more chatter on the right leg, and I was like, "Oh, that's very interesting." And my left leg, I have noticeably larger, say, calf on the left leg. But I did a DEXA scan recently, and overall I have more muscle mass on the right side. And I was like, "Okay, that's interesting." I have more muscle mass on the right side, but I'm having a lot more chatter, meaning kinda stuttering on the slope, the, the curves aren't as smooth. My priority is skiing, right? So if that means it's to my benefit for relative strength in skiing to lose some upper body mass, that's fine with me. I don't care. Where would you start in this particular case?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you're just listening, I, I can't explain to you how big of a smile I have on my face.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
This is what we live for.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Right? This is exactly what I like to do. Now, you can take a couple of approaches here, small to big or big to small. I think you know where I'm gonna go.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Here's how all of our coaching goes.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
This is exactly what I do for anyone that comes through any of our programs, in our coaching programs. I want everything.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I wanna collect everything on you.
- TFTim Ferriss
Uh-huh.
- 19:09 – 26:44
Insights provided by tracking respiratory rate.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
try. Okay, an, a very easy one, uh, many people have access to, if you have any sort of reasonable tracker-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... of any kind, respiratory rate is a phenomenal insight into everything that's happening in your body.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Blood work would be the most important thing-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... that one can do here, if done appropriately. But even cheaper and easier than that, respiratory rate will tell you a, a ton of stuff. So what we're talking about is how many times you breathe per minute, and specifically overnight.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So if you can measure your respiratory rate overnight, you'll have a great insight of what's happening. A lot of stuff can be explained. Here's roughly why. When you take a breath in-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... you're bringing in oxygen. When you exhale, that releases CO2.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
At all times, you're playing this oxygen to CO2 game. Oxygen is primarily responsible for regulating cellular metabolism, energy.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
CO2 is meant to regulate pH.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It does a lot of different things, but that's the primary mechanism. CO2 then has a bidirectional relationship between psychology and physiology, meaning a psychological stressor, got really excited, got really happy, got upset, can cause alterations in the physical body, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Specifically through CO2, exercise, movement, any physical stressor increases CO2 concentrations, and I could, I could walk through the entire chemistry here if, if you want. It's, it's fairly simple, actually. But that will then be registered psychologically as, hey, be more alert, be more focused, be more anxious, all those things, right? And so when you see an increase in CO2 concentrations that are developed from any tissue, let's just say muscle-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... that increases CO2 concentrations in the blood. Okay? That is then registered as energy is going out physically, so let's be prepared psychologically, again, more focused, all those things. And so your body's constantly measuring CO2 and paying attention to what's happening, and this is good, right? This is one of the main mechanisms in which our body switches us up and down through the autonomic nervous system. And so on one end of the spectrum, and it is way more complicated than this, but to, just to get to another point I'm trying to make here, on one side of that spectrum, you've got sympathetic drive.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
This is fight or flight. This is freeze. This is awake, alert, anxious, all those things. It's important to understand that's not good or bad, that it's just a thing that happens, right? So as you and I are sitting in this conversation, we should be a little anxious, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
We should be a little-- I wanna be hyper-focused. My eyes need to be narrowed on you. I shouldn't be having a panoramic view. Adrenaline should be up. I guarantee our cortisol levels are a little bit-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, totally.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's the point, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
It's a tool in the toolkit, yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. Parasympathetic is the other side. That's rest, digest. That is lethargic. That is depressed. That is all those things, right? So right now, we wanna be alert like this, and when we're done tonight and go to sleep, we wanna be very parasympathetic and lethargic, right? Amazing. Well, CO2 concentrations are driving. It's not the only thing, but it's one of the main things driving where we're at on that spectrum.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- 26:44 – 32:17
Tracking device options and accuracy.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
needs.
- TFTim Ferriss
Do you have a preferred tracking device for that?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
A little bit of inside house here, we use our own.
- TFTim Ferriss
Okay. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So my company, Absolute Rest-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... our sleep company, we have a very, very high quality one that, not to pitch on this, but the reality is-
- TFTim Ferriss
No, no, you should-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... most-
- TFTim Ferriss
You should pitch it if it's good. Just give a second option for, like, the second place-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... finisher.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Well, the reality of it is, by the time this comes out, ours will probably be available. It's a couple of hundred dollars.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It's not a tracker. It, it is a clinical sleep lab set up-
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... on your, in your house with wireless.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It's, our technology's... You've probably seen people with the polysomnography sleep stuff, like-
- TFTim Ferriss
Sure
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... all over the place. Ours is entirely wireless. You don't have to do any of those things. So for a couple hundred bucks, you can put that on.
- TFTim Ferriss
And that's Absolute Rest.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Absolute Rest, that company.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. We are able to, to run 150 hertz-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... which means we're measuring 150 times per second. Most wearables are gonna measure once every five minutes.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Something like that.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- 32:17 – 34:10
Physiology recognizes patterns.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
taking action.
- TFTim Ferriss
Let me ask you a question. I wanna... The, and the action is where I'm going next, and b- b- before we get there, I'm curious if the arrow of causality here is bidirectional or unidirectional in the sense that when you exceed a certain sum total of allostatic load, respiratory rate goes up presumably.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
That's, that's, that's what I'm gathering, right? Can you reduce your overall allostatic load by targeting the respiratory rate directly, or do you need to address the sum components? I suspect it's both end, but I'm curious if by addressing the respiratory rate directly, for instance, through meditation breathing practices, does that help to reduce the sum total of that allostatic load, or do you have to go back to the puzzle pieces?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay.
- TFTim Ferriss
Is it just an indicator?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
No, no. So here's where it's fun.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Excellent research on this, uh, for a long time, 20-plus years of data on this. Physiology recognizes patterns. The same thing happens with sleep, and I could give a ton of examples here, happens with anything else. But if your respiratory rate is elevated, that could be an acute or chronic response, and it could be independent of the original causality.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Which means, let's say you had a really traumatic event. Could even be not traumatic. Say you won a big game. You got excited, and you got a great s- you had some... It doesn't matter.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Positive or negative.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Some sort of big event. In the state of that, you went into sympathetic drive. That then elevated respiratory rate.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If that pattern is sustained, that continues to hold place even when you remove that initial stressor.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay?
- TFTim Ferriss
Right.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So childhood trauma, sure, like period of, of extensive work, completing a dissertation-
- TFTim Ferriss
Right
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... having a child, any of these things. Again, it's not negative.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It could be good or bad. That pattern can absolutely stay-
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... independent of the stressor being removed.
- TFTim Ferriss
Sounds a lot like pain signaling, you know, or [laughs] anyway.
- 34:10 – 38:13
Physiology is personal.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Everything is everything, my man.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like this is why I love physiology.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It's gonna tell you the story, right? And so we can run a little bit of a triage here. I look at your stuff, and I see your respiratory rate's 17 breaths per minute. I say, "All right. I'm gonna look back through the rest of your physiology. Do I see any other indicators of acute stress?"
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I'm gonna look at blood. That's gonna tell me a lot what's going on. I can differentiate whether that stress is acute or, or chronic based on various markers. I'm gonna ask you. We're gonna have conversations, right? When did you start noticing any signs and symptoms? Oh, back pain kicked up. Okay. Did anything happen around then? What's going on, right? We're gonna figure this stuff out. It's very important when you measure physiology, you always need to understand symptomology. Like you're working with humans. You're not working with blood markers.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And, and this is always the case. And so if you have historical data, and this is one of the benefits of tracking over time, we can look back and say, "Okay, there's an uptick here in this particular... Your respiratory used to be 12, and now it's up here. Now it's 16." When's the breaking point, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you don't have any of those things, fine. It doesn't particularly matter because we have two clear action steps we can take in either of those cases, whether we have an acute specific thing we're doing right now that's causing it or whether this is some pattern from 10 days ago to 10 years to-
- TFTim Ferriss
Right
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... it doesn't really matter, right? You can generally get a good sense if somebody's respiratory rate is high if they tend to feel very, very good during light or low-intensity exercise.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You know why?
- TFTim Ferriss
Why?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Because their metabolic rate now starts to match their respiratory rate.
- TFTim Ferriss
Ah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you're breathing at 16 breaths per minute, that's about four second, right, ratio. Um, if you go how many... You take 15 breaths in a 60-second window, right? It's about every four seconds, two-second inhale, two-second exhale.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Right? Run the math there. So if you are now going for a light jog, doing zone two, zone one, like low level activity, maybe just walking, these people are not always, but oftentimes can't stand going a day without exercise. They gotta do some movement. They have to do some, they gotta get a sweat in someday. A lot of the times, those people's respiration rate's high.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
They can't go a day without it 'cause they feel tremendous when they're doing a low-level activity 'cause now they're finally at a heart rate-
- TFTim Ferriss
That's matching their respiratory rate
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... that's matching respiratory rate.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And so what happens? CO2 concentrations are normalized, and you feel normal. When you don't do that, you go back into, um, this is again, this is never perfect. There's no panacea here. There's no magic recipe with physiology ever. So I don't oversell it, but it's very common in our- RAPID Health & Performance program to have people like this who are just like, "I can't not work out," or, "I can't have a d- I get too much anxiety. I get too much..." And then you look and you're like, "I don't need to see your labs."
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
"I can predict your respiratory rate."
- 38:13 – 45:05
Two to seven minutes of quiet darkness.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
piece.
- TFTim Ferriss
What are your favorite levers to pull on the... And I'm sure it's customized, but just broad strokes with your high-performing athletes and so on for-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
For downregulation post?
- TFTim Ferriss
That's right.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. The easiest by far is give me two to seven minutes of just quiet dark.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Right? So we typically ask them to do some breathwork post-exercise-
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... which is as simple as turn the lights off, lay on your back, put a towel over your eyes, turn the music off, and just breathe for five minutes.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you wanna follow a specific cadence and do something like box breathing, fine. If you wanna do, like, a double exhale-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... which means, say, a four-second inhale, eight-second exhale, so you get an extended exhale, which is downregulatory typically, fine if you're super into that stuff. If not, just quiet and calm.
- TFTim Ferriss
Chill the fuck out and breathe.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Chill out, dude.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Just, like, bring it down. And there's actually some initial data on that can accelerate adaptations to exercise-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... is post-exercise downregulation. It's, it's not a extremely strong area of science. It's just a few papers. But nonetheless, it's enough for us to say, okay, what we want to do is take that high sympathetic drive, and then we wanna basically expand your boundaries.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So right now, your boundaries of up and down are narrow, and we wanna bring it way up with exercise in terms of sympathetic drive really high, and then I wanna match it with the downside. And so it's equal and opposite reaction. If you got to a 7 out of 10 sympathetically, I want you to 7 out of 10 parasympathetically. That's gonna increase your ability to go up and down. Not always the case. Some people have the opposite problem. W- So, like, like, this is far more complicated, but broad strokes wise, it's more common for us to ask that than it is the opposite. By doing that, you are contributing to retraining breath rate.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And so that is the second step. So first step was reduce arousal when you can. Second one is retraining breathwork. If you wanna do something like that, just do very light level exercise, but instead of doing just the movement, we're intentionally keeping a breath cadence, and so we're regulating. We're saying, "You need to learn to breathe at three-second inhale, three-second exhale." And so we're gonna do whatever exercise you want. I don't care. Go as hard as you want. I don't care, but we are capping your inhalation and exhalation.
- TFTim Ferriss
Right. So that would be three seconds in, three seconds out, would be sort of in that, let's just call it 10 to 11 target range, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Breath per minute.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
There you go.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That, that's the idea, and you can kinda do that. So you take a combination of approaches there to figure out what's really happening, and that solution can be very quick, could be a little bit longer.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- 45:05 – 50:54
Sleep banking/extension.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Well, you're a data guy.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
We gotta have data that we can use right now.
- TFTim Ferriss
I'm sure I have a fair amount of stuff.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So we can't collect all of our special, you know, preferred markers and all that, but I bet we could get a really strong sense of what's happening based on what you have, you know, like, on your phone.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You, you certainly do some sort of tracking at this point of your sleep?
- TFTim Ferriss
I have not used, say, Oura Ring, et cetera, in a while, just because I... The, the main takeaways were like, yeah, don't drink before bed. Maybe don't drink at all, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So-
- TFTim Ferriss
I mean, I... There were a few things that I took away from it, and I was like, "Okay."
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
This, this is the problem. There's a significant difference between you don't have a clinical sleep disorder-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... and you're sleeping great. Are you familiar at all any of the research on sleep extension?
- TFTim Ferriss
Sleep extension?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
I don't think so.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh my God, like, it's so insane. Okay, if you wanna understand your risk of disease-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... 30, 40, 50 years, okay, yeah, don't sleep four hours a night. That, that's great. If you wanna look at what happens with disease markers between seven hours of sleep a night and eight hours, okay, uh, there's not a convincing argument there. The take home message there is don't have horrific sleep.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
But that is not nearly the same as optimizing your performance.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
The data on what goes from good to great sleep on optimizing performance are strong.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
There is a ton of research on specifically high-performing athletes in a number of areas. There's at least four studies I'm aware of in the areas of what we'll call sleep banking or sleep extension.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Sleep banking is such that before going into exposure of either restricted sleep-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... high intensity or hydration training or both.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- 50:54 – 1:00:55
Options for optimizing sleep quality.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
All right. What you wanna pay attention to with sleep is sleep duration, of course, and all that stuff is great. Sleep quality, this is where polysomnography becomes really problematic. Like, defining sleep quality is really challenging.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It, it's not the same thing.
- TFTim Ferriss
So let me ask you a question related to sleep, and maybe we'll, we'll dive even further into this, but few things. With sleep banking, I would imagine there are people out there, and this would include me, who would say, "I kinda wake up when I wake up-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... and I might feel tired, but I'm not sure how I would be physiologically capable of extending my actual sleep. I could extend my time in bed-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... but I'm not sure of how to extend it." So that's, let's just make that part A. Part B is very specific, which is I'd be curious to know your thoughts on caffeine and best ways to reduce or get off of caffeine. Because what I noticed recently, I did 30 days with no caffeine, zero. It's the first time I've probably done that since I was 16.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, fuck.
- TFTim Ferriss
And I mean, zero caffeine, no tea, no nothing for 30 days. All of my sleep issues went away, like resolved magically, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Of course.
- TFTim Ferriss
And what was fascinating to me is that prior to that, I would often try to fix my sleep issues by attempting to sleep more.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
More time in bed. I was, uh, you know, hopefully this is smart enough, [laughs] if I were tossing and turning, I'd just get up as opposed to just, like-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... suffering for an hour or two in bed. What I noticed when I got off the caffeine is that I, in many cases, was, quote-unquote, sleeping less.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
But I was going to bed earlier, much earlier, right? I was going to bed, in this case, like 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, waking up a lot earlier, but waking up wide awake.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
No fatigue, no dragging ass, no I need a cup of coffee. So the two questions are, for people who are listening and are doubtful they would be able to extend their sleep, what are some options?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
That includes me right now, because I'm back on the sauce.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
And we could dissect that. It's been a fucking nutty last 10 days.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
No.
- TFTim Ferriss
I'll, I'll spare you the, the drama, but a lot of things have happened in life that were unexpected, so my soothing mechanism has been drinking caffeine. I'm willing to get off of it, but now I have to do it when I'm in real life, whereas before I had, you know, four weeks off the grid, and it was-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Of course
- TFTim Ferriss
... easier.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, I see. Yeah.
- 1:00:55 – 1:08:34
Caffeine and sleep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
out.
- TFTim Ferriss
I would say these days, not just reducing, eliminating caffeine.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
And then ensuring I am not exceeding a certain duration of sitting, which is fucked for this week 'cause I'm recording podcasts, but that's, it's okay. [laughs] Those two things, if I attend to those two things-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... everything else is a rounding error.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Those are the two. Putting aside the low back stuff for now, we can come back to it, but it's, it's such a gnarled, tangled mess of different theories and diagnoses. But the caffeine is, I suppose, a little simpler, not always easy, but-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay
- TFTim Ferriss
... what is your position here and-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Great. I personally don't love caffeine much. Not as a scientist, not as a coach, as a human.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like, I don't like it that much.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I'll have some, but, like, a half-caff espresso is, like, perfect. Your physiology will tell you that answer, and what I mean by that is I have plenty of people that do fine on caffeine, and their sleep is fantastic.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And others, it really is detrimental. If you were to look at just across in, in the landscape of the research, what you're globally going to see is caffeine is problematic for sleep.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It just doesn't... And, and I'm talking about, like, hey, you don't have caffeine past 2:00 PM or things like... I'm, I'm talking about literally any caffeine ingestion whatsoever just seems to take sleep the wrong direction.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, and I think I misevaluated this for a long time because I can consume stupid amounts of caffeine and-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You fall asleep
- TFTim Ferriss
... fall asleep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Of course.
- TFTim Ferriss
But the sleep architecture is disaster, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
It's like a, [laughs] one of those spider webs that is [laughs] created by the spider on methamphetamine-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... where you're like, "Ooh, that doesn't look right."
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
That's my sleep.
- 1:08:34 – 1:14:24
Hydration.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
and carefully.
- TFTim Ferriss
So in terms of getting off of it, I recall being in Korea not too long ago, and I didn't use any caffeine when I was adjusting to Korea, which was challenging, but a friend of mine was explaining sleep deprivation with young kids, and-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs] If you asked him how you contend with that, his answer was effectively, like, "Don't be weak." He's like, "You just, you contend with it," right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
There is no magic trick.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Which might be the answer for getting off caffeine. It's like, yeah, you're gonna have to just, like, bite the bullet and have-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... a, a week probably of some degree of withdrawal symptoms, which I might just have to contend with. If I grab a device, whatever device I happen to have-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... I use that prior to getting to altitude. I land at altitude.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
I can try to do some sleep banking-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... up to that point, which would include non-sleep augmentation in the form of non-sleep deep rest, yoga nidra, meditation, whatever it might be. Any other thoughts in terms of what happens after I hit the ground?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. The other thing that would be a very easy win would be making sure hydration-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... is really on point. When people get in cold, they tend to forget.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Because when you go to and do something when it's hot-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... you have the visual, tactical feel-
- TFTim Ferriss
Right
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... of your sweat.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You lose that in the cold.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I know you've done a bit of hunting.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- 1:14:24 – 1:19:02
Hyperhydrated? Dehydrated? Albumin knows.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You can differentiate between acute and chronic dehydration in blood really quickly.
- TFTim Ferriss
Okay, what do you look for?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Albumin is the big ticker there.
- TFTim Ferriss
Uh-huh.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Acute dehydration markers, take a look at hemoglobin, hematocrit, and sodium.
- TFTim Ferriss
Okay.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay? That's gonna give you an indicator. If you stack albumin on top of that, if those three things start to tend high-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... hematocrit, hemoglobin, sodium, you got a good indication of dehydration.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay? If they go the opposite direction, we're worried about hypo-hydration, hyperhydration.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hyperhydration. Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you tick in albumin on top of that, then you're getting an indication that this has been around for a very long time.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So we can calculate osmolality, we can do it independent of a urine analysis, and things like that, okay? Now, why this stuff matters, think about it. All those metrics, hematocrit is the percentage of your blood that is red blood cells.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So it is a percentage.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It's not an actual unit. Sodium and hemoglobin come in such low concentrations, we tend to give them relative to total blood volume.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Which means it's how many milligrams per deciliter of blood. If you are dehydrated, your total blood volume goes down so much-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... such that those numbers, even if they're the actual same absolute value, get reduced, okay? Now, albumin is an acute phase reactant, which means it responds acutely to inflammation.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay? So it'll change. And so here you go, here's some fun. This is gonna frustrate everybody. [laughs] Okay, if you've ever had blood work done and someone's been like, "Oh, your labs look fine," but you're like, "I don't feel fine."
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
There could be a lot of things happening here, but albumin is one of the, like easiest examples here, is an acute phase reactant and is also sensitive to dehydra- al- albumin... Let me back up real fast. We're like Inception right now. I'm like four points into four points behind, so setting up those so we can come up here. But albumin is responsible for 50 to 60% of the osmotic pressure in your vessels. So it, it's the protein that carries around any number of things. 10 to 15 or so percent of your cortisol is being carried on albumin.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
A bunch of other things, okay? So it's a main protein. It's made in your liver, and it's got like a 20 or so day turnover rate.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- 1:19:02 – 1:25:29
Cultivating better hydration habits.
- TFTim Ferriss
I think this is a behavioral modification thing and not a knowledge thing for me.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Totally.
- TFTim Ferriss
I would bet, like right here on the spot [laughs] with- without looking at my labs, I'd be like, "I'll- I could bet half my net worth that I am hyperhydrating." Like, I know I'm hyperhydrating.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
I'm just looking at my behavior-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Right
- TFTim Ferriss
... over the last couple of weeks, and it's, so it's really a question of, like, how do I modify behavior in this case?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
'Cause, like, if I sit down at a lunch or a business meeting, my inclination is just to keep drinking-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... whatever is sort of in front of me. That could be coffee, it could be water. I mean, rarely alcohol, but if it's alcohol, you know, it's, it's sort of like whatever's in front of me I will drink because I like the motor movement. I have no idea. It's gratifying-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... in some way. And then if I layer diuretics on top of the liquid intake, then we have a hell of a lot going on.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, alcohol does the same thing at night, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Alcohol does, yeah, for sure, 'cause it's-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
100%
- TFTim Ferriss
... inhibiting, like, vasopressin anyway.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Antidiuretic hormone.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, yeah. Exactly.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
AHS is, is the real problem. So you're gonna downregulate that. And then that's good. When you drink alcohol, you should be given the physiological symptoms to pee more.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like, clear-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... quickly, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Right.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So here's what I would say.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Now, I would say actually two last things on that. One, as a behavioral coaching tool, then we would have some sort of mechanism for you. There'd be something in your day that triggers water stopping.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
This could be, okay, when you shower at night-
- 1:25:29 – 1:27:08
Sweat testing.
- TFTim Ferriss
... may not be dehydrated.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You will feel signs and symptoms of dehydration, though. You'll feel cotton mouth, I'm sure.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You, you'll feel different things. Have you ever had your sweat tested?
- TFTim Ferriss
No.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's a super easy start.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like, why don't we test how much you're actually sweating, and then what's the c- content of that sweat?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And that's gonna tell us the opposite side. Now, this is something that can be done for a few dollars at this point, so there are a number of different methods that people can purchase these things, I think as low as probably, like, 15 bucks all the way up to a couple of hundred dollars.
- TFTim Ferriss
If people just wanted to learn about this, what would they Google?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
There's a number of companies, like Gatorade makes a sweat patch.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It's $12, I think, something like that. You can go all the way up to something like a Nix, N-I-X, and this is now, I think you buy that patch for $150 or something like that, and you can get different things. But you can actually in that get real-time feedback. I'm not associated with them at all, so-
- TFTim Ferriss
Oh, interesting. So it's like a CGM. It's like a-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Exactly
- TFTim Ferriss
... continuous glucose monitor for your sweat.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
100%. Now, there's some issues. You don't get full electrolyte breakdown, but you'll tell, you'll know how much total fluid you're losing, as well as sodium content.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And we will actually use that, because one of the real tricks to maintaining optimal hydration status, whether you're talking about throughout the day or during exercise performance, is you have to make sure you're putting back in what you're sweating.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Which is to say it is not just about water. We've talked about hyponatremia. We need to know that we're putting in a hypotonic solution. It's a way of saying, like, the total pressure with all the different solutes and solvents in the cocktail needs to be the same as your blood. Glucose, sodium, chloride, potassium, all this stuff needs to be balanced. Doesn't have to be, but you're gonna get better results.
- 1:27:08 – 1:35:18
Consequences of top-tier sweating in the sauna.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you drink excessively dilute fluids, let's just say pure water-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... then what's gonna happen is it'll go immediately into your gut. That'll get immediately into blood. It's very quick to get that across that barrier, and then your total blood volume will expand. You're running constant checks of total blood volume. You'll actually expand more than you think, and so you'll actually send signals that says excrete the fluid.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And so this is why if you're really, really dehydrated, say after the sauna, say you did a crazy session. When you do the sauna, how much time do you do, like, 20 minutes, 30 minutes?
- TFTim Ferriss
I'm not doing super long. I tend to, and [laughs] this is where it gets a little tricky because it's like, all right, what's the, what's the humidity in the sauna, right? So generally what I'll do, I'll get to, let's just call it 195 in the sauna.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
Maybe between 195 and 210.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Plenty hot.
- TFTim Ferriss
So 195 to 210, get in there, and I will immediately start dumping water onto the stones.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm.
- TFTim Ferriss
So I'm also jacking up-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, I see, yep.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, so I'm also jacking up the humidity. I would say generally the way that I'll run it in, because I do this almost every day, right, four to seven times a week, I'll do, let's just call it 20 to 30 minutes.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
And that will be threshold for most people, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
They'll be like, "I need to cool off." Then I'll do cold plunge-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... for three to five minutes, then I'll go back in for a shorter session.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Five minutes, warm back up.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, like 10 minutes.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
And then also cold plunge on the opposite side, at which point I won't need as much, so I'll probably do three minutes of cold.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
And that's typical night.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay. So in that first session, overall as well, how much weight are you losing? Do you know?
- TFTim Ferriss
I would say over the two heat sessions, at least a few pounds. I don't know how much I am reabsorbing in the cold plunge. For anyone who has never experienced extreme, like, weight cutting [laughs] sort of-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm.
- TFTim Ferriss
Like, we couldn't shower after cutting for wrestling. Like, you would absorb multiple pounds of water back just by showering. But I don't know if that's true in this, in this much more-
- 1:35:18 – 1:39:51
Maximizing electrolyte efficacy.
- TFTim Ferriss
that's been my experience.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So then the final piece would be what is exactly in that electrolyte cocktail-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... and getting that dialed in so that we are putting back in the same thing that you're losing so we're not excessively bringing in sodium.
- TFTim Ferriss
Which I guess comes back to the sweat test, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Knowing what the hell you are excreting.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's gonna tell you electrolytes. You have to have that in combination, again, ideally with what your standard metrics are throughout your system, and then making sure that in addition, do we need to add glucose to the situation?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's gonna transport things into the cells really effectively. Sodium comes along for the ride. Water comes along for the ride with it. Does it not need to be in there?
- TFTim Ferriss
Is it glucose? Is it the insulinemic response to glucose? Do other things work better than glucose? Artificial sweetener versus dextrose versus fructose versus fill in the blank, in terms of hydration.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, glucose.
- TFTim Ferriss
Glucose. Just straight glucose.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's your answer.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, got it.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. Now, it doesn't mean it's your only thing that can be in there.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If we're only concerned about just hydration or if we have other things we're trying to do at once, so it's typically less common to only be caring about water.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Um, so in the case of you may need to be trying to increase or restore muscle glycogen, are you trying to recover faster? Is there any tissue consideration there? That is a slightly different answer. Are we trying to maintain acute performance? So are we taking this in the middle of a session that we're trying to keep going and perform better, or are we doing it to try to recover faster the next day?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Are we only concerned about just pure hydration at a steady resting state?
- TFTim Ferriss
If I had to weight it, I'd say it's like 70% hydration, 30% help with recovery.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
I like, I like to sauna after weight training.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. Okay, so in that particular case, if you're trying to maximize recovery, then, like, glucose is [laughs] gonna be super, super effective.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Fructose comes in the equation when we're trying to maximize carbohydrate intake in acute performance especially, because glucose and fructose get through the gut barrier, and they have different transporters.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So when the glucose gets full, we can use fructose and get it through-
- 1:39:51 – 1:43:44
Nutrition for optimal feeling and performance on the slopes.
- TFTim Ferriss
And then from a, from a nutrition perspective.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. So this is why full analysis is better, 'cause now we can nail it exactly not only macronutrients, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Calories, protein, carbohydrate. That's great. What we tend to say is, like, people care globally about three things regarding their body. They wanna look a certain way, they wanna feel a certain way, and they wanna perform a certain way.
- TFTim Ferriss
In this particular season, I care most about two and three. I'm in, gonna be in four layers anyway. I don't give a shit what really-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You already laid the foundation.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
The physique part doesn't matter, and your physique's fine as it is, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So it's not like it's detrimenting your performance, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So you care about feeling and performing a certain way.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Awesome. That's gonna give us some heads towards macronutrients. Micronutrients, though-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... are the true game behind how you feel and perform.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's the key here. Macronutrients are fine energy intake. This regulates how you look. Micronutrients are f- how you feel and perform.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And so we wanna be very clear on exactly what you're eating, okay, if we can. Let's say we don't have any access to that, and so we just have to give you rough suggestions based on nothing. I wanna know what you're consuming prior to.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I wanna know what you're consuming during, while you're on the slopes-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... and what you're consuming afterwards. So give me a rough idea there, and then I'll come back with a far shorter answer than what it took us to get to the training.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, I mean, if I'm giving you my, like, lazy, lazy day of skiing, and I know this is gonna make people-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Well-
- TFTim Ferriss
... shudder, but I'll-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
One of the reasons why I think you've had such a tremendous career is you're so honest about these things.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You don't, you don't protect your ego of like-
- 1:43:44 – 1:46:14
Supplementation.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
last year/this year, do you have a plan for supplementation?
- TFTim Ferriss
What I have done over the last, say, nine months, which has, and this is gonna sound like a shameless plug 'cause I'm involved with these guys, but probably what I would do this ski season is I would have a never-ending supply of Maui Nui-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh
- TFTim Ferriss
... venison sticks.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Like, the unsweetened.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
Like, no additional sugar. And that has proven for me to be just about the easiest way to get n- nutrient dense 30 grams of protein in the morning. I can just throw those in my ski jacket too. So that will probably take the place of eggs.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Also just for convenience. In terms of supplementation, I would say last year kept it pretty simple. I would say I was taking magnesium, some electrolytes, generally magnesium in the morning, and then I went back and forth on creatine. I know that there are so many different benefits to creatine.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
I was cognizant of not wanting to carry too much weight, like additional water weight, if I was gonna retain a lot more water.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, yep.
- TFTim Ferriss
So used that intermittently. I would often use that around cross-training, so if I was, like, kinda going to the gym.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Athletic Greens, again, this is gonna sound like a plug, but I've been using that stuff since 2000 whatever, 9 or 10, so [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
And not a whole lot beyond that. I'd say where last season I was taking the most was related to sleep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
Because I was so desperate to get a good night's sleep, I was taking just, like, entire laundry list of stuff before sleep-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... including some prescription stuff, which I've tried to really titrate off of.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
But at the time, helpful. You know, Trazodone, things like that, which you should not take without doctor supervision. So I would say not a really comprehensive supplemental plan-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... at this point. I would also, though, not want to leave behind the nutrition piece because right now if you were to, if you were to ask me, like, "What does your macro breakdown look like?" I'd be like, "I have no fucking idea"
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... honestly, if I'm being-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Right
- TFTim Ferriss
... uh, like truthful about it.
- 1:46:14 – 1:49:28
The three Rs of recovery: repair, replenish, and rehydrate.
- TFTim Ferriss
bit, I would say.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
When you think about recovery-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... three classic Rs-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... come into place. Repair, replenish, and rehydrate.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's what we're going after, right? So repair is protein, replenish is carbohydrate, and obviously rehydrate is, is a combination of fluids plus our electrolytes-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... and glucose. Can we alter what we're doing to maximize performance on the slopes? Yeah, but that's not really what you're asking. You don't wanna feel terrible on the slopes-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... but you're also really hedging because we know your recovery capacity is already compromised.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So I'm gonna push towards that. What's that means? Do we have enough total calories? Maybe. Do we have enough protein? Unlikely.
- TFTim Ferriss
Unlikely, yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Just the fact that we're starting off the day with no protein source is not a good-
- TFTim Ferriss
Or, or very little, yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Maui Nui's fantastic. [laughs]
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like, I eat it almost every day at this point. My entire... Like, I eat almost exclusively wild game. That's-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... that's what I do, but-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... yeah, since being a part of Maui Nui as well, like-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... that's, that's what I'm after.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I've yet to have anybody that we've sent it to come back and be like, "What the hell is this stuff? Like, this is incredible."
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah, yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
It's such a high positive response.
- 1:49:28 – 1:50:30
Getting enough protein.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
to increase.
- TFTim Ferriss
I might be making this up, but I don't think I am. The, I wanna say that the older you get, there's some literature-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... to suggest that it was better to have, like, a larger bolus, meaning more grams of protein at, at a single-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, this is what-
- TFTim Ferriss
... feeding
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... you're talking about. It's called anabolic resistance.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So you become more resistant to anabolic stimuli training or protein ... as you age, but this is totally preventable.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Extremely preventable by just having bigger boluses. So my point with all that is you can't stop that train.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yes, some of that protein will be oxidized. Who cares?
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Doesn't matter. You can't have too much protein in your particular case. Why I'm going back to that in your case, in your scenario, is because we know we've continually had conversations about you just recover slower, you restore longer, et cetera, et cetera. We need to make sure we are never limited in our recovery by protein.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That needs to be higher, and so we need you at a minimum of, I don't know, 200 grams of protein a day.
- TFTim Ferriss
Oh, wow. Okay, yeah, I'm gonna need to change some things.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I'll survive at 150. I'll take 150, but, like, I want you
- 1:50:30 – 1:57:57
Getting enough carbs.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
to go over.
- TFTim Ferriss
Let's just say copy/paste, now you're in my place doing the exact same training.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
What might your breakfast look like?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I'm fine with everything you had there.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
But now I just want 50 grams of protein.
- TFTim Ferriss
What form? I know you said-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Eggs
- TFTim Ferriss
... you're agnostic, but for you.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Fine, eggs. Yeah, like, no problem eating eggs.
- TFTim Ferriss
But to get to 200 grams, I mean, if we're, like, yanking out the yolk-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, you can do that
- TFTim Ferriss
... as a factor. Well, I'm just thinking about the, what this actually nets out to. I mean, how many eggs would that mean? That's be-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Well-
- TFTim Ferriss
... five, six?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I'll put it this way. I wouldn't go exclusively from eggs.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That would, that would be-
- TFTim Ferriss
That's fine
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... the point. If you wanna have a, a protein shake as well, you already said you basically did that, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
That's what I did, yep, this, this last season.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... if you have, let's say, three eggs-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... maybe half a cup of egg whites.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Something like that. Maybe two eggs, half a cup of egg whites. Okay, great, we're now 40 or so. And-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- 1:57:57 – 1:58:33
Salt and electrolytes.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I would just make sure on top of all that, kinda rounding out these points, making sure that you're adequately salting your food.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Because we know that that's gonna go down. We know you're a heavy sweater.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I don't know what your sweat rate is for your salt intake, but if you're sweating out three or four pounds a day, that's just gonna, you're gonna lose a gram-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... plus many grams of salt, so making sure that comes back in, in the form of supplementation, if you like to use electrolyte packs or something like that. Or if you just wanna strictly go salting your food-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... you know, heavily to taste there, you probably need some supplemental electrolytes-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... would be my guess at this point.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Making sure it's there. That's nutritionally gonna put you in a
- 1:58:33 – 1:59:33
Fruits and veggies.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
really, really good spot. Just be really careful making sure we're still getting colors in your food.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
'Cause micronutrients typically don't have a huge response, like you're not gonna feel a difference in vitamin A or C in, like, a day.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
But it will over the course of two months start to kinda add up.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So making sure we're not just eating all brown and then having a outlet of greens. [laughs]
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah. I've generally used color as a proxy, so I, I try hard. It is one of the challenges in a lot of these mountain towns, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Of course it is.
- TFTim Ferriss
Is, like, they're importing everything, and it's-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Fresh fruits and vegetables
- TFTim Ferriss
... oh, man
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... tends-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... to what we wanna say. Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs] But yes, yeah, good advice.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
We use frozen-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... if you have to, right?
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So frozen fruits and vegetables, it's not the same, but it's still really, really high quality. And then supplementation, we could say, you know, I, I could be brief here if you'd like.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
But absolutely making sure magnesium is there. Magnesium is released in sweat at very low quantities, but it's still enough when you sweat the amount that you're potentially going to be sweating.
- TFTim Ferriss
Oh, yeah, and also with, with skiing, like I'm gonna sweat my ass off.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
I'll be working.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So you, we wanna make sure that that stuff is
- 1:59:33 – 2:01:03
Creatine.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
high. Creatine is great. If you're going to use it, I wouldn't use it the way you did.
- TFTim Ferriss
Okay.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I would use it or don't.
- TFTim Ferriss
Okay, got it.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So having it, like, on certain days or not is probably not-
- TFTim Ferriss
Make it daily or not.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, because it takes a chronic effect-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... for it to really start to matter unless you're going a really high dosage.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So I wouldn't be super concerned about the water retention aspect of it because we're-
- TFTim Ferriss
Might even be a plus
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... Yeah, I was gonna say, we're having a hard time-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... with that anyways, right? Any recommendation, if you try it and it doesn't work, you don't like it.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah. And what are we talking about, like five grams a day or what are we?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's the number. That's the standard.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That's what everyone throws out, but I would say the same thing of like-
- TFTim Ferriss
Like the protein?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like why? Candidly for guys our size, it's fine. I'm probably going higher. I'm also never measuring creatine, to be totally honest. Like I'm just-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... taking big scoops and throwing it in there.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Like seeing what happens. There's actually really interesting data on, the more recent stuff, the more interesting stuff on creatine is around bone health, brain health, and overall even, like, mood.
- TFTim Ferriss
Brain health is no joke. Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, but that's when 10 to 20 grams a day.
- TFTim Ferriss
I have experimented with that chronically and just looking at verbal, I mean, it's-
- 2:01:03 – 2:02:29
Vitamin D and omega-3.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... you can see the data.
- TFTim Ferriss
Anything else you'd add to the list?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
The rest of it would be dependent upon your labs and your physiology-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... what we knew there. You could throw in, you're never going to be hurt for the most part adding vitamin D. It's a very-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... common one.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You're gonna be out in the sun all day, so.
- TFTim Ferriss
Well, half of my face will be out in the sun all day. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Half there. There'll be significant sun blockage, I hope.
- TFTim Ferriss
So. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Uh, yeah, I, I did supplement with D last year.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. And fish oil?
- TFTim Ferriss
I also supplemented with fish oil.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Could be, uh, a placebo. Who knows? There's probably literature out there on this, but I found it to seemingly help with sleep quite a bit.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Those would be the standard kinda without knowing anything about you. You throw in that cocktail, you're talking about things that are fairly cheap.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You know, again, relatively.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
They have very little cross-reaction.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Unlike minerals.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Unlike even high doses of vitamins.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You're playing a game there that you may wanna be a bit careful of.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- 2:02:29 – 2:07:59
Ashwagandha and rhodiola.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
to do?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you wanted to go kinda next level of, hey, less science, but some science, potentially beneficial, then you would get in the realm of herbals.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And this is when ashwagandha, rhodiola-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yep
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... things like that start to kick in.
- TFTim Ferriss
What do you find rhodiola most helpful for? So I actually do use ashwagandha in the same way that, say, Peter Attia might use phosphatidylserine just to blunt-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, sure
- TFTim Ferriss
... a bit of cortisol release at night, for instance. Um, okay, inhale.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yes.
- TFTim Ferriss
Uh, so maybe I'm off base, but, I mean, talk to me about ashwagandha and rhodiola.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Okay, so we actually just published a review paper on rhodiola.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I think it's open access. You should be able to go read it for free. Way more data on ashwagandha.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Been around for a long time. The issue we've always dealt with with both of those are most... Uh, all of our athletes have to have third-party certified-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... things. And even they have to have NSF or Informed Choice. So those are hard to get to.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
If you're not concerned about that, then disregard that. But you really do need-
- TFTim Ferriss
This is to avoid doping issues, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Correct.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
We actually have another paper we published on the frequency, uh, of adulterated supplements.
- TFTim Ferriss
Oh, God. [laughs] It's gotta be complete disaster.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Whatever number you're thinking, it's higher.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah. Yeah, totally. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
[laughs] 'Cause it's, it's... And now in America with big brands, like, you're fine.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- 2:07:59 – 2:13:58
Accelerating acclimation to altitude.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
there.
- TFTim Ferriss
For acclimating to altitude, 'cause I know-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... you've gone from flatlander to-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... altitude a couple of times.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Anything that you have found particularly helpful for ... accelerating acclimation to altitude.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
'Cause you hear all sorts of stuff, right? Some people take like beetroot extract.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
Some people take rhodiola.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
Anecdotally, right?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Of course.
- TFTim Ferriss
I'm curious if, if you have thoughts here.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Rhodiola would be on my shortlist.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yep.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I would listen to you either way if you said it didn't work at all-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... or if you said it did. Like, I, I would listen either way, but it would be a low risk-
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... potential small reward.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Why not? Any ad- arginine or precursor, b- root, you mentioned.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Vasodilation is gonna give you every opportunity possible to give splenic contraction, to get more red blood cells into your blood, to let you acclimatize to it.
- TFTim Ferriss
Couple weeks of EPO.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
EPO. [laughs]
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- 2:13:58 – 2:15:57
Letting physiology do what it wants to do.
- TFTim Ferriss
Well, there are levels, then there are levels, right? And so if, if I'm operating at 10K, but then I'm doing some-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You're skiing at 16 or-
- TFTim Ferriss
If I'm skiing at 16, I'll just pass out [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, that'd be high. At 14, yeah. Yeah.
- TFTim Ferriss
But yeah. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Oh, you could do it.
- TFTim Ferriss
But, but if I'm going up a few thousand feet-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Even 12
- TFTim Ferriss
... for, for backcountry stuff or helo skiing.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, you'll notice that extra thousand feet-
- TFTim Ferriss
Oh, yeah
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... for sure.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I would probably let physiology just do what it wants to do.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
That would be my normal thing. Take your baseline stuff there and then let it go, because you're going to be there for eight weeks.
- TFTim Ferriss
Yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And we're gonna walk ourselves into these first two or three weeks anyways. If you were there for, like for example, we have Ryan Ortega is fighting in... I ca- I think I can say this, yeah. By the time this comes out, it'll be-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... it'll be open. He's fighting in Mexico City-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... for his next fight. That's 7,500 feet in elevation. Ryan lives Torrance. [laughs] So he lives below elevation. We are doing s- things specifically now starting, like today, to prepare for that.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
But that's 'cause we have to get there for one event, one night.
- TFTim Ferriss
Right.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
You have two months to live there.
- TFTim Ferriss
Have some time, yeah.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
I would let your body do what it wants to do. Kinda the last thing I'll really say here is, I think that's an important note. Your physiology and your brain are still way smarter than anything we have, any AI program, any machine learning stuff we've got. Your own physiology has a far better sense of what you're doing. So whenever possible, don't hold it back. We call these performance anchors.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So anything you're doing that's an anchor, it's dragging you down, right? So this is alcohol, this is any number of suboptimal-
- 2:15:57 – 2:20:19
Andy’s current projects and parting thoughts.
- TFTim Ferriss
of progress. Andy, we've talked about a lot today. People can find you on Twitter, Instagram, @drandygalpin, and they can find all things Andy Galpin at andygalpin.com. You have a number of different initiatives, projects, companies that are in motion. Absolute Rest, we've already mentioned. Any others that you would like to mention or point people to?
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah. I appreciate that-
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
... opportunity. Absolute Rest, of course, is our sleep company. My education company is called Biomolecular Athlete, and that is actually something that we just released Thanksgiving.
- TFTim Ferriss
Hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So this is just new to the world. I have always, and will continue to, put out as much free content on YouTube as I can. So what I do is I have this, like, series of five, 25, and 55-minute physiology videos.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And if you've been paying attention, and when I say 25 minutes, it's ish.
- TFTim Ferriss
[laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And when I say 55 minutes, it's ish.
- TFTim Ferriss
Ish, yeah. [laughs]
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah, I get burned on that one. I'm always gonna do that.
- TFTim Ferriss
Uh-huh.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And that is, like, always gonna be free out there. But we had, I had such demand for it, I was like, "Man, I just need to make a full, proper education company."
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So we released our very first course in Thanksgiving, and I think we had people from over 90 countries get into it. I was like, "All right. Uh, it'll do well." But holy cow.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
So stunned. So that is out there. We're gonna come out with our second and third course this year. One of them will be on performance blood work.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And then another will be on managing, it's like a, an algorithm, if you will, step-by-step process on fatigue.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
How to stop it from happening, correct it, like, what to do, like, all this stuff. So that'll be coming at biomolecularathlete.com. I think it's Forward Strength.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
But if you get to Biomolecular Athlete, it's gonna get you close enough. The other one we're launching in January is called Vitality Blueprint.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And that is, is high-level performance blood work.
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
And so this is not medical stuff. This is i- if you wanna really understand how to not only analyze blood, but then go through to some of the stuff we talked about, of how do you interpret it?
- TFTim Ferriss
Mm-hmm.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Once you get it, what's it mean? All that is done for you. It's completely in- interpreted. All the patterns and calculations that go into high performance are done for you. And then as a result of that, you get spit out very high-precision supplementation nutrition and, and exercise protocols-
- 2:20:19 – 2:24:09
Minimizing risk for injury while training on the slopes.
- TFTim Ferriss
in.
- SPSpeaker
And now, Tim and Andy discuss Tim's training regimen.
- TFTim Ferriss
I land at altitude.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm.
- TFTim Ferriss
I will then be confronted with training decisions.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm.
- TFTim Ferriss
My concerns are mostly around avoiding injury, right? I'm not worried about, like, hitting the most complex double black diamond-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm-hmm
- TFTim Ferriss
... blah, blah, blah, be like two weeks out. I don't have a competition. I'm doing this for fun, also to get into shape, which is fine. Touring I find pretty kinda self-regulating in a way, although you have avalanche risk, but let's put that aside. How would you think about training, this is gonna be a lazy question, but the lower body? And the reason I ask is two seasons ago, I've been very lucky, knock on wood, I've had very few knee issues. I've had issues with a lot of other stuff, like shoulder surgeries, elbow surgeries, you know, all sorts of issues, but ankles, like, broken every which way from Sunday from all sorts of terrible combat sports decisions. Knees have been pretty good except for two years ago, I had to get medevaced out with a very impressive tomahawk accident after hitting a ice ridge at high speed. Hella skiing. So I got medevaced out for a bunch of re- I mean, like, the knee was, my leg was twisted around like a G.I. Joe figure. It was bad. And I felt a pop in the hip and the knee, 'cause one ski ejected, the other one didn't. So as I tomahawked, like, the tip got caught and rotated my leg around, and landed, and I was like, "Fuck. I'm gonna wait for the tail guide to check this out." And the knee felt a little loose. Ended up ultimately getting ER, MRI, the whole nine, and had a couple of minor injuries, but they were like, "Your knee is surprisingly okay. You might have, like, a mild tear," I think it was meniscus.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm.
- TFTim Ferriss
They were like, "But nothing really of note." And I was like, "Huh, okay." But there have been points, for instance, as my back has started to feel better, I've slowly moved into conservative, mostly isolateral leg training.
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Mm.
- TFTim Ferriss
'Cause part of what precipitated this, I've had back issues for, for decades. It's just I have a transitional segment, but my brother has the same thing, lots of kind of-
- AGDr. Andy Galpin
Yeah
- TFTim Ferriss
... chronic back tightness.
Episode duration: 3:29:25
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