This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
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In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Sam Harris to discuss how attention, mindfulness, and clear thinking shape performance. We start by separating intelligence from wisdom, then look at how modern technology is rewiring our attentional capacity — including which tools enhance cognition and which compete with it. Sam walks through three approaches to working with the mind: training concentration, practicing mindfulness, and using cognitive reframing. We also get into how to receive criticism wit...
In this episode, I cover "athlete's heart" — the paradox where the same cardiovascular adaptations that make endurance athletes exceptional can also mimic, and sometimes mask, real risk. I trace the history of what’s now known as exercise-induced cardiovascular remodeling (EICR), and walk through what's actually happening structurally, functionally, and electrically in a trained heart. I separate adaptive changes like left ventricular dilation and increased stroke volume from genuinely concernin...
In this episode, I sit down with Ken Rideout — author, elite masters marathoner, and one of the most compelling people I've ever had on the show — to discuss his journey from a difficult childhood and decade-long opioid addiction to becoming the Masters (50+) Marathon World Champion and winning the Gobi March, a 155-mile self-supported stage race across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Ken shares how running became his path to sobriety and why he finds peace in suffering rather than comfort. We cove...
Dr. Lenny Wiersma, a renowned sports psychologist, delves into the true psychology behind elite performance, challenging the "no fear" narrative for athletes like Alex Honnold. He provides actionable insights on developing robust confidence over fleeting self-assurance, mastering visualization for both success and coping with failure, and employing psychological distancing in self-talk. The episode also covers emotional regulation techniques, the importance of co-regulation in team dynamics, and the powerful role of biofeedback and cognitive training tools like NeuroTracker for enhancing mental performance under pressure in any field.
Dr. Andy Galpin clarifies the difference between "abs" and "core," explaining key muscle groups and debunking common training myths like high-rep, high-frequency routines. He introduces a "look, feel, and perform" framework, detailing how exercise selection, load, volume, frequency, and progression should adapt to individual goals, from aesthetics to back health or athletic performance. The episode concludes with a five-step progression model and a sample weekly program to guide effective core development.
In this episode, I explain how to increase your control over your nervous system — not just to manage stress, but to recalibrate your autonomic nervous system for long-term physiological resilience and adaptability. This episode goes beyond basic stress management techniques to explore how to fine-tune your nervous system, become more stress tolerant, and use your personal data to know exactly when and how to intervene. Using the three I’s framework — Investigate, Interpret and Intervene — I exp...
This episode features Jill Miller, a renowned expert in fascia and self-myofascial release (SMR), detailing how these practices improve mobility, reduce pain, and enhance overall body awareness. She explains the intricate role of fascia—the body's connective tissue—and demonstrates how tools like soft balls and cupping, combined with conscious breathwork, can optimize fascial health beyond simple compression. The discussion also covers strategies for managing chronic pain and stress by leveraging the parasympathetic nervous system and addressing issues like diastasis recti and hypermobility through informed self-care techniques.
My guest is Dr. Michael Ormsbee, Ph.D. , a professor of nutrition and integrative physiology and the director of the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine at Florida State University. We explore how pre-sleep nutrition affects fat metabolism, muscle growth, performance, and recovery, while helping individuals meet their daily protein goals without causing weight gain. We discuss what to eat at night, including different protein sources—whey, casein, and plant-based proteins—or carbohydrates,...
In this episode, my guest is Dr. Allison Brager, Ph.D. , an active-duty Army neuroscientist whose research focuses on physiological resilience in extreme stress environments such as Antarctica and outer space. We discuss how sleep is impacted in these harsh conditions and the broader concept of sleep resilience, which is crucial for athletes, military personnel, and anyone with demanding personal or professional situations. We explain the effects of circadian rhythm (chronotype) misalignment on ...
In this episode, I discuss the importance of exercise, specifically strength training, for kids. With growing concerns over childhood obesity, limited opportunities for physical activity in school, decreased outdoor playtime, and reduced sports participation, the lack of physical activity in children poses serious long-term risks to their physical and mental health. I address common myths and misconceptions about resistance training for kids and highlight the many cognitive, physical, and mental...
My guest is Dr. Herman Pontzer, Ph.D. , a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University, known for his research on human bioenergetics, particularly energy expenditure and the exercise paradox. We discuss his work comparing highly active hunter-gatherer groups to more sedentary cultures, exploring their total energy expenditure and the surprising similarities. We examine the impact of factors such as age, sex, exercise, and pregnancy on daily energy expenditure. We ...
In this episode, my guest is Jordan Sullivan, APD , a registered sports dietitian and the founder of The Fight Dietitian (TFD) , whose clients include UFC world champions, Olympians, and ultra-endurance athletes. We discuss performance nutrition, focusing on how to strategically use diet and nutrition to optimize an athlete’s physical performance, recovery, and overall health while aligning with their training intensity and volume. We take a holistic view of nutrition, considering individualized...
Bone health is often dismissed as something only “old people” or postmenopausal women should worry about, but evidence clearly indicates that poor bone health is extremely common—even among young, healthy people, including men. It is also highly preventable and reversible through various lifestyle and other modifiable factors. In this episode, I explain what bone health actually means; bone loss conditions like osteoporosis and osteopenia; how the bone remodeling process works; why poor bone hea...
Dr. Bret Contreras shares glute training strategies, glute anatomy and exercise technique. Discussion covers differences in training goals for men and women, program design, recovery, common mistakes, and research.
This episode features Dr. Thomas Wood, an M.D. with a Ph.D. in physiology and neuroscience, who delves into strategies for boosting cognitive function and preventing age-related decline. The conversation covers how physical and mental challenges, optimal nutrition, sufficient sleep, and targeted supplementation like creatine and caffeine critically support brain health. Dr. Wood also clarifies mechanisms by which various exercise types impact brain longevity and offers practical behavioral approaches to combat brain fog and neurodegenerative diseases.
In this episode, I discuss science-supported methods to boost metabolism and maintain sustainable fat loss. I explain the key components of total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and why some people seem to stay naturally lean with little effort. Using the three I’s—Investigate, Interpret, and Intervene—I explain how to assess your metabolism and make changes to improve it. I describe various behavioral, exercise, nutrition, and supplement-based approaches to enhance metabolism in both the short ...
In this episode, I discuss nutrition and supplementation to reduce the risk of brain injury and enhance brain performance and long-term health. Most brain injuries, including traumatic brain injury (TBIs) and concussion, are not from sports and are actually quite common in non-athletes. I explain what happens in the brain when a TBI occurs and discuss science-supported nutrients to reduce the risk of brain injury, minimize symptoms, and improve recovery. Summarizing both research and clinical st...
In this episode, I discuss blood testing for athletic performance. I explain how performance-based blood testing differs from medical or disease-based blood panels and the pros and cons of blood testing for performance. I explain how to choose specific blood markers based on your performance goals, scenario, and situation. I also discuss the timing, frequency, and preparation for blood tests to increase the accuracy and validity of results. I explain how to contextualize blood test results, inte...
In this episode, I discuss genetic testing for sports and athletic performance. I describe the history of sports genomics and the search for genes that determine strength, endurance, and other performance markers. I explain how to interpret genetic test results, including how many genes determine a trait, the relative influence of a single gene, and the likelihood that a genetic variant produces noticeable performance effects. I discuss the ethical issues and current limitations of using genetic...
In this episode, I discuss training plateaus, overtraining, and peaking (aka “tapering”) to help you train smart for your goals and effectively use rest to maximize performance. I discuss training plateaus, the underlying molecular mechanisms that cause plateaus, and how to overcome plateaus by targeting systems and nutrition-based approaches. I describe how overtraining reduces performance, which molecular biomarkers to measure to determine if you are overtrained, and how to recover from overtr...
Dr. Andy Galpin redefines lactate, moving beyond its misconception as a mere waste product to highlight its essential functions in metabolism, mitochondrial health, and as a crucial signaling molecule impacting various organ systems, including the brain, heart, and liver. He details the history of its discovery, clarifies its distinction from lactic acid, and explores how it regulates metabolic acidosis and contributes to metabolic flexibility. The episode concludes with practical strategies for investigating, interpreting, and intervening on lactate levels through training methods to improve energy and performance.
In this episode, I explain how sleep optimization produces a competitive advantage and the many tools available for improving sleep to maximize athletic performance. I explain how sufficient, high-quality sleep enhances speed, accuracy, reaction time, and competition performance and aids in injury recovery. I also describe why most athletes suffer from chronic suboptimal sleep, the athlete’s sleep paradox, the biochemical reason athletes need more sleep, and the most common sleep disorders affec...
In this episode, I explain protocols to build muscle hypertrophy (muscle size) and maximize strength and power for athletic performance, health, and longevity. I describe two science-supported programs developed by strength and performance experts that are appropriate for both men and women, no matter the sport or training level background. I discuss the key training concepts of strength-based programs, including progressive overload, intensity, Prilepin’s chart, autoregulation, block periodizat...
In this episode, I explain practical applications for improving your VO2 max and endurance in order to prevent disease, promote longevity, and optimize overall health and performance. I also explain the training fundamentals and methods to consider when developing an endurance training program, such as general conditioning, warm-ups/cool-downs, tissue tolerance and recovery, injury prevention, and maximizing training time. I describe two endurance training programs suitable for individuals of al...
In this episode, I discuss the essential role of skeletal muscle in health and performance. I explain what skeletal muscle is made of, how it works, and its role as an integral organ system for physical and mental health. I explain how to focus on skeletal muscle quantity (total muscle) and muscle quality (functionality, speed, power, strength) to ensure you function and perform at the highest levels. I explain the difference between slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers and why skeletal muscle is...
In this episode, I discuss the critical importance of building a strong heart and how to do it. I explain why the human body needs to breathe, the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness for sleep and exercise recovery, and its long-term implications for physical health, disease risk, and mortality. I explain how the heart functions, what determines heart rate, why the heart never gets sore, and the unique advantages of cardiac muscle over other muscle types. I explain how to use the ‘Three I’s’...
This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin . I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton. With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with top-tier performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. We'll discuss a range of advanced tools, technologies, and strategies, striking a balance between the forefront of scientific research a...
