270: 11 Ways To Upgrade Your Fitness, Boost Your Motivation, And Change Your Lifestyle with Dr. Andy Galpin

Today’s Guest

Dr. Andy Galpin

The guest today is Dr. Andy Galpin, who is a Professor of Kinesiology at the Center for Sport Performance at California State University, Fullerton. He has a Ph.D. in Human Bioenergetics and is the founder and director of the Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Laboratory.

His new book Unplugged is available now on Amazon.

He currently works with professional mixed martial artists, surfers, ultra-marathoners, and football players. Also, he studied which technologies and tests are most effective and which are a waste of money.

Why?

Because in the first quarter of 2016, Americans bought 19.7 million fitness wearables, an increase of 67 percent over the previous year.

By 2020, the global market for fitness-focused apps and devices is expected to grow to $30 billion.
As a result of our fitness tech addiction, we’ve lost awareness of what we’re doing, how we’re feeling, and what’s going on around us.

If you have been listening to the podcast for a while, you probably already know that following a nutritious diet, exercising often, staying away from junk food, and maintaining a healthy weight is important for longevity. Other habits are a little less obvious.

Listen to this episode for some surprising facts about technology, lifestyle choices and exercise strategies that could add years to your life.

You’ll Learn

• What Andy’s lab does research on (4:18)
• Why every person should view himself or herself as an athlete (6:18)
• Are genetic tests worth the investment (8:29)
• Why you need to be careful where you get your fitness advice (14:39)
• 3 Reasons relying on motivation can negatively affect our performance (20:00)
• How to make lifestyle changes that last (24:40)
• Why you shouldn’t feel guilty when your motivation wanes (and what to do about it) (30:00)
• Training vs exercising—which one are you doing? (34:31)
• Andy’s thoughts about unconventional training vs basic exercises (35:30)
• The importance of physical biomarkers for healthy aging (45:00)
• How technology can hurt your progress if you don’t know how to use it properly (52:00)

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Link Mentioned:

• Andy’s book

Connect with Dr. Andy Galpin:

• Andy’s social media
• Andy’s website
• Andy’s podcast The Body of Knowledge

Ted’s Take-Aways:

1. Be wary of all the new technology to help you get in shape. As Andy and I discussed, genetic testing to determine your muscle fiber distribution may tell you what you were born with. But it can’t tell you what you should do to optimize your health and performance. While new technology is exciting, the science hasn’t gotten to the point where it can help us make solid decisions about how to train or what to eat.

2. The importance of longevity biomarkers. While biomarkers like blood pressure and cholesterol are important, research suggests other measurements like VO2 max and leg strength may be just as important or even more important when determining risk of disease and quality of life. As Andy discussed, being able to move with strength, power and coordination is turning out to be a critical component of being active and agile at 80 years old. Andy also mentioned the work of Dr. Steven Blair and how physical fitness related to mortality and quality of life.

3. The importance of context. If you listen to Andy’s answers to some of my questions, he is always quick to bring up the situation and/or person before he answers. Too often, we’ll do a workout because some actor or athlete used it. But we have to ask ourselves if that particular technique, method, workout, diet, etc is right for us and our goals. While that’s not as easy and clear-cut as “just cut out carbs” or “just lift heavy weights”, it will lead to the results you want for your body. So use some critical thinking whenever you’re presented with new information on how to get in shape. It’ll take some extra work, but the results will be worth it.