Why Dr. Andy Galpin Changed his Mind on Muscle Building Strategies, Fat Loss, and Fasting 

This is the right kind of people you should have in a interview, dr Andy is great 👌 thank you Thomas

Andy Galpin always provides a mature perspective on the information aavailable .... other than the usual youtubers who "know it all".

At 52, I mainly look at long term, so I‘m prepared to sacrifice the optimum. At the same time, I try to do that with science, being as smart about what I do and don’t as possible. At the gym, looking at people in their 20s, the difference is so stark. Pumping like there’s no tomorrow, sloppy form, anything for the grunts and the puffs. And THEY approach me and ask me how I can be in this shape at my age. When I then put on my Buddha face and say „Easy does it, I plan in years looking at my shape, not in weeks.“ they are not satisfied. They wanted to hear a wonder drug or a secret workout. Sorry, none there. Gotta put in the work, but gotta put it in smart. I always wonder how a generation that has the easiest access ever to all the tools is often so lost and clueless… And that where vids like this are such pure gold!

Even 35 Reps per set build very similar size of muscle as 6 reps do. It's more important to go to failure with the higher rep range though. If you want maximum *strenght* on the other hand, then lifting very heavy with few reps is the key. The injury risk increases with higher weight, though, so to lift close to your maximum weight safely use only 70 -80% weight and then add resitance bands to that weight to reach >95% of max. Resistance bands only gives Max resistance at the end of the movement so if it becomes too heavy it's easier/safer to abort the movement. If one wants both size and strenght then combining sets of both high reps low weight, and low reps high weight/resistance is the key. Start with a low weight, high rep set and increase the weight each set in big steps, until the final set is close to Max. The high Rep sets also functions as a warm up for the heavvy sets making the workout safer.

Thank you, Thomas, for inviting Dr. Andy Gilpin on your program. He always does a great job of breaking down technical aspects of health and fitness in a way that is easily comprehensible for the layperson.

Health experts changing their mind can be frustrating. What I've learned, if something works for you don't get stuck and continue to experiment until you get to the point where you have ample knowledge of your own body and how it reacts to diet, sleep and activity.

I am a lifelong trainer and have found I can maintain muscle with 3-5 working sets per muscle group a week training to near failure on final working sets I am 68 and very strong 😊

Nice to finally be able to see some of the prices at thrive, and just as I suspected, not a deal at all. I also love the random sizes all the meats are sold at, makes it hard to quickly compare price PER POUND. No thanks.

Wow, always believed in the conection of body and mind .been self monotoring for years .This ,for me ,is a new explaination about this connection.thank you

In my experience, keto is best for the last 5-10 pounds of fat loss. It really requires you to dial in your diet, and I find that I can go significantly longer on fewer calories while in ketosis. I also agree with Thomas about avoiding the keto "junk". Any sort of keto bread, chips, candy, etc., is a no go.

Love how you guys learn and evolve.

I have been having success with focusing on time under tension. 3 min. Even if you cant rep anymore hold the weights.

Huge THANK YOU, Thomas, for interviewing Andy Gasping again. He definitely is my favorite Exercise Pgysiologist to listen to

I agree with some comments below. Unless you want to be a professional athlete, working out to failure is what is important, not the actual weight you're using. And find the range that works for you. Eg, my pecs I do 1 x 6 reps, 1 x 8, 1 x 10, 1 x 12, 1 x 14, 1 x 16 and so on. Lowering my weight each set to get as close to failure as possible on the next. Results (for me, 47 m) are fantastic. Find what works for you and do it.

This was a heck of an interview. I learned a lot.

Very good Q&A type interview. Like I've told my children especially my youngest child (13yr old son) in this natural life THERE IS ALWAYS A TRADEOFF OF SOME SORT. The key is to figure out if the trade off is worth it in whatever it is that you're trying to achieve. Being present in the moment while accounting for long term consequences is in many ways the essence of being mindful and responsible for your choices simultaneously. It's as simple as doing an honest cost/benefit analysis before making any long term commitment (one offs don't require as much thought). As for training, I think for about 80% of recreational/non competitive lifters 10-20 sets per muscle group per week is enough volume for an adequate stimulus to promote a significant amount of muscle growth for the first 1-5yrs of training depending on frequency and one's specific goals. That said, there are 3 main principles to optimizing one's fitness no matter the goals they hope to achieve, which is 1.) Training Stimulus 2.) Nutrition and to put everything together 3.) SLEEP/Recovery. If a person chronically neglects any one of those three areas they will be figuratively self sabotaging their own progress which is counter productive to say the least. I have known these principles prior to this vid but it's always good to get a reminder by an exercise scientist such as Dr. Andy Galpin (PhD).

Nice content

great talk

What about Alexander Zass ? In regard to isometrics.

Tropic thunder again Smart guys in the weeds.

I, and I imagine many others, would love a TLDR/key takeaways section or summary comment. Cheers!

ISOs are so great for injuries

Thanks, Thomas. There's significant interest in this stuff. I have questions with a bit of a spin. I realize I can't ask for personalized advice: you're not my trainer, can't be. But my situation is not uncommon; there'll be lots of others with similar problems. It'd be interesting to hear whether you or Dr. Galpin have generalized info & ideas that pertain to this KIND of problem. How common is this? Perhaps 50% of your viewers will eventually have to deal with SOME kind of cancer. Most are or are becoming treatable, but there are long-term recovery issues. And many people who will never deal with cancer will have to deal with some other medical issue or injury that either degrades muscle or causes atrophy because of extended inactivity. So this is a common problem. I've canvassed a wide range of medical doctors & several physiotherapists looking for advice. I'm dismayed & a little pissed to discover "take it easy, go slow" & "accept you're never going to be the same as you were" are the standard responses, with very little else on offer. Medical clinicians aren't really equipped to advise on recovery & rebuilding. And of course coaches & even physiotherapists know little about the medical issues. That's OK though: we're all handicapped. But that doesn't mean we should just throw in the towel & walk away. You're missing a market! Thomas, your vids are GREAT. But they almost all assume your viewers are normal, healthy and generally pretty young. Which ignores a huge percentage of the market. Please quit ignoring them: it's a huge potential market for you. I'm asking for this guy I know... So: I'll describe the scenario using my own experience but again, I'm NOT asking for personal advice or counsel. I'm looking for ideas & suggestions about rebuilding following significant debilitation. ANY suggestions will require filtering & application under supervision of medical professionals specific to the patient. OK - reassured? Here we go, starting with how I got here. Cancer treatment kills muscle I've been through significant muscle degradation due to chemotherapy for cancer. This stuff is evil: it kills fast-growing tissue, including muscle tissue & nerves everywhere (incl. organs like your heart). Add time out for surgery, radiation treatment, etc.: we're talking 10-12 months of extreme inactivity. Follow-up treatment (in this case, Tamoxifen) limits muscle growth. And most things I'd have done in the past to encourage muscle growth (supplementing weight lifting & other exercise with nutritional aids that boost growth hormone) are out: the goal of long-term chemo treatment (5-10 years) is to suppress hormones, esp. estrogen & growth hormone. Even something as benign as collagen is out: leucine & glycine boost estrogen, are demonstrated to increase metastases. Tip to others: creatine is fine but can boost your apparent creatinine levels, so allow a washout period of several days before blood tests or your MD may worry unnecessarily about kidney failure. I'm all for ensuring cancer doesn't return, so suppressing anything that'll encourage cancer return is fine by me. BUT this makes it incredibly difficult to rebuild muscle. If cancer doesn't kill you, treatment will I can't just ignore muscle loss. First, because it is SO debilitating: I'm feeble. Like 95 feeble. I need to pause walking up a single flight of stairs. Running 100 feet (OK, walking fast) leaves me winded. It's taken 15 months to regain sufficient muscle tone to be able to remove the screw cap from a bottle. So quality of life sucks. NOT rebuilding will kill you too Worse: this puts me at significant risk of falls. If you fall after 65, you're at significant risk of breaking a hip. Break a hip after 65 & your mortality rate within 12 months is over 30%. Number one killer of people in remission is heart attack or vascular disease. Heat & stroke is the largest killer, almost certainly because of damage caused by chemotherapy. Breast cancer in guys (yes, it happens - 1 in 100 cases) has a 40% mortality rate, long-term, due to cancer itself. But the likelihood of dying in the next 5-10 years due to damage caused by treatment is even higher. So "go home & rest" doesn't cut it. OK, enough whining. How do I rebuild? Calibrating is a problem I'm finding it difficult to do enough work to potentially build muscle back, I think, without causing damage. I'm going through the motions of lifting weights but with bare hands: even 5 lb. weights causes back strain. Of course the usual rules - few reps with high weight to failure, or many reps with lower weight - don't work: I go straight to muscle strain or tear. Recovery from work with weights or exercise bands used to take a day or two; now it's a week or two, so I'm not sure how much re-building is going on. And of course I may need to recalibrate psychologically: this may take a lot more time - & patience - than I'd hoped. Dr. Galpin's comments on the three requirements for muscle growth are helpful. I thought micro-tears were required for muscle growth. Good to hear they aren't. His comments concerning tension were helpful, a reminder that isometrics & calisthenics might be more productive & safer than lifting weights or even using exercise bands. What do you think? There may be no magic solution here, I get it. But I'd be interested in your suggestions. Have you worked with people to overcome this kind of problem? Any ideas people like me can take to a physiotherapist or coach? I'm bad at doing nothing. Good with a Plan. The plan may be provisional, subject to regular revision, but if I have a plan I'm really good at persistence. It's served me well. I'm looking for ideas for a Plan. What do others think? I'm posting publicly. Do other viewers have ideas, know of approaches that have helped? Thanks, in advance.

mechanoreceptors detecting 'felt tension', might explain the success of blood flow restriction

Get comfortable with the idea that when it comes to your own fitness journey become a mad scientist! You are your own laboratory! The research consensus is where you start. Go crazy with experiments as they present themselves, keep some kind of record and believe in the process! Doing something/anything is way healthier than analysis paralysis. Have fun and see where the journey takes you

13:30 how many sets per muscle per week

I fast but I can't go 24hr without eating. I get crazy visual migraines when I spend long amount of time without eating.

Does he say in the video he doesn't recommend VITAL PROTEIN and why?

Hes so right about meal frequency. I watch people needing breakfast, snack, big lunch, big dinner etc and saying how they cant work without it. You probably have a metabolic syndrome

Joint pain can inhibit muscle growth it's called arthrogenic muscle inhibition

Ask a question then start a sponsorship spot

can anyone share a summary? / TLDR?

Hello

Can't stop aging no matter what you eat. Just look at his video from 8 years ago til today, once you hit your 30s unfortunately aging happens no matter what

Wouldn’t the primary driver in BFR training be the phosphatidic acid?

Explaining things in short simple terms is NOT Andy Galpin’s gift.

What about blood sugar issues?

Gain or maintain muscle and prioritize mobility.

Sleep is the issue sometimes 😮

Give yourself the grace and permission to fail and start from scratch as a worst case scenario. But you probably won’t have to. We have to fight the desperation to find the optimal. You won’t ever find it! Therefore, the optimal is the enemy of the good! Just learn from trial and error

lol i changed my mind too

Seriously, a COMMERCIAL immediately following the very first question to Dr. Galpin, before he even gets to answer? Its like a slap in the face and makes you want to go to the next video and skip this one.

34:21 wait... I have a bagel and then fall asleep. Pretty much everything puts me to sleep now a days. What's broken?!

how are you glucose intolerant when your body makes glucose and utilizes it regardless of carb consumption

I can’t gain weight and I’m sure there are many others. With dysautonomia, several autoimmune diseases, reactive hypoglycemia, exercise induced hypoglycemia, nocturnal hypoglycemia. Type 2 diabetes-controlled by diet. Since my autoimmune diseases and dysautonomia I’ve lost 60lbs. I struggle to not lose anymore weight. 6’ 2” and I weigh 146. I’ve been in physical therapy for 3 years. I can’t do weight training yet due to my body destroying my muscles and connective tissue. I eat over 3,000+ calories per day and when I do gain 5lbs my body then goes and loses it plus more sometimes. I was down to 138lbs. Just work out with Bands when I can and occasional walks. I’m trying to find a diet to control my blood sugar levels and gain weight. It’s difficult to find the right diet. I’m researching keto and carnivore. Any suggestions?

Thomas, how true is it that Plyometric muscle contractions flip Henneman's Size principle on its head, in that Type 2a & b muscle fibers are recruited first, largest motor units to smallest ?

He's going to change his mind again next month. Do what feels right for you. We have enough options.

Can we build muscles without exercise only by eating protein !!!

I just saved 30 minutes by fast forwarding through the product plugs. Luv ya TDL, but the plugs are getting old

Let’s see you chat with Mike Fave and Jay Feldman. Love their stuff!

Talk about how our food is nutrient deficient and filled with GMO’s and glyphosate?

how the heck do you get 250 grams of protein in compressed time period. wow

Physiology is complex. everyone has a different starting point and genetics to contend with. There are overall "rules to follow" but there is no one size fits all or most approach. This is why most people need a coach, they are clueless about biology physiology and the science of sports and fitness training as well as clueless about nutrition. Everything in moderation is a good starting point. Most people are overfed so moderation to Americans means not eating and drinking as much. just cutting out drinks will be a huge game changer for some. With the exception of water, water is life, "be water my friends" -Bruce Lee

BFR = Blood Flow Restriction

Mentzer was right.

Hold on, wasn’t he on your channel a few months ago?? He already changed his mind that soon 😆

Completely wrong about needing 10 sets to maintain muscle. You can grow new muscle with only 1 set per week. I argued with my friend that he can reduce his volume. After years he agreed to try it and he maintained everything with 1 or 2 sets a week. He's also at his genetic peak.

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Resilient vs Sensitive: resilient to alcohol = free cirrhosis resilient to carbs = free TG, diabetes Oh yeah you can definitely 'get used' to eating anything. Everything from daily Mcdonalds to daily vegan salads, from daily protein shakes to daily whole food. Question: Does you 'getting used' to it mean it's now healthy for you? Ouch, I hope people smart enough to say no. Optimizing for Today Performance/Gratification VS Long term Adaptation/Planning: You said upside/downsides to both. Question 1: Does the average person stick to something long enough, strict enough, without confounding factors, to see results? Question 2: Is a cheat meal once, twice week? Twice a month? Should I get hungover once or twice? How about injury-risking PR lifts? It can't hurt right let me play with fire one m--

A scientist becomes more trustworthy when he says the words “I don’t know”

Feeling bad because you haven't had lunch isn't bad or wrong. This guy doesn't account for how food swings blood sugar and how that affects mood.

Wow, that’s rough. When disease or other issues involved, obviously that changes things. I don’t have advise. Enzymes to help digestion especially protein but I know that’s not much. Best of luck. Keeping trying things.

400-600 g of protein a day is not ideal for *anyone*, including your 6 foot 6, 350 lb lineman on drugs. Please refresh yourself on amino acids, it’s 2024. To be honest, this is why PhDs get laughed at

Again, just correlations…the mind creates muscle growth. Prisoners are the most jacked, with the worst food, equipment and lest likely to be juiced (unlike anyone with more than subs on RU-vid)

If you get on an assault bike and go literally balls to the fuckin walls, irregardless of time if the volume is adequate(meaning 10 seconds at 10 sets, with ample rest...or 2 sets at 90s)....it doesn't take a genius to understand how much your upper and lower body are AGGRESSIVELY getting punished. Metabolic stimulus aside, if you're literally going as hard as you can, or even 80-85%, the stimulus involved on your muscle fibers will be enormous. Nothing should be more obvious. Now can you account for the same amount of mechanical tension you get from objectively moving heavier loads with a barbell or dumbbell lift? Of course probably not......but it's still a huge level of mechanical tension involved when you're on the assault bike. It's all extremely anaerobic if you're not partaking for multiple minutes without adequate recovery.

So, basically carbs are a performance enhancing drug, and if you overdo them, that's bad.

I love how thomas went from full on fasting, no carb, there's all these magical benefits, blah, blah.... all the way back to common sense land and isn't spewing the nonsense any more.

24hrs isn't long at all.

Thomas’ test still hasn’t recovered from his fasting/keto days

When he gets jacked that’s when we’ll know he figured it out. The guy on the right already figured it out, he’s yoked.

I love Andy, but he still has some logic flaws. In one sentence he says he was wrong about nutritional ketosis as it's much better than we thought, then in the next he says there's no benefit to performance.....even though the findings for general health were definitely better and there hasn't been enough research on high performance athletes using it over the long term. Give it another decade and he'll likely be changing his mind on that too, which is good, but it's disappointing to hear him make the exact same kind of incorrect biased assumptions on the same topic like that.

Has Thomas ever admitted to exogenous hormone use?

I’m glad my arms don’t look like the host’s. 😅

Thomas, you need to hit those legs harder.... Your arms are bigger lol :)

What are u going to change your mind on next?😂

Final sentence: there's no right answer! Doesn't seem to be any conclusions in this interview. Keto is good, carbs are good, fasting is good, everything seems to work, but also doesn't work if you listen to this interview. More confused than ever!

Every neurologist, neurosurgeon, neurobiology researcher, says that the ketogenic diet has neurological benefits. Yet every exercise scientist says that it doesn’t.

DeLauer has been interviewing lots of experts lately who’ve flipped their recommendations on everything from diet to exercise to fasting, which means their new recommendations have no credibility either because they don’t have it all figured out yet, and probably won’t during their lifetime.

Does Thomas have chicken legs?

27:03 Don't you love how? It's always some pencil neck that tells you how many sets you have to do to get huge and it's always some crazy number like 25 sets per week But then you look at dudes that were absolutely behemoths 50 years ago... Like Mike menser who got the perfect score in his bodybuilding show... First one ever in history... He says you only need to work one set per muscle group twice a week So you say 25 sets? He says two, you have a pencil neck, they made the he-man doll after his body So who do you think? I'm going to believe a pencil neck that's doing this from book learning or a dude that was out there looking like a genuine superhero doll in real life

I like Thomas a lot and his videos but no way thats 100% Natty physique.

I just don't understand him. I get tired of listening to him. I don't know why.

You never speak to geriatric issues. After 50 chemo survivors can get back only a small percentage of muscle tissues back. 60 plus and even less muscle recovery. And in the 70s practicly none.

no offense to Doc over here, but he's not exactly The Incredible Hulk busting out at the seams now, is he? Looks more like a tech nerd than a guy who really has any insight into building muscle, at least based on his own rather unimpressive physique. Holla if you hear me.

### Key Takeaways from "Why Dr. Andy Galpin Changed his Mind on Muscle Building Strategies, Fat Loss, and Fasting" **Introduction (**00:00:00**)** - Dr. Andy Galpin underscores the importance of resilience in fasting, advocating that individuals should manage to go 24 hours without food without adverse cognitive, emotional, or physiological effects. **Primary Mechanisms for Muscle Growth (**00:01:33**)** - **Mechanical Tension:** Identified as the main driver for muscle growth, while metabolic disturbances are less significant. - **Muscle Damage:** Plays a minimal role in muscle growth; muscle can grow without substantial damage. - **Pain Perception:** Its exact link to muscle growth is unclear. - **Cellular Processes:** Growth is related to cellular sensitization, signaling cascades, and gene expression rather than solely metabolic waste. - **Isometric Training:** Useful for muscle activation, growth, and strength, particularly for beginners and rehabilitation. It’s practical for muscle maintenance and convenient in settings like hotel rooms but doesn’t replace traditional barbell exercises. **Building vs Maintaining Muscle (**00:11:08**)** - **Volume Needs:** Depend on the duration of muscle retention. Those with long-term muscle retention need less volume (10 sets/week), while recent gains require more (15-20 sets/week). - **Muscle Nuclei Replication:** New research challenges the idea that muscle nuclei count limits growth, suggesting they may replicate. - **Plateaus:** Can occur due to myonuclear domain constraints but don’t signify reaching genetic potential. Factors like anabolic resistance and signaling desensitization contribute. - **Overcoming Plateaus:** May involve increasing training volume, protein intake, and improving protein timing and quality. - **Lifestyle Factors:** Lack of sleep and micronutrient deficiencies can hinder muscle growth. **Protein Timing (**00:21:36**)** - **Overall Intake:** Total daily protein is more crucial than meal timing for muscle growth. - **Intermittent Fasting:** Generally does not impair muscle growth unless practical issues arise. - **Specific Populations:** Protein timing is important for athletes and those aiming to maximize muscle mass. **Compressed Eating Window & Fasting (**00:24:39**)** - **Caloric Intake:** Sufficient calories are crucial; low intake can lead to sleep disturbances and hormonal imbalances. - **Carbohydrate Intake:** Higher intake helps mitigate fasting’s negative effects, especially in lean and active individuals. - **Nutritional Ketosis:** Not ideal for lean and active individuals; better for general population use. **Keto Diet (**00:30:48**)** - **Broader Applications:** Ketosis has broader beneficial applications than initially believed but is not recommended for high-performance contexts. - **Root Causes:** Focus on fixing underlying physiological dysfunctions rather than using ketosis as a cover-up. **Optimizing vs Maximizing (**00:41:57**)** - **Short-term vs Long-term:** Extreme short-term optimization can hinder long-term adaptation, and vice versa. - **Balance:** Achieving a balance between immediate and long-term goals is crucial for mental health and overall well-being. Practical moderation is better than extreme adherence to longevity advice. **Where to Find More of Dr. Galpin's Content (**00:48:33**)** - **Social Media:** Twitter and Instagram are the primary platforms. - **Website:** Offers detailed information about his coaching, blood work, and sleep programs. ### Conclusion Dr. Andy Galpin's insights emphasize a balanced approach to muscle building, fat loss, and fasting, prioritizing resilience, practical application, and long-term well-being over extreme or rigid strategies. Mechanical tension is vital for muscle growth, and maintaining muscle requires different approaches based on individual experience. Fasting should not compromise caloric intake, especially for active individuals. Nutritional ketosis, while beneficial for some, is not universally applicable, particularly for high performers. Overall, a balanced and flexible strategy, considering both immediate and future health, is recommended.

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