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Nutrition, supplementation, and recovery are foundational for enhancing exercise performance, but their full potential often remains untapped. In this episode, Dr. Andy Galpin, a renowned expert who has coached Olympians, world champions, and professional athletes across major sports, breaks down exactly how to leverage these critical elements to meaningfully enhance your results.
Timestamps:
- (00:00) Introduction
- (05:01) Eating to perform vs. eating to live longer—do you have to choose?
- (08:20) Training fasted—are the mitochondrial benefits worth it?
- (14:53) What should you eat before early-morning strength training?
- (16:52) Why nutrient timing isn't critical for the average exerciser
- (18:44) Is intermittent fasting killing your gains?
- (29:24) Carbs before resistance training—fuel or fluff?
- (31:07) Endurance fueling strategies—what actually works?
- (36:02) When is post-exercise carb intake truly essential?
- (37:35) Game day fueling—how to get it right
- (40:25) Carb supplements vs. whole foods—what do elite athletes actually eat?
- (43:18) Rethinking fat intake for exercise performance
- (46:14) Metabolic flexibility—how the term got hijacked
- (50:39) The real test of metabolic health—why skipping a meal shouldn't break you
- (51:55) Are anaerobic and aerobic systems truly separate?
- (55:56) Does protein timing really matter?
- (58:27) Whole foods vs. protein powders
- (1:03:21) Fat timing—overlooked or irrelevant?
- (1:04:48) The truth about seed oils and saturated fat
- (1:09:43) Magnesium—who actually needs to supplement?
- (1:11:43) The problem with magnesium blood tests
- (1:13:01) Why the magnesium RDA might not be enough
- (1:13:54) Magnesium citrate, glycinate, or threonate—does it matter?
- (1:15:55) Do magnesium supplements really aid recovery?
- (1:18:35) Omega-3 supplementation—is the AFib risk real?
- (1:22:10) Can omega-3s prevent muscle loss during inactivity?
- (1:26:14) Why "performance anchors" matter more than supplements
- (1:30:47) Iron deficiency—the hidden performance killer?
- (1:33:42) Does caffeine before workouts increase fat burning?
- (1:35:29) Caffeine cycling—smart strategy or outdated myth?
- (1:38:45) Can music measurably enhance workout performance?
- (1:39:57) Rhodiola rosea—fatigue fighter or placebo?
- (1:44:38) Beetroot, citrulline, arginine—do nitric oxide boosters work?
- (1:55:07) Beta-alanine—why the tingles might be worth it
- (2:01:05) Is 5g of creatine really enough?
- (2:02:18) Sodium bicarbonate—effective fatigue buffer or GI nightmare?
- (2:04:36) Can you trust what's in your pre-workout supplement?
- (2:06:54) Is too much caffeine killing your performance gains?
- (2:07:41) Can antioxidants blunt exercise performance?
- (2:08:40) High-dose vitamin C—immune protection or adaptation killer?
- (2:15:12) Do anti-inflammatories sabotage your gains?
- (2:17:38) Tart cherry juice—recovery aid or overhyped?
- (2:21:04) Is glutamine the immune booster athletes need?
- (2:29:11) Can collagen actually strengthen tendons?
- (2:33:26) Does glucosamine chondroitin actually help joints?
- (2:34:28) What really happens during recovery—signaling vs. inflammation
- (2:37:25) The most important recovery metric
- (2:39:05) How increased blood flow accelerates muscle repair
- (2:43:55) Why persistent soreness might mean your fascia's at fault
- (2:47:02) Can compression boots genuinely speed recovery?
- (2:47:56) Can simply soaking in water accelerate recovery?
- (2:51:13) When is sauna a better choice than extra miles?
- (2:53:12) Can localized heat preserve muscle during downtime?
- (2:54:31) Cold immersion timing—muscle recovery vs. blunting gains
- (3:01:16) Why pre-bed cold exposure might improve sleep
- (3:04:31) Heart rate variability vs. resting heart rate
- (3:12:45) Why respiratory rate predicts stress better than resting heart rate
- (3:16:57) Are you overtrained—or just overreached?
- (3:21:41) Hormones and overtraining—what's the real link?
- (3:25:48) Does training harder mean you need more sleep?
- (3:27:54) How to know if you're getting enough sleep
- (3:31:17) Sleep trackers
- (3:33:10) Hydration timing—the key to uninterrupted sleep?
- (3:34:54) Why your wind-down index matters
- (3:36:02) Is your bedroom's CO₂ buildup sabotaging your sleep?
- (3:39:40) Are nasal allergies quietly wrecking your recovery?
- (3:41:23) Sleep hacks—what actually works?
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