November 8, 2021 • 1hr 28min

Dr. Duncan French: How to Exercise for Strength Gains & Hormone Optimization

Huberman Lab

In this episode, Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Duncan French, Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute. Dr. French has over 20 years of experience working with elite athletes across many sports, including 14 years with the British Olympic program. He has a PhD in exercise physiology, specializing in the hormonal responses to resistance training. The conversation covers a wide range of topics related to optimizing human performance, with a focus on MMA fighters but with broad applicability to anyone interested in improving their fitness and health.

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Key Takeaways

Resistance training can increase testosterone levels through both mechanical stress (heavy loads) and metabolic stress (high volume). The ideal protocol is 6 sets of 10 reps at 80% of 1 rep max with 2 minute rest periods.
Short-term stress and arousal can increase testosterone, while chronic stress decreases it. Pre-workout anxiety and arousal can enhance performance.
Cold exposure should be periodized - avoid it during muscle building phases but use it strategically during competition phases for recovery.
Heat acclimation takes about 14 exposures of 15-45 minutes in a sauna to improve sweating efficiency. This can aid weight cutting for fighters.
Nutrition should be matched to training goals - higher carbs around intense workouts, lower carbs at other times to improve metabolic flexibility.
Skill development requires quality over quantity - shorter, focused sessions are better than long fatiguing sessions for motor learning.
MMA fighters must be able to rapidly switch between high arousal and calm states to manage stress and recover effectively.
The UFC Performance Institute uses an "adaptation-led programming" approach to optimize all aspects of fighter preparation and performance.

Introduction

In this episode, Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Duncan French, Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute. Dr. French has over 20 years of experience working with elite athletes across many sports, including 14 years with the British Olympic program. He has a PhD in exercise physiology, specializing in the hormonal responses to resistance training. The conversation covers a wide range of topics related to optimizing human performance, with a focus on MMA fighters but with broad applicability to anyone interested in improving their fitness and health.

Topics Discussed

Resistance Training and Hormonal Responses (13:20)

Dr. French explains how resistance training can increase testosterone levels through both mechanical stress (heavy loads) and metabolic stress (high volume). The ideal protocol they used in research was:

6 sets of 10 reps
80% of 1 rep max
2 minute rest periods
Multi-joint exercises like squats

This combination of intensity and volume creates the optimal hormonal response. Longer rest periods or lower volume (e.g. 10 sets of 6 reps) does not produce the same metabolic stress and testosterone increase.

"It's largely driven by both an intensity and a volume factor...We formulated that kind of exercise protocol to really target the release of testosterone and try and drive up these anabolic environments."

Stress, Arousal and Performance (31:38)

Short-term stress and arousal can actually increase testosterone levels and enhance performance. Dr. French's PhD work looked at how pre-workout anxiety and arousal affected hormones and subsequent performance:

Epinephrine and norepinephrine levels increased 15 minutes before a challenging workout
Higher pre-workout arousal correlated with better performance and sustained force output
This "fight or flight" response primes the body for intense activity

However, chronic long-term stress has negative effects on hormones and performance. The key is being able to ramp up arousal for training/competition and then return to a calm state for recovery.

Cold Exposure and Recovery (41:40)

Cold exposure (ice baths, cold showers) is a form of stress that can have both positive and negative effects:

Cold can reduce inflammation and aid recovery
But it can also blunt muscle growth signaling pathways
Cold should be periodized - avoided during muscle building phases
Use cold strategically during competition phases for recovery

"You have to be strategic about when you use some of these interventions. The time when you're preparing for a competition is the appropriate time...when you want to drive recovery and make sure that your body is optimized."

Skill Development and Motor Learning (48:57)

For developing sport-specific skills and techniques:

Quality is more important than quantity
Shorter, focused sessions are better than long fatiguing sessions
Stop when fatigue impacts movement quality
Mental engagement and focus is critical

"The best coaches understand that it's quality over quantity when it comes to skill acquisition...They should leave the training session not necessarily just physically fatigued, but mentally fatigued because they're completely engaged in the learning process."

Nutrition for Performance (55:44)

Dr. French discusses matching nutrition to training goals:

Low-carb/ketogenic diets can improve metabolic flexibility
But high-intensity sports like MMA require carbohydrates
They use targeted carb intake around intense training sessions
The rest of the diet is lower carb to maintain metabolic flexibility

"We use tactics here where we essentially have athletes on what you would say is largely a ketogenic diet. But then we will fuel carbohydrates around training sessions...We're trying to be very tactical in the exposure to maximize the intensity for the training and then return to a metabolically efficient diet."

Heat Acclimation (1:16:40)

Dr. French explains their protocol for heat acclimation using sauna exposure:

Start with 15 minutes at 200°F
Build up to 30-45 minute sessions
Takes about 14 exposures to see significant adaptations
Improves sweating efficiency which aids weight cutting
Start process 8-10 weeks before a fight

"We try to work up to 30 to 40 minutes to 45 minutes in the sauna, continuous...We kind of found about 14 sauna exposures starts to really then drive the adaptations that we're looking for."

MMA Fighter Preparation (1:09:24)

Dr. French discusses the unique challenges of preparing MMA fighters:

Huge variety of skills needed (striking, grappling, etc)
Weight cutting and rehydration process
Uncertain fight schedules
Need to rapidly switch between high arousal and calm states
Mental resilience and toughness required

"The degrees of freedom in mixed martial arts are exponential, like no other sport...The considerations that you have to make are unprecedented compared to any other sport that I've worked with."

UFC Performance Institute Approach (1:20:12)

Dr. French explains their overall philosophy:

"Adaptation-led programming" - designing all aspects of training to drive specific adaptations
Individualized approach for each fighter
12-week training blocks when possible
Tracking both objective and subjective data
Exploring cutting-edge technologies and research

"We talk about adaptation led programming. Now, adaptation led programming fits into every single category, not just lifting weights or running track. It fits into nutrition, it fits into sitting in the sauna, it fits into being in a cold bath or not. It fits into so many different things because we're driven by scientific insights."

Conclusion

This wide-ranging conversation provides numerous insights into optimizing human performance, from the hormonal effects of resistance training to nutrition periodization to heat acclimation. While focused on elite MMA fighters, many of the principles discussed can be applied by anyone looking to improve their fitness and health. Key themes include matching training and nutrition to specific goals, balancing stress and recovery, and taking an individualized, science-based approach to programming. The UFC Performance Institute is pushing the boundaries of human performance, with potential applications far beyond just fighting.