Exercise Science

In a special episode that concludes the first season of Exercise Science we invited on Gary LeBlanc, the COO and president of our title sponsor, EverMe, to discuss the future of wellness in our first-ever live taping in downtown Toronto. Gary LeBlanc has been studying wellness and personal optimization for decades. As a leader at EverMe, Gary and his team are creating an agentic AI that breaks down complex longevity research, trending topics and expert perspectives into evidence-backed guidance. It also tracks your wearable data and provides guidance on the best way to achieve your health goals. Together, Stu, Marty and Gary discuss: Orthometria, Stu’s term describing an obsession with correct measurement of the self How different wearables can assess the same things differently The lack of standardization between devices like the Apple Watch, Whoop band or Oura ring The EverMe origin story The confusing world of signals we get from social media, wearables and agentic AIs, and how EverMe is designed to…

You’re a busy person. Career, family, social obligations and everything else. What SHOULD you be doing for your cardio if you have just five hours a week to devote to your training? What’s the proper mix of long, slow effort, interval sessions and tempo bouts? How many times a week should you be getting out? And what’s the ideal duration per workout? To work out the answer, Marty and Stu invite on to the show the science journalist Alex Hutchinson, who has a physics Ph.D. from Cambridge and was on the Canadian national running team. He writes the Sweat Science column, on the science of human performance, for Outside magazine. He’s also the author of the bestselling books Endure and The Explorer’s Gene. Together, the guys discuss: the challenge of cardio training when you’re not a professional athlete. the current vogue for Marius Bakken and Norwegian Threshold training Norwegian Threshold Training’s implications for Zone 2 and other training protocols The optimal cardio training regimen for those who have…

What’s the most efficient way to fuel human performance during endurance sports? Australian Louise Burke is one of the best-known sports nutritionists on the planet, known for her Supernova race-walking studies that showed that keto- and low carb, high fat diets don’t fuel endurance athletes as well as carbohydrate-burning approaches. She also practices what she researches, holding the women’s Australian marathon record in her age group—the age group, she jokes, of “never you mind.” In this episode Dr. Burke walks Stu and Marty through her research that found carb-based approaches to fueling yield about 5% more of the muscle cell’s energy currency, ATP, compared to fat-burning approaches, with carb-burning also yielding 7-8% better performance. She also: —discusses her own approach to fuelling endurance events —provides tips on carbohydrate periodization —answers a listener question about carb-loading —shows that carbs during a race are good for the brain GUEST BIO Professor Louise Burke OAM, PhD, APD is a…

You have an older person in your life, or perhaps you are an older person yourself and you need that push to start strength training. This is the episode for you—because today we’re talking with Ashley Gluchowski, Ph.D., one of the most enthusiastic evangelists on strength training around and the University of Salford exercise scientist who helps older adults get stronger, improve balance and reduce risk of falls. In this episode we discuss: The surprising activities of daily living that require strength as we get older Why older adults should be doing strength training The association between strength and decreased dementia risk How to get over being intimidated by strength training The long-term benefits of making exercise social Tips on how older adults can stick with strength-building programs Ashley is a clinical exercise physiologist and former student of Stu Phillips’ who has gone on to found Stronger At Home, a program designed to get older adults to start and stick with strength training (link…

It’s no longer just the longevity bros and fitness fiends obsessing over their protein intake. So what does the science actually say about protein consumption? How much do you need, and what’s the best way to get it? In today’s episode, Marty takes our own in-house world-renowned protein expert Stuart Phillips through the math behind the macros. In this episode Stu and Marty discuss: Stu says why the old guideline of 0.8 g/kg body weight wasn’t enough Does the benefit of protein hit a hard plateau at 1.6 g per kg per day? How much protein do you need if you want to stay strong as you get older? How much protein do you need if you want to lose weight but hold on to muscle? What’s better, vegan or animal protein? Send us ideas for future episodes, comments and listener questions at realexercisescience@gmail.com Exercise Science is powered by EverMe, the longevity intelligence app. To get a free two-month trial, go to: everme.ai/exercisescience Our sponsor Biafit is your all-in-one fitness platform. Enter the…

A little morsel of an episode on exercise snacks and Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity, known as VILPA. Along with a handful of scientists around the world, Marty is leading research into the health benefits of short, vigorous bouts of exercise that are scattered through the day. One key finding is that just four minutes of vigorous physical activity can decrease risk of all-cause mortality by 25%. So in our eighth episode, Stu leads Marty through a discussion of the research into the benefits of short, vigorous bouts of physical activity. The guys discuss: —What’s the difference between exercise snacks and VILPA? —What health benefits are provided by short, vigorous bursts of exercise scattered throughout the day? —What are some examples of great exercise snacks that anyone can do? —What’s the shortest amount of exercise that will make a difference to one’s health? Finally, we explore the idea that exercise snacks and VILPA may be able to liberate physical activity from the confines of…

Peptides like BPC-157, TB-500, CJC-1295 and retatrutide are among the hottest trends for optimizers, gym bros, looksmaxxers and the longevity crowd. But is it wise to inject bioactive molecules into the bloodstream that haven’t passed the drug approval process? In this episode, Marty and Stu welcome the Harvard- and Stanford-educated Leigh Baxt, who mythbusts about peptides and other panaceas on Instagram @sciencemomscicomm. Baxt is a translational scientist who specializes in drug development. She points out the many problems with injecting peptides into the body, including the major one that many of these peptides are activating biological pathways that cancer cells love. In this episode we discuss the following questions: What are peptides? Are peptides safe? Quick guide to peptides like BPC-157, TB-500, CJC-1295 and retatrutide What do peptides do? What is a wolverine stack? Finally, we also walk through the drug-approval process that protects human beings from predatory marketing, and say what Marty,…

If you’re a serious recreational athlete but you have a job and a life, and only five hours a week to train — what should you be doing? This week, Stu and Marty provide the answer with the help of one of the world’s foremost experts on aerobic conditioning and the limits of human performance, Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Joyner is a legend of the exercise science field and an elite runner himself, who back in 1991 conducted the first analysis establishing the physiologic possibility of a sub-two-hour marathon. Since our conversation with Joyner happened to fall just days after Sabastian Sawe achieved the first official sub-2:00 marathon times earlier this spring, the conversation begins with a discussion of Joyner’s 1991 analysis. Then Marty and Stu challenge Joyner to get specific about what amateur athletes should be doing, if they want to achieve the best possible aerobic fitness for health. How much vigorous training should we all be doing, relative to moderate- and low-intensity training?…

Semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, are new weight loss drugs that actually work, helping millions around the world to feel better and become healthier. But some people are fearful of side effects, such as loss of muscle mass. Are their fears warranted? To find out, Marty and Stu talk to the two University of Kansas weight-loss scientists, Renee Rogers and ACSM president-elect John Jakicic, who are leading a clinical trial investigating the way aerobic and resistance training can affect the muscle mass of people who are on GLP-1s, or the other new weight loss drugs. In this episode: —how GLP-1s affect muscle mass —the difference between lean and muscle mass —the research that Jakicic and Rogers are doing into GLP-1s —guidance on whether people should be concerned about GLP-1s and muscle mass —how to minimize muscle loss while on GLP-1s Plus, whether the new weight loss drugs affect men and women differently. Have a listener question? Email us at…

VO₂max is the most important metric of your overall cardiorespiratory fitness. It’s a measure of the maximal ability of your body to take in and use oxygen. But what does the number actually mean for your health and longevity? Why is it important to know your VO₂max? What’s the most effective way to improve your VO₂max, whether you’re an athlete or just someone seeking to improve your health? And what does this all have to do with beer-league hockey, and everybody’s favourite Sudbury Blueberry Bulldog, Shoresy? In this episode, Stuart Phillips asks Martin Gibala to break down VO₂max in plain English: what it is, why it matters, and how it shapes everything from your risk of dying to how fast you can run a 10K. And just to get the kin grad students among us even more excited, this episode namedrops the Hickson Protocol, plus legends of kinesiology like Robert Ross, Ulrik Wisløff and Carsten Lundby. Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er! Have a listener question or an idea for an episode? Email us at…

Think you know how to build muscle? In our third episode, Martin Gibala does some mythbusting with two of the world’s most prominent experts in the science of strength development, Stuart Phillips and special guest Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx, New York. In addition to being a former bodybuilder and joining Stu on the ACSM strength position statement, Schoenfeld literally wrote the textbook on strength training. Together, Phillips and Schoenfeld use science and savvy to correct some of the resistance world’s most pervasive myths, including: Light loads don't increase muscle size You have to train to absolute failure to maximize muscular adaptations Short rest periods are best for hypertrophy Cardio kills gains Narrow post-exercise anabolic window of opportunity Join us to discuss these myths and more in the latest episode of Exercise Science! Have a listener question or an idea for an episode? Email us at realexercisescience@gmail.com Exercise Science is…

Influencers can’t get enough of Zone 2 low-intensity training. So why did Martin Gibala publish a research paper challenging Zone 2 for the general public? In this episode, Stuart Phillips leads Marty through a critical examination of Zone 2. Marty suggests that very little scientific research exists to support Zone 2 training intensity for most people—either as an effective stimulus for cardiorespiratory fitness or mitochondrial capacity. In fact, if you do between three and six hours of cardio a week, Marty believes that Zone 2 isn’t hard enough for you to efficiently accrue training benefits. In other words, if you’re an amateur athlete subscribing to the much-vaunted rule that 80% of your cardio should be in Zone 2, you’re not as fit as you otherwise could be. So what is Zone 2 training? And is Zone 2 causing many people to exercise inefficiently, leaving them less healthy than they otherwise might be? What should people be doing INSTEAD of Zone 2? It’s all here, in the latest episode of Exercise…

Our co-host Stuart Phillips was the senior author on the ACSM’s gold-standard strength training position statement, a.k.a. “the most comprehensive evidence-based guidance to date on how resistance training supports muscle strength, muscle size (hypertrophy), power, and physical performance across adulthood.” In the premiere episode of Exercise Science, co-host Martin Gibala takes Stu through the American College of Sports Medicine update, the first position statement in 17 years. Parsing the science, together, Stu and Marty break down why strength is the ultimate compound interest investment for your health span. How important is strength training? Why should you consider strength training 2x per week to be just as important as the other main exercise-related health guideline, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week? Plus: How much strength training is enough? What’s the minimum that you should do? What changed during the 17 years between position stands? And how did a 1940s bodybuilding doctor…

Kinesiology professor Martin Gibala is the worldwide expert on time-efficient cardio. Kinesiology professor Stuart Phillips is the global expert on strength, muscle development and protein. In Exercise Science, these two friends and colleagues translate the world of exercise science for the rest of us — separating the hype from the hard evidence.