How to Know If You Need a Rest Day | Dr. Andy Galpin & Dr. Andrew Huberman

Dr. Andy Galpin explains how to know if you need a rest day to Dr. Andrew Huberman during episode 2 of the Huberman Lab Guest Series.

Dr. Andy Galpin is a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton and world expert on exercise science. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast.

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[jebjed]

Ill save you 6 minutes - if your sore and tired yes take a rest day.

[jerrylalrinmawia]

I had to rewatch this more than 3 times to understand even just a fraction of it.

Warning: Block of text ahead xD. So, here's a short version:
TL;DR- If it's not too sore, go through with it. If it's sore enough to make it difficult, make the workout lighter or rest.


In the beginning, Dr. Andy says that he'll assume that it's about hypertrophy, which means building muscle.
He also mentions local and systemic ways: local is just how the person is feeling and systemic is what's happening to his body (by taking his blood and examining it, etc.).

So what I end up understanding is that, if it's over a short period (like a day or session) he'll take the subjective rate of the person working out, which is the soreness level of the muscle out of 10. If it is around 3 out of 10 which is mostly feeling a little bit sore but after warming up it doesn't bother you much anymore then it is fine to continue the workout out, but if it's a little bit higher like 6/10 or just by touching the muscle you can feel pain then it's advised not to go through with it.


If it's chronic or concerned with muscle damage, meaning if the pain or soreness persists over a longer period, he will use biomarkers(...) such as creatine kinase (a very common marker of muscle damage), LDH (Lactate dehydrogenase), myoglobulin(...), ALT and AST(...). If the AST to ALT ratio is higher than 1.67, high risk of muscle damage; he also says if the ratio is higher than 1 they immediately think there is some muscle damage.

If concerned with total training volume, they look at things like sleep, and HRV (Heart Rate Variability).

Lastly, motivation. If you like training hard and you can't force yourself to train, it's a good indication of needing rest. He mentions not overreacting to a day, so if using biomarkers there should be at least a trend of 3-5 days (he'd measure more than 5 days).

Also, when he's working with professional athletes he looks at the phase of training they're in(preseason, season, postseason, etc.). With a focus on hypertrophy, since volume is the driver so instead of canning out (canceling) the workout he mostly suggests doing a lighter workout or a modified lower level of the same workout, maybe 6/10 RPE(...) of the original workout, reduce the range of motion or make it a little easier to keep them (or you) on target.

Jargons (professional or specific words) used:
Biomarkers are bodily fluids such as enzymes.
Myoglobulin is a test used to find out the damage to the muscles.
Myoglobin is a protein located primarily in the striated muscles of vertebrates.
ALT and AST are liver enzymes.
RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion

Edit: I wrote it for myself, so I am just posting this in case someone also wants to understand it better

[richmondballer]

I got a workout in the brain trying to understand everything he was saying. I get the bulk of it.

[anthonycaruso]

True intelligence is not sounding smart and making something simple more elaborate it is making something elaborate seem more simple

[DrinkingStar]

The basic regime for bodybuilders, at least when I competed and which was common in most of the literature 40 years ago, was 3 days on and 1 day off. For example: arms & shoulders on 1 day, chest & back another day, legs the next day, then 1 day off. That made sense from a carbohydrate point of view because it would take 2 - 4 days for the muscle to replenish glycogen in the exercised muscle depending on the duration and intensity of the workout. It would also give the muscles time to repair as long as the nutritional regime and the daily sleep were optimized.
There are 4 basic rest types for muscle growth and repair: rest between sets, rest between exercised muscle groups( see above), daily rest(sleep), and long term rest. The last rest cycle is for repair of the subliminal injuries that accumulate over time and that need more time to repair and to prevent injury(long term damage) . This last rest cycle varies in duration and frequency due to training intensity and to anabolic hormone levels. As the hormone levels decline with age, the intervals between long term rest become shorter and the duration becomes longer.

[robotstobor]

Thank you very good overview. As you say, you can't beat listening to your body, unfortunately when you are younger that is more difficult than it sounds.

[bewpfbb]

Always good to know this, as I work far too hard and never know when to take any time off

[memastarful]

I take a nap every day and I go to bed early but I wake up at 5am automatically. My body starves for rest. If I don't get proper rest I'm irritable, clumsy and not as patient.

[ThinkTwice]

He gave 80% of 5 different answers... Nothing useable

[CasanovaFluff]

This isn’t understandable at all to the average person watching this video. 99.9% of people aren’t getting their bloodwork done every week to look at biomarkers. Yet again another one of Huberman’s videos I’ve watched where a lot of talking is done and the majority of what was said is not understood. You guys need to realize who your audience is.

[BoyBlessing]

Ppl are over complicating shit when it’s rly simple. Just listen to your body. If you’re too sore to workout the same muscle group again the next day then don’t. Stop looking towards science and start being more intuitive and paying attention to how your body feels. There is no one answer for everybody

[questionmark]

This sounds like an extensive (professional) approach. So, for the amateurs out there: resting heart rate, HRV, soreness and motivation seem to be the markers?

[nicholasdorazio]

"Yeah yeah sure" "Yeah okay" 😂😂 damn what a nice response

[brianpistolwhip]

Man could you just answer the question about soreness and optimal rest?

[dawnkeckley]

I’ve been so confused lately. I work with my husband in landscaping. I workout nearly every day of the year (either walking, lifting, HIIT, or something), but at the beginning of the spring, I got terrible poison ivy and was taking prednisone and antihistamines. During that time I also stopped drinking wine except once every couple weeks I’d have a glass. My resting heart rate went from 60’s to 50’s, and my HRV shot up to 108-140 from 30’s. Now that spring is in full force, I’ve been shoveling and spreading mulch fast and hard. It extremely challenging to my body, but it’s only for 3-4 hours 3-4 days a week. I still exercise daily in some fashion. I also do deep breathing techniques when falling asleep. My resting heart rate is now 70-72, and my HRV is back in the 30’s. I cannot figure out what’s going on. If anything, I should be getting healthier.

[Sungoku]

I loved that question, it’s like exactly what I’ve been trying to find an answer to.. and the answer was unsatisfactory. I want to know if I should work out 2-3 days in a row then rest or work out every other day. I need to know which would be better. I’m about to just try both for 2 months and track the progress

[michaels]

The title should include some sort of indication that this is intended for an audience of doctors

[marshareed]

I’m a 58 yrs old female. I do calisthenics & only use my body weight for squats. I’m really big about stretching! I do everything that has to do with joint mobility. I workout until I can’t do one more rep. Then I get very tired for a couple of days while I’m in recovery. Then I go back at it again.

[MelanieSakowski]

1:05 wow. Honestly, this is great: 6/10 self-professed rating of soreness being a concern = very respectful.

[keithb]

Getting blood test shouldn't be considered the best (practical) way to know if one needs a rest day. No offense to the elite expert, but I think there are better solutions to the question.