This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
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This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
Dr. Herman Pontzer: How We Really Burn Calories & Lose Weight
Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin
2 hours 19 minutes
5 months ago
Dr. Herman Pontzer: How We Really Burn Calories & Lose Weight
My guest is Dr. Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University, known for his research on human bioenergetics, particularly energy expenditure and the exercise paradox. We discuss his work comparing highly active hunter-gatherer groups to more sedentary cultures, exploring their total energy expenditure and the surprising similarities.
We examine the impact of factors such as age, sex, exercise, and pregnancy on daily energy expenditure. We also break down whether diet or exercise plays a greater role in weight management and weight loss.
Additionally, we explore how genetics and the environment interact to shape human physiology, highlighting how population-level findings often overlook individual variation and emphasizing the need for medical and diagnostic practices to account for this diversity.
Read the full episode show notes at performpodcast.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
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Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Herman Pontzer
00:01:18 Energy Expenditure & Metabolism
00:03:59 Hunter-Gatherers, Energy Expenditure vs Sedentary Cultures
00:07:19 What is Energy Expenditure?; Maintaining Energy Budget
00:13:42 Sponsors: David Protein & LMNT
00:16:23 Weight Gain; Calories In, Calories Out
00:22:18 Exercise & Calories Burned, Energy Expenditure Changes?
00:29:56 Movement Efficiency, Exercise & Metabolism Research
00:37:55 Metabolic Recalibration & Exercise Threshold
00:43:33 Hunter-Gatherer Groups, Energy Expenditure, Fertility
00:47:23 Sponsors: AG1 & Renaissance Periodization
00:49:53 Pregnancy & Energy; Overtraining, Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (REDs)
00:57:37 Metabolism “Slowing Down”, Age or Sex Differences?
01:04:22 Metabolism & Age, Puberty, Older Adults
01:11:51 Body Composition, Individual Food Intake
01:16:49 Sponsor: Eight Sleep
01:18:12 Anthropology, Natural Fallacy, Diversity & Adaptations, Physical Activity
01:27:59 Population, Individual Variation, Diversity, Race
01:34:33 Kidney, eGFR Calculation; Clinical Equations & Race
01:40:51 Genetics, Diversity, Populations; Genetic Testing
01:49:29 One-to-One Gene Fallacy, Height, Environment, Diversity
01:51:20 Height & Weight, Genetics & Environment Interplay
01:56:31 Science Literacy & Research; Diabetes, Heart Disease & Race
02:02:33 Diversity, Physiology & Medicine, EMT
02:07:08 Upcoming Projects, Metabolic Ceilings
02:09:39 Metabolism, Diet & Exercise, Individual Approach
02:14:57 Crash Metabolism?, Herman’s Links
02:17:30 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Subscribe & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Social Media, Perform Newsletter
Disclaimer & Disclosures
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Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin
This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
