Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin

September 17, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In a conversation focused on practical self-assessment, Dr. Andy Galpin breaks down physical fitness into nine distinct physiological adaptations and provides a battery of tests—most of which require no equipment—to evaluate where you stand in each category. The goal is not to achieve elite performance across all nine, but to identify any severe weaknesses that act as "performance anchors," limiting your ability to train safely and pursue the specific goals that actually motivate you.

The Nine Adaptations: What Your Body Can Be Trained to Do

Galpin argues that all exercise outcomes—whether aesthetic, functional, or health-related—come from improving one or more of nine core adaptations. He lists them in a logical progression: skill/technique, speed, power (speed × force), strength (maximum force), muscular hypertrophy (muscle size), muscular endurance (repetitions in a local muscle group), anaerobic capacity (all-out effort for 30–120 seconds), maximum aerobic capacity (VO₂ max, tested in the 8–15 minute range), and long-duration steady state (sustained submaximal work for 20+ minutes). Understanding which of these you are neglecting is the first step toward balanced, sustainable fitness.

Cost-Free Self-Assessment: How to Test Each Adaptation

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What you'll learn

1 (00:49) **Two Core Fitness Goals: Aesthetic vs. Functionality** - Dr. Galpin introduces the two primary drivers for exercise: how you want to look and what you want to be able to do.
2 (02:41) **The Nine Major Adaptations of Exercise** - A comprehensive framework for understanding the different ways the body can change through training.
3 (07:21) **Assessing Movement Skill: The Cost-Free Method** - A simple, DIY approach for evaluating movement quality to prevent injury.
4 (11:12) **Assessing Power and Strength** - Practical tests for explosive power and raw strength.
5 (19:03) **Crucial Caveats for Strength Testing** - Safety and standardization are paramount.
6 (19:46) **Assessing Hypertrophy and Muscular Endurance** - Metrics for muscle size and the ability to perform repeated efforts.
7 (23:21) **Assessing Anaerobic Capacity** - Measuring your ability to perform high-intensity, short-duration work.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Dr. Andy Galpin

Show Notes

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Andy Galpin, PhD, an exercise physiologist. We revisit the first episode of his Huberman Lab Guest Series to discuss the nine major components of physical fitness and how to assess your abilities. We explain practical tests for movement quality, power, strength, muscle mass and endurance, including grip strength, push-ups and VO2 max. We also discuss how to organize fitness testing, track progress and identify which areas to prioritize in your training to support long-term health and performance.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) Andy Galpin

(00:00:44) Fitness Goals, Appearance & Performance

(00:02:32) Nine Components of Physical Fitness

(00:05:54) Sponsor: Eight Sleep

(00:07:21) Movement Skill, Tool: Assessing Movement Quality

(00:11:11) Speed Testing

(00:11:34) Power, Tool: Standing Broad Jump

(00:12:55) Grip Strength, Dynamometers & Dead Hangs

(00:14:51) Sponsor: AG1

(00:16:12) Lower Body Strength, Leg Extensions & Squat Holds

(00:18:47) Safe Testing, Technique & Consistent Warm-Ups

(00:19:45) Muscle Mass, Body Composition & Fat-Free Mass Index

(00:21:51) Muscular Endurance, Planks & Push-Ups

(00:23:21) Anaerobic Capacity, Maximum Effort Tests

(00:24:55) Maximum Heart Rate & Heart Rate Recovery

(00:26:10) VO2 Max, Running & Walking Tests

(00:27:52) Sponsor: David

(00:29:15) Long-Duration Endurance, Steady-State Exercise & Nasal Breathing

(00:30:16) Testing Frequency, Test Order & Training Priorities

(00:34:34) Acknowledgements

Disclaimer & Disclosures

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