“Science and science-based tools” may be Huberman’s calling card, but exercise scientists have come crashing down on his flagship fitness fad.
Andrew Huberman is one of the world’s most famous faces in the wellness and fitness industry. Regularly appearing alongside icons like the equally controversial Joe Rogan and occupying a similarly hallowed space in the minds of the health-conscious as David Goggins, Huberman is famous and revered for much of the advice he’s offered to consumers about bettering their lives and themselves.
However, one of the internet’s most revered exercise scientists — the one and only Dr Mike Israetel — has roundly called out one particularly popular aspect of Huberman’s workout regime during an end-to-end critique of his entire training program. While Israetel was broadly impressed with Huebrman’s approach and had many nice things to say, he didn’t hold back when it came to Huberman’s favourite habit.
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What Huberman Gets Right
Before we get into the nitty gritty of what Huberman gets wrong, it’s worth giving some airtime to the wide array of things he gets right. While Israetel, being a lifelong fitness scholar and harshest of critics, does take issue with minor aspects of Huberman’s regiment across the board — suggesting, for example, that Huberman’s decision to train legs the day after a long run isn’t wholly advisable from a recovery standpoint — much of what Huberman recommends is solidly good advice, and he’s got the physique to prove it.
High-intensity interval training, slow and steady heavy weightlifting, lots of hot-and-cold recovery therapy and carefully curated rep ranges all feature in Huberman’s comprehensive wellness regime. With a special focus on longevity in everything he does, Huberman gives an acute focus to things like VO2 max and the benefits of Human Growth Hormone which, though admittedly a little specialist for your average bloke, are pushing the boundaries of what an ageing body can do.
So while we, and indeed Israetel, don’t mean to rain on Huberman’s parade — given his soaring career and c. $7.5 million AUD net worth, we think this would be a challenge regardless — there is one fitness habit that Hubermna has pushed for harder than any other and seen adopted more widely than any other that, frankly, Israetel thinks is nonsense…
The Debunked Habit
Without further ado, the debunked habit is Huberman’s obsessive focus on nasal breathing, especially while working out. You may have seen scores of videos with creators espousing the manifold wellness magic of mouth tape swarming your feed alongside claims that it can improve cardiovascular fitness and help control the temperature of inhaled air while you sleep. However, Israetel’s condemnation of mouth tape to encourage nasal breathing during workouts is damning:
“Nasal breathing is almost certainly a waste of time […] If you can [breathe entirely through your nose] while you’re exercising, you are likely not working hard enough in the first place.”
And the scientific community seems to be aligned with the opinion of its most outspoken, baldest representative. While the odd study suggests that nasal breathing can help with hyperventilation during exercise, its authors roundly agreed that there was “little difference” in performance metrics.
So, if you’re a so-called “Huberman husband”, we certainly don’t want to put you off your rhythm — keep chasing a God-level Dad bod by all means — but maybe reconsider this one piece of underbaked advice from the internet’s favourite wellness guru.
