Break down the best workout routine for a woman in her mid 30s who has the goal of building lean muscle while overall staying healthy. What should she be doing per day for how long?

For a woman in her mid-30s aiming to build lean muscle while maintaining overall health, Andrew Huberman and Stacy Sims provide comprehensive guidelines. The routine should include a balance of resistance training, cardiovascular exercises, and proper nutrition.

Weekly Workout Routine

• Resistance Training (3-4 times a week):

  • Focus: Compound movements like squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, rows, overhead presses, and bench presses.
  • Structure:
    • 3-4 sessions per week.
    • Mix of heavy lifts (5-10 reps) and hypertrophy (11-30 reps).
    • Aim for 45-60 minutes per session.
    • Training to failure is beneficial for younger age, but lifting heavier with fewer reps is crucial as one gets older.
  • Periodization: Employ six-week blocks focusing on progressive overload and compound movements 1 2.

• Cardio (2-3 times a week):

  • High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):
    • 1-2 sessions per week.
    • True high-intensity efforts of 30 seconds to 4 minutes.
    • Ensure adequate recovery between HIIT sessions.
  • Zone 2 Cardio:
    • Steady-state cardio to improve endurance and heart health.
  • Caution: Avoid moderate intensity (e.g., traditional cardio classes) that might not be as effective for body composition and can increase cortisol 3 4.

    Optimal Fitness Training

    Stacy Sims

    Stacy shares valuable insights on the importance of focusing on movement quality before diving into resistance training, the significance of compound movements and periodization in your thirties, and the necessity of learning proper movement techniques to prevent injuries in your forties.

    

    Huberman Lab

    Dr. Stacy Sims: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity

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Daily Activities

• Include daily physical activities that can complement the structured workouts, such as walking, gardening, or light yoga.
• Example Schedule:
  1. Monday: Strength Training (compound movements)
  2. Tuesday: HIIT session
  3. Wednesday: Rest or light activity (e.g., walking)
  4. Thursday: Strength Training (bodyweight or lighter resistance)
  5. Friday: Zone 2 Cardio
  6. Saturday: Strength Training (heavy lift focus)
  7. Sunday: Rest or light activity 5.

Nutrition

• Protein Intake:
  • Aim for around 1 to 1.1 grams per pound of body weight daily (approximately 2 to 2.3 grams per kilogram) to support muscle growth and maintenance.
  • Sources can include various lean meats, beans, and other protein-rich foods.
• General Nutrition:
  • Maintain a balanced diet with adequate carbohydrates and fats to fuel workouts and recovery 6.

This structured approach combining different training modalities and proper nutrition will help achieve the goals of building lean muscle while maintaining overall health.

For Zone 2 cardio training, Andrew Huberman notes that the heart rate should be at a level where you can maintain a conversation. While specific heart rate targets can vary, it's generally defined as 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.

To calculate it:

1. Determine Maximum Heart Rate: Subtract your age from 220. For a 35-year-old, the calculation is (220 - 35 = 185).

2. Calculate 60-70% of Maximum Heart Rate:

   • 60% of 185 = 111 bpm (beats per minute)
   • 70% of 185 = 130 bpm

Thus, for a 35-year-old, target your heart rate to be in the range of 111 to 130 bpm for effective Zone 2 cardio training 1 2.

Zone 2 cardio is beneficial for overall cardiovascular health and does not impede other fitness activities. It helps to improve clearance of metabolic waste and supports the glymphatic system, which is crucial for brain health 1.

Here is a transcript from an episode of the Huberman Lab featuring Dr. Stacy Sims on female fitness and nutrition:

Female Fitness Insights

Andrew Huberman:

Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Stacy Sims. Dr. Sims is an exercise physiologist and a nutrition scientist and a world expert in all things training and nutrition specifically for women. In addition to working at Stanford and with numerous professional athletic teams, Dr. Sims has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed studies on exercise physiology. She has not only evaluated existing protocols for nutrition and fitness that are specific to women versus men, but she has also developed many new protocols that are now in practice with professional sports teams and can also serve the general public. The tools Dr. Sims shares with us today are applicable to fitness, body composition changes, and overall health.

Today, we discuss how hormones and hormone cycles impact nutrition and fitness needs, specifically in women of different ages. We, of course, discuss the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, and menopause, but also female-specific nutrition and training independent of hormones. For instance, we evaluate evidence that women may not want to train fasted and the reasons for that. We talk about how training might vary according to different phases of the menstrual cycle, and how women can design nutrition and training programs optimized for their specific needs, not just because they are women, but because they are women of a particular stage of life and with particular goals. Dr. Sims is exquisitely skilled at explaining universals of nutrition and training that don't differ between men and women and also highlighting data showing specific areas where women have unique needs. By the end of today's episode, you'll have a tremendous amount of new knowledge about biological mechanisms and specific do's and don'ts to guide your female-specific health and fitness goals.

Women's Nutrition Insights

Stacy Sims:

Calories in, calories out, fuel for the task at hand, because some people want to have a slight calorie deficit even in high training. If that deficit is at night, away from training, it might help with body fat loss without affecting lean mass. Women need to understand the importance of fueling in and around exercise stress. There’s a socio-cultural conditioning where women have been made to feel they shouldn't eat or take up space, which we need to change. Train hard, eat well, and the body responds accordingly.

The interplay between appetite, body temperature, and hormones is strong. For example, as estrogen rises before ovulation, appetite decreases. Understanding these changes helps women fuel appropriately even when appetite is low. Getting women to recognize their body signals and fuel according to their needs is crucial. In periods of hard workouts or high heat, appetite might decrease, but proper post-exercise nutrition is important to prevent the body from breaking down muscle.

Molecular Fitness Insights

Stacy Sims:

Traditional fitness world focuses on aesthetics and body composition but doesn't address creating strong external stress to invoke neural and metabolic adaptations. High-intensity workouts induce molecular changes, like increasing GLUT-4 proteins which allow carbohydrate uptake without insulin and create anti-inflammatory responses in muscle, compensating for the loss of estrogen. For women, high-intensity work is crucial as it helps in coping with increased visceral fat and inflammation, especially as estrogen decreases with age.

Dr. Stacy Sims: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity provides much more detail, which can further enhance your understanding of female-specific fitness and nutrition strategies.

You can refer to the full episode or specific clips for more in-depth information.

The episode with Dr. Stacy Sims on the Huberman Lab, titled Dr. Stacy Sims: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity, explores various aspects of female-specific fitness and nutrition. Here are the key takeaways:

1. Hormonal Influence:

   • Female hormones like estrogen and progesterone significantly impact nutrition and exercise needs. These hormones affect metabolism, appetite, and how the body responds to different types of training.

2. Nutritional Timing:

   • Women are encouraged to fuel appropriately around exercise to avoid muscle breakdown. The notion that women should eat less and avoid taking up space is challenged, with an emphasis on proper fueling for training and recovery.

3. Menstrual Cycle Considerations:

   • Training and nutrition should be adjusted according to different phases of the menstrual cycle. For instance, appetite often decreases before ovulation due to rising estrogen levels, so understanding these changes can help in planning meals and workouts.

4. High-Intensity Training:

   • High-intensity workouts are crucial for women, especially as they age. Such training induces beneficial molecular changes, like increasing GLUT-4 proteins that help with carbohydrate uptake and create anti-inflammatory responses in muscles.

5. Strength Training and Body Composition:

   • Strength training is highlighted as vital for women to manage body composition, especially with the decrease in estrogen which can lead to increased visceral fat and inflammation.

6. Socio-Cultural Factors:

   • The episode addresses socio-cultural conditioning that influences women’s attitudes towards eating and exercise. Changing these perspectives is important for better health outcomes.

7. Age-Related Adjustments:

   • As women age, their training and nutrition needs evolve. Understanding and adapting to these changes can help maintain health, performance, and longevity.

For a detailed exploration of these insights and more, you can refer to the full episode Dr. Stacy Sims: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity.