Office Hours: The 2 Workouts That Protect Your Brain, Muscles, and Metabolism

Mark Hyman, MD

Dr. Mark Hyman is leading a health revolution—one focused on using food as medicine to support longevity, energy, mental clarity, happiness, and so much more. Mark Hyman, MD is a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine. He is the founder and director of The UltraWellness Center, Founder and Senior Advisor for the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, a sixteen-time New York Times best-selling author, and Board President for Clinical Affairs for The Institute for Functional Medicine. He is the founder and chairman of the Food Fix Campaign, dedicated to transforming our food and agriculture system through policy.

He is a co-founder and the Chief Medical Officer of Function Health. He is the host of one of the leading health podcasts, The Dr. Hyman Show with 150+ million downloads. Dr. Hyman is a regular medical contributor to several television shows and networks, including CBS This Morning, Today, Good Morning America, The View, Fox, and CNN.

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Full Transcript

Automatically generated. Please forgive any typos or errors in the following transcript. It was generated by a third party and has not been subsequently reviewed by our team.

Dr. Mark Hyman
One of the best antiaging treatment wasn't a supplement or a drug, but two simple workouts. Not helping you burn more calories or lose more body weight, but making yourselves younger and help you from the inside out. Now most people think exercise is about changing how they look, And I think about it very differently. And one of the main reasons I exercise has nothing to do with my waistline. It's because of what exercise does to my mitochondria.

That's why I exercise. These tiny little structures inside your cells are responsible for producing the energy that powers every single heartbeat, every thought, every muscle contraction. And as your mitochondria decline, well, so do your energy, your metabolism, your brain, and ultimately, how well you age. And here's the exciting part. Research shows that two specific forms of exercise don't just help preserve your mitochondria, they actually tell your body to build healthier, more efficient ones.

In other words, they help your body function younger. When people ask me, what's the single best exercise for longevity? They're usually expecting one answer of walking, running, swimming, yoga. But that's actually the wrong question because different types of exercise do different jobs inside your body. Walking's fantastic.

Mobility is essential. Zone two cardio has tremendous benefits. But if your goal is to protect your brain, build muscle, support your metabolism, reduce your risk of chronic disease, and stay independent for decades to come, there are two forms of exercise that almost everyone should be doing. String training and high intensity interval training or HIIT training. And before you click away because you think HIIT means burpees and boot camps, stay with me.

That's one of the biggest myths we're gonna bust today. But by the end this episode, you're gonna understand why these two workouts are some of the most powerful longevity tools we have, how they change your body at the cellular level, and exactly how to start even if you haven't exercised consistently in years. This episode was brought to you by Function. Get access to over 160 lab tests annually at functionhealth.com/mark. So how does exercise slow down aging?

Well, most of you only exercise is about burning calories. And honestly, that's one of the least interesting things it does. Yes, exercise can help you lose weight. It can help improve your fitness. It can help you look better.

But those are really just side effects. The real magic happens at a level you can't see. Every single one of the trillions of cells in your body contains tiny structures called mitochondria. And you've probably heard them described as the powerhouse of the cell. And while that sounds like something from high school biology, it actually is one of the most important concepts in longevity.

Think of your mitochondria as tiny power plants, or maybe better yet, tiny rechargeable batteries inside nearly every cell in your body. The job is simple. They take the food you eat and the oxygen you breathe and they convert them to energy. Specifically, they produce a molecule called ATP, which is the fuel that powers virtually everything your body does. And that's why I'm so fascinated by mitochondria.

They're not just responsible for making energy. They're also deeply connected to almost every hallmark of aging. They influence how your body functions, how your brain functions, how your muscle performs, how your metabolism works, how your immune system responds, even how resilient your body is to stress. And when your mitochondria thrive, well, you tend to thrive. Now as we get older, we naturally lose mitochondria, and the ones we have become less efficient.

Imagine running a city where half the power plants have shut down, the ones that are operating are old and efficient and constantly breaking down. Well, it's kinda like our bodies. The lights start flickering. The systems don't work as well. Their pairs take longer.

That's essentially what begins happening inside our bodies. Instead of producing abundant clean energy, aging mitochondria produce less ATP, more harmful byproducts called reactive oxygen species or free radicals. Now small amounts of these molecules are normal, even helpful. But when they accumulate, they create oxidative stress that can damage cells and accelerate aging. It's one of the reasons so many people notice changes as they get older.

They feel more fatigued. They struggle with brain fog. Their metabolism slows down. They lose muscle more easily. Recovery takes a lot longer.

Endurance drops. And over time, mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to so many of the chronic diseases that we associate with aging, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type two diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers. Now, don't want you to hear that and think your mitochondria are destined to fail because your mitochondria are incredibly dynamic. They're constantly adapting to the signals you send your body. And they can become stronger, make them more efficient, your body can even make brand new mitochondria throughout your whole life.

The question is, what tells your body to do that? You might think it's an expensive supplement or the latest longevity biohack, but one of the most powerful signals we've ever discovered is something so much simpler, movement. The right kind of exercise literally tells your body, we need more energy. And your cells respond by building healthier, more efficient energy factories. That's why exercise isn't just helping you feel better today.

It's helping you change the way your body ages from the inside out. And here's where things get really interesting. Not every form of exercise sends the same message to your body, and I think this is where a lot of people get confused. People often ask me, what's the best exercise for longevity? And the answer isn't that one type of movement is good and another is bad.

Different types of exercise create different adaptations. You might exercise almost like medicine, different prescriptions for different outcomes. For example, I love walking. I walk almost every day. Walking lowers stress.

It improves blood sugar. It supports cardiovascular health. Helps the recovery. But walking alone doesn't tell your body to build stronger muscles. It doesn't create the same mitochondrial adaptations that more challenging exercise does.

And that's why I think every longevity exercise program should include four essential types of movement. Move your body every day. Walk often, lift heavy things, and occasionally get out of breath. Today, I want to focus on those last two because they're the forms of exercise that research shows have some of the most profound effects on healthy aging. If walking is one of the best things you can do for your everyday health, what's the next level?

If your goal is to age well, not just to live longer, but stay strong, sharp, and independent, there's one type of exercise I think almost everybody should prioritize. And if I could prescribe just one form of exercise after the age of 40, it would probably be strength training. Now that might surprise some people. Strength training is different, though, because it protects something we naturally lose as we age, muscle. Starting as early as our thirties, most of us begin losing muscle mass every decade if we don't actively work to maintain it.

That process accelerates even more after menopause in women and later in life for men. Now many people assume that's just a normal part of aging. I don't. I I think it's one of the biggest and most overlooked drivers of unhealthy aging because muscle isn't just there to help you look toned or lift heavier weights. In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions is that muscle is simply for movement.

It's much more than that. I think of muscle as one of the most important longevity organs in the body. Now technically, it's not classified as an organ in the traditional sense, But metabolically, it behaves like one. It probably should be called one. And your muscles are constantly communicating with the rest of your body.

They help regulate blood sugar by pulling glucose out of your bloodstream. They improve insulin sensitivity, making it easy for your body to use energy efficiently. They produce signaling molecules called myokines, which are helping reduce inflammation and influence everything from immune function to brain health. And they support healthy hormone balance. They protect your bones by stimulating new bone growth every time you use them and load those muscles and load the bones.

They improve balance and coordination. And perhaps most importantly, as we get older, they help you keep independent. When I think about longevity, I'm not just thinking about adding years to your life. I'm thinking about adding life to your years. Can you carry your groceries?

Can you lift your grandchild? Can you get up off the floor without assistance? Can you catch yourself if you trip? These are the things that determine the quality of life in your seventies, your eighties, and beyond. Now, strength training help preserve that ability.

Most people start worrying about their immune system as soon as everyone around them gets sick. But that's like thinking about retirement the day before you stop working. The truth is you don't build a resilient immune system when you need it. You build it long before with sleep, nutrition, movement, and a clear understanding of what's happening inside your body. And that's why I think August is one of the smartest times to check your health.

Before the schedules get busy, before the colder months arrive, because your body's already giving you signals. With your vitamin d, your zinc, your ferritin, your inflammation levels. These markers help you understand how your body's functioning today before you're forced to think about it tomorrow. That's exactly why we built Function. Function gives you access to 160 plus lab tests annually that measure signals in blood, including nutrients, liver health, inflammation, and hormones.

You can also complete your health baseline with an annual MRI that helps you see organs, tissues, and other changes. Check your health at functionhealth.com/mark, and if you're one of the first 1,000 people this week, use the code mark twenty twenty six for a $50 credit or your $365 a year membership. But there's another reason I love it. It goes right back to the mitochondria. Every time you challenge a muscle, whether it's with dumbbells, resistance bands, machines, or even your own body weight, you create a demand for energy.

Your muscle cells basically send out a message saying, hey, we need more power. Your body responds by building stronger, healthier, more efficient mitochondria. Think about that for a second. You're not just building muscle. You're upgrading the tiny energy factories that power virtually every cell in your body.

And that's one of the reasons strength training is such a powerful longevity tool. It changes you from the inside out. Now the good news is you don't have to become a bodybuilder to get those benefits. You don't need to spend two hours in the gym. You don't need fancy equipment.

What matters is you challenge your muscles. A simple rule I like is to choose a weight or a level of resistance that you can lift somewhere between eight and twelve times. Those last couple of repetitions should be all challenging, not impossible, but challenging enough that your muscles know they would they have work to do. And that could be free weights. It could be resistance bands, machines, kettlebells.

It could be simply your own body weight if you're just getting started. So aim for two, at least two, ideally three, full body strength training workouts each week. That's enough to begin building muscle, improving metabolic health, and sending those powerful longevity signals throughout your body. Now strength training is one of the most powerful things you can do to protect your muscles, your metabolism, your bones, and your mitochondria. But there's another system we need to train if we wanna age well, your heart.

You know, longevity isn't just about staying strong. You need muscles that can carry you through your life, and you need a heart and lungs that can keep up. And that's where the second workout comes in. High intensity interval training or HIIT. Now before you chew me out, because the words high intensity sound intimidating, let me reassure you.

HIIT has probably gotten one of the most horrible marketing campaigns in fitness history. People hear the term and picture someone yelling at them in a CrossFit gym while they jump onto boxes and claps in a puddle of sweat. That's not what HIIT is. HIIT simply means alternating between short periods where you work harder than usual, like running fast, followed by periods of recovery. That's it.

Here's the key. High intensity is relative. If you're 80 years old and haven't exercised in years, walking briskly up a hill may be high intensity. If you're training for a marathon, it may be sprinting. Both count.

The goal is simply to challenge your body enough so it has to adapt. Just like strength training tells your muscles we need more power, HIIT tells your heart, lungs, and blood vessels, and your mitochondria, we need to become more efficient. Your body responds by building healthier mitochondria, improving how efficiently you deliver oxygen to your muscles, and increasing something called b o two max. Now, if you've listened to this podcast before, you've probably heard me talk about b o two max. It's one of my favorite biomarkers because it tells us how well your body can deliver and use oxygen during exercise.

Here's what's remarkable. Study after study has shown that v o two max is one of the strongest predictors of longevity we have. In fact, having a low v o two max is associated with a higher risk of premature death than many traditional risk factors that we focus on in medicine. So one question I often get is, how do I know my VO two max? Well, the most accurate way is through a cardiopulmonary exercise test.

It's basically where you exercise on a treadmill or a bike while your oxygen consumption is measured through a mask and your carbon dioxide is exhaled is also measured. But you don't necessarily need a lap. Many fitness watches kind of get a good estimate of your v o two max based on your heart rate and pace during walking or running. They're not perfect, but they can be a useful way to track whether your cardiovascular fitness is improving over time. Remember, that's what matters most, not the exact number, but whether you're moving in the right direction.

Now you can improve your VO2 max, sometimes dramatically. And one of the fastest way to do that is interval training. Now it doesn't gonna be complicated. In fact, people often overcomplicate it. But here's a simple place to start.

Warm up for about five minutes and increase your pace for thirty seconds. Maybe that's walking faster, riding your bike a little harder, rowing, climbing stairs, whatever challenges you. And then slow down and recover for about a minute, and then repeat and repeat that cycle three or four times, and finish it with a good cool down. And that's it. The whole interval portion takes less than ten minutes.

You don't need forty five minutes. You don't need perfect fitness. You just need intention. Now at this point, you might be thinking, Mark, well, this all sounds great, but you're asking me to walk every day and to lift weights twice a week, do interval training too. Like, who is assigned for all that?

Well, my favorite approach is to combine them. In fact, that's exactly what I recommend for busy people. Start with a full body strength training workout, then thirty or forty minutes challenging your muscles, then finish with six to eight minutes of intervals. Now in one session, you've trained your muscles, you've trained your heart, you've challenged your mitochondria, you've improved your metabolism, you've checked off two of the most powerful forms of exercise that we know of for healthy aging. And that's an incredible return on your investment for less than an hour.

Think of strength training as investing in your future strength. Think of HIIT as investing in your future endurance. Together, they're one of the most powerful combinations we have for extending not just lifespan, but your health span. So what if you're starting completely out of shape? Well, that's probably the question that's most important for you to think about.

Because many people hear this and they think, oh, I'm too old. I'm too overweight. I've never exercised. Well, none of that squalifies you. Remember, intensity is relative.

Maybe your interval is climbing one flight of stairs. Maybe it's just marching in place. Maybe it's standing up from a chair repeatedly. Remember, your body doesn't care whether you're starting from zero or from being a super athlete. Your response to the signals you give it today.

Okay. Before we wrap up, let me answer a few of the most common questions I hear about strength training and HIIT training. Should everyone's train, train? Yes. Especially women.

After menopause, we lose muscle rapidly unless we can actively build it. Can I do HIIT training every day? Probably not. One to three times a week is plenty. Recovery matters.

Should I do cardio before lifting? Generally, no. Lift first, intervals after. What's the minimum effective dose? Well, two straight training sessions a week, one HIIT workout a week, walk every day.

If you only do that, you're already ahead of most people. Alright. I think we sometimes overcomplicate longevity. We're always searching for the next miracle supplement, the newest biohack, the latest wearable, the latest cutting edge technology that's gonna help us live longer. While many of those tools have their place, we sometimes overlook the interventions that have the strongest scientific evidence behind them.

Movement is medicine. Strain training and interval training aren't just helping you burn calories. They're helping your body build healthier muscles, stronger bones, a more resilient heart, and healthier mitochondria. These little energy factories that power every cell in your body. So every time you challenge your muscles, every time you get a little out breath, you're sending your body a message.

Adapt, get stronger, become more resilient, and your body listens. It's one of the most incredible things about being human. We aren't passive victims of aging. We have tremendous influence over how we age through the choices that we make every single day. Remember, you're the CEO of your own health.

No one can make these investments for you. But the good news is you don't have to be perfect. You don't need the perfect workout. You don't need to spend hours in the gym. You don't need to look like an athlete.

You just need to be consistent because every workout is a vogue for a future version of yourself. Every set you lift, every interval you complete, every walk you take is an investment in the body and the brain you're gonna be living in ten, twenty, even thirty years from now. So don't think about exercise as something you have to do. Think about it as one of the greatest gifts you can give your future self. Start where you are, challenge yourself a little more than yesterday, and remember healthy aging isn't about avoiding birthdays.

It's about making sure you have the strength, the energy, and the vitality to fully enjoy every single one of them. If you

Dr. Mark Hyman
love this podcast, please share it with someone else you think would also enjoy it. You can find me on all social media channels at Doctor Mark Hyman. Please reach out, I'd love to hear your comments and questions. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Doctor Hyman Show wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel at Doctor Mark Hyman for video versions of this podcast and more.

Thank you so much again for tuning in. We'll see you next time on the doctor Hyman show. This podcast is separate from my clinical practice at the Ultra Wellness Center, my work at Cleveland Clinic, and Function Health where I am chief medical officer. This podcast represents my opinions and my guests' opinions. Neither myself nor the podcast endorses the views or statements of my guests.

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. This podcast is provided with the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. If you're looking for help in your journey, please seek out a qualified medical practitioner. And if you're looking for a functional medicine practitioner, visit my clinic, the Ultra Wellness Center at ultrawellnesscenter.com, and request to become a patient. It's important to have someone in your corner who is a trained, licensed health care practitioner and can help you make changes, especially when it comes to your health.

This podcast is free as part of my mission to bring practical ways of improving health to the public. So I'd like to express gratitude to sponsors that made today's podcast possible. Thanks so much again for listening.