Video summary
The podcast features a candid discussion between cousins regarding their differing approaches to fitness, with Tom Segura treating his body like an athlete to support his comedy career while Bert serves as the control experiment in this informal study of willpower and discipline. The speakers emphasize that modern performers are increasingly recognizing the necessity of thinking like athletes, focusing on hydration and physical conditioning alongside their craft. While both cousins train hard, they acknowledge distinct philosophies; Tom views fitness as integral to writing, showing up for family, and business operations, whereas Bert is navigating his health journey one step at a time. The conversation highlights that excessive alcohol consumption over long periods is detrimental, though the speakers maintain a "live and let live" stance on personal choices while advocating for care and affection in their advice to loved ones like Bert. The dialogue shifts to macro-level wellness guidelines supported by scientific communities, recommending 150 to 200 minutes of Zone Two cardio per week alongside sprinting or high-intensity efforts once a week. Resistance training is identified as crucial, with the speakers noting that women and older individuals often fear becoming bulky from lifting weights—a misconception they address by explaining that without injected anabolic hormones, significant muscle growth is unlikely for most people. The transcript clarifies that resistance exercise maintains healthy neuromuscular junctions, which correlates strongly with cognitive function in later life. Furthermore, the unique "pump" sensation during weight training offers a visual window into potential hypertrophy progress, distinct from other exercises like yoga or running where limits are felt through breathlessness or shaking rather than immediate muscle fullness. For those who consider themselves "cognitive athletes," such as comedians requiring sharp memory and rapid persona switching for Netflix specials, the connection between physical exercise and brain health is profound. The speakers explain that the brain is metabolically demanding and relies heavily on blood flow; improving circulation directly enhances cognitive function while reducing inflammation, which depletes cognition. A key biological mechanism discussed involves osteocalcin, a hormone secreted by bones during load-bearing cardiovascular exercises like running, which crosses the blood-brain barrier to promote neuroplasticity and memory formation in the hippocampus. Additionally, research from Stanford's Tony Weiss Corey on "young blood" experiments suggests that plasma from exercised animals contains growth factors like BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and IGF-1 that can improve cognitive ability in aged subjects, indicating a cocktail of beneficial compounds transferred through exercise-induced blood flow. The speakers caution against relying solely on one form of exercise or specific mental tasks like crossword puzzles to maintain brain health, arguing instead for a combination of resistance training and cardiovascular activity alongside social engagement and learning difficult new skills. They critique the stereotypes surrounding fitness enthusiasts, noting that individuals who only do cardio may be prone to injuries while those who lift heavy weights without addressing sleep apnea caused by obesity often suffer from asphyxiation during rest. Ultimately, there is no magic pill or injection for cognitive preservation; maintaining brain health requires effort and a balanced approach involving both types of physical activity. The episode concludes with an endorsement of Element electrolytes to optimize hydration and appetite regulation before transitioning to the next segment featuring Dr. Huberman's 30 Hour episode.
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you're good friends with Tom seura yeah
or we're related we're cousins you're
kidding me no no no we're cousins I can
see it now uh his commitment to Fitness
has been pretty fascinating for me to
see and he's kind of treating his body
like an athlete to facilitate his chosen
pursuit of Comedy I think even Bert is
trying to sort his sort of health and
fitness out one step at a time too
Bert's the control
experiment like there's if if the
experiment is about willpower tenacity
and discipline Tom is the is the is the
is the active condition and Bert is the
control but I I'm seeing more and more
people now especially performers that
aren't using that aren't within the
realm of physical fitness really
starting to understand if I want to
perform outside of this I need to think
like an athlete I need to be looking at
my hydration I mean Tom had his trainer
travel with him on the road for months
yeah yeah Tom's really serious about his
craft as is Bert they just have
different approaches and when it comes
to Fitness I by the way I noce Bert is
training he's working out I've been
trying to get Bert to quit drinking
alcohol for a while um not because I'm
the um Arbiter of of of who should do
what I ne I never tell people what to do
by the way provide information people
can do what they want I'm a Live and Let
Live I want to be very clear about that
um but it's out of uh care and affection
for for Bert that um you know excessive
alcohol consumption over long periods of
time bad I mean we can keep that one
pretty brief so but bird is working out
but Tom I know um because we talk and I
spent some time with him that uh he
trains he trains hard and he sees it as
integral with his with his writing with
his ability to show up for his family
and business Etc I mean you I think
we're finally approaching a time in
human history where we accept at the
level of you know the scientific
Community all the way through to
Wellness and just generally that the
brain and body are are intimately linked
at the level of what you you know if you
want to improve your body um do
something for your mind if you want to
improve your mind mind do something for
your body and and it's so clear now what
we all need to do I mean we we can get
into the details but at a macro level
it's clear that we should all be getting
that 150 to 200 minutes of zone two per
week or walking a lot if you live in a
big city you're probably getting that
but then also getting your heart rate up
to you know max heart rate once a week
doing some Sprint type stuff on in
whatever format is safe for your body
some people it's swimming some people
it's rowing some people it's running for
me it's running but you know not
everyone enjoys running or can do it and
then everyone should be doing at least
six of resistance training per muscle
group per week minimum hard sets to
failure okay maybe maybe not close to
failure yeah probably and it's
especially the groups that have been um
let's just say averse to weight training
right typically women El older folks
although now more women weight trained
because they understand that in the
absence of a lot of injected or
prescription anabolic hormones they're
not going to get um enormous that's the
funniest thing for me that's why we died
I think right that that concept that you
know if one lifts weights that they're
going to be get become bulky do you
realize to all of the women who are out
there that are concerned about lifting
weights because they're going to get too
bulky do you know how hard I've worked
to try and desperately become bulky for
15 years like I've worked really really
difficult hoping that one day I'll
become bulky and there is I think it's
dissipating a lot now but there was for
a long time this fear that I would do a
couple of bicep calls and you're going
to look like the Incredible Hulk it's
like right me and my friends have really
really prayed for that to happen forever
uh you do not need to be concerned it's
not going to creep up on you and one day
you're going to wake up and be this sort
of vascular Beast right um a couple
things about that I mean from a
longevity standpoint we know that
maintaining healthy nerve to muscle
function neuromuscular Junctions is one
of the things that resistance exercise
does and it's highly correlated with
cognitive function into older age um and
for those people I guess going back to
our earlier conversation we'll probably
do this a few times in the course of of
of this episode but um the thing you
want to do the least that's actually the
thing that where you stand to build up
your amcc the most so for me that would
be language learning or learning of
musical instruments two two things that
I love music and um but I I just it's
just so hard for me so it sits there on
the Shelf as a possible way to activate
the amcc but in terms of actual uh
resistance training resistance training
has an interesting property that I
haven't heard discussed before um that
pertains to men and women who do it um
which is unlike cardiovascular training
during a resistance training bout
because of the blood flow to the muscle
that so-called pump you get a little
window into what the potential progress
would look like that pump dissipates
post-workout and then if you allow
sufficient rest and nutrition Etc you'll
get a hypertrophy response but it's so
unlike other forms of exercise like if I
go to a yoga class and I stretch or I'm
doing some movement I get to that limit
where I'm quaking and I fall over it's
very different than getting a picture of
just how flexible will be the next time
and then losing that until I adapt with
running your lungs sometimes your throat
burns as you pointed out and that's
showing you your limit and of course
then there's an adaptation response that
then allows you to perform at that level
without the burning in the next time
right if you allow sufficient recovery
but with weight training it's kind of
interesting the whole pump thing was
never something that I really drew me to
weight training very much but it's
interesting because you get a glimpse
into what the the progress might look
like and so for I would say for anyone
who's worried about getting too big
unless your pump is bigger than you want
to be you're not going to get that right
and so you actually get a window into um
how much potential size increase you're
going to create but it's so different
than other forms of exercise in that way
it's like what other thing in life like
if you took a language class and you're
like I'm going to learn Japanese and you
go and during the class you actually
become fluent for a moment then it's
taken away and then you adapt and become
fluent so it's it's a very special form
of exercise that that offers some unique
um gifts to us as incentives for going
back back but look as I say this I
realize some people hate resistance
training they love running some people
hate running um they love resistance
training some people I realize hate
exercise yeah but if you hate exercise
you should do it anyway amcc and you're
getting the amcc so going back to what
you think might be happening to someone
like Tom who is a like a cognitive
athlete right but largely the Physical
Realm comedians apart from I guess until
Joe which is part of the beginning of
like the comedian bro bro lifter
ution before him it wasn't exactly like
I wasn't looking to comedians as being
the Vanguard of health and fitness and
stuff like that I mean look at balushi
right I mean he was the he was the
epitome of lack of health and sadly died
right talk to me about what would be
happening to the brain of somebody like
Tom who pivots from being maybe 40
pounds overweight I don't know how big
he got it is at his biggest but lost a
good bit of weight and it wasn't just
losing weight it was then gaining muscle
so Dr Gabrielle lion world of like
muscle cented medicine he's going to
benefit from that the insulin
sensitivity there'll be like some
physiological changes but talk to me for
the people who are cognitive athletes
what's going to happen in someone like
Tom's mind when he changes his body yeah
so improved blood flow to the brain I
mean the brain is most metabolically
demanding organ in the entire body it
consumes a ton of glucose if you eat
carbohydrates yes it can run on ketones
but blood flow through arteries veins
and capillaries to the neurons of the
brain is is it's Inseparable from cogn
function so when you improve blood flow
to the brain you improve cognitive
function period when you restrict blood
flow to the brain even at a at a micro
level you impair cognitive function uh
in addition to that um we know that
several forms of age related cognitive
decline and dementia are considered
nowadays some people will even call it
type 3 diabetes although that's a
controversial term diabetes of the brain
this is why a number of people who have
Alzheimer's go on ketogenic diets and
get some degree of relief it's not that
it by the way it's not a cure for
Alzheimer's but some people do better
when they switch the major fuel source
for the brain but in the case of Tom as
an example but someone who gets into
exercising regularly both resistance
training and cardiovascular training
you're getting improved blood flow
you're getting far less inflammation of
the brain inflammation is cognitive
depleting uh reducing inflammation
cognitive enhancing we always that's
absolutely true across the board right
in animal studies and humans in addition
to that there are a lot of bloodborne
factors two of which I'll just highlight
now just for sake of time only too first
of all when we do cardio that it
positively impact brain health and
memory in particular so when we do
loadbearing
cardiovascular exercise so running uh as
opposed to swimming um anything where
where the skeletal system is is under
some load there's a hormone that's
literally secreted from bone I know we
don't normally think of Bones as
endocrine organs called osteocalcin
osteocalcin is released from the bones
under these loadbearing conditions it
can cross the blood brain barrier and we
know that it plays an active role in
promoting not just new cell production
but because that's a more minor
component of neuroplasticity but um
enhancement of nerve health and function
in the hippocampus which is an area
that's instrumental for the formation of
new memories so there's something about
movement of the body that signals to the
brain ah we're you know we're moving you
you actually need to maintain or perhaps
even enhance your ability to remember
things and this probably is an
evolutionary conserved circuit that
exists we know it exists in mice as well
so that's one one example the other is
that my colleague at Stan Stanford Tony
Weiss Corey um is best known for these
um young blood experiments where they'll
take the blood or plasma from a young
rodent and put it into an aged or
demented rodent and see improvements in
cognitive function and outside the
United States there are some clinics by
the way I'm not recommending people do
this that have shown improvements in
cognitive function or even offsetting of
of Alzheimer's and natur related
cognitive decline this has led to the
idea of like vampires and baby blood and
this whole yeah Dr it's which is all
crazy in conspiracy I'm go on record
saying that but there's a recent paper
that also from Tony's lab showing that
if in animals that exercise regularly if
you take their blood or plasma and you
supply that blood or plasma to aged or
cognitively deficient animals they their
cognition or their cognitive ability
improve so there's something about blood
of the exercised body that enriches the
brain it could be many different growth
factors it could be bdnf brain derve
neutrophic Factor it could be things
like igf-1 insulin light growth factor
it's probably G to be a cocktail of
different things um as well as
osteocalcin and so what we want to think
about is that when we exercise and
that's a broad statement exercise or
word rather cardiovascular resistance
training it creates a a cocktail that
then crosses into the blood brain
barrier that then creates a millu of
General growth health or at least
maintenance of of cognitive tissue
that's there so Tom's incredibly sharp
and of course comedy requires not just
memory but also writing of new jokes
right he's he's got to do Netflix
specials for a long time and I actually
went and saw him in Aspen a small venue
I flew out there to see him because I
wanted to see him in a small venue
because in small venues is where Comics
often work out their new material and I
mean just you know to me it was just
astonishing like to see the number of
different thought threads and thing that
makes Tom's comedy so wonderful and
other people like Richard prior did this
exceptionally well too is that he can
switch personas very fast so he's doing
his voice then he switches to his son's
voice then switches back and the speed
and precision with which he does that
very agile makes it seem we forget that
they're very agile and then we we've he
creates a a panel of characters and then
wipes that board away right he's the
only guy up there wipes that board away
and then creates a panel of new
characters and so I mean that requires a
lot of De like cognitive dexterity so
exercise is absolutely one of the best
ways to improve brain function over time
and in addition to that you know there's
been so much interest in you know should
we do crossword puzzles should we you
know why is it that some people maintain
cognitive function I think what's very
clear to me based on all that literature
is that it's not one specific thing
crossword puzzles or social engagement
or exercise it's all of those things but
let's not forget the superagers the
people who are constantly trying things
that are difficult that are pressuring
themselves a bit to do things that are
difficult those people are offsetting as
far as we know all of the major
shrinkage of these brain structures that
normally would shrink as people age so
we have a lot of control but it does
require effort and I'll tell you there's
never going to be a pillar injection it
whether or not it's OIC or something
like it but for the brain there's just
no there's no way there's no way that
you're ever going to recapitulate
learning and effort um and yes it
requires time but it's it's so clear I
mean I don't know how many more papers
in preclinical models and in humans one
needs to see before they finally just
you know bite the bullet and go and lift
weights lift weights and run or and do
cardiovascular training it can't be one
or the other you know the the The
Stereotype of like the the big let's
just say big guy who's dumb you know I I
don't think it's entirely um I mean you
meet some big big folks that are smart
right but there is
something in the kind of broad
correlations of people who you know R
people who tend to only do
cardiovascular training you know maybe
it's it's a selection bias like they the
people who are already Avid readers or
more kind of intellectual leanings maybe
get more involved in tennis swimming
running type Sports rowing because of
the schools they went to or whatever but
people who just lift weights it does
seem as if over time I don't know maybe
Derek would tell us their neck is
getting too big they have sleep apnea it
it they they don't seem as sharp and
they're often mouth breathers look at
the really big guys in the gym they're
often not strong not just between sets
not just after hard sets they're I think
they're also they're asphyxiating
themselves in sleep we know this yeah um
and then you look at Runners and the
people that have the kind of like the
really spelt and and and they um and
sure they might maintain cognitive
function but their bodies are very
vulnerable to injury and they always
seem to be complaining about what hurts
you know there like my friends who do a
lot of extended training unless it's
David goggin who doesn't seem to have
the circuit for complaining um at least
certainly not online um yeah they always
seem to be complaining about about
injuries so I think a combination of
resistance training cardiovascular
training is let's just face it like you
can't do one and not the other if you
want to be healthy all around healthy of
heart healthy of body healthy of Mind
cognition um improved or or at least
maintained as we age you got to do both
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