Health Matters: Information on Sources: Andy Galpin
As part of my Health Matters website I am listing the major sources, references and people I have used to form how I think about topics. My aim is to give you some idea of who these people and organizations are, what their backgrounds are, what biases they may have and some examples of content. I will give you “my take” on what I think about that person or source and tell you what my overall thoughts are on the source/. Some of my pages will be labeled “under construction” as I am still building the page but in reality all of my content should be considered to be “under construction” as I will be continuously updating pages. Click here to go back to main Health Matters website.
Who is Andy Galpin, PhD:
He describes himself as an Exercise Scientist and Muscle Physiologist. He is an instructor in Kinesiology (the science of movement). Andy has made it his mission to share information. In one of his YouTube videos he stated it was his intent to put all of his teachings for his university courses online for all to have access. He gave explicit consent for anyone to use the content without asking prior permission.
My overall thoughts on Andy Galpin, Phd:
Andy Galpin is a good guy. While he has a healthy sense of “self interest”, he has worked to spread good information without directly asking for compensation for his work. I think Andy is the “real deal” - not that everything he says should be taken as Gospel - but I think his heart is in the right place. We should always look to more than 1 source of information on a complicated subject - Galpin should be one of the sources you are listening to.
On his website here is how he explains who he is and what he does:
So what is it you actually do, Andy? Tough to explain, but here goes.
Quick Background
I don’t come from science, fame, or money. I was born & raised in majestic Rochester, WA (population of about 6,000) and am a die-hard Seahawks, Huskies, & Mariner fan (RIP Sonics & welcome Kraken!). I played football, basketball, baseball, and track & field and was pretty darn good. I worked at a grocery store, gas station, hayfields, the blueberry farm, and in road construction with my dad, brother, and occasionally grandfather. Around 14 y, I started lifting weights and immediately knew it would be a part of my life from then on.
I took my limited athletic talents to Linfield College to play football (2004 National Champions and 2x Captain of the "All-Ugly" Team) and earn a degree in Exercise Science. I got a prestigious internship as an S&C coach in Tempe, AZ working with dozens of pro athletes (mostly MLB & NFL). It was dope - I’d never met anyone famous before. But I quickly realized that life wasn’t for me. So I went back to school and got my Master’s in Human Movement Sciences from The University of Memphis (an elite program at the time).
Since football was done, I started competing in a sport that I taught myself; Weightlifting (even got 7th at 2007 National Championships!). From there, I transitioned to combat sports and loved every second of it - despite having no background or interest in it growing up. At the same time, I wanted to know more about muscle, so I spent 4 years studying the structure and function of human skeletal muscle at the single-cell level, which earned me a Ph.D. in Human Bioenergetics. After that, I got my first job and built the fancy-named “Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Physiology Lab” - which I do a horrific job of keeping the website updated. But like coaching, I also knew from the beginning that I could never be a full-time scientist.
So what did I do?
Simple. I created a career that allows me to be a 1) Scientist, 2)Teacher, & 3) Coach and I couldn’t love my life more as a result.
Scientist
I’ve been a full-time Professor at CSU Fullerton since 2011 (tenured in 2016 and promoted to “Full” Prof in 2020!) and Director of the Center for Sport Performance since 2015 where I conduct research on anything I think is relevant to human performance. My interests range from nutrition to strength training to single muscle fiber physiology (I’ve performed hundreds of muscle biopsies) to breathwork and much more. My CV is all over the place, and I love it that way - I’ve published innovative methodologies for measuring signaling proteins in individual human muscle fibers, how heavy resistance bands alter the deadlift, the muscle characteristics of elite male and female (Olympic) weightlifters, the influence of intermittent dieting on athletes. Who knows what’s next. I’m trying to keep all new studies posted here, but don’t do a very good job. My bad.
Teaching
At CSUF I teach Sr/Grad classes in Strength & Conditioning, Program Design, Muscle Physiology, Applied S&C, and Nutrition for Performance. It was my frustration with teaching that led to the creation of this website and my mega-famous YouTube page. A better way had to exist - and that saved my ass when the 2020 pandemic hit. Serendipity, I suppose. That’s also why I agreed to step into the public space with social media and podcasts (I’ve been on a LOT of them - like this one with my friend, Joe who is only slightly more famous than me). I’m so ultra-famous, I even have my own IMDB page (seriously), singlehandedly made Conor McGregor an international star (see here …OK, a mild exaggeration but not complete fabrication), and was featured in a way-too-long article by Men’s Health. I honestly don’t care for the publicity much, but what good is research and science if it never gets to the people? This is just as important of a method of '‘teaching’ as class lectures and multiple-choice midterms in my mind.
Coaching
And what good is research if it doesn’t stand up to application? I’ve been blessed to work with professional athletes for >15 years now. The list includes NBA All-Starts, MLB MVPs, Olympic medalists, HOF’s from multiple sports, NFL Pro Bowlers, and the #1 athlete in three major American sports (MMA, MLB, PGA). To name a few (who don’t mind me telling you about it - many have NDAs…) it includes Olympians like Helen Maroulis (wrestling) and Morghan King (weightlifting), World-Title contending boxer Mike Lee, UFC stars Brian Ortega, Tatiana Suarez, Matt Brown, and Scott Holtzman, 25x World Record Powerlifter Stefi Cohen, and am the “Director of Athletic Development (or whatever he calls it) for 2020 Cy Young Winner Trevor Bauer (MLB). There are many more, but hey, I don’t want to brag and you probably get the point by now.
So this is who I am and what I do. I guess I could’ve saved you a bunch of time reading and just answered the initial question by saying:
“I tell stories about human performance.”
P.S. I built and run this site by myself, so you know, you get what you pay for kinda thing.
Good summary of how he got into what he does check out the first several minutes of this video:
Possible Biases
He has stated a bias towards exercise and muscle being central to our health. He does own/run more than 1 company and has written a book. He has become very well known and by his account has been rewarded very well with financial fortune.
However he does not do much direct selling in the videos I have seen. He at least started out by wanting to share information without charging people.
My overall thoughts on Andy Galpin, PhD
Andy Galpin is a good guy. While he has a healthy sense of “self interest”, he has worked to spread good information without directly asking for compensation for his work. I think Andy is the “real deal” - not that everything he says should be taken as Gospel - but I think his heart is in the right place. We should always look to more than 1 source of information on a complicated subject - Galpin should be one of the sources you are listening to.
Examples of content from Andy Galpin:
Dr. Andy Galpin Unveils the 9 Core Principles of Training: Ultimate Human Performance Blueprint
How Lactate & Metabolism Influence Performance
7 Key Factors to Optimize Your Training Program
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