Andy Galpin's 9-Dimension Fitness Assessment: Test Your Physical Weaknesses at Home

Stanford neurobiologist Andrew Huberman sat down with exercise physiologist Dr. Andy Galpin on Huberman Lab Essentials to tackle a question every fitness enthusiast cares about: how do you scientifically evaluate whether your fitness is up to par? Galpin's framework isn't a vague "I feel good" — it breaks down the body's adaptations to exercise into nine quantifiable dimensions, with a full set of near-zero-cost self-tests anyone can do at home.

Two Core Goals of Fitness: Looks and Function

Galpin points out that most people's motivation to train falls into two broad categories: aesthetics and performance. The former is about appearance — wanting to look bigger, leaner, or a certain way; the latter is about capability — getting stronger, moving better, having energy all day.

Regardless of which you're after, the core questions are the same: Where should I focus my training? Why am I not reaching my goals? Galpin emphasizes that real goals should address both "immediate performance" (squatting more weight, running a faster 5K) and "healthspan across a lifetime." To answer these questions, you first need to understand what physiological adaptations the body can actually produce through exercise.

Nine Physiological Adaptations: The Complete Fitness Picture

Galpin organizes all exercise-induced physiological adaptations into nine categories — the backbone of the entire framework:

1. Skill/Technique — more efficient movement patterns like running, swinging, or shooting
2. Speed — pure movement speed or acceleration
3. Power — speed multiplied by force
4. Strength — maximum force you can produce in a single effort
5. Muscle Hypertrophy — pure muscle volume (the only primarily "aesthetic" metric)
6. Muscular Endurance — repetitions of a specific movement, typically limited to individual muscle groups
7. Anaerobic Capacity — maximum output over roughly 30 to 120 seconds at near-maximal heart rate
8. Maximal Aerobic Capacity — the 8 to 15-minute zone that truly challenges VO2max
9. Long-Duration Endurance — sustained, steady-state output over 20 to 60+ minutes

Galpin specifically notes that strength and muscular endurance are often confused. Strength measures "how much can you move in one maximal effort," whereas a push-up test only reflects how many consecutive reps the triceps, chest, and deltoids can perform — that's local muscular endurance, not full-body or cardiovascular endurance.

Self-Testing Each Dimension: From Movement Quality to Cardio Capacity

Movement Skill: Four-Step Screening

The gold standard is a qualified physical therapist assessing you joint by joint. For a DIY version, Galpin offers a four-step approach: select one representative movement from each of four categories — upper-body push, upper-body pull, lower-body push, lower-body pull (e.g., push-up, pull-up/bent-over row, squat, deadlift) — then record 3 to 10 slow, controlled reps from both the front and side, checking for four things: symmetry, stability, awareness, and range of motion.

He uses a 0/1/3 scoring system: a 0 means acute injury risk is extremely high — don't do that movement; a 1 means there's a minor flaw — proceed cautiously with managed load and volume; a 3 means you can train normally with a reasonable program.

Power: Standing Broad Jump

Galpin doesn't think most people need to test pure speed. The zero-cost version of a power test is the standing broad jump: jump from a standstill and measure from the starting line to where your heels land. A simple benchmark is "jump your own height" — if you're 5'5", you should be able to jump 5'5". Women can reduce the target by roughly 15%. This test isn't about optimizing — it's a red flag screen. If you can clear your height, you're basically fine.

Strength: Grip Strength, Leg Extension, and Front Squat Hold

Strength needs to be measured across multiple body parts. Grip strength can be tested with a dynamometer (about $25): men should aim for a minimum of 40 kg and ideally 60+ kg, with less than 10% difference between hands. Alternatively, use a dead hang — 30 seconds is the minimum, 60 seconds or more is ideal (adjust expectations for those carrying excess body weight).

For lower-body strength, Galpin prefers the leg extension over a barbell squat because it's standardized and has a low technical barrier. The benchmark is being able to push your own bodyweight; dropping roughly 10% per decade after age 40 while still being in good shape. If you don't want to test a true 1RM, use a near-maximal weight for fewer than 5 reps and plug the numbers into an online 1RM calculator (accuracy drops significantly beyond 5 reps). Another option is the front squat or goblet squat hold: hold roughly half your bodyweight at chest height, drop into the bottom position, and hold for 45 seconds — this simultaneously reflects positioning, core, and lower-back stability.

He repeatedly emphasizes two prerequisites: first, all tests assume technical proficiency — if you're not proficient, don't push to the limit; switch to a safer movement instead. Second, your warm-up protocol must be standardized, otherwise before-and-after comparisons are meaningless.

Grip strength as a proxy for whole-body strength is backed by substantial epidemiological evidence. The UK Biobank, tracking nearly 500,000 people, found that every 5 kg decrease in grip strength was associated with roughly a 17% increase in cardiovascular disease risk and a 16% increase in all-cause mortality. Grip strength predicts systemic health partly because it depends heavily on overall muscle mass in the forearms, upper limbs, and trunk, and is also tied to tendon integrity, bone density, and neuromuscular drive efficiency. 1RM (One Repetition Maximum) is the gold standard for strength testing, but direct testing carries injury risk — especially for those with limited training experience or poor technique. Galpin recommends using a 3–5RM for estimation because prediction formulas (such as the Epley or Brzycki equations) are most accurate in this range, typically within 5% error; beyond 10 reps, individual differences in muscular endurance begin to interfere, and estimation error grows rapidly.

Muscle Hypertrophy: FFMI Is the Health Threshold That Matters

The aesthetic level of muscle mass is entirely a personal preference, but there is a minimum "sufficient" level below which health is genuinely compromised. Galpin recommends using body composition testing such as DEXA and focusing on FFMI (Fat-Free Mass Index). Men should be above 20 and women above 18; men below 17 or women below 15 are in a zone of serious physiological harm from insufficient muscle mass. Just enter your weight, body fat percentage, and height into an online calculator to get your score.

FFMI (Fat-Free Mass Index) is calculated similarly to BMI but removes the confounding effect of fat: divide fat-free mass (in kg) by height (in meters) squared. For example, a man weighing 75 kg with 15% body fat and a height of 1.75 m has a fat-free mass of approximately 63.75 kg and an FFMI of about 20.8 — just above the healthy lower threshold. The advantage of FFMI is that it distinguishes between "heavy" and "muscular" — someone with an above-average BMI may have a perfectly normal FFMI, while a lightweight person may have a dangerously low one. Research consistently links insufficient muscle mass to higher all-cause mortality, metabolic syndrome, lower bone density, and increased fall risk, which is why Galpin treats it as a standalone health threshold rather than a purely aesthetic metric. DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) is the current clinical gold standard for body composition measurement, with very low error rates and costs typically ranging from tens to a couple hundred dollars — available at large gyms, sports medicine clinics, or imaging centers.

Muscular Endurance: Push-Ups, Planks, and 75% Load

A standard plank for 60 seconds and a side plank for 45 seconds are the targets. For push-ups, 25+ reps for men and 15+ for women is considered passing; fewer than 5 is a problem. Another elegant method: take a movement from your earlier strength tests, load it to 75% of 1RM, and rep to failure. Eight or more reps is passing; fewer than 8 suggests inadequate endurance.

The Cardio Three: Anaerobic, Aerobic, and Long-Duration Endurance

Anaerobic Capacity: Watch Heart Rate Recovery, Not Absolute Output

In a lab, this would be a Wingate or Bosco protocol — 30 to 60 seconds of all-out effort. Without that equipment, choose any activity you can safely sprint at full intensity (sprint running, assault bike, rowing machine). But Galpin says what really matters isn't how far you go — it's heart rate recovery: after pushing to near your max heart rate (roughly 220 minus your age), start timing. Expect roughly half a beat of recovery per second — your heart rate should drop about 30 bpm within 60 seconds, then drop by roughly half again over the next two minutes. Slow recovery signals a problem with either anaerobic or cardiovascular capacity.

Heart rate recovery after exercise (HRR) is a direct window into autonomic nervous system function. During intense exercise, the sympathetic nervous system dominates and heart rate surges; once you stop, the parasympathetic system (vagus nerve) re-engages and heart rate begins to fall. Faster recovery means stronger vagal tone and better cardiac adaptation to stress. Multiple clinical studies confirm that a drop of fewer than 12 bpm in the first minute post-exercise is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality; a drop of 18–20+ bpm is considered good. Galpin's "30 bpm in 60 seconds" standard is relatively lenient — it's a minimum passing grade, not an excellence marker. Notably, heart rate recovery — like heart rate variability (HRV) — can be meaningfully improved through systematic aerobic training. It's one of the most sensitive indicators of fitness change and a commonly used marker for overtraining or insufficient recovery.

Maximal Aerobic Capacity: VO2max Substitution Tests

The gold standard is a lab VO2max test with a mask collecting expired gases.

Without lab access, use the 12-minute Cooper Test — run as far as possible in 12 minutes, then plug the distance into an online calculator to estimate VO2max. For those who can't run, the Rockport 1-Mile Walk Test works well: walk a mile, record your time and ending heart rate, and use an estimation formula. The accuracy is quite good. For target numbers, the minimum is 35 ml/kg/min for men and 30 for women; Galpin prefers to see men at 50+ and women around 50.

VO2max (maximal oxygen uptake) measures the maximum amount of oxygen the body can consume per minute per kilogram of body weight at peak exercise intensity, expressed in ml/kg/min. It is one of the most powerful predictors of cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular health currently recognized. Large-scale epidemiological studies show that every 1 ml/kg/min increase in VO2max is associated with roughly a 2–4% reduction in all-cause mortality risk; people in the top 25% for VO2max among their peers have mortality rates several times lower than those in the bottom 25% — a predictive value that even exceeds smoking history or diabetes. The Cooper 12-minute run test was developed by U.S. Air Force physician Kenneth Cooper in 1968, originally for military fitness assessment, and has since been validated by extensive research showing a correlation of 0.90 or higher with lab VO2max — making it one of the most accurate non-lab alternatives available. The Rockport Walk Test is particularly well-suited for older adults or those with limited exercise capacity: simply walk 1 mile (approximately 1.6 km), record the time and heart rate, and plug the numbers into a formula for an estimated value with acceptable margin of error.

Long-Duration Endurance: Sustained Steady-State Output

There's no specific target number here — the goal is simply to sustain a steady, uninterrupted effort for 20+ minutes. Galpin personally prefers adding one upgrade: breathe exclusively through your nose the entire time. Unless you're severely deconditioned, walking doesn't count — he wants you moving at a non-walking pace for at least 20 continuous minutes without stopping.

Testing Schedule: Once a Year, Three Days

Galpin recommends a full assessment once a year — similar to an annual blood panel. The ideal setup spans three days:

• Non-fatiguing tests (body composition, movement screening) go first, and body composition tests should be preceded by 48 hours without intense exercise to avoid interference from inflammation and fluid shifts
• Skill, maximal strength, and power go at the start of a session; fatigue-inducing tests go last
• For example, on the same day: start with the broad jump, move to leg strength, then immediately follow up with the 75% muscular endurance test while already warmed up
• Anaerobic and VO2max tests typically require a separate day

He emphasizes one key principle: you don't need to be "optimal" across all nine dimensions. What you truly need to eliminate are severe performance anchors. If any single dimension is severely lacking, it becomes a limiting factor holding back your overall progress. Bring it up to "sufficient," and it stops dragging you down — freeing you to pursue excellence in whatever direction you love. This also addresses a common concern: endurance athletes don't need to abandon endurance training. Galpin's message has never been "stop what you're doing" — it's "fill the gaps, then keep doing what you love."