What can the advances in how we maximize the potential of soldiers teach us about performance in athletes? Today, I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Herr. He is a certified Mad Scientist by the U.S. Army and has spent the majority of his career obsessing over how to make teams of soldiers (Navy Seals) and athletes faster, smarter, and better. In other words, he was tasked with creating super-soldiers. He is now the CEO of Fount where he delivers comprehensive, customized, performance health solutions. In this episode, we look at the health tools and protocols that many athletes may be overlooking in their preparation, the importance of timing and individual customization of nutrition, and what drugs and approaches are pushing the cutting edge and grey areas of sport performance.

Timestamps

  • 0:00 Intro
  • 2:59 Athletes Vs Navy Seals
  • 6:03 What are Athletes Missing?
  • 11:04 Building a Protocol
  • 13:47 Andrew’s Origin Story
  • 16:46 What Data Should Athletes Collect
  • 21:43 What are We Missing?
  • 23:36 Experimentation?
  • 26:03 Basketball Player case Study
  • 28:50 What is Jet Lag?
  • 33:54 What are Stress and Inflammation
  • 41:26 Why are the Details Important?
  • 45:03 Tart Cherries?
  • 51:58 How are Stress and Inflammation Linked?
  • 55:16 What Stress is Good?
  • 55:52 Optimal Stress Conditions
  • 1:01:59 New Tools For Increased Performance
  • 1:07:04 Nicotine
  • 1:12:45 Grey Area in Tools
  • 1:18:31 Injury Recovery Tools
  • 1:18:54 Future of Performance

Links and resources