In this episode I describe how our brain and nervous system control muscle tissue and how to leverage that for muscle maintenance, growth (hypertrophy) and recovery. I explain how neurons control muscle contractions and limb movements. I explain muscle metabolism and muscle fiber recruitment. I detail protocols for increasing muscular growth and for neuro-muscular recovery. I explain the effects of deliberate cold, anti-inflammatory agents, and anti-histamines on training progress. I describe science-supported protocols using certain weight load ranges, total sets per week, training intensity, frequency, and in-between set activities if one's goal is to increase muscle growth, strength or endurance. I review three foundational compounds and nutrients and three optimization compounds and nutrients that have been shown to improve neuro-muscular performance. Finally, I explain how to leverage exercise and weight training to enhance cognitive function.   Thank you to our sponsors: InsideTracker - https://insidetracker.com/huberman Belcampo - https://belcampo.com/huberman Headspace - https://headspace.com/specialoffer   Our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/andrewhuberman   Supplements from Thorne: http://www.thorne.com/u/huberman   Social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab Website: https://hubermanlab.com Join the Neural Network: https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network   Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:58 Protocol For Fat Loss: (Zero-Cost) PDF Available At: thecoldplunge.com 00:12:45 Muscle Is A Slave To the Nervous System 00:16:22 Why We Have A Brain 00:17:38 Flexors, Extensors, & Mutual Inhibition 00:20:00 How Muscles Move, Making & Using Muscle Energy: Making ATP 00:23:29 The “Burn” Is Not Lactic Acid. Lactate: A Buffer (Prevents Acidity), Fuel, & Hormone 00:26:11 Feeling the Burn For 10% of Workouts Is Good For Brain, Heart, Liver 00:27:30 Leveraging Lactate To Enhance Brain Function 00:29:40 Breathing Properly Through “The Burn”— For Sake of Performance & Brain Function 00:30:47 Neurogenesis (New Neurons) & Exercise: Not Much, In Humans… Which Is Good. 00:33:39 How To Contract Muscles, Make Them Bigger and/or Stronger: Henneman’s Principle 00:36:58 A Large Range of Weight (30-80% of One Repetition Maximum) Can Be Used 00:38:58 What Makes Muscles To Grow? Stress, Tension, & Damage; Myosin Balloons 00:45:22 Figuring Out Which of Your Muscles Will Grow & Get Stronger Easily (Or Not) 00:48:11 Getting Stronger Versus Muscle Growth: Distributed Versus Local Effort 00:50:47 How Much Resistance Should (Most) People Use? (30-80% Range) & Specific Goal 00:54:25 How Many Sets Per Week To Maintain Or To Grow Muscle & Get Stronger 00:56:43 10% Of Resistance Training Should Be To “Failure”, the Rest Should End “Near” Failure 00:58:23 Number of Sets: Inversely Related To the Ability to Generate High Force Contractions 01:00:09 How Long Should Weight Training Sessions Last 01:01:35 Training Duration & Volume 01:03:51 Range of Motion & Speed of Movement; The Key Role of (Upper Motor) Neurons 01:08:10 Customizing Training; 1-6 Month Experiments; Key Elements Summarized 01:09:28 Focal Contractions Between Sets To Enhance Hypertrophy, Not Performance 01:11:26 The Optimal Resistance Training Protocol To Optimize Testosterone Release 01:16:00 How Quickly To Complete Repetitions; Interset Rest Times & Activities; Pre-Exhaustion 01:20:43 Tools To Determine If You Have Recovered From Previous Training: Local & Systemic 01:26:33 Carbon Dioxide Tolerance Test For Assessing Recovery 01:32:43 The Way To End Every Training Session. How To Breath Between Sets For Performance 01:34:46 How & When To Use Cold Exposure To Enhance Recovery; When To Avoid Cold 01:36:37 Antihistamines & Anti-Inflammatory Drugs: Can Be Problematic/Prevent Progress 01:38:42 Foundational Supplements For Recovery: EPA, Vitamin D3, Magnesium Malate 01:41:08 Ens