Training Science Podcast

Does high intensity training really build the strongest heart, or is it time in Zone 1 and Zone 2 that truly drives cardiac adaptation?
In this episode, Dr Guido Claessen joins us to unpack a landmark longitudinal MRI study on endurance athletes that challenges common assumptions about HIIT and heart remodeling. They explore what actually builds the “athletic heart,” why low intensity volume matters more than most think, and what this means for polarized training.
They also tackle the harder questions lifelong athletes worry about including atrial fibrillation, coronary plaque, myocarditis, and how much endurance sport might be too much.
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Today’s speakers:
Prof Paul Laursen  https://www.paullaursen.com/   
Dr Guido Claessen https://www.linkedin.com/in/guido-claessen-936a18a9/

We sit down with Prof Guillaume Millet to get clear on what fatigue actually is, why durability became the new buzzword, and what really limits performance in ultra endurance events. We dig into central vs peripheral fatigue, why muscle damage matters so much in trail and mountain running, and how shock weekends can build the resilience you cannot fake on race day. We also talk heat, perceived exertion, field monitoring tools, and his new Zero to 100 project taking sedentary adults to a 100k mountain race in 18 months.
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22323647/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39405022/
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00692.2025?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org
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Today’s speakers:
Prof Paul Laursen  https://www.paullaursen.com/   
Prof Guillaume Millet https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinesiologui/

Episode 200 marks a major milestone for us, and we celebrate it with someone who played a foundational role in our journey. Professor Ken Nosaka joins us to reflect on how eccentric training research shaped modern training practice and brought our paths together.

We revisit the early ECU years, then dive deep into what Ken’s research has taught us about muscle soreness, muscle damage, the repeated bout effect, and how adaptation really works. This episode blends history, science, and real world coaching insights that still shape how we train today.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr Andrew Koutnik to unpack one of the most discussed sports science reviews in recent years. Drawing on more than 100 years of research and a series of tightly controlled trials, we examine evidence that challenges the long-held belief that more carbohydrates automatically lead to better performance.
We explore why muscle glycogen and carbohydrate oxidation do not consistently predict performance, how athletes can sustain high-intensity and endurance output with much lower carbohydrate intake, and why protecting brain energy may be a key limiter during exercise.
The conversation also examines why some highly trained athletes still show markers of poor metabolic health, what this means for current fueling guidelines, and why context matters when translating science into real-world practice.
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References:
https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnaf038/8432248?login=false
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Today’s speakers:
Prof Paul Laursen  https://www.paullaursen.com/   
Dr Andrew Koutnik https://www.instagram.com/andrewkoutnikphd/

In this episode, we sit down with François Fourhet to trace a career that has moved from hands on clinical practice to global performance environments, research leadership, and now consulting and teaching.
François shares the three major chapters of his journey: early years as a sports physio in Reims, nearly a decade in Doha within Aspire and Aspetar, then his Swiss chapter at Hôpital de la Tour where he helped build a research driven physiotherapy department and later led it. Along the way, they unpack what it really takes to make interdisciplinary performance support work, how François shifted into research without losing the practical thread, and why dissemination matters as much as publishing.
The conversation also gets tactical: ankle return to play, why isokinetic testing is misunderstood, how curve based analysis changes decision making, and the story behind Ankle Go, the free tool designed to help clinicians make smarter calls after ankle injury. If you work in rehab, performance, or team leadership, this episode is packed with ideas you can use immediately.

Today’s speakers:
Dr Martin Buchheit https://martin-buchheit.net/
François Fourhet https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran%C3%A7ois-fourchet-43b7b868/