The Athlete's Compass

About The Athlete's Compass

The Athlete’s Compass Podcast is your compass for navigating endurance training and health. In this show, we explore the cardinal directions of training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset, delving into the dynamic relationship that drives athletic success. Athletes are more than numbers; they're individuals with unique lifestyles and mindset challenges. Coaches who understand these personal nuances play a vital role in their athletes' journey. While training details and data are important, tools like Athletica provide a solution to streamline the technicalities, allowing coaches to focus on the human connection which makes the human coaches the best they can be. Each week, renowned sports scientist and researcher Paul Laursen will be our teacher and guide as we break down training principles so you can understand how best to train for your sport! We take a no-bullshit and practical approach to support age-groupers, masters, and everyday cyclists, runners, and triathletes like you as you find your direction as an athlete. The hosts are Paul Laursen, sports scientist and founder of the Athletica.ai training platform, Marjana Rakai, coach, sports scientist, and triathlete, and Paul Warloski, coach and cyclist.

Publisher

Athletica

Category

health & fitness · science · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Nov 2023

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

150 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   The Half of Endurance Training Most Athletes Ignore

   Physical fitness gets you to the starting line, but what helps you perform when pressure, doubt, and discomfort take over? In episode 150 of The Athletes Compass Podcast, hosts Paul Warloski and Dr. Paul Laursen welcome performance psychologist Dr. Haley Perlus, author of The Personal Podium, to explore why training your mind is just as important as training your body. They discuss the difference between positive and productive self-talk, how to turn pressure into opportunity, why confidence and doubt can coexist, and three practical strategies for overcoming mental blocks. From navigating race-day anxiety to recovering from injury and redefining success as a masters athlete, Haley shares actionable mental skills that help everyday endurance athletes build resilience, embrace discomfort, and perform when it matters most. Key takeaways Mental toughness is trainable. Just like endurance, strength, and technique, mindset improves through deliberate practice. Thoughts influence performance. Haley's "optimal energy flow" explains how thoughts shape emotions, physiological responses, and ultimately performance. Three strategies can help overcome mental blocks. Change the situation, change your perspective, or accept reality and take action on what you can control. Productive thinking beats forced positivity. Difficult races sometimes genuinely feel terrible. The goal isn't to pretend otherwise but to choose thoughts that help you act effectively. Pressure is an invitation, not necessarily a threat. Anxiety can become useful energy when directed toward a clear technical, tactical, or strategic goal. Confidence and doubt can coexist. Building "doubt tolerance" helps athletes distinguish useful information from distracting mental noise. Focus on process goals. Asking "What does this moment need from me right now?" helps redirect attention from uncertain outcomes to actionable behaviors. Not all pain deserves the same response. Athletes need to distinguish expected endurance discomfort from potentially harmful pain that requires attention. Your identity is bigger than your athletic performance. Seeing athleticism as a role rather than your entire identity helps navigate injury, aging, and transitions. Aging doesn't eliminate the qualities that made you successful. Determination, persistence, discipline, and connection can continue to drive meaningful athletic goals even when personal-best times are behind you. Dr. Haley Perlus | Subscribe (https://drhaleyperlus.com/subscribe/) Dr. Haley Perlus (https://drhaleyperlus.com/) Try Athletica | Adaptive Endurance Training Plans Powered by Sports Science (https://athletica.ai/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=episode150) Dr. Paul Laursen (https://www.paullaursen.com/) Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching (https://simpleendurancecoaching.com/)

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   The Biggest Nutrition Mistake Aging Athletes Make

   Are you fueling your training for the athlete you are today—or following the nutrition advice that worked 20 years ago? In this episode of The Athletes Compass, hosts Paul Warloski and Dr. Paul Laursen welcome Kristen Arnold, registered sports dietitian and team nutritionist for EF Pro Cycling, to explore how nutrition influences endurance performance, recovery, and longevity as we age. Kristen explains why masters athletes may be chronically underfueling, how protein helps preserve muscle mass, and why menopausal women shouldn't automatically cut carbohydrates. The conversation also covers hydration, fueling for different workout durations, nutrition's relationship with sleep, and the surprising connection between eating enough and improving body composition. With practical examples from professional cycling and everyday athletes, this episode challenges common nutrition myths and offers actionable strategies for training stronger and staying healthy for years to come. Key takeaways - Protein becomes increasingly important with age. Kristen recommends approximately 1.8–2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for endurance athletes, emphasizing that masters athletes have less room for consistently missing their needs. - Menopause doesn't mean abandoning carbohydrates. The overall carbohydrate requirements of endurance athletes remain similar, but timing and food selection deserve greater attention. Simple carbohydrates can support training, while complex carbohydrates are valuable throughout the rest of the day. - Underfueling can undermine performance and longevity. Persistent fatigue, stalled training progress, and excessive preoccupation with food may indicate that an athlete isn't consuming enough energy. - Muscle mass matters more than the number on the scale. Preserving or building lean body mass supports strength, mobility, metabolic function, and healthy aging. - Fueling should reflect workout duration and intensity. A short, easy workout doesn't require the same carbohydrate intake as a long race or demanding interval session. - Hydration can become more challenging with age. Declining thirst sensations mean older athletes shouldn't rely exclusively on thirst cues, particularly during extended training. - Foundational nutrition comes before advanced recovery strategies. Getting enough calories, protein, and carbohydrates should come before experimenting with specialized supplements or bedtime recovery foods. - Supplements aren't a substitute for proper nutrition. Kristen cautions against expensive supplement routines without a clear purpose or individual need. - Individualization is essential. Even professional athletes differ in digestive tolerance, carbohydrate utilization, daily energy requirements, and practical fueling preferences. Kristen Arnold (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-arnold-ms-rdn-cssd-b1b1b141) Sports Nutrition for Women (https://sportsnutritionforwomen.com/) Try Athletica | Adaptive Endurance Training Plans Powered by Sports Science (https://athletica.ai/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=episode149) Dr. Paul Laursen (https://www.paullaursen.com/) Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching (https://simpleendurancecoaching.com/)

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   The Hidden Endurance Secret of Hill Repeats

   Hill repeats can provide endurance athletes with a powerful mix of strength, speed, neuromuscular, and cardiovascular benefits without requiring frequent all-out sprinting. Paul Warloski and Dr. Paul Laursen explain how running or cycling uphill changes muscle recruitment, why different hill workouts produce different adaptations, and how athletes can use short 30-second efforts, longer strength-endurance intervals, or downhill running depending on their goals. They also discuss gradient, recovery, progression, aging, strength training, and one of the most important rules of high-intensity training: finish with something left in reserve rather than training to exhaustion. Key takeaways Hill repeats change movement mechanics and muscle recruitment compared with flat running or cycling. Uphill running acts somewhat like functional strength training, requiring greater force production through a running-specific movement pattern. Short uphill intervals such as 30 seconds hard / 30 seconds easy can provide a strong cardiovascular and VO₂ max stimulus while reducing some of the high-speed hamstring loading associated with flat sprinting. Downhill running creates an eccentric muscle-loading stimulus that can improve an athlete’s resilience to future downhill running through the repeated-bout effect. The ideal hill workout depends on the goal: VO₂ max, running strength, downhill durability, trail preparation, or cycling strength endurance. Hill gradient may matter less than athletes think. The episode cites research suggesting athletes improved across a range of gradients. Hill repeats should generally not be performed to exhaustion. Finish feeling as though you could complete another one or two quality repetitions. Recovery should be long enough to preserve the quality of subsequent repetitions. Beginners should start conservatively—even one or two repetitions can serve as an introduction—and progressively add volume. Masters athletes may require more recovery than younger athletes, but a weekly hill session can still provide a useful training stimulus. Strength training and hill work can potentially be grouped on the same harder training day, followed by an easier recovery day. Consistency and progressive overload matter more than finding a theoretically perfect hill workout. Try Athletica | Adaptive Endurance Training Plans Powered by Sports Science (https://athletica.ai/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=episode148) Dr. Paul Laursen (https://www.paullaursen.com/) Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching (https://simpleendurancecoaching.com/)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

4.1 / 5

14 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 62 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

94

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

76

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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