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That Triathlon Show

Author: Mikael Eriksson

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That Triathlon Show is the podcast for triathletes of all levels who want to train smarter and race faster. With over 600 episodes and millions of downloads since 2017, this show cuts through the noise and misinformation, delivering practical, no-nonsense advice rooted in both the art and science of training and performance.

The podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s best coaches, top sports scientists, and elite athletes. Each episode dives into the nuances of training methodology, performance optimization, and race-day execution, providing insights you can apply right away. Whether you're preparing for a supersprint or an Ironman, or focusing on a single sport like swimming, cycling, or running, you'll find expert guidance and relevant content here.

The podcast is hosted by Mikael Eriksson, a former engineer now coaching professional and age-group athletes. Mikael is a Level III certified coach with over a decade of experience in coaching.

Join a global community of dedicated triathletes and take your performance to the next level. Learn more at www.scientifictriathlon.com/podcast.
693 Episodes
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Innovations like the aerobar, power meter and GPS watches have shaped triathlon and endurance sports in the last decades. But what comes next? What will be the next big innovation to shape triathlon? Dr. David Lipman returns to the podcast to discuss what the next big innovations will be, and which ones might fall flat. We also take a stroll down memory lane to look at past innovations that succeeded and failed, and try to parse what it takes for an innovation to really stick.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  Past innovations that succeeded and failed - David and I list five each from both categories. Do you agree with our takes here?  We predict the future of current or “coming soon” innovations. Will technologies like continuous sweat sensors, ventilation sensors, 3D-printed running shoes and many be huge hits or will they flop?  Where were we right and wrong in the past? We each name one innovation that  we called correctly (as success/failure) and one that we called incorrectly in the past What separates successful innovations in endurance sports from failed ones Why many promising physiological sensors struggle to achieve widespread adoption despite valid scientific rationales How network effects and ecosystem adoption influence technology success DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode.  The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts692/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  David’s website, Substack, Podcast and Instagram David’s previous appearance on That Triathlon Show: David Lipman | EP#414 WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Information, decision making, training and technology | EP#452 - In this episode I am the interviewee. Among the topics covered, we discuss evaluatingf new products, technology, and metrics. Highly related to today’s episode Q&A on gear and technology | EP#400 - Carbon shoes, barefoot shoes, lactate meters, VO2master, Moxy/NIRS, etc.  François Modave, PhD – Artificial Intelligence in triathlon | EP#455 - Key concepts of artificial intelligence and how it could be applied (and to what level of success) in a triathlon context. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals.  HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far!  Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack.  SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We’re tackling a heavily requested topic today: triathlon training for masters athletes. Is it possible to slow down the natural performance decline through better and smarter training and recovery? Might you even be able to reverse time and hit new peaks later in life? Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens discuss best practices for older athletes based on their coaching experience and the scientific literature. HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  The science of physiological and performance decline with age in swimming, cycling, running and triathlon VO2max, strength, muscle mass, fast twitch fibre atrophy, slower recovery, and other factors How to tease apart the inevitable decline due to biological processes, and the decline resulting from changing training habits for older triathletes The importance of VO2max training, and how to structure it differently for masters athletes Strength training as a critical component of triathlon training for masters athletes How recovery, nutrition, and sleep needs change with age Examples and case studies Listener questions Practical takeaways DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts691/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  A couple of highlights from the vast literature on masters athletes.  Age-Related Changes in Triathlon Performances - Lepers 2010 Masters Athletes: An Analysis of Running, Swimming and Cycling Performance by Age and Gender - Ransdell 2009 Current Insights in the Age-related Decline in Sports Performance of the Older Athlete - Gasne 2021 Master Athletes Are Extending the Limits of Human Endurance - Lepers 2016 WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: The top-5 challenges for masters athletes and how to overcome them – Bo Falck Hansen, PhD | EP#176 - an in-depth interview where Dr. Hansen outlines five main challenges masters athletes face, some of them overlapping with today’s episode, others not. How to avoid triathlon and running injuries by optimising training load, life stress, strength training and nutrition | Chris Johnson PT - Not getting injured is key for masters athletes. This episode will help you avoid injuries. Strength training for endurance performance with Richard Blagrove, PhD | EP#292 - Strength training is another key component of triathlon training for masters athlete. This is perhaps my number one favourite strength training episode ever on That Triathlon Show. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jacob Tipper is a high-performance cycling and triathlon coach working with athletes such as Ben Healy (Tour de France stage winner and UCI World Championships third place in 2025), Lucy Byram, Dan Bigham and Jonny Brownlee. He is also a team coach or the EF Education-EasyPost WorldTour team. In today’s interview we discuss training for amateur triathletes and we dive deep into Ben Healy’s training and preparation that led to his breakthrough year in 2025.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  Jacob’s thoughts on doing aerobic runs at a decent clip to optimise biomechanical development and running economy improvements. The key characteristics of Ben Healy’s training in 2025 Being a high-volume athlete on an annual basis without having very high weekly training volumes. The changes in race tactics Ben implemented in 2025 to be able to win races at the highest level. The differences between the scientific literature’s view of cycling training and what it actually looks like How age-group triathletes should think about volume and intensity as drivers of adaptation when it comes to their cycling. How to maximise training return on investment for time-crunched athletes by not following rigid rules Monitoring training improvements by feel How working on speed as the ultimate training metric is still important and still underestimated. DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts690/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Jacob’s website and Instagram Jacob’s previous appearances on That Triathlon Show: Jacob Tipper | EP#424 Training Talk with Jacob Tipper | EP#345 Sub7/Sub8 with Jacob Tipper | EP#344 Physiological Profiling Explained – Why, How, and Important Training Implications for Triathletes WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: The Hour record and aerodynamics with Dan Bigham | EP#368 - An interview going into the details of the training and aerodynamic preparations for setting the UCI Hour Record with Dan Bigham, coached by Jacob Tipper. Luca Zenti – UAE Team ADQ coach on Tour de France Femmes and bike training for triathletes | EP#469 - A great interview straddling both cycling and triathlon, mainly from a high performance perspective. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We dive deep into Ironman training and preparation in today's episode, and discuss how to best get ready for an Ironman whether you're looking to achieve an ambitious time or position goal, or you're looking to complete your first full distance triathlon and simply want to beat the cut-off times. HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  What are the prerequisites for doing an Ironman? Can anybody do one? How much time should you have to prepare for an Ironman? Ironman periodisation Key workouts, training volume and intensity, brick and simulation sessions, and more How to taper for an Ironman Nutrition and equipment considerations Sample Ironman training weeks The most common mistakes age-group triathletes make in their Ironman training DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts689/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Ironman Course Ratings - how fast or slow are the different Ironman courses? By Trirating. WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Gordo Byrn on optimising Ironman training, the importance of volume and low intensity training, and practical age-group training - already a 2026 classic for That Triathlon Show, Gordo is a fantastic coach, athlete, thinker and communicator. This is one not to miss! Ironman World Champion Solveig Løvseth on her race day strategy in Kona, her training block at altitude, heat training and more! - Less relevant for age-groupers perhaps, but from a pure triathlon and Ironman performance perspective, it’s fantastic to hear exactly what the current Kona Champion did leading up to her great victory. Craig Alexander – Three-time Ironman World Champion - Crowie is one of the legends of the sport, and provides a fantastic perspective on how triathlon training and Ironman training specifically has evolved over the last two decades. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Sebastian Sitko is a cycling and triathlon coach, and a sports scientist. His active involvement in coaching both amateur and professional athletes, as well in conducting and evaluating research means today’s episode is a perfect opportunity to discuss how to approach the integration of science and practice in cycling, triathlon, and other endurance sports.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  The most impactful sports science on Sebastian’s training and coaching practice Periodisation - science and practice. How to implement block periodisation in your training program. Sebastian’s approach to ultra-endurance training, with an extremely high proportion of low-intensity training Threshold training - science and practice Why Sebastian mainly prefers other intensities than threshold training in his coaching The myth of “active recovery” What are the limitations of sports science, and applying it in training programs? What are some common misinterpretations of scientific evidence by athletes and coaches? DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts688/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Sebastian’s website and Instagram Cycling 2.0: Evidence-based training for peak performance on the bike - Sebastian’s newly published book Sebastian Sitko, PhD | EP#376 - Sebastian’s first appearance on That Triathlon Show WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Training Talk with Kolie Moore | EP#271 - Kolie is a cycling coach known for his use of science and physiology in coaching. Training talk with cycling coach James Spragg | EP#251 - Similarly to Sebastian, James is a coach-scietist, and we discuss several topics in this episode from a “science to practice” perspective. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Physiological profiling is often the missing link in amateur triathletes’ training programs. Knowing your profile on a scale from very endurance based (slow twitch phenotype) to very explosive (fast twitch phenotype) can help you avoid costly mistakes and break through plateaus in your triathlon training through better individualisation. In this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of this topic, from how to correctly profile an athlete without misinterpretation or overinterpretation, to important training implications for different athlete profiles.   HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  What is physiological profiling? Different methods, including race performance assessments, power-duration curve, Critical Power testing, psychological factors, and more… What are the main differences between fast twitch dominant profiles and slow twitch dominant profiles, and why does it matter for your triathlon training program? Training implications for different profiles: intensity, volume, session structures, nutrition, rest within and between sessions, fatiguability, and more How to deal with different profiles in a group training setting Practical takehome messages that you can use to improve your triathlon training. DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts687/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Muscle fiber types, recovery and training adaptations, and overreaching with Phil Bellinger, PhD | EP#297 Estimating Muscle Fiber-Type Composition in Elite Athletes: A Survey on Current Practices and Perceived Merit - Lievens et al. 2024 Muscle fiber typology is associated with the incidence of overreaching in response to overload training - Bellinger et al. 2020 WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Musculoskeletal adaptations, “train low” strategies, and muscle fiber types with prof. John Hawley | EP#248 - John Hawley is a legend in the field of exercise physiology, so if you’re somebody who wants to soak up all the triathlon science you can, this episode will be right up your alley! Critical Power and VO2 kinetics with Mark Burnley, PhD | EP#257 - If you want to learn more about the science of Critical Power, and scientifically valid testing protocols, this is the episode to listen to. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Torque and cadence are common features of cycling training programs, but how should you really train them to get the most out of your training? Peter Leo is a sports scientist and high-performance coach working across cycling (Team Jayco-Alula, Cycling Australia) and triathlon (coach of high-level short-course athletes), and since he’s personally researched this topic, and applied it at the highest level, he’s a perfect guest to answer this question. We also discuss training principles, including debunking some common misconceptions and mistakes made when applying training principles in practice.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  The science behind the torque-cadence relationship Torque and cadence are performance limiters at different points on the power-duration curve Practical application of the science in different contexts (track and road cycling, short and long course triathlon), including specific workout examples Peter’s view on three core training principles… Individualisation. What are the biggest factors behind needs to individualise training? Is individualisation overrated in certain contexts? Specificity. Is there an over emphasis on race specificity, compared to maximising core physiological capacities and general skills? Progression. What does effective progression really look like in triathlon and cycling training? Are amateur cyclists and triathletes adopting too aggressive progression rates? Evaluating response to training, AI and coaching, and Peter’s top tips for the listeners to improve their cycling and triathlon performance. DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts686/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Peter’s ResearchGate Power profiling, critical power, and U23 cycling research with Peter Leo | EP#319 - Peter’s previous appearance on That Triathlon Show (January 2022) Rethinking Endurance Training: Insights from Peter Leo - Peter’s appearance on Joel Filliol’s podcast WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Dan Lorang | EP#417 - Head of Performance (at the time) at team Bora-hansgrohe, and coach of athletes like Jan Frodeno, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Taylor Knibb, Dan needs no introduction. Training Talk with Ben Day (Team BikeExchange) | EP#289 - Another coach straddling the cycling and triathlon worlds, Ben is (was, at the time) a coach at Team BikeExchange, and coach of professional long distance triathletes like Chris Leiferman. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Most triathletes are limited not by their physical capacity to train more or harder, but by being time-limited, so we’re constantly looking for ways to make more out of the time we have to train. Nowhere is this challenge greater than when training for Ironman or other full distance triathlon races on a limited time budget. In this episode, coach Natasha Van Der Merwe joins me to discuss how to deal with this challenge in the context of age-group triathlon training. HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  How to maximize your triathlon training outcomes on a limited time budget - even if you’re training for an Ironman! How do you know when you’re really just limited by time and training volume? If you are volume-limited, how can you get around that when you don’t really have more time to spare. Listener questions: effective microcycle structures in triathlon, how to become more efficient at training, and more DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts685/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Natasha’s website, Instagram and Youtube (NVDM Coaching) Training Talk with Natasha van der Merwe | EP#334 - Natasha’s first appearance on That Triathlon Show WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Tomasz Kowalski | EP#428 - another episode leaning heavily into time-crunched Ironman and triathlon training Jacob Tipper | EP#424 - a mix of coaching advice and case study on Jacob’s transition from elite cycling into triathlon, on a much tighter time budget Coaching Thoughts: 11 Overrated Factors for Triathlon Performance | EP#439 - a solo episode with yours truly. If you want to maximise the return on your triathlon training, you certainly don’t want to spend too much time on overrated aspects of performance. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Most triathletes and runners will suffer from injuries almost every single year (and many will suffer multiple injuries per year). In this episode, world-renowned physical therapist Chris Johnson explains how to break out of this injury cycle, by looking at all of the different variables contributing to injuries. This is an in-depth look at how to balance your running or triathlon training with proper strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle factors, to allow you to train and perform more and better in the long run.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  Which factors contribute to injuries and injury risk, and how? How to manage small niggles, aches and pains Bone stress injuries and soft tissue injuries Return to training protocols A minimal effective dose strength training protocol that can be easily combined with triathlon training Recommended strength training exercises, from isometrics and heavy slow resistance training to plyometrics How heavy should you lift and how hard should you be working in the gym? Is stretching, mobility work, massage and manual therapy recommended for injury prevention? Myths and misconception about injuries and strength training for triathletes and runners DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts684/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  How stretching actually changes your muscles - Malachy McHugh - video (TED-Ed) Return to run from Bone Stress Injuries - Management and Prevention of Bone Stress Injuries in Long-Distance Runners - Warden et al. 2014 Fueling Performance: A Guide to the Athlete’s Plate Validation of the Athlete’s Plate Nutrition Educational Tool: Phase I - Reguant-Closa et al. 2019 Effects of Bilateral and Unilateral Resistance Training on Horizontally-Orientated Movement Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Moran et al. 2021 WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Brad Beer | EP#396 - the until now most popular episode related to injuries on That Triathlon Show Injury prevention and rehabilitation with James Debenham, PhD | EP#209 - my personal favourite episode I’ve ever recorded on the topic. James was a fantastic guest, and we go really in-depth here, and more into the science behind injuries and injury prevention. Injury prevention, strength training, and running biomechanics with Eoin Everard, PhD | EP#336 - a great episode tying together multiple related aspects of running performance and running injuries, including lots of very specific and practical tips and takeaways. RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports) with Margo Mountjoy | EP#233 - we touched on RED-S in the interview and how it relates to bone stress injuries, and in this episode we go in-depth into the science and practice of RED-S with one of the foremost experts in the world. You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
If you want to improve your running performance as a triathlete, these are the tried and true sessions that we rely on as triathlon coaches and athletes. HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  Fartlek workouts to improve your running speed and VO2max How we use hills in run sessions for triathletes The value of progressive sets and pace alterations within a workout How we prescribe threshold work for running We upvote and downvote each others sessions A discussion on using percentage based run sessions and the difference between pace vs. speed based percentages DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts683/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  All running related episodes on That Triathlon Show John Davis – Coaching, physiology, and running calculators | EP#464 Running Writings Pace Percentage Calculator WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Power Rankings – Our top-5 bike sessions to improve triathlon cycling performance Power Rankings – Our top five sessions to improve your triathlon swimming Triathlon Base Training Series 4 – Running Modern marathon training principles and preparation with running coach John Davis Run training with Hugo van den Broek | EP#242 Training methods of Ethiopian runners with Michael Crawley | EP#275 You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A great fartlek and progressive threshold session to improve your running. Plus, the components that should be part of an effective run program, even though they’re not necessarily classified as “run sessions”. Part of this episode is original content, and part of it is a preview of the full episode "Power Rankings - Our top-5 run sessions to improve triathlon running performance" (release date 5th of February 2026). TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE: Mikael’s favourite Fartlek run Jack’s descending threshold sessionWhy and how to do strides and hill sprintsWhen is running off the bike a good idea? (Even though a lot of the time it isn’t a good idea, and it’s probably overused in triathlon)How hilly is a “hilly endurance run”? LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we doContact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)Subscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on InstagramLearn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)? I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time. Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We rank our most effective bike sessions in this “Power rankings” episode. If you want to improve your cycling performance, try adding some of these sessions to your program. Whether your training for sprint distance triathlon or Ironman, or even pure cycling events like road or gravel races, there will be several sessions on these lists that can help you take your cycling to the next level.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  VO2max, threshold, and race specific sessions we really rate Two different ways of executing threshold sessions Why micro-intervals reign supreme of our favoured VO2max-sessions “Sessions” that might surprise you as number one on both Mikael’s and Jack’s top-5 list And, we upvote and downvote each other’s sessions DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts681/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  All cycling related episodes on That Triathlon Show WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes related to sswimming: Power Rankings – Our top five sessions to improve your triathlon swimming Triathlon Base Training Series 3 – Cycling Beginner Series 6 – Cycling for beginner triathletes Cycling training methods from the WorldTour with Stephen Barrett, Head Coach of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and coach of Felix Gall Luca Zenti – UAE Team ADQ coach on Tour de France Femmes and bike training for triathletes | EP#469 Anna Kiesenhofer – Olympic Champion | EP#454 Training talk with Tom Bell | EP#356 You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Take the TTS LISTENER SURVEY HERE!Or copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://forms.gle/HEN7RJUHneZVNrm3A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Learn about the interval session that takes traditional long intervals (e.g. 4 x 5 minutes) and optimises it for more time near VO2max (and by extension, more training adaptations). Also, do Norwegian cyclists do threshold intervals the same way as their triathlon counterparts. The full episode (an almost two-hour long episode!) will be available in the episode "Power Rankings - Our top-5 bike sessions to improve triathlon cycling performance" (release date 29th of January 2026). TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE: The Variable Intensity Intervals protocol that increases time near VO2max compared to traditional intervals. “Norwegian style” threshold sessions used in triathlon (on the bike specifically) as well as road cycling. LINKS:A narrative review exploring advances in interval training for endurance athletes - Mølmen and Rønnestad 2024Training Session Models in Endurance Sports: A Norwegian Perspective on Best Practice Recommendations - Tønnessen et al. 2024LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we doContact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)Subscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on InstagramLearn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)? I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time. Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Take the TTS LISTENER SURVEY HERE! Or copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://forms.gle/HEN7RJUHneZVNrm3A ------------------------------------ Gordo Byrn is a former investment banker turned professional triathlete at a later stage in life without an endurance sports background. He podiumed at Ironman New Zealand and Ironman Canada, and also became Ultraman World Champion. Today, Gordo is a coach and a prolific writer, with a lot of great thoughts and perspectives on how to improve performance in triathlon and endurance sports, and even in life.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  The importance of high-volume training, mainly at low intensity, in Gordo’s training philosophy. Gordo’s comeback to endurance sports in his 50s after a long time out from consistent and focused triathlon or other endurance sports Why you should not do an Ironman within your first year of triathlon training The difference between adaptive and maladaptive training load, and how to make sure you stay on the adaptive side. The importance of lactate testing to establish your low-intensity training zones Practical tips for age-group athletes on how to apply more “elite” or professional training principles to their day to day life and constraints The main differences between professional Ironman training methods in the 2000s and today. DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts679/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Gordo’s Substacks: Endurance Essentials, Gordo’s Substack, True Wealth Gordo’s Youtube, Twitter and Instagram Gordo’s book (with John Hellemans and Julie Dibens): From Lemon To Legend: A Comprehensive Guide To Running, Cycling, Swimming And Triathlon Papers cited Aerobic Energy Turnover and Exercise Economy Profile During Race Simulation in a World-Record-Breaking Male Full-Distance Triathlete - Christensen 2024 (the Magnus Ditlev case study, already a modern classic in triathlon science) How to Skate a 10k by Nils van der Poel (free download) WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following related episodes: Craig Alexander – Three-time Ironman World Champion | EP#461 - one of the very best of Gordo’s contemporaries goes deep into the training that made him a three-time Ironman World Champion Rune Kjøsen Talsnes, PhD | EP#427 - great scientific and applied information on overtraining and non-functional overreaching, related to Gordo’s points about maladaptive training, stress and fatigue Ironman World Champion Solveig Løvseth on her race day strategy in Kona, her training block at altitude, heat training and more! - my interview with Solveig with the simulation session referenced in the episode You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Take the TTS LISTENER SURVEY HERE!Or copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://forms.gle/HEN7RJUHneZVNrm3A------------------------------------Gordo Byrn, investment banker turned professional triathlete and multiple Ironman podium finisher, discusses how to manage training load and fatigue. The full episode (an almost two-hour long episode!) will be available in the episode "Gordo Byrn on optimising Ironman training, the importance of volume and low intensity training, and practical age-group training" (release date 22nd of January 2026). TOPICS COVERED IN THIS CLIP: Volume and training load is good, but fatigue is not. You want to maximise the former while minimising the latter.Practical tips on how to maintain as high a load as possible within your life constraints without accumulating chronic stress and fatigueHow Nils van der Poel (ice skating Olympic Champion and former World Record holder), Olav Aleksander Bu, and Stephen Seiler informed Gordo’s perspective on these topics. LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we doContact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)Subscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on InstagramLearn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)? I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time. Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We “Power rank” our favourite swim sessions. Some of these might not be favourites in the moment of doing them, but they most definitely are when it comes to the results they deliver in terms of improving your triathlon swimming! If you’re looking for some fresh ideas and perspectives to boost your swimming, this one is for you. Expect to find some bread and butter sets that have stood the test of time, but also some sets you had probably neither heard of nor thought of, but that work wonders.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  VO2max, threshold, and speed sets we really rate Jack’s top set for improving your swim technique Mikael’s surprising (?) inclusion of butterfly in one of his sets Two open water swim sessions made the list - what are they? And, we upvote and downvote each other’s sets DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES: We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/677/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  All swimming related episodes on That Triathlon Show WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes related to sswimming: Triathlon Base Training Series 2 – Swimming Beginner Series 5 – Swimming for Beginner Triathletes Arild Tveiten – from triathlon to swimming, and reflections on Paris 2024 | EP#458 Technique improvement and swim training for triathletes with Brenton Ford | EP#320 Open water swim training with Olympic gold medal coach Marcel Wouda | EP#246 Swim Types and Fault Fixers with Swim Smooth’s Paul Newsome | EP#188 You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Two swim sets that will elevate your triathlon swimming - one Ironman specific set, and one brutal but amazingly effective VO2max set. These two sets are number 4 on the "Power Rankings" top-five of Jack and Mikael, respectively. The full rankings will be available in the episode "Power Rankings - Our top five sessions to improve your triathlon swimming" (release date 15th of January 2025). TOPICS COVERED IN THIS CLIP: The Ironman specific set you should do in the specific preparation leading up to any Ironman or full distance triathlonThe unconventional VO2max set that gets real results, so much so that it makes you forget about the pain! LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we doContact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)Subscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on InstagramLearn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)? I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time. Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In the final instalment of our Triathlon Base Training Series, Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens discuss how to think about strength training, nutrition and diet in the context of your base training phase. We then finish things off with a listener Q&A.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  How should you periodise your strength training in the base training phase? Does effective strength training require going to the gym, or can you do it from home? Is strength training necessary for all triathletes? Should you work on mobility, or do things like yoga or Pilates? Should your training nutrition be different in the base phase compared to the specific preparation phase or competition period? What about nutrition and diet outside of training? How should you think about nutrition and diet around the festive periods? Listener Q&A with assorted triathlon base training (and general triathlon) questions DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/base5/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Jack's coaching profile and Instagram Triathlon Base Training Series 1 – How to train smarter in winter to race faster in summer Triathlon Base Training Series 2 – Swimming Triathlon Base Training Series 3 – Cycling Triathlon Base Training Series 4 – Running WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes related to strength training, nutrition and diet: Strength training for endurance performance with Richard Blagrove, PhD | EP#292 Strength coach Erin Carson | EP#367 Matt Pendola | EP#387 Injury prevention, strength training, and running biomechanics with Eoin Everard, PhD | EP#336 The Performance Chef – Alan Murchison | EP#366 Nutrition for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes with Trent Stellingwerff, PhD | EP#265 Nutrition and hydration best practices with Monique Ryan, RD | EP#471 You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This clip is an excerpt from the episode "Triathlon Base Training Series 5 - Strength Training, Nutrition & Diet, and Listener Q&A" (release date 8th of January 2026). TOPICS COVERED IN THIS CLIP: The importance of strength training for injury prevention and managementCommon misconceptions (stretching vs. strength training)Periodisation of strength trainingTypical session frequency and durationTiming of sessions within the overall training programManaging soreness and integrating strength training with sport-specific trainingLEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we doContact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)Subscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on InstagramLearn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)? I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time. Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. Their NanoClear anti-fog lenses give you clear, fog-free vision that lasts and doesn't wear off. Don't let foggy or leaky goggles ruin another swim. Go to shop.effortlessswimming.com and use the code TTS15 to get 15% off your goggles, and get a free two-month Effortless Swimming course membership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Michele Zanini, PhD, returns to the That Triathlon Show to discuss his latest research on the topic of durability. We also broaden the discussion to include the most up to date research findings on durability from the broader sports science community.  HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:  How long runs and running volume impact durability of running economy The difference in physiological deterioration after 120 compared with 90 minutes of running Evidence-based interventions and general characteristics for improving durability in runners, cyclists and triathletes The most important questions about durability that remain unanswered (for now) by the sports science community Michele’s pick of top training and sports and triathlon science trends over the last couple of years DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:  We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. The shownotes for today's episode can be found at https://scientifictriathlon.com/673/ LINKS AND RESOURCES:  Michele’s ResearchGate Michele’s past appearances on That Triathlon Show Michele Zanini (part 1) | EP#393 Michele Zanini (part 2) | EP#394 Episodes referenced Including sprint training in cycling – training responses and peformance improvements with Nicki Winfield Almquist, PhD | EP#300 Nitrate loading, marathons, and endurance sports science with prof. Andy Jones | EP#187 Cycling training methods from the WorldTour with Stephen Barrett, Head Coach of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and coach of Felix Gall Papers cited The Physiology of the World Record Holder for the Women's Marathon - Jones 2006 Long-Term Development of Training Characteristics and Performance-Determining Factors in Elite/International and World-Class Endurance Athletes: A Scoping Review - Staff 2023 Long-Term Development of Training Characteristics and Physiological Determinants in World-Leading and Medal-Winning Female Cross-Country Skiers: A Three Decade Comparative Analysis - Staff 2025 Aerobic Energy Turnover and Exercise Economy Profile During Race Simulation in a World-Record-Breaking Male Full-Distance Triathlete - Christensen 2024 (the Magnus Ditlev case study, already a modern classic in triathlon science) Durability of Parameters Associated With Endurance Running in Marathoners - Hunter 2025 Female athlete survey Durability PhD studentship: LinkedIn Post  and University portal WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT? If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes related to sports and triathlon science: Bent Rønnestad, PhD | EP#386 - one of the most influential sports scientists of his generation talks interval training, heat training and more Training characteristics of world class distance runners with Øyvind Sandbakk, PhD | EP#363 - as the title suggests, based on excellent research Rune Kjøsen Talsnes, PhD | EP#427 - the science and practice of overtraining Gabriele Gallo, PhD – The Science of Cycling Performance | EP#441 - an assortment of topics from the science of cycling with the man behind “Knowledge Is Watt” You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc. You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.  LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:  The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs) Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Instagram Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?  I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.  Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released. Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones). Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. SPONSORS: Precision Fuel & Hydration produce our favourite gels, sports drinks, and electrolyte and carbohydrate products here at That Triathlon Show and Scientific Triathlon. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event, and get 15% off your first 2026 order by using the code TTS2026 at checkout. Rouvy is hands down the most complete indoor cycling platform for triathletes. Among their thousands of beautiful bike courses from all around the world, all filmed in stunning quality, they have over 75 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race courses plus 20+ Challenge Family courses, so you can pre-ride your race from home. Real gradients, real visuals, and real feel! Head to rouvy.com and use the code TTS to get your first month free on top of a 7-day free trial. Effortless Swimming produce the best swim goggles for triathletes and open water swimmers. 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Comments (12)

Robert Sims

usually love this podcast but audio v poor in 2nd half and can't understand what guest is saying.

Mar 3rd
Reply

Emanuel Paul Filho

Discipline tips starts at 23:20

Jun 30th
Reply

R Burton

Did I miss the third book's name (by Bernard Peters) in the shownotes?

Jan 17th
Reply

Laurence Hamill

you know?

Oct 2nd
Reply

Nuno Prazeres

Best of the best triathlon podcast. A great definition of Intelligence is the ability to explain a complex thing in a simple way. That's what Mikael and the carefully chosen invitees do.

Sep 1st
Reply

John L

Awesome show even for non triathaletes. Great guests, insights and tips, interesting conversations

Aug 23rd
Reply

Benyamin Asgari

the best👌

Aug 3rd
Reply

Andrew Jerome

great podcast *****

Jul 23rd
Reply (1)

Guido Brunelli

Such a great podcast. Tons of information and very scientific-driven. Obviously Mikael puts a lot of effort in it, with deep researches and an impressive quorum of guests who are top-notch of their field of expertise. 5-star!

Jun 3rd
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Eric A

Where is the Jessie episode he continues to reference?

Jun 1st
Reply

maynor ramirez

Good episode. nice information on running

Apr 11th
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