The Athlete's Compass
The Athlete’s Compass Podcast is your compass for navigating endurance training and health. In this show, we explore the cardinal directions of training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset, delving into the dynamic relationship that drives athletic success.
Athletes are more than numbers; they're individuals with unique lifestyles and mindset challenges. Coaches who understand these personal nuances play a vital role in their athletes' journey. While training details and data are important, tools like Athletica provide a solution to streamline the technicalities, allowing coaches to focus on the human connection which makes the human coaches the best they can be.
Each week, renowned sports scientist and researcher Paul Laursen will be our teacher and guide as we break down training principles so you can understand how best to train for your sport! We take a no-bullshit and practical approach to support age-groupers, masters, and everyday cyclists, runners, and triathletes like you as you find your direction as an athlete.
The hosts are Paul Laursen, sports scientist and founder of the Athletica.ai training platform, Marjana Rakai, coach, sports scientist, and triathlete, and Paul Warloski, coach and cyclist.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 38 minutes
- Episodes
- 93
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Post-Race Blues: What Happens After the Finish Line?
In this episode of The Athlete’s Compass, hosts Paul Warloski, Marjaana Rakai, and Dr. Paul Laursen tackle a topic many endurance athletes experience but rarely discuss: post-race depression. After m…
Mastering the Basics: Mikael Eriksson’s Endurance Coaching Essentials
In this episode of The Athletes Compass, Mikael Eriksson—founder of Scientific Triathlon and host of That Triathlon Show—joins to share five key coaching lessons drawn from nearly a decade of coachin…
From Load to Strain: Dr. Stephen Seiler's Latest Research p.2
In this insightful episode of Athlete’s Compass, Dr. Stephen Seiler joins hosts Paul Laursen, Marjaana Rakai, and Paul Warloski for a deep conversation on breathing as a training tool, recovery as a …
How AI Coaching Helped an Everyday Engineer Win Ironman Ottawa. (ft. Luke Evans)
Luke Evans shares his remarkable journey from a Canadian hockey player with no running background to winning Ironman Ottawa in 8:40 while holding down a demanding engineering job. He details his self…
From Load to Strain: Dr. Stephen Seiler's Latest Research
In this episode, the Athletes Compass team sits down with legendary exercise physiologist Dr. Stephen Seiler, who’s best known for popularizing polarized training. Dr. Seiler shares his latest insigh…
Can You Out-Train Your Genes After 50? Listener Questions Answered
In Episode 88 of Athletes Compass, hosts Paul Warloski, Marjaana Rakai, and Dr. Paul Laursen tackle listener questions on aging, training volume, fasted sessions, and optimizing recovery. They explor…
From VO2 Max to Durability: Rethinking the Key Pillars of Endurance Training
In this episode of the Athlete's Compass podcast, hosts Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai welcome endurance researcher Harrison Dudley-Rode to explore "durability"—a newly emerging …
The Truth About Aging on a Bike: Dr. Stacey Brickson Explains
In this episode, the team is joined by Dr. Stacey Brickson, a physical therapist, certified bike fitter, and endurance coach with over 30 years of experience. They unpack the critical role of bike fi…
Emotional Fitness for Athletes: Self-Worth Beyond the Finish Line
In this powerful and deeply personal episode of The Athletes Compass, host Paul Laursen is joined by trauma-informed coach and TEDx speaker Pete Armstrong to explore the concept of emotional fitness—…
Consistency Over Everything: What Really Drives Performance
In this Q&A-packed episode, the Athletes Compass team—Paul Laursen, Marjaana Rakai, and Paul Warloski—explore the critical balance between nutrition, recovery, and performance for endurance athletes.…
Rewriting the Training Rulebook: Lessons from Dr. Phil Maffetone
In this reflective episode, the Athlete’s Compass team unpacks key takeaways from their conversation with Dr. Phil Maffetone. Hosts Paul Laursen, Marjaana Rakai, and Paul Warloski explore the dangers…
Optimizing Your Training Within Real Life Constraints: Answering Listener Questions
In this Q&A-focused episode of The Athletes Compass, the hosts respond to listener questions around balancing endurance training with busy lives. They break down how Athletica's adaptive AI helps ath…
The Truth About Overtraining and Recovery with Dr. Phil Maffetone
In this episode, hosts Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai welcome Dr. Phil Maffetone—renowned clinician and pioneer of holistic endurance training. They explore the dangers of being …
Homeostasis: Finding Balance in Training and Life
In this episode of the Athletes Compass, Paul Laursen, Marjaana Rakai, and Paul Warloski navigate the overwhelming world of training advice by highlighting six core pillars for endurance performance:…
Is Walking the Key to Running Faster? MAF Tests and Base Training Explained
In this episode, the hosts explore two seemingly distinct but deeply related endurance training concepts: MAF testing and Fat Max workouts. Dr. Paul Laursen breaks down the science behind the Maximal…
The Everyday Athlete’s Guide to the 6 Pillars of Performance
In this back-to-basics episode, the hosts—Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai—strip away the noise of elite training paradigms to focus on what truly moves the needle for everyday end…
Mastering VO2 Max Intervals: Listener Q&A Session
In Episode 77 of the Athletes Compass Podcast, hosts Paul Warloski, Marjaana Rakai, and Dr. Paul Laursen dive into listener questions about VO2 max training, with a focus on the nuances of interval s…
VO2 Max from the Muscle’s Perspective: Building Endurance from the Inside Out
In this episode, the Athletes Compass team continues their deep dive into VO2 max, shifting the spotlight from the heart and lungs to the muscles, capillaries, and mitochondria. Dr. Paul Laursen brea…
The Role of the Heart in Peak Athletic Performance
In this episode of the Athletes Compass podcast, hosts Paul Laursen, Marjaana Rakai, and Paul Warloski explore how the heart functions as a major limiter of VO2 max and endurance performance. They br…
Lung Training 101: Breathe Better, Perform Better
In this episode, Paul Laursen, Paul Warloski, and Marjaana Rakai tackle one of the least understood but critically important VO2 max limiters: the lungs. From the phenomenon of exercise-induced arter…