The Athlete's Compass

Every athlete—beginner, elite, or aging—eventually hits a frustrating plateau where progress stalls despite hard work. In this insightful episode, the team unpacks what a training plateau really is, how to distinguish it from overtraining or undertraining, and what physiological, psychological, and lifestyle factors may be contributing. From VO2 max goals to recovery metrics, the discussion touches on aging, hormones, training load, and the need for recovery or change. Whether you're pushing too hard, not hard enough, or simply stuck in the same routine, this episode offers science-based tools and personal experiences to help you break through your plateau.

• Plateaus are normal and can happen due to overreaching, lack of recovery, aging, or unvaried stimulus.
• Wearables like Garmin offer insights, but long-term test environments (like consistent routes or rides) provide more valid trend data.
• Training isn't linear. More effort doesn't always mean more progress.
• Critical Power and HRV are reliable performance and recovery indicators.
• Masters athletes must prioritize strength, rest, and periodization.
• Men vs. Women: Aging impacts men and women differently; strength training is critical for aging women.
• A well-structured off-season is often skipped but essential for long-term performance.
• Mental reframing and reflection are powerful tools for navigating plateaus.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this episode of The Athletes Compass, performance coach and speaker Jared Markiewicz shares how the disciplines of motivation, consistency, and self-reflection form the core of sustainable athletic—and personal—growth. Drawing from his journey from one-on-one coaching to leading hundreds through Functional Integrated Training and Fit Legacy, Jared dives deep into how everyday athletes can shift from extrinsic to value-driven motivation, combat perfectionism, and implement his “elite formula” to create consistency amidst chaos. With powerful analogies and stories—especially from youth coaching and parenting—Jared offers practical ways to train both the body and the mind.

• The "Flywheel" Framework: Motivation → Discipline → Reflection fuels long-term growth.
• Elite Formula: A mindset framework—Elite (A+), Exceed (B), Elevate (C/"minimum effective dose")—helps perfectionists stay consistent.
• Reflection is Underrated: Most athletes overlook reflection; tools like ESP (Effort, Success, Progress) provide structure.
• Motivation Transitions: True resilience comes from shifting motivation from novelty to deep, value-based purpose.
• Performance Beyond Fitness: Jared applies coaching principles to life—family, leadership, work.
• Power of Positive Coaching: Youth athletes respond more to encouragement than correction—this also applies to adults.
• Movement as Foundation: Physical training supports energy, stress resilience, and emotional health.
• Simplicity Over Complexity: Simplifying systems is crucial to unlock more of our human potential.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Jared Markiewicz | Fit Legacy
• Get Your Annual Plan Now
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this episode of The Athlete’s Compass, hosts Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai explore the evolving role of the coach in an age where AI platforms like Athletica are redefining personalized training. They discuss what human coaches bring to the table that software can’t—empathy, accountability, real-time adaptation, and the power of meaningful connection. The trio dives into when athletes should consider a coach, how to blend AI and human guidance, and why trust, communication, and reflection are the foundations of great coaching relationships. Whether you’re new to structured training or chasing your next PR, this conversation will help you decide if—and when—a coach is right for you.

• AI is powerful, but not personal: Platforms like Athletica can optimize training plans, but they can’t yet provide emotional intelligence, empathy, or contextual life adjustments.
• Human coaches see what data misses: Coaches can spot burnout, emotional fatigue, and life stress that don’t show up in the metrics.
• Reflection fuels growth: Great coaches help athletes look back on progress and learn from every block of training.
• Coaching is a relationship: Chemistry, trust, and honest communication are essential to making it work.
• It’s okay to move on: Trying a coach and realizing it’s not the right fit isn’t failure—it’s part of the learning process.
• Combining AI + human guidance offers the best of both worlds: data-driven plans with human understanding.
• Beginners may benefit most: A coach can shorten the learning curve by helping athletes interpret data, pacing, and physiology.
• Coaching is an investment in health and learning, not just performance.

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• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Get Your Annual Plan Now
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this insightful episode, hosts Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai break down the crucial topic of insulin sensitivity and resistance—a metabolic issue that affects not just people with diabetes but endurance athletes too. They explore how insulin works in the body, how chronic exposure to sugar can lead to insulin resistance, and why even fit athletes can suffer from poor metabolic health. Drawing from personal experience, science, and practical tips, they discuss how dietary choices, strength training, stress, and lifestyle all shape our insulin response. Importantly, they offer actionable advice for athletes who want to optimize performance, avoid midsection weight gain, and stay metabolically healthy as they age.

• Insulin is essential for moving glucose into muscle and fat cells but becomes problematic when chronically elevated.
• Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) from persistent high glucose contribute to aging and health decline.
• You can't outrun a bad diet—even fit athletes can become metabolically unhealthy with excessive sugar intake.
• Insulin sensitivity declines with age, high stress, or sugar-heavy diets, but can be reversed.
• Strength training and endurance training increase insulin sensitivity by increasing muscle mass and GLUT4 activity.
• Common signs of insulin resistance: stubborn fat, reduced performance, fatigue, poor sleep, and high blood pressure.
• Fasted training and reducing sugar can restore insulin sensitivity and boost fat metabolism.
• Lifestyle plays a huge role: stress and processed foods drive insulin resistance, especially in aging athletes.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this episode of The Athlete's Compass, Paul Laursen, Marjaana Rakai, and Paul Warloski break down the concept of periodization — the practice of structuring your training into purposeful phases like base, build, and taper. Drawing from cutting-edge research, Norwegian endurance dominance, and their own coaching experience, they explore how layering aerobic work with strategic intensity helps everyday athletes adapt better, avoid burnout, and peak on race day. From understanding adaptation energy to learning how Athletica supports personalized training, this conversation uncovers why slow, steady base work might be the most powerful (and overlooked) part of endurance training.

• Base training is critical: It builds aerobic capacity and sets the stage for effective high-intensity training later.
• Adaptation energy matters: Without a solid aerobic base, athletes struggle to respond to more intense sessions.
• Periodization isn't just for pros: Everyday athletes benefit from a structured plan tailored to their goals and life constraints.
• VO2 max work shouldn’t disappear during base phase—tapping into it year-round yields continued adaptation.
• Athletica allows for flexibility, letting athletes shift between base and build weeks depending on how they're feeling or recovering.
• Heart rate variability (HRV) can guide periodization, indicating readiness for harder work or a need to rest.
• Avoid over-racing: Always being in build or race mode leads to fatigue, poor performance, and mental burnout.
• Nutrition can be periodized too, aligning fueling strategies with session intensity to maximize benefits.

• Lawrence van Lingen | Move Better, Live Better
• Dr. Paul Laursen publications on ResearchGate
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this episode of the Athletes Compass Podcast, the team is joined by Andrea Zignoli to explore a unique research study conducted within the Athletica platform—analyzing over 55,000 athlete comments to detect emotional patterns through sentiment analysis. The findings reveal that outdoor workouts tend to trigger more joyful responses, certain body part mentions signal pain, and beginner athletes generally report less joy compared to advanced users. The discussion dives deep into how this emotional data could shape personalized AI coaching and highlights Athletica’s cautious yet promising approach to integrating sentiment with training load decisions.

• Sentiment analysis on Athletica reveals emotional insights from athlete comments.
• Outdoor workouts, especially running, are associated with more positive sentiments than indoor activities.
• Mentions of specific body parts (e.g., shoulder, calf) are often linked to negative emotions—usually signaling pain or injury.
• Beginner athletes express less joy in comments, possibly due to physical discomfort or lack of adaptation to training.
• Advanced language models now enable accurate emotional classification of athlete-written feedback.
• Athletica aims to use sentiment data as an additional layer in training load monitoring—alongside HRV and RPE.
• Coaches like Dan Lorang value athlete comments as a key insight into readiness and performance.
• Future Athletica features will include conversational AI and more nuanced integration of comment sentiment into adaptive training prescriptions.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this episode of Athletes Compass, hosts Paul Warloski and Dr. Paul Laursen welcome Dr. Jeff Sankoff—emergency physician, triathlon coach, and host of the TriDoc Podcast—for a refreshingly honest and science-based discussion about the often-misunderstood relationships between body composition, fueling, and performance in endurance sports. They tackle the dangers of under-fueling, especially in athletes trying to lose weight, explore the myths around fat oxidation, and explain how endurance training can both enhance physical and mental resilience. Jeff shares actionable advice on balancing training and nutrition while addressing the psychology of chasing marginal gains and the mental health benefits of endurance sports. A must-listen for any athlete navigating the complex intersection of performance, health, and wellbeing.

• Fuel your workouts properly: Inadequate fueling leads to poor training outcomes and disrupted body composition changes.
• Carbohydrates are essential for performance, especially above Zone 2 efforts.
• Fat oxidation is overhyped for competitive endurance performance; carbs are king.
• Protein intake is often too low in everyday athletes; increasing protein helps with satiety, recovery, and preserving lean mass.
• Body composition should follow performance, not lead it.
• Disordered eating risks are real, especially in women; watch for menstrual irregularities and other signs of under-fueling.
• Marginal gains are overrated for most age groupers; focus on the big gains—training quality, sleep, and recovery.
• Mental health and resilience are deeply supported by consistent physical activity.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• TriDoc Podcast - Triathlon and health in one place
• Tempo Talks Podcast
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this episode of The Athletes Compass, hosts Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and coach Marjaana Rakai unpack the difference between outcome goals and process goals—and why the latter often holds the key to long-term success, joy, and mental well-being in endurance sports. Marjaana shares her personal challenge of completing 50 marathons before turning 50, using it as a lens to discuss how meaningful goals must be broken into achievable milestones. The team emphasizes the importance of adaptability, realistic planning, and falling in love with the process, not just the finish line.

• Outcome goals are what you want to achieve (e.g. qualifying for Boston).
• Process goals are how you get there (e.g. consistent weekly training, mobility work).
• Obsessing over outcome goals is fragile—race-day factors are often uncontrollable.
• Purpose-driven goals enhance mental health, longevity, and motivation.
• Realistic scheduling and family support are key to sustainable training.
• The Athletica platform supports process-driven coaching through AI and adaptive planning.
• It’s okay (and smart) to revise goals when life changes—adaptability is part of success.
• Success isn’t hitting a single big session; it’s the accumulation of consistent efforts over time.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

In this powerful episode of The Athletes’ Compass, Dr. Tony Boutagy, a seasoned strength and conditioning coach, brings clarity to the often-confusing world of exercise advice for women—especially those navigating perimenopause and menopause. Busting common myths perpetuated by social media influencers and mouse-based science, Tony makes the case for context-driven, individualized training based on experience, not fear. From the importance of building a "bone bank" in your youth to how strength training dramatically improves quality of life in your 80s, the episode is a masterclass in how to train smarter—regardless of your age, gender, or goals.

• Strength training is essential—and beneficial—at any age, even into your 90s.
• Muscle strength ≠ maximal strength. Women don’t need to lift 1RMs to see progress.
• The common phrase “women are not small men” is often used to push shaky science.
• There’s no evidence to support that fasted training harms women; much of this fear is based on rodent studies.
• Women can build muscle across a range of rep schemes, not just with “lift heavy or fail.”
• Variation and personal preference are more important than rigid sex-specific protocols.
• Coaches must listen, adapt, and respect individual contexts—especially during menopause.
• Exercise doesn't need to be heroic; consistent daily movement wins over time.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Dr. Tony Boutagy
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.

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 months of disciplined training, crossing the finish line of a major race should be euphoric—but for many, it’s followed by an emotional void. The team unpacks the physiological, psychological, and social factors behind these post-race blues. They share personal stories, scientific insights, and practical strategies for recovery, celebration, and moving forward with purpose. Whether you're an athlete, a coach, or a supporter, this conversation offers compassionate advice for navigating the emotional aftermath of achievement.

• Post-race blues are normal: It's common among endurance athletes due to neurochemical shifts after the race.
• Celebrate your accomplishments: Without celebration and reflection, achievements lose meaning.
• Identity matters: Identifying as a triathlete vs. someone who does triathlon can change how you handle post-race emotions.
• Rest with purpose: Allow for both mental and physical recovery after a big event before setting a new goal.
• Avoid immediate re-signups: Give yourself space before jumping into the next race.
• Fitness lingers: Even if CTL drops, real endurance adaptations remain for weeks or even months.
• Support from others matters: Coaches, friends, and family can help by listening, encouraging activity, and validating feelings.
• It’s not just physical: Emotional reflection and journaling (like race reports) help close the loop on a race block.

• Paul Warloski - Simple Endurance Coaching
• Marjaana Rakai - Tired Mom Runs - Where fitness meets motherhood.