In this episode of the Training Science Podcast, host Dr. Paul Laursen sits down with neuroscientist and performance expert Dr. Tommy Wood to explore the science behind The Stimulated Mind, Tommy’s groundbreaking approach to optimizing brain health and cognitive performance.

They dive into the key pillars of a thriving brain: environment, nutrition, metabolic health, sleep, and exercise. From the neonatal ICU to Formula 1 racing, Dr. Wood connects how our environment, movement, and mindset shape cognitive longevity and peak performance. Whether you’re a coach, athlete, or simply striving to think and feel better, this conversation will help you unlock the full potential of your mind and body.

References:

Substack: https://www.betterbrain.fitness/

The Stimulated Mind by Dr. Tommy Wood: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/751292/the-stimulated-mind-by-dr-tommy-wood/

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Prof Paul Laursen  https://www.paullaursen.com/   

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtommywood/

_____________________ 

In this episode of the Training Science Podcast, Dr. Martin Buchheit sits down with performance coach and founder of 292Performance, Dr. Benjamin Rosenblatt, formerly the Head of Strength & Conditioning for the England national football team. Together, they explore the real engine behind athlete development: motivation, buy-in, and meaningful relationships.

Ben shares the story behind his transition from leading England’s physical performance program to building a high-impact, athlete-centered company that now supports elite performers across Europe. The conversation dives into his evidence-based methods for driving player engagement, the role of autonomy and competition in training, and how to manage different personalities, from mavericks to rising talent.

Whether you work in elite football, academy settings, physical preparation, or high-performance environments, this episode offers practical frameworks, coaching wisdom, and behind-the-scenes stories you won’t hear anywhere else.

Perfect for coaches, sport scientists, physiotherapists, and anyone interested in performance coaching, athlete motivation, high-performance team culture, and player development.

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Dr Martin Buchheit https://martin-buchheit.net/    

Dr Benjamin Rosenblatt https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-benjamin-rosenblatt-03342514/

_____________________ 

🚴‍♂️💥 NEUROMUSCULAR FATIGUE, CONCURRENT TRAINING & PERFORMANCE: WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN ADAPTATION ⚡

Ever wondered how strength and endurance training compete inside the body? Prof Paul Laursen sits down with Michael Gerhardy to break down the neuromuscular science behind fatigue, recovery, and real-world performance: straight from Michael’s PhD research.

Inside this episode:
 🧠 How neuromuscular variables reveal the hidden cost of training fatigue
 🏋️‍♂️ The sequence of endurance and strength sessions, and why ORDER matters for adaptation
 ⚡ Finding the sweet spot of HIGH vs LOW neuromuscular demand for athlete performance

—
 #TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #NeuromuscularFatigue #ConcurrentTraining #TrainingLoad #PerformanceMonitoring #StrengthTraining #EnduranceTraining #SportsScience #Recovery #AthletePerformance #ExerciseScience #FatigueManagement #TrainingAdaptations #Coaching #ResearchToPractice

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Prof Paul Laursen  https://www.paullaursen.com/   

Michael Gerhardy https://runupperformance.com.au/ 

_____________________ 

🏎️💪 FITNESS, FOCUS & FORMULA ONE: The ART of PERFORMANCE 🚀

From the ski slopes of France to the F1 paddock, Dr Pete McKnight’s coaching journey has been anything but ordinary 🌍

In this episode of The Training Science Podcast, Martin and Pete unpack decades of lessons from Olympic sport to motorsport:

🏋️‍♂️ Why “getting fitter” doesn’t always mean better performance
 🧠 Emotional control: the invisible skill that separates the greats from the good
 🏎️ Inside the training demands of Formula One drivers

—

#TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #StrengthAndConditioning #FormulaOne #PerformanceScience #EliteSport #Coaching #AthleteDevelopment #EmotionalControl #HighPerformanceTeams #SportsScience #MindsetMatters #MotorsportFitness #Resilience #LeadershipInSport #PerformanceOptimization

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Dr Martin Buchheit https://martin-buchheit.net/    

Dr Pete McKnight https://www.linkedin.com/in/petemcknight/ 

_____________________ 

🚴‍♀️ RESILIENCE TO RESULTS IN  HIGH PERFORMANCE 💥

From the operating theatre to the Olympic start line: Rachel Neylan shows what TRUE high performance looks like 👏

In this episode of The Training Science Podcast, Paul sits down with Olympian, physiotherapist, and coach Rachel Neylan to explore how elite sport principles can reshape how we train, recover, and even perform in high-stakes professions like surgeons 🧠⚡

💪 The art of resilience and developing mental toughness through adversity
 🧩 Balancing data, intuition, and human connection in high performance
 🏥 Why surgeons are the “athletes” of medicine
 🚴‍♀️ Lessons from a lifetime in sport

—
 #TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #Cycling #Olympics #PerformanceScience #AthleteMindset #Resilience #MentalToughness #Coaching #AIinSport #SportsScience #HighPerformance #Physiotherapy #CoachingPsychology #Recovery #HealthAndPerformance

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Prof Paul Laursen  https://www.paullaursen.com/   

Rachel Neylan https://rachelneylan.com/ 

_____________________ 

❤️‍🔥 HEART RATE, TRAINING ZONES & LOAD: Measuring what really matters in performance 📊

It’s time to bring HEART RATE back into the conversation ❤️

In this episode of The Training Science Podcast, Dr ‘Martin Buchheit sits down with Dr Ibrahim Akubat to unpack the real science behind HR, training zones/load, and dose-response adaptation, and why these principles still matter in modern coaching.

💓 The evolution of heart rate monitoring in sports science
 📈 Understanding TIME in zone as a significant parameter
 ⏱️ Finding the minimal effective dose for adaptations (30 min/week!)

—

#TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #HeartRateMonitoring #TRIMP #TrainingLoad #ExercisePhysiology #SportsScience #PerformanceMonitoring #InternalLoad #ExternalLoad #TrainingAdaptation #Rehabilitation #CoachingScience #PerformanceMetrics #SportsPerformance

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Dr Martin Buchheit https://martin-buchheit.net/    

Dr Ibrahim Akubat https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ibrahim-akubat-168b0151/ 

_____________________ 

References:

New HR monitoring and dose-response paper:
https://sportperfsci.com/revisiting-dose-response-relationships-between-heart-rate-zones-trimps-and-aerobic-related-physiological-and-performance-markers-in-elite-team-sports/ 

_____________________ 

💉🏃‍♂️ EXERCISE, GLUCOSE & PERFORMANCE — RETHINKING DIABETES MANAGEMENT ⚡

What happens when sports science meets blood sugar science? 🤔
Dr. Sam Scott joins Paul Laursen to unpack how exercise, nutrition, and technology collide in the quest to help athletes, and everyday people, to thrive with diabetes.

 📈 The real challenge of blood glucose management for type 1 athletes
📊 Why continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are changing the game
🥩 Carb strategies & fat oxidation: tailoring nutrition to the individual
🤖 How AI and tools like EnhanceD simplify complex diabetes data

—

#TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #DiabetesManagement #Type1Diabetes #SportsScience #ExercisePhysiology #ContinuousGlucoseMonitor #AIinHealth #BloodGlucoseControl #CarbohydrateStrategies #AthleteHealth #PerformanceScience #MetabolicHealth #NutritionScience #EnhanceD #FatOxidation #EnduranceAthletes #TechInSport

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Prof Paul Laursen

Dr Sam Scott  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-scott-phd-620a97a2/ _____________________ 

References:

Sam’s IG:
https://www.instagram.com/sam__scott_/ 

Enhanced-D:

https://www.enhance-d.com/ 

Sam’s Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Empowered-Science-Exercise-Type-Diabetes/dp/1068431717

_____________________ 

🏉💬 PERFORMANCE, PRESSURE & PURPOSE IN SPORT

After two decades across rugby, AFL, and Olympic programs, Nick Poulos joins Martin Buchheit to reflect on what it really takes to sustain a career in high-performance sport and what comes next when the constant grind finally stops.

⚡ Sustaining energy, passion, and balance in elite sport careers
 📊 From Excel spreadsheets to advanced monitoring systems
 💥 The real-world lessons from complex training and post-activation potentiation (PAP)
 🤝 Transitioning skills from high-performance sport into the corporate world

—
 #TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #SportsScience #PerformanceLeadership #Coaching #HighPerformance #SportTechnology #AthleteMonitoring #ComplexTraining #CareerTransition #Leadership #PAP #StrengthAndConditioning #PerformanceCulture #AFL #Rugby #SportsPhysiology #TeamCulture #CoachDevelopment

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Dr Martin Buchheit https://martin-buchheit.net/  

Dr Nick Poulos https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-poulos-phd/ 

🚴‍♂️ CYCLING SCIENCE UNLOCKED. Crank length, cadence & single-leg secrets 🔑⚡

From mediocre road racer to world-leading cycling performance scientist! 

Prof. Jim Martin has spent a career merging engineering and exercise science to crack the code on performance 🚀

In this episode of The Training Science Podcast, Paul & Jim dive into:

⚙️ Crank length, cadence & aerodynamics
 🦵 The surprising power of SINGLE-LEG training for muscle adaptation & efficiency
 📉 Debunking chainrings & pulling up on the pedals
 🧠 Why trusting your spinal cord might be the best coaching cue you’ll ever use

—

#TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #CyclingScience #PerformanceOptimization #CyclingEfficiency #CrankLength #SingleLegTraining #VO2max #LactateThreshold #Aerodynamics #EnduranceTraining #Triathlon #ExerciseScience #CyclingMyths #PerformanceCoaching #CyclingLife #SportsScience

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Prof. Paul Laursen https://www.paullaursen.com/   

Prof. Jim Martin https://profiles.faculty.utah.edu/u0238089 

_____________________ 

References:

Crank length video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z73unkrBuY 

Crank length science:

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/epdf/10.1152/japplphysiol.01247.2010 

_____________________ 

🏃‍♀️ TRAINING with the MENSTRUAL CYCLE: What the SCIENCE really says 🧬✨

Dr. Madison Taylor breaks down the latest research on how the menstrual cycle affects women athletes, and why INDIVIDUALIZED tracking is the game-changer 🗓️💡

In this episode of The Training Science Podcast, Paul & Madison dive into:

📊 Why performance variables often don’t change much across menstrual phases
 🩸 How symptom tracking can unlock individualized training & recovery
 🧠 The importance of combining subjective experience with objective data
 🏋️‍♀️ Why the menstrual cycle is one of the BEST indicators of female athlete health

—

#TrainingSciencePodcast #HIITScience #WomenInSport #MenstrualCycle #AthletePerformance #IndividualizedTraining #SportsScience #HormonesAndHealth #FemaleAthletes #RecoveryScience #SleepAndPerformance #ExercisePhysiology

_____________________ 

Today’s speakers:

Prof. Paul Laursen https://www.paullaursen.com/   

Dr Madison Taylor https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-taylor-22b8aa200/ 

____________________ 

References:

Female Athlete Mastery:
https://athletica.ai/menstrual-cycle-training-female-athletes/ 

Stop research obsession with cycles:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40085421/ 

No influence on performance:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38600646/ 

SLEEP and recovery it is:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39442912/ 

_____________________