Carbs, Fat Oxidation and Finding Your Fueling Sweet Spot with Prof. Paul Laursen
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This week on the podcast, Mikki speaks with Paul Laursen about the science of training, nutrition, and what it really means to take a personalised approach to athletic performance.
Paul and Mikki explore metabolic flexibility, fat oxidation, carbohydrate availability, and how the way an athlete fuels can influence both training adaptations and performance. They discuss why there is rarely one nutritional strategy that works for everyone, and why individual experimentation, alongside good physiological principles, remains so important.
The conversation also covers pre-training nutrition and insulin responses, carbohydrate loading, low-carbohydrate versus high-carbohydrate approaches, and how training load should influence fuelling decisions. Paul shares his perspective on the growing use of continuous glucose monitors and other personal data, including where these tools can provide useful insight and where the numbers may be easy to overinterpret.
They also touch on nutrition for youth athletes, the physiological changes that occur through puberty, and why fuelling strategies need to evolve with both the athlete and the demands of their sport.
It’s a wide-ranging discussion that brings together physiology, practical nutrition, and the importance of looking beyond blanket recommendations to understand what works best for the individual.
Dr. Paul Laursen is a world-renowned sports scientist, endurance coach, and co-founder of Athletica AI, an innovative platform leveraging artificial intelligence to optimize endurance training. With a PhD in Exercise Physiology and years of research experience, Dr. Laursen has published extensively on topics including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), endurance performance, and sports nutrition. His work bridges the gap between cutting-edge science and practical application for athletes at all levels.
Dr. Laursen has worked with elite athletes across disciplines, helping them achieve peak performance through personalized training and nutrition strategies. He’s also a passionate educator, co-authoring the influential book The Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training and contributing to the evolution of endurance sports practices. Known for his holistic approach, Dr. Laursen focuses on the interplay between fueling, recovery, and overall athlete health, making him a leading voice in the field of endurance sports.
When he’s not advancing endurance science, Dr. Laursen is often found testing his own limits in the field as an endurance athlete, embodying the principles he teaches. His unique blend of scientific expertise and real-world experience continues to shape the way athletes train, fuel, and perform
https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/330
https://athletica.ai/podcast
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NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nz
Contact Mikki:
https://mikkiwilliden.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutrition
https://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/
https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden