In this episode, we sit down with Professor Arne Güllich to unpack one of the most talked about sports science papers in years, recently published in Science. Drawing from data on more than 30,000 high performers across sport, music, chess, and science, the conversation challenges the belief that early dominance and early specialization are the keys to elite success.

Arne breaks down the now viral performance trajectory figure, explores why most world class adults were not standout juniors, and explains what truly separates those who peak at the highest level from those who plateau. The discussion moves from theory to practice as Paul reflects on his role as a parent of a 15 year old swimmer, asking the questions many parents and coaches are quietly wrestling with.

This episode is essential listening for anyone involved in youth sport, talent development, or long term athlete health and performance.

References:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt7790

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Today’s speakers:

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

Prof Arne Güllich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arne-g%C3%BCllich-4438a7376/

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In this episode, Dr. Martin Buchheit is joined by Dr. Scott Frey, a neuroscientist and founder of Cerebral Performance, to explore how brain science can improve athletic performance. The conversation focuses on central fatigue and why cognitive load can meaningfully reduce physical output, decision making quality, and error recovery in sport.

Scott explains why athletes often taper the body but rarely taper the brain, and shares practical ways to reduce mental load in the lead up to competition. They also discuss how cognitive testing, mood and motivation ratings, and HRV can be combined to monitor central fatigue, plus how cognitive training can be integrated into gym work or interval sessions to build fatigue resistance when it matters most.

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Today’s speakers:

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

Dr. Scott Frey https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-scott-frey-51995620b/

In this episode of the Training Science Podcast, Prof Paul Laursen is joined by Stephan Nüsser, performance physiologist and founder of a performance diagnostics lab in Germany, for a deep and practical discussion on lactate testing and endurance performance. Drawing from decades of applied work with cyclists, endurance athletes, and motocross professionals, Stephan explains how lactate can be used to individualize training, define true Zone 2 intensity, and guide long-term athlete development.

The conversation explores why lactate is often misunderstood, how production and clearance reflect underlying metabolism, and why longer step protocols can provide clearer insight than fixed threshold formulas. They also discuss carb-optimized nutrition, metabolic flexibility, and why training and fueling should be viewed as a single integrated system rather than separate decisions.

References:
https://sndc.de/

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Today’s speakers:

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

Stephan Nüsser: https://www.instagram.com/sndcde/

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