{"podcast":{"title":"The Athlete's Compass","slug":"the-athlete-s-compass-6705232","podcast_index_feed_id":6705232,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-athletes-compass/","website_url":"https://athletica.ai/the-athletes-compass-podcast/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/4dbd3845-ccb9-4e3d-b182-c607e86995df/E6BVQxOpbOH8MGosAXCNjhy4.jpg","author":"Athletica","episode_count":138,"summary":"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 Wa…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-24T08:21:02.703077+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-athlete-s-compass-6705232"},"episode":{"title":"System Engagement Explained: How Much Is Left in the Tank?","slug":"system-engagement-explained-how-much-is-left-in-the-tank","published_at":"2026-06-18T19:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-athlete-s-compass-6705232/system-engagement-explained-how-much-is-left-in-the-tank","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-athlete-s-compass-6705232","url":"https://athletica.ai/the-athletes-compass-podcast/workout-reserve-explained-how-much-is-left-in-the-tank","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/a9ea38b0-55ae-4fa1-9772-d19664cc8071.mp3","summary":"In this episode of The Athletes Compass , Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai explain Athletica’s Workout Reserve and the new Systems Engagement feature. Workout Reserve is described as a battery-like metric that shows how close an athlete is to their historical best across different durations, from short sprint efforts to long aerobic performances. The team discusses how athletes can use it in real time through Velocity or Garmin, how negative values can signal breakthrough efforts, and why good historical data is essential. They also explain how Systems Engagement helps athletes and coaches see which physiological systems were stressed in a workout or race, making it easier to reverse engineer training toward the actual demands of an event. Key episode takeaways Workout Reserve acts like a “battery” showing how much capacity an athlete has left relative to their recent historical bests. A value near 100% suggests the athlete is fresh relative to that effort, while 0% means they are approaching a known personal limit. Negative values indicate new, uncharted territory. Workout Reserve can be viewed retrospectively in Athletica, live in Velocity sessions, or through the Garmin Workout Reserve data field. Systems Engagement shows which energy systems were stressed during a workout or selected segment, such as neuromuscular sprint, anaerobic, VO2 max, threshold, or aerobic systems. A 30/30 interval session may engage both VO2 max and threshold systems, which matches the expected training adaptations. The tool is most useful when athletes have enough valid historical data, including power or pace tests such as FTP tests, 5K tests, or sport-specific calibration sessions. Workout Reserve and Systems Engagement are based on external load, such as pace or power…","meta_description":"In this episode of The Athletes Compass , Paul Warloski, Dr. Paul Laursen, and Marjaana Rakai explain Athletica’s Workout Reserve and the new Systems Enga…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1977,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-athlete-s-compass-6705232/episodes/system-engagement-explained-how-much-is-left-in-the-tank/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-athlete-s-compass-6705232/system-engagement-explained-how-much-is-left-in-the-tank.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}