The Shakeout Podcast

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For years, orthodox thinking on endurance training could be reduced to three central pillars: V02 max, lactate threshold and running economy. The higher scores an athlete produced in each of those three criteria, the more “talented” they were thought to be.
The thinking went that if you took two athletes, tested their ability level in each of the three areas and set them off against one another in a race, the athlete with the higher overall score–that is, the more talented runner—would prevail. But this hypothesis stopped holding water pretty much as soon as the theory was transported from the lab to the real world, where less "talented" athletes continued to defy predicted outcomes based on the three endurance performance pillars alone. How athletes with measurably less talent at their disposal continued to pull off victories over more physiologically-gifted peers continued to stump sport scientists for years.
Enter a factor that’s been intuitive knowledge to coaches and athletes forever, but is only now becoming quantifiable: durability. Research into durability (also known as fatigue resistance) aims to understand why two athletes with similar scores across the three standard pillars of performance prediction can end up miles apart on race day–a line of investigation that is leading many in the sports science world to suggest it may be the “fourth pillar” of endurance performance.
This week on The Shakeout Podcast, science journalist Alex Hutchinson takes us inside the latest research on fatigue resistance to help us understand what durability means, what it looks like in practice and whether runners should be placing “increase durability” at the top of their training to-do list.
Follow Alex on Instagram @Sweat_Science
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To hear the marketing team at one of any number of different sport supplement companies tell it, your next personal best is just one sip, slurp, or shot away. Whether it’s the latest super-food concentrate, the greatest powdered potion, or maybe even a new topical gel, the market for performance supplementation is a crowded one, with each new product promising some combination of performance buzzwords like optimal recovery, reduced blood lactate, greater muscular endurance or delayed onset fatigue. But with so many options out there, is there really one “silver bullet” when it comes to maximizing performance, and where does good old fashioned hard work fit into the mix in the age of “performance stacking” supplements?
In the second instalment of The Shakeout Podcast's series on running buzzwords we’re joined by sports science writer Brady Holmer to help us cut through the hype and understand the science behind some of today’s most talked-about performance-hacking supplements. From beetroot and bi-carb to ketones and creatine, Brady has not only applied his background in human performance to understanding the science behind the supplements but has put them to the test in the real world as a high level marathoner himself.
Tune in this week as we take a deep dive into the science of supplements to help you figure out how these supposed performance boosters work, how they measure up against their own claims, and what’s worth really your time and money when it comes to maximizing performance.
Check out Brady on Substack: Physiologicallyspeaking.com
X - @brady_h
Instagram - @brady.j.holmer
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[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]
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Between the two of them, there isn't much in the world of global running championships that sisters Gabriela DeBues-Stafford and Lucia Stafford haven't tackled. Both two-time Olympians and multi-time national champs, the Stafford sisters have come to define middle- and long-distance track for a generation of Canadian athletics fans. Between them, they hold Canadian records at 1,000m, 1,500m, 2,000m, 3,000m and 5,000m.
But in careers that have ticked virtually every box, this weekend's World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, will present a novelty as they toe the line in the road mile, a first crack at the discipline for both Gabriela and Lucia.
This week on The Shakeout Podcast, the sisters join the show together for a preview of the upcoming champs, talking training for the roads, managing track seasons that have endured into the fall, and what it's been like to train together in preparation for a new challenge on the roads of Denmark. Plus, they offer timely coaching advice to one another from the unique perspective of a sibling and fierce competitor.
Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.
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We’ve all got one, but what does it actually mean, and does the number your smart watch gives you actually matter?
This week on The Shakeout Podcast we're setting out to understand the science of VO2 Max, a metric that seems to be everywhere in the saturated world of endurance training advice.
From its correlation to performance to its proven effects on longevity, VO2 Max might be one of the most all encompassing indicators of fitness available. But is a higher number always better? And if more is better how do we go about raising ours?
Joining the show to lend his expertise is Dr. Mick Leahy, professor of cardiovascular exercise physiology at The University of British Columbia. As an expert on all things aerobic, Mick walks us through the science behind VO2 Max, shedding light on what the term actually means, what the hype around VO2 Max is all about, and how runners can use the metric to improve their performance on race day.
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Mick's Google Scholar
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If you wanted to know which athlete was at the top of Canadian trail running, a safe bet, at least in the most literal sense, would be Alex Ricard.

The Squamish based athlete has established a reputation as the best vertical runner in the country, clocking off wins and KOMs on some of Canada’s most iconic climb trails and mixing it up with the very best in the world at past editions of the world mountain and trail running championships. More recently, he’s adding distance to vert and finding success in over longer race distances, claiming another Canadian national championship title over the 50km distance at this summer’s Quebec Mega Trail.

With a long history in the sport that includes early success on the track and cross country course, Alex joins the show this week to talk about his journey in the world of trail racing, life in the trail-running hot spot of Squamish, and what makes him so fast when the terrain gets steep.

Follow Alex @Alex._Ric

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "SHAKEOUT2026"

Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

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