Stronger with Time Mitochondria & Metobolic Health: The Zone 2 Longevity Connection with Paul Laursen
🎓 Enrol in Tony’s 9-Week Science of Thriving Course → https://scienceofthriving.com.au
👉Follow on IG → @tonyboutagy
In this episode of Stronger With Time, Dr. Tony Boutagy sits down with Professor Paul Laursen (renowned exercise physiologist, HIIT researcher, and co-founder of Athletica.ai) to discuss all things endurance training, zone 2 work, HIIT, fasted cardio and some of the misinformation around these training modalities.
In this Eposide:
00:00 – Intro: Why this conversation matters for women and coaches
01:00 – Paul’s background & why elite athletes aren’t always healthy
03:00 – Metabolic dysfunction & burnout in high performers
06:00 – Muscle mass, mitochondria & why resistance alone isn’t enough
08:00 – What Zone 2 actually does for your metabolic health
11:00 – How to test aerobic fitness without a lab (180-age method)
14:00 – Why building fat-burning capacity is so critical for women
17:00 – How many hours of Zone 2 do you really need?
19:00 – Why Zone 3 is “no man’s land” & how to avoid overtraining
22:00 – Full breakdown of zone training (Zone 1–6 explained)
25:00 – When Zone 3 is useful—and when it’s a mistake
26:00 – The science behind short intervals vs long ones
29:00 – Why 30/30 intervals work (and how to dose them properly)
33:00 – The biggest mistake most people make with intervals
35:00 – How much VO₂max training is enough for health & longevity
39:00 – Why base training *must* come before HIIT
41:00 – Do women respond differently to aerobic training?
44:00 – The myth that women should avoid Zone 2 & fasted cardio
47:00 – What the research *really* says about fasted training for women
49:00 – Fueling performance on low-carb diets: how it actually works
52:00 – Carbohydrate targets, CGMs & training with metabolic flexibility
54:00 – Stress, cortisol & how glucose spikes show up on CGMs
55:00 – Final thoughts & how to join Paul’s real-world nutrition study
Guest Bio:
Professor Paul Laursen is a world-leading endurance coach and exercise physiologist with 150+ peer-reviewed papers. He’s the co-founder of Athletica.ai and author of the Human Kinetics textbook High-Intensity Interval Training. He’s coached Olympic medalists, Ironman champions, and continues to pioneer research at the intersection of performance and health.
Resources & Links:
– Free 2-week Athletica.ai trial → https://athletica.ai
– Field Study: Join Athletica’s nutrition + training research project
– Professor Laursen’s textbook on HIIT → https://hiitscience.com/hiit-science-book-application/
– Peter Attia: VO₂max and longevity reference → https://peterattiamd.com/all-things-vo2-max/
– Jeff Volek’s FASTER Study → https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26892521/
📣 Want to thrive through menopause with evidence-based training? Enrol in Tony’s 9-Week Course: https://scienceofthriving.com.au