Fit Fusion Hacks How Athletes With Type 1 Diabetes Can Win the Performance Game – With Dr Sam Scott & Prof Paul Laursen

Show Notes

1. Bring heart rate back into the conversation. Ibrahim and Martin revisit what makes it so powerful for understanding training load and adaptation. TRIMP, aka training impulse, offers a way to blend duration and intensity into one meaningful number, but it’s only as strong as how you individualize it. Their analysis across years of data suggests ~400–500 individualized TRIMP units per week (or around 30 minutes above ~85–90% HRmax) is enough to maintain aerobic fitness. The key takeaway? The concept matters more than the number. Use your own data to find your team’s threshold.
2. Don’t just chase data, understand the dose and the response. A 10-minute increase in “time in zone” might boost aerobic capacity by 1–2%, but it also adds fatigue. Context is everything. For a player recovering from injury, low-intensity, longer-duration sessions may help rebuild mitochondrial size, while heat exposure or upper-body ergometers can sustain internal load when lower-limb work isn’t possible. The smartest coaches monitor both the stimulus (heart rate, TRIMP) and the response (submax runs, neuromuscular tests) to make truly evidence-based adjustments.