Beyond Race Day: Marco Altini on Smarter Fueling

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This week on the podcast, Mikki speaks to Marco Altini—data scientist, athlete, and founder of HRV4Training—about his personal and professional exploration into periodised nutrition. Known for his evidence-based insights into heart rate variability and training readiness, Marco has recently turned the lens inward, experimenting with how varying his fuelling strategies around training intensity and adaptation goals can impact performance and recovery.

In this conversation, we dive into what led Marco to shift from a rigid, data-driven approach to one that embraces flexibility, intuition, and physiological feedback. We talk about the science behind carb periodisation, the mindset shifts required to break free from ‘high carb by default,’ and how this approach might offer not just better results—but a more sustainable relationship with training. Whether you’re a high-performing athlete or a time-poor weekend warrior, Marco shares insights that might just change the way you think about fuelling.

Marco holds a PhD in applied machine learning, a M.Sc. in computer science engineering, and a M.Sc. n human movement sciences and high-performance coaching.

He has published more than 50 papers and patents at the intersection between physiology, health, technology, and human performance.

Marco blends cutting-edge data analytics with practical insights for athletes and coaches. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he’s a frequent voice in the endurance and sports science communities.

Through his own training and experimentation, Marco explores the integration of physiological data—like HRV, resting heart rate, and glucose monitoring—with periodised nutrition and recovery strategies. His mission is to help others train smarter, recover better, and build a more sustainable, intuitive relationship with performance.

https://marcoaltini.substack.com/

https://www.hrv4training.com/

Previous Episode: https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/242

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