A lot of endurance athletes have heard the same message for years: lighter is better, leaner is faster, and body fat is the thing standing between them and better performance.

But is it really that simple?

In this episode, I am joined by Dr Grant Landers, Senior Lecturer in Sport Science at The University of Western Australia, to unpack one of the most deeply ingrained beliefs in endurance sport: that lower body weight automatically means better performance.

Together, we discuss what body composition actually means, why endurance sport has historically become so focused on fat mass and adipose tissue, and why that conversation is often far more simplistic than the science supports. We also explore the roles of lean mass, bone mineral density, fuelling, robustness, recovery, and athlete health, plus what tools like DEXA, skinfolds, ultrasound, body fat scales, and standard scales can and cannot actually tell you.

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about moving away from “race weight” as the goal, and towards something much more useful: performance readines

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Erscheinungs­datum: 24.3.2026, 21:30:00