#OpenLab is Opening

The OpenLab editions have gradually become some of the most useful parts of the Notebook. Not because they delivered cleaner conclusions, but because they showed how conclusions are formed.

When Lucas described beginner triathlon, it grounded planning in lived racing. When Laura discussed behavior change, adherence explained physiology. When Phil examined muscle oxygenation, measurement met interpretation.

So I want to expand OpenLab and make participation clearer and open for our community.

I am inviting coaches, practitioners, researchers, and athletes to co-author future editions. This includes structured analysis, but also well described experience. A detailed season, a repeated mistake, or a field observation can be just as valuable as a dataset when the context is documented carefully.

What makes a good OpenLab contribution:

• a training approach
• a repeated problem across athletes or seasons
• a comparison between two strategies you actually applied
• an injury, plateau, or breakthrough you can reconstruct step by step
• a method you use successfully but cannot fully explain yet
• an app that addresses an unmet need in the endurance sports world.

To keep the articles useful for readers, each OpenLab follows a simple structure:

1. Context
   Who was involved, training background, constraints (time, level, environment)
2. Observation
   What actually happened, not what was planned
3. Interpretation
   Possible mechanisms, including disagreement if present
4. Practical guidance
   What a reader should try, avoid, or monitor in a similar situation

You do not need polished writing or formal credentials. You need a concrete situation and the willingness to describe it honestly.

I help structure and edit the piece, but both names remain on the article and different viewpoints stay visible when they exist.

If you would like to contribute, send a short outline of your situation and why you think it is worth documenting here.

I will go over all entries and select submission which I believe will greatly benefit our community of athlete`s and coaches.

We then shape it together into an OpenLab entry that others can actually apply.

The goal is a shared working notebook, not a finished textbook.

Looking forward to receiving your submissions!

Kind regards,

Thomas

Previous OpenLabs:

OpenLab #001: Real-time muscle oxygen measurements correlate well with blood lactate - Dr. Phil Batterson

Hi Endurance Enthusiast, Happy Friday! In this special ´Open Lab´ edition, we explore the localized environment where performance ultimately succeeds or fails: the working muscle. To guide us in this endeavor, we’re excited to share that today’s content was co-authored with Dr. Phil Batterson, a pioneer in muscle

The Scientist’s NotebookThomas Mortelmans

OpenLab #002: How to start with fitness and weight training for the absolute beginner with Laura Van Baelen

The modern fitness landscape has become an echo chamber. Open any social feed and you’re met with metabolic “shortcuts,” hyper-specific routines, and nutritional protocols that read more like exam material than a starting point. For someone at the beginning of their journey, this complexity isn’t motivating—it’s

The Scientist’s NotebookThomas Mortelmans