Norwegian endurance athletes—from triathlon to the track to cross-country skiing—are capturing the world’s attention with their data-driven, double-threshold, numbers-heavy approach. But can it work for the regular triathlete?
Our managing editor Emma-Kate Lidbury has been putting the Norwegian methods to the test under the watchful eye of exercise physiologist and endurance coach Alan Couzens.
Here Lidbury first explains how they defined the Norwegian training model and then Couzens outlines what the regular athlete needs to get started and the terms you need to know.
What does it mean to ‘Train like a Norwegian?’
Kristian Blummenfelt turned himself inside out to win Olympic gold, 70.3 world champ Gustav Iden made his 7:42 Ironman debut look like a walk in the park, and on the track and snow, Norwegian endurance athletes have been breaking records, winning medals, and grabbing headlines. Considering Norway has a population of five million and it’s about half the size of Texas, it’s no surprise that their huge success—and unique training methodologies—have caught the attention of the wider endurance sports world.
Although the training protocols of Norway’s finest endurance athletes are nothing entirely new, they are still interesting—and remarkably different—compared to what the rest of the world is doing.