When we think about Olympic athletes, we often imagine cutting-edge labs, elite facilities, and laser-focused goals. But for those of us grinding out 100-milers or planning high-altitude expeditions, there’s a surprising amount we can learn from their approach — especially when it comes to training structure, intensity management, and recovery.
A recent study by Øyvind Sandbakk and colleagues explored how Norway’s most successful endurance coaches (those behind nearly 400 international medals) structure training across sports like long-distance running, skiing, rowing, and triathlon. What they found wasn’t just relevant to Olympians — it’s highly applicable to mountain athletes.
Here’s what stood out, and how you can apply it to your training:
The Norwegian Endurance Blueprint
Norway’s dominance in endurance sports like cross-country skiing, triathlon, long-distance running—is built upon precise, pragmatic training methods. This recent deep-dive, conducted with top Norwegian coaches, reveals strategies ultra runners and mountaineers can directly adopt:
- Prioritize Low-Intensity Volume:
About 85-95% of training is aerobic, with a remarkable 80-90% spent at low/moderate intensity (Zone 1 and 2). Endurance athletes often push too hard, too often, leading to plateaus, burnout or injury. Emphasizing low-intensity work builds endurance sustainably, reduces injury risk, and enhances recovery. - Strategic High-Intensity Sessions:
Olympic-level athletes train high intensity 2–3 days a week, often incorporating double sessions (“double-threshold”). These targeted days stress the body purposefully, creating significant aerobic improvements while allowing ample recovery between efforts. - Traditional Yet Flexible Periodization:
Coaches often adhere to a traditional periodization model—high volume early in the season, gradually becoming more race-specific and intense. This gradual shift prevents overtraining and burnout, ensuring peak condition precisely when needed most.
In addition to traditional periodization, many coaches incorporate block periodization—short, focused blocks of specific training, such as high-intensity or altitude training, at key points in the training year. These blocks serve to stimulate rapid adaptation and are especially useful when preparing for critical events or overcoming specific performance plateaus. The Norwegian model is both structured and adaptable, reflecting real-world constraints like weather, travel, and athlete readiness. - Training Quality over Quantity:
Training isn’t just about mileage or vertical gain—it’s about precision. Each session has a clear purpose, whether physical, technical, or mental. Coaches stress consistent intensity control and technical accuracy, helping athletes gain the most from every session. - Data-Informed Individualization:
Successful training isn’t guesswork. Athletes and coaches use training diaries, GPS data, and heart rate monitors to make informed adjustments. This balances load and recovery, optimizing performance and longevity. For mountain athletes this is a bit more complex. We deal with a lot of factors whose impact is harder to assess, e.g. environmental factors: altitude, heat, humidity.
Applying These Lessons in the Mountain Sports
Mountaineers and trail runners frequently struggle with balancing volume, intensity, and recovery in unpredictable terrain and environmental conditions. Here’s how we can interpret these insights and use them practically:
- Build a deep aerobic base with moderate, steady volume. Long hikes, easy trail runs, and continuous low-intensity climbing sessions enhance your body’s aerobic engine.
- Schedule high-quality intensity days judiciously. Intervals on climbs, structured hill repeats, or threshold sessions should be spaced thoughtfully. Elite athletes may train at a high intensity 2-3 times per week. For a time-crunched, amateur athlete this would be too much in most cases. You will probably benefit from one intensity session in a week. Your coach should determine whether you can adapt and accommodate more of these sessions.
- Adjust training plans pragmatically around weather conditions, altitude training camps, and life commitments, mirroring the Norwegian model’s flexibility.
- Use available technology—GPS, heart rate data, or perceived exertion logs—to keep your training precise and tailored.
- The study brought up a very important point about variations between different sports. Depending on your sport, your race distance, etc., the volume, frequency, intensity distribution, and application of strength and cross training will also differ. For mountain athletes this is of utmost importance. The requirements of their sport are quite different to traditional endurance disciplines. Your coach should make a thorough analysis of your training status and your objective. Based on this, the plan will be set.
- Altitude training is a central part of Norwegian coaching philosophy. Achieving physiological overload and additional stimulation can be a way to increase an athlete’s capacity. Strategically placing the altitude camps throughout the year allows for reaching peak condition.
Takeaway
Olympic endurance principles are not reserved for professional athletes alone. By understanding and adapting these elite strategies, mountain athletes can improve endurance, minimize injury risk, and achieve peak performances when it counts most.
The so-called Norwegian method can have some application for endurance athletes, but most of us will benefit from a mixture of all intensities (not only ‘threshold’) while prioritizing a strong aerobic base.
Double threshold sessions are an interesting way to create overload, reduce physiological strain, and allow faster recovery within your microcycle (week).
As with any method, I like to view it through the lens of basic training principles:
Individuality – every athlete is different and therefore requires a unique approach.
Specificity – yes, we usually go from general to specific within our season or training plan. In that sense, threshold sessions and high volume can definitely be a great way to prepare for long races or climbs. In short, I would use this approach during specific phases of the season.
Altitude training, used by Olympic athletes, seems to be a central part of their philosophy. I completely agree with this approach. Most athletes can benefit from the central and peripheral adaptations induced by hypoxia. What’s required is a solid understanding of altitude physiology. The adaptations we seek for an ultra runner versus an Everest climber will be slightly different.
To quote one of the coaches: “The plans need to be based on the performance requirements of the main event and the athlete’s capacity.” That is also when we can use block periodization to emphasize a specific physiological or technical component.
One aspect of the Norwegian method that I really like has been popularized by Dr. Stephen Seiler, a prominent figure in exercise physiology. He emphasizes that the Norwegian method is not a rigid protocol but a flexible framework, adaptable to individual needs. He also observed that in Norway, sport is part of the culture—possibly connected to Viking-like mental resilience and grit. No excuses, rather a joy in training under any conditions.
The athletes set process goals rather than outcome goals, which helps avoid burnout or mental fatigue when they identify too strongly with outcomes like victory or success. I personally encourage my athletes to occasionally train in adverse conditions—to test themselves, and to build mental grit and resilience.
Long ultra-trail races and mountaineering expeditions will almost certainly present moments where you’ll wish you were ‘more ready.’