Best-Practice Training Characteristics Within Olympic Endurance Sports as Described by Norwegian World-Class Coaches

World-class coaches collect training data from their athletes systematically and exhibit an experimental mindset when making individual training adjustments in response to this data and other forms of feedback. However, the methods, expertise, and insights of highly accomplished endurance coaches is so far almost untouched in the scientific literature. The aim of this study was to provide a synthesis of common features and sport-specific variations in best-practice training characteristics within Olympic endurance sports as described by world-class Norwegian coaches.

A multiple case-study design was used, and twelve successful male Norwegian coaches served as key informants. Together, they were responsible for athletes winning more than 380 international medals, representing long-distance running, biathlon, rowing, cross-country skiing, speed skating, road cycling, swimming, and triathlon. The study design included: (1) an extensive, email-administered and Word™-based questionnaire related to training characteristics at the macro-, meso-, micro-, and session-level; (2) cross-referencing data with historically reported training logs from successful athletes; (3) in-depth and semi-structured in-person interviews with each coach; (4) a review process among authors and coaches. The data collection was undertaken in 2022.

All coaches adhere to a traditional periodization model, including a gradual shift towards lower overall training volume and more competition-specific training as the competitive period approaches. The coaches also employ a pragmatic approach to align training organization with the various constraints faced in the training process. Another common emerging feature was an emphasis on high volume of low-intensity training combined with 2-3 weekly "key workout" days consisting of 3-5 intensive training sessions. Finally, coaches across all sports focused on achieving high training quality by optimizing training sessions, systematically controlling the load-recovery balance, and ensuring optimal preparations for major competitions. Substantial sport-specific differences were evident in terms of volume, frequency, intensity distribution, and application of strength and cross training, mainly due to variations in exercise mode constraints (i.e., mechanical, and muscular loading), competition distance, and organizational aspects.

This study offers novel insights into best-practice training characteristics in Olympic endurance, shedding light on both commonalities and sport-specific variations. These insights can be used to generate new hypotheses to be further elucidated and contribute to the development of evidence-based training practices.