Is the Norwegian Method dead?

Literally every Central and Western European runner and the vast majority of North American runners have been copying this method.

Key points:

1. Frequency of training/hard effort

2. Lactate testing to make sure you don't exert too hard an effort in training

3. Double threshold/double workout in one day, twice a week, plus hill/strength workouts.

4. Sodium bicarbonate to reduce the hydrogen ion acid feeling in legs in races.

I would say it's working. Nuguse does this. Hocker does this. Kessler and Hoppel do this. Fisher does this. The Norwegians/Ingebrigtsens/whoever have untapped western European DNA endurance training to match the Kenyans and Ethiopians.

We are in a golden era of middle and long distance running. ENOJY!!!!!

Didn't Grant Fisher just say that he's been doing "more threshold, with increased frequency of workouts rather than intensity. And also doing lactate measuring...?"

Sounds a lot like the Norwegian Method to me.

Also, the results may be skewed at least on the women's side, because all the contenders are East African, but the Europeans are much closer now than they've ever been.

Karolina Grovdal will likely be the best placed non-African in either the 5 or 10k, and she certainly trains using this method.

Wrong, and she isn’t entered in the 10.

Everyone and their mom is doing the Norwegian method or at least taking inspiration from it and we are seeing insane middle distance performances from it. The last time the 1500m was this strong and deep, was when EPO wasn’t easily detectable.

The collegiate teams that are adopting this method are stomping all of the classic 8x400m 30 minute tempo teams in the 1500m and up.

Kessler and Hoppels success is showing that you can adopt the philosophy very well to 800/1500m types rather than the 1500/5000m and 5000m/10000m types it was designed for.

From what I can tell, there’s a good variety of training methods being used by top level athletes, including the Norwegian approach. The 1500 alone has Jakob’s training versus a more traditional approach of Josh Kerr vs Wightman(rough year for him) coming from an 800 type training. All great runners.

As far as college teams using it, I’ve seen plenty doing it wrong: no lactate testing, pushing too hard on threshold workouts, not transitioning during peak season, not hitting that hill/strength session once a week, etc. It’s going to be interesting to see if those coaches scrap it or make the proper adjustments. Anyway, lots of ways to get to the top, and in my opinion a lot of it depends on the individual.

Is this how you define the Norwegian Method?

Lactate Testing has been done by pro cyclists all over the world for decades. Pro runners have only started doing lactate testing in the past 5 years or so.

Sodium Bicarbonate has only been gaining popularity recently since Maurten made a product that apparently doesn't cause some of the nastier side effects that consuming straight baking soda does. This is not something the Norwegians developed, and was again, first used by pro cyclists.

Double Thresholds have been done by 10 year old age-group swimmers since the beginning of time.

Almost none of what you listed is unique to Norwegian endurance training.

Jakob double gold at Paris Olympics= Norwegian method is a huge success

Any other scenario= Norwegian method is overrated

To be fair, Nuguse and Hocker do not do this. They aren’t doing double threshold. I don’t think Hoppel does double threshold either. My understanding is that he just does singles with Hobbs.
Fisher I believe does double threshold but I thought he moved to a ten day schedule and does less frequent workouts.

I thought "The Norweigian Method" might be some Eurotrash rapper. On no!!! Someone shot The Norwegian Method!!!! RIP gangsta.

22 year old Norwegian Markus Rooth is about to win at least a silver, possibly gold in the decathlon

Everyone knows that the "Norwegian method" is just BS as coverup for doping with microdoses of EPO and testosterone

I guess it depends on how specifically you define the method. I don't think there's any question that lactate testing and higher frequency of easier workouts are both trends, but there's a huge variety of ways to implement those practices.

Lactate testing, in particular, is pretty valuable, but you need to be doing it on a regular basis in order to learn what the numbers mean for each individual athlete. If you start testing lactate in 75% of your workouts, you end up with a really useful baseline, and it becomes easy to dial in those moderate workouts. Actually, if you do lactate testing for a year or so, you get to the point where you don't need to bother anymore; you can pretty much tell where you're at just by feel.

Incidentally, the big barrier to lactate testing for most athletes isn't the cost of the strips or meter; it's having someone there for every workout to take measurements. It's a huge PITA to test yourself and record measurements while doing a workout.

No

Gold it is for Rooth

This is very interesting too.

It’s kind of shocked me how many college programs have their athletes racing eachother for 5 miles and calling it a tempo. That is a dangerous game to play when you are “adopting” double threshold.

I watched a lot of mid tier type teams start doing something like a 4 mile tempo with guys finishing in the 22 minute +/- 0:30 range and then doing 8x800m in 2:30-2:35 later that day, only to bust a bunch of 26-27:00 8ks on race day.

That's why I always train alone. My friend said I should join a running club, because it would get me faster. I just said: no, that would be the other way round. I would get overtrained within a few months.

what would be my best bet without a meter if I want to do something similar? Can I just keep the workouts intensity moderate without ever going to the well?

Do it off race paces. 60s at 10k pace. 3 mins at more like HM and MP for the longer stuff. it isn’t perfect but it is in the ballpark. It will not tell you if your 27:00 kid should be running 2:45 or 2:55 for 800s it does tell you 2:30 is way too fast.

And this is stuff you build up to and not just start doing. You can start at slower paces and adjust as you get a feel for it.

These vikings have really perfected their d0p1ng methods, known as 'the norwegian method', learned from their ski cross-country winter athletes and are now applying them to track events, being helped by their national bodies responsible for antidoping, and the white western media.

The norwegian method is nothing more than d0p1ng.