How to Apply Norwegian Method to Triathlon Training

If you’ve been around endurance sports long enough, you’ve probably heard someone say, “The Norwegian Method is magic.” But once you look past the hype and explore the science behind the Norwegian method, you realize it’s not magic at all. It’s structure, patience, and a very honest relationship with your training intensity.

Now it’s time for the real question: How do you actually use it in triathlon training without turning your life upside down?

The Norwegian Method isn’t just for elite runners in Scandinavia. It’s a framework that works beautifully for triathletes, if you understand how to adapt it. And that’s exactly what this article is about.

The goal here is not to copy some pro’s training plan or get crazy over lactate numbers you don’t have access to. In this article, we try to understand how to implement the Norwegian method in triathlon and some of its core principles for maximum performance.

We’re going to walk through everything:

• how to structure your threshold sessions across three sports
• when double-threshold days make sense (and when they don’t)
• how to actually keep your easy days easy (harder than it sounds)
• how to piece it all together into weeks and months that build real, sustainable speed.

Hopefully, by the ned of this article, you’ll understand how you can build your own version of Norwegian-style triathlon training plan. The one that fits your life, your race schedule, and your unique combination of swimming, cycling, and running fitness. Now, let’s dig in.

Quick Refresher: What the Norwegian Method Means for Triathletes

Before we dive into the practical stuff, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about what the Norwegian Method actually is, and more importantly, what it isn’t.

At its core, the Norwegian Method is built on three simple pillars:

• a massive base of easy training
• a focused dose of threshold work done at very specific intensities
• and you basically avoid that annoying middle ground where you’re suffering but not really getting anywhere.

The first time I tried organizing my training this way, I made the classic mistake: I thought that the focus on threshold training meant more hard work. I’d been doing plenty of hard sessions already: tempo runs that felt tough, bike intervals that left me cooked, swim sets where I was chasing the clock.

But here’s what I missed: the Norwegian approach is about doing the right intensity, at the right dose, with everything else genuinely easy.

Here’s where it gets tricky for us triathletes. Unlike single-sport athletes, we’re managing three thresholds. Your lactate threshold on the bike might be at 250 watts, but that doesn’t tell you much about where your threshold sits in the pool or on the run. Each sport beats you up in its own special way when you mess up the pacing.

But here’s the good news: the basic idea works just as well. Whether you’re swimming, biking, or running, the goal is the same: spend most of your time well below threshold where you’re building aerobic capacity without accumulating fatigue, then do targeted threshold work that’s hard enough to push adaptation but controlled enough to repeat consistently.

One analogy that comes to my mind is to think: if your training were a meal, easy volume is the vegetables and protein, the foundation that keeps you healthy and strong. Threshold work is the spice, just enough to make everything better, but too much ruins the dish.

And that painful, lung-burning, leg-screaming intensity you might have been doing? That’s like adding hot sauce to everything. Sure, it feels hardcore, but it doesn’t actually make you faster over time.

The Norwegian Method asks you to get comfortable with a paradox: most of your training should feel almost embarrassingly easy, while the hard stuff should be precise and purposeful. For triathletes who’ve spent years grinding through “moderately hard” sessions, this shift in mindset might be the hardest adaptation of all.

That’s the Norwegian Method in a nutshell. If you want to dive deeper, check out this article about the science behind the Norwegian method of endurance training.

Now let’s talk about why it works so well when you’re training for three sports at once.

The Role of Lactate Testing in Triathlon & How to Use It

If there’s one part of the Norwegian Method that scares triathletes, it’s lactate testing. It sounds technical, medical, and almost too pro. But in practice, it’s much simpler and far more useful than people think. And you don’t need a lab or a suitcase full of equipment to make it work.

At its core, lactate testing is just a way to check whether the intensity you think is threshold is actually threshold. That matters because most triathletes, myself included, tend to drift a little too high. We’re good at convincing ourselves that “controlled” still means slightly uncomfortable.

The Norwegian lactate-controlled approach removes the guesswork. It asks: Is your body producing the level of lactate that corresponds to a steady, sustainable threshold, or are you quietly cooking yourself?

This difference is huge. Research on Norwegian endurance athletes shows that their threshold work usually sits between 2.0 and 4.5 mmol/L, with many of them accumulating a ton of quality at the lower end of that range.

One reason they can sustain such high workloads is that they avoid overshooting. They train at the true threshold, the version that is physiologically sustainable. Studies and metabolic testing platforms like INSCYD consistently point out that many athletes’ real steady-state lactate sits closer to 2.5–3.0 mmol/L, not the classic 4 mmol/L marker from old-school training books.

This is an example of 3 maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) tests. Blue and green lines are showing lactate steady states. The red line does not. In this example, the green line showcases the maximal lactate steady state:

Lactate threshold training keeps you honest. It helps you learn what true threshold feels like in each discipline, because the sensations are different. A 3 mmol/L bike effort feels smooth and controlled. A 3 mmol/L run effort often feels too slow until you adapt. And in the pool, you might find your threshold speed is lower than you like, but the moment you get it right, the consistency of the workout improves instantly.

Even if you never buy a lactate meter, understanding the principle is useful. True threshold should feel firm but calm, like you could hold the pace for a long time if someone bet you a free race entry. Breathing steady, posture stable, no creeping burn, no panic. The Norwegian training method simply attaches a number to that feeling so you can train it precisely.

Over time, this precision pays off. You recover better between sessions. Your double-threshold days become more manageable. And you finally stop wondering why threshold was destroying you, because it probably wasn’t threshold at all.

Lactate testing is just a tool. The goal is intensity control. And control is what makes the Norwegian Method sustainable for real triathlon life.

What Lactate Testing Actually Tells You

Blood lactate is essentially a window into what’s happening inside your muscles at different intensities. When you’re working easily, your body clears lactate as fast as it produces it, and its levels stay at around 1.0 to 2.0 mmol/L.

As you push harder on your training sessions, lactate starts accumulating faster than your body can clear it. The point where it begins to rise noticeably, usually between 2 and 4 mmol/L, depending on the athlete, is your aerobic threshold, or what the Norwegians call LT1.

Push a bit harder, and you hit a second inflection point where lactate really starts to spike. That’s your lactate threshold proper (LT2). It typically sits somewhere between 3 and 5 mmol/L for most athletes.

This is the intensity the Norwegian Method is obsessed with. It is hard enough to stress your lactate clearance system and push physiological adaptation, but sustainable enough that you can repeat the work without destroying yourself.

Here’s what surprised me: these zones aren’t where I thought they were. Most triathletes train by feel or heart rate, and both can be wildly inaccurate. You might feel like you’re going easy, but if you’re creeping into zone 3 heart rate or just pushing a bit too hard on the bike because the group ride pace is “comfortable,” you’re accumulating fatigue without getting the recovery benefits of true easy training.

How to Use Lactate Testing in Triathlon

The beauty of lactate measurements is that they give you sport-specific targets. Your threshold on the bike isn’t the same as your threshold on the run. There are different muscles engaged, different body positions, and different physiological demands.

A good lactate test protocol will measure both (ideally in separate sessions) to give you precise power targets for cycling and pace or heart rate zones for running.

For swimming, lactate testing gets trickier. Most pools don’t have labs set up poolside, and the logistics of testing mid-workout are awkward. But it’s absolutely doable. Some coaches use portable lactate meters and test between repeats during threshold sets.

The process is the same:

• warm up
• do progressive efforts (say, 400s at increasing speeds)
• prick your finger
• map your lactate curve.

You’ll find your threshold pace per 100m, which becomes the foundation for your threshold swim sessions.

Here’s the practical reality: you don’t need to test your lactate level every month. Lactate thresholds are relatively stable.

Test once at the start of a training block to establish your zones, then retest every 12 to 16 weeks, or when you feel like something has shifted significantly. Between tests, you can use perceived effort, heart rate, and power (for cycling) to stay in the right zones.

If you don’t have access to a lab, you can use portable lactate meters. Devices like the Lactate Plus or Lactate Scout cost a few hundred dollars and work well enough for self-testing. The finger pricks are quick and mostly painless (you get used to it), and the process is simpler than you’d think:

• warm up for 10-15 minutes
• do a 5-minute effort at progressively harder intensities
• prick your finger 30 seconds after each effort
• record the result, rest 2-3 minutes
• repeat

After 4 or 5 steps, you’ll have enough data to plot your curve and identify your thresholds.

What If You Can’t Test Lactate?

Lactate testing is incredibly useful, but it’s not required to use the Norwegian method successfully. Plenty of athletes train effectively using heart rate, power, and perceived effort data.

The key is to get what you’re aiming for. Your easy training should feel genuinely easy, and you should be able to hold a conversation, breathe nasally (or close to it), and finish sessions feeling like you could keep going. If you’re checking your watch and thinking “wow, this feels slow,” you’re probably in the right zone.

Threshold work should feel sustainably hard, like an effort you could hold for 30 to 60 minutes if you absolutely had to, but wouldn’t want to. You’re breathing hard but controlled, not gasping. You can speak in short sentences but not paragraphs. Your heart rate should be steady after a few minutes, not drifting upward continuously. On the bike, this usually sits around 85-90% of your FTP. On the run, it’s roughly your half-marathon pace, maybe slightly faster.

The real lesson from lactate testing is the feeling associated with that number. Once you know what 2.0 mmol/L feels like versus 4.0 mmol/L, you develop a better internal calibration. You stop guessing and start knowing.

How to Build a Training Program Around Threshold Intensity

Once you know your threshold, the next question is obvious: How do you structure your own training around this single intensity when you’re juggling three sports, limited time, and the reality that not every week looks the same?

That’s complicated, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, unfortunately. But let’s start with how the threshold should feel in each of the triathlon disciplines.

How Threshold Sessions Should Feel (In Each Sport)

Here’s where triathletes need to get specific, because threshold doesn’t feel the same across all three disciplines.

On the bike, threshold should feel like an effort you could sustain for an hour if you had to. Your breathing is elevated but rhythmic. Your legs have a deep, steady burn, but you’re not fighting the pedals.

If you have a power meter, you’re likely sitting at 88-92% of FTP. If you’re new to FTP measurements, here are some FTP testing tips. The key is steadiness. Your power shouldn’t spike and dip with every little hill or wind gust. Smooth, controlled, sustainable.

On the run, the threshold is harder to judge because the impact adds a layer of fatigue that cycling doesn’t have. This is roughly your half-marathon race pace, maybe a tick faster. You’re breathing hard (definitely not conversational), but it’s rhythmic, not ragged.

You can hold it for 20 to 40 minutes in training, though in a race, you might stretch it to an hour. Your heart rate climbs in the first few minutes, then stabilizes. If it keeps creeping up throughout the session, you’re going too hard.

In the pool, threshold work is the trickiest to nail because swimming is so technique-dependent, and most of us don’t have the same aerobic engine in the water that we do on land.

Threshold swim pace is usually about 10-15 seconds per 100 slower than your CSS (Critical Swim Speed) or T-pace. It should feel like a strong, controlled effort. You’re definitely working, but your stroke isn’t falling apart. Rest intervals between repeats should be short, usually 10-20 seconds, just enough to grab a breath and check the clock.

Structuring Threshold Work Across the Week

Here’s where the Norwegian Method diverges from traditional training plans. Instead of one hard session per sport per week, you’re doing threshold work more frequently, potentially 3 to 5 times across all three sports, sometimes even twice in the same day.

The key is managing the dose. A single threshold session might be:

• Bike: 3 x 12-15 minutes at threshold with 3-5 minutes easy between intervals
• Run: 4 x 8-10 minutes at threshold with 2-3 minutes jog recovery
• Swim: 6-8 x 400m at threshold with 10-15 seconds rest

Notice these aren’t monster sessions. You’re not doing 60-minute steady-state efforts or crushing yourself with high volume. The Norwegian approach favors shorter intervals with brief recovery, as this intensity allows you to accumulate time at threshold without the creeping fatigue that comes from one long, grinding effort.

Over the course of a week, you might accumulate 60 to 90 minutes of threshold work total. And it is spread across multiple sessions, multiple sports. Some athletes do threshold bike + threshold run on the same day (we’ll dig into double-threshold days in the next section). Others spread it across separate days. The structure depends on your schedule, your recovery capacity, and what else is going on in your life.

Double Threshold Training for Triathletes: How, When, and Why

The first time I heard about double-threshold days, my immediate reaction was: Absolutely not. That sounds like a one-way ticket to overtraining.

Two threshold sessions in one day? I was already careful about managing fatigue and convinced that more intensity automatically meant more risk. But then I actually tried it, a threshold bike in the morning, a threshold run in the evening, and something unexpected happened. I didn’t implode. In fact, I felt better than I did after random moderately hard sessions I’d been doing throughout the week.

The Logic Behind Double Threshold Training Philosophy

Here’s the fundamental insight that makes double-threshold training work: fatigue is cumulative, but so is recovery.

If you scatter intensity across the week: a kinda-hard swim Monday, a sorta-tough bike Wednesday, a challenging run Friday, you’re never fully recovered, but you’re also never deeply stressed. You’re chronically fatigued at a low level, which means you can’t go hard enough in your quality sessions to drive real adaptation, and you can’t go easy enough in your recovery sessions to actually recover.

Double-threshold days flip this equation. You stack two threshold sessions in a single day, creating a concentrated block of training stress. Yes, you’re more fatigued by the evening. Yes, the next day you need genuine easy work or rest. But now you’ve created a clear separation: hard days are hard, easy days are easy, and your body gets the message about what kind of adaptation you’re chasing.

For triathletes, this approach has another advantage: it mimics race-day physiology. In a triathlon, you don’t do one hard effort and call it a day. You swim, then immediately bike. You bike, then immediately run.

Your body has to perform when it’s already fatigued, when glycogen is depleted, when your legs are heavy. Training with doubled sessions, especially when you combine disciplines, teaches your body to handle this specific kind of cumulative stress.

What a Double-Threshold Day Actually Looks Like

Let’s get concrete. Here’s a realistic double-threshold day for an age-group triathlete with a decent training base:

Morning session (bike):

• 15-minute easy warm-up
• 4 x 12 minutes at threshold power (88-92% FTP) with 4 minutes easy spinning between intervals
• 10-minute cool-down
• Total time: ~90 minutes

Evening session (run):

• 10-minute easy jog warm-up
• 5 x 8 minutes at threshold pace with 2-minute jog recovery between intervals
• 10-minute cool-down
• Total time: ~60 minutes

The key is the gap between sessions. You need at least 6 to 8 hours, ideally more, to allow some recovery, refuel properly, and come into the second session ready to execute. If you try to do threshold bike, then threshold run 2 hours later, you’re just grinding yourself down. The magic happens when you give your body enough time to partially recover but not fully adapt. You’re training tired, but not destroyed.

How to Know If You’re Ready for Double-Threshold Days

Here’s the honest answer: most triathletes aren’t ready for doubles right away.

If you’re new to structured training, or if you’re still figuring out your threshold training zones, or if your easy days aren’t actually easy yet, you need to nail those fundamentals first. Double-threshold days work brilliantly when your training is already dialed in. They backfire when you’re still making basic mistakes.

Some signs you’re ready:

• You can consistently execute single threshold sessions at the right intensity without fading
• Your low-intensity training is genuinely easy. You’re not creeping into zone 3 or pushing harder than you should
• You’ve built a solid base of aerobic volume and aren’t constantly fighting fatigue
• You’re sleeping well, managing stress, and have your recovery habits dialed in
• You’ve been training consistently for at least several months without injury

If those boxes are checked, start conservatively. Try one double-threshold day per week. Maybe bike + run, since that’s the most race-specific combination. Do shorter intervals than you would in a single session. Pay close attention to how you feel in the second session and over the following days. If you’re executing well and recovering properly, you can add a second double day every few weeks.

The Best (and Worst) Discipline Combinations

Here are some combinations that can work beautifully:

• Swim + Bike – Swimming is low-impact and doesn’t trash your legs, making it an ideal first session before a threshold bike. You can go surprisingly hard in the pool and still feel fresh enough to ride well a few hours later.
• Bike + Run – This is the classic triathlon combo and probably the most valuable double you can do. You’re training for the exact transition your body has to make on race day. The bike pre-fatigues your legs, and the run teaches you to find rhythm and hold threshold when you’re already tired.
• Swim + Run – Less common but totally viable, especially if you’re managing bike volume or coming back from injury. Swimming won’t interfere with running, and the combination gives you two solid threshold doses without the muscular fatigue of cycling.

Combinations to avoid (or use sparingly):

• Run + Run – The impact adds up fast. Unless you’re a highly experienced runner with bulletproof legs, doing two threshold runs in one training day is a recipe for injury.
• Run + Bike – Possible, but not ideal. The bike session in the evening will feel harder because your legs are already fatigued from running. It’s the opposite of race-day specificity (where you bike first, then run), so the training stimulus isn’t as valuable.

Managing the Week Around Double Days

Here’s the structure that works for most triathletes: build your week around 1 or 2 double-threshold days, surround them with genuinely easy sessions, and give yourself at least one full rest day.

A sample week might look like this:

• Monday: Easy swim, easy bike
• Tuesday: Double day: threshold bike AM, threshold run PM
• Wednesday: Easy run, easy swim
• Thursday: Easy bike (longer endurance ride)
• Friday: Double day: swim + bike, both at threshold
• Saturday: Long easy run
• Sunday: Rest or very easy swim

Notice the rhythm: hard, easy, easy, easy, hard, easy, rest. You’re creating peaks of stress, then backing off enough to absorb the stimulus.

How to Implement the Norwegian Method in Full-Season Triathlon Planning

The first time I tried to plan a full season around the triathlon training with threshold intensity, I made a classic mistake: I thought every week should look the same. Consistent threshold work, consistent easy volume, same structure Monday through Sunday, repeat until race day.

Three weeks in, I was fried. Not from the training itself, but from the relentless sameness of it. My body needed variety. My mind needed a break. And my life, work deadlines, family commitments, and travel didn’t cooperate with a rigid structure that never flexed.

That’s when I learned that the Norwegian method is a framework you adapt to the season, to your race calendar, and to what’s actually happening in your life. The principles stay the same: lots of easy volume, focused threshold work, and minimal grey-zone training. But how you apply them changes depending on where you are in the year.

The Annual Training Cycle: Seasons Within the Season

Here’s how the Norwegian Method maps onto a typical triathlon training season:

Base Phase (8-12 weeks)

This is where you build the aerobic foundation that everything else sits on. Volume is high, intensity is low. Most of your training is truly easy: long, steady swims, easy-paced bike rides, conversational runs.

You might introduce threshold work once or twice a week, but it’s not the focus yet. The goal is to increase your capacity to absorb training stress.

Build Phase (8-12 weeks)

This is where threshold work becomes central. You’re still doing plenty of easy volume, but now you’re adding 2-3 threshold sessions per week, sometimes incorporating double-threshold days. The intensity is controlled, but the frequency increases. You’re teaching your body to sustain efforts right at that lactate sweet spot, over and over, until it becomes second nature.

A good build phase feels challenging but sustainable. You finish most weeks tired but not destroyed. You’re excited for your threshold sessions because you can feel yourself getting sharper. And your easy days feel like actual recovery because you’re respecting the intensity distribution.

Peak Phase (3-4 weeks)

Now you’re sharpening. Volume drops slightly, but the quality of threshold work stays high. You might add some race-pace efforts or slightly supra-threshold work to simulate race intensity, but you’re not introducing new training stress. Instead, you’re polishing what you’ve already built. Recovery becomes even more important. You’re managing fatigue carefully, avoiding overreaching right before the race.

Taper (10-14 days)

Volume drops significantly, threshold work becomes shorter and less frequent, and you’re focused entirely on arriving at the start line fresh. This isn’t the time to experiment or panic-train. Trust the work you’ve done.

Recovery (1-3 weeks)

After the race, you take genuine downtime. Easy swimming, light spinning, maybe some casual jogging if your legs feel okay. No structure, no threshold work, just movement for the joy of it. This is where your body actually absorbs all the training stress you’ve accumulated and rebuilds stronger.

Adapting to Life: When Stress Rises, Intensity Drops

Here’s something nobody tells you when you’re mapping out a perfect training plan: life doesn’t care about your schedule.

Work gets chaotic. Family emergencies happen. You get sick. You travel for a wedding. Sleep suffers during a stressful project. And suddenly, that beautiful training plan with two double-threshold days per week feels impossible.

I learned this the hard way during a build phase that coincided with a product launch at work. I was pulling 12-hour days, sleeping poorly, and stressed constantly. And I kept trying to hit my training targets because I didn’t want to fall behind. The result? I got run down, caught a cold, and lost two weeks of training entirely.

The lesson: when non-training stress increases, training intensity must decrease.

The Norwegian method actually makes this easier to manage than other approaches because the structure is so clear. If you’re in a high-stress period, you have options:

• Drop one or both double-threshold days and spread the threshold work across single sessions
• Reduce the number of intervals per session (4 x 8 minutes instead of 5 x 10 minutes)
• Keep the threshold work, but reduce overall volume by cutting back easy sessions
• Take an entire recovery week early if you feel yourself sliding toward burnout

What you don’t do is keep grinding, hoping you can push through on willpower alone. That’s how you end up overtrained, injured, or sick.

Racing Within the Season: How to Balance Multiple Events

Most triathletes don’t do one race per year. You might have an early-season Olympic distance, a summer 70.3, and a fall marathon. How do you structure Norwegian Method training when you’re racing every 8-10 weeks?

The key is to understand the difference between priority races and training races.

Priority races are the ones you’re genuinely building toward. These are the events where you want peak performance. For these, you follow a full build/peak/taper/recovery cycle. You might do 8-12 weeks of Norwegian-style training leading in, with threshold work at the center.

Training races, like the one I shared about in this half-marathon PR race recap, are lower-priority events you do for practice, to test fitness, or just for fun. For these, you don’t taper much. Maybe you take 2-3 easy days before, but you’re not cutting volume or backing off threshold work significantly. You race, you recover for a few days, then you’re back into normal training. The race itself becomes a hard session, a chance to practice race-day execution without derailing your larger season plan.

Adjusting for Race Distance

The Norwegian method works across all triathlon distances, but how you apply it shifts based on what you’re training for.

Sprint/Olympic distance

Threshold work is still central, but you’ll want to include some supra-threshold efforts: short, punchy intervals at 95-105% of threshold to prepare for the higher intensity these races demand. Your easy volume can be lower since the race distance doesn’t require massive aerobic endurance.

Half-Ironman

This is where the Norwegian method shines brightest. Threshold work is almost perfectly aligned with race intensity. Your build phase should include lots of bike/run doubles, long threshold-heavy brick sessions, and substantial easy volume to support the race duration.

Ironman

For a long-course triathlon, you’ll need more overall volume, and your long sessions (especially the bike) will extend well beyond threshold duration. But threshold work is still valuable: it raises your aerobic ceiling, which indirectly improves the pace you can sustain for 8-12 hours to reach that finish line. You’ll just balance it with more pure aerobic volume.

Now, let’s make this concrete with some complete sample weeks you can actually use.

Training Week Examples for Triathletes (Base Building Phase)

Theory is great, but at some point, you just need to see what a week of triathlon double threshold training actually looks like.

Have you ever wondered how Norwegian triathletes like Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden build their training program? Well, I haven’t found the exact training schedule they offer (that would be too easy). But I did dig into their social media and podcasts like this one featuring Olav Aleksander Bu on the Norwegian method podcast, to get an idea of their workout routine.

What I’m about to share are four sample weeks: different volumes for the base phase of training. If you haven’t heard about what the base phase is and why it’s important, we talk about it and other training phases in this Norwegian method periodization guide.

One important thing to mention before we explore the workout plan is that these workouts aren’t meant to be prescriptive templates you follow blindly. They’re examples that show how the pieces fit together. You’ll need to adapt them based on your fitness, your schedule, and your race goals.

But they’ll give you a starting point. A framework you can modify.

Sample Week 1: Foundation Week (11-12 hours)

Monday

• AM: Easy swim, 2500m continuous with technique focus (45 min)
• PM: Easy bike, zone 1-2, flat route or trainer (60 min)

Tuesday (Double-Threshold Day)

• AM: Threshold bike. Warm-up 15 min, then 2 x 15 min at 88-90% FTP with 5 min easy between, cool-down 10 min (60 min)
• PM: Threshold run. Warm-up 15 min, then 2 x 12 min at threshold pace with 3 min jog recovery, cool-down 10 min (55 min)

Wednesday

• AM: Easy swim, 3000m with drills and easy pace (55 min)
• PM: Strength training: Foundation phase – Back squats 4×6 at 75%, Romanian deadlifts 3×8, bench press 3×8, bent rows 3×8, core work 15 min (60 min)

Thursday

• AM: Easy bike, zone 1-2, small chainring spinning (75 min)
• PM: Easy run, zone 1-2, conversational pace (45 min)

Friday

• AM: Easy swim, 2500m recovery pace (45 min)
• PM: VO2max run. Warm-up 15 min, then 4 x 4 min at 95-98% max HR with 2.5 min jog recovery, cool-down 10 min (54 min)

Saturday

• AM: Strength training: Foundation phase – Front squats 4×6, deadlifts 3×6, overhead press 3×8, pull-ups 3×8, core 15 min (60 min)
• PM: Long easy bike, zone 1-2, rolling terrain (2.5 hours)

Sunday

• Long easy run, zone 1-2, keep conversational throughout (90 min)

Weekly totals: 11-12 hours + 2 hours strength

Threshold: 54 min

VO2max: 16 min

Notes: This week has no double-threshold days and much speed training because we’re still in the base phase. The threshold sessions are of moderate length, with enough stimulus to improve without creating excessive fatigue.

Everything else is truly easy, with two longer aerobic sessions on the weekend to build endurance. If you’re feeling flat by Thursday, drop the evening bike and take a full rest day.

Sample Week 2: Progression Week (12-13 hours)

Monday

• AM: Easy swim, 2800m with some pace variation (50 min)
• PM: Easy bike, zone 1-2 (65 min)

Tuesday (Double-Threshold Day)

• AM: Threshold bike. Warm-up 15 min, then 2 x 18 min at 88-90% FTP with 5 min easy, cool-down 10 min (66 min)
• PM: Threshold run. Warm-up 15 min, then 2 x 15 min at threshold with 3 min jog, cool-down 10 min (58 min)

Wednesday

• AM: Easy swim, 3200m with drills (58 min)
• PM: Strength training: Back squats 4×5 at 78%, Romanian deadlifts 3×8, bench press 3×8, rows 3×8, core (60 min)

Thursday

• AM: VO2max bike. Warm-up 15 min, then 5 x 5 min at 105-108% FTP with 3 min easy spin, cool-down 10 min (73 min)
• PM: Easy run, zone 1-2 (45 min)

Friday

• AM: Easy swim, 2500m smooth (45 min)
• PM: Easy bike, zone 1-2 (60 min)

Saturday

• AM: Strength training: Front squats 4×5, deadlifts 3×5, overhead press 3×8, weighted pull-ups 3×6, core (60 min)
• PM: Long easy bike, zone 1-2 (2.75 hours)

Sunday

• Long easy run, zone 1-2, negative split final 20 min, but stay aerobic (100 min)

Weekly totals: 12.5-13 hours + 2 hours strength

Threshold: 72 min

VO2max: 25 min

Notes: Two double-threshold days with genuine easy days surrounding them. Wednesday is active recovery after Tuesday’s double.

Thursday’s long bike ride is easy despite the duration. Friday’s double stacks swim and bike, taking advantage of swimming’s low recovery cost. If you’re struggling with Friday’s bike threshold session, cut one interval. It’s better to do quality work than grind through garbage intervals.

Sample Week 3: Time-Crunched Peak Phase (8-10 hours)

Monday

• AM: Easy swim, 3000m continuous (55 min)
• PM: Easy bike, zone 1-2 (70 min)

Tuesday (Double-Threshold Day)

• AM: Threshold bike. Warm-up 15 min, then 2 x 20 min at 88-92% FTP with 5 min easy, cool-down 10 min (70 min)
• PM: Threshold run. Warm-up 15 min, then 3 x 12 min at threshold with 2.5 min jog, cool-down 10 min (64 min)

Wednesday

• AM: Easy swim, 3500m with technique work (62 min)
• PM: Strength training: Back squats 4×4 at 82%, Romanian deadlifts 3×6, bench 3×6, rows 3×6, core (60 min)

Thursday

• AM: Easy bike, zone 1-2, light spinning (80 min)
• PM: Easy run, zone 1-2 (50 min)

Friday

• AM: Easy swim, 2500m recovery (45 min)
• PM: VO2max run. Warm-up 15 min, then 5 x 5 min at 95-100% max HR with 2.5 min jog, cool-down 10 min (60 min)

Saturday

• AM: Strength training: Front squats 4×4, deadlifts 3×4, overhead press 3×6, weighted pull-ups 3×5, core (60 min)
• PM: Long easy bike, zone 1-2 (3 hours)

Sunday

• Long easy run, zone 1-2, build slightly in final 25 min (105 min)

Weekly totals: 13.5-14 hours + 2 hours strength

Threshold: 76 min

VO2max: 25 min

Notes: This is a lower-volume week because we’re in the peak phase close to race day. Anaerobic threshold work is shortened: intervals are 6-10 minutes instead of 12-15. The goal here is to maintain sharpness without accumulating fatigue. If this were the week before race day, you’d cut volume by another 30-40% and make Saturday’s sessions even shorter.

Sample Week 4: Recovery Week (8-9 hours)

Monday

• AM: Easy swim, 2000m smooth and easy (40 min)
• PM: Easy bike, zone 1 only (45 min)

Tuesday

• AM: Moderate threshold bike. Warm-up 15 min, 2 x 10 min at 88% FTP with 5 min easy, cool-down 10 min (50 min)
• PM: Easy run, zone 1-2 (35 min)

Wednesday

• AM: Easy swim, 2500m with drills (45 min)
• PM: Strength training: Deload week – Squats 3×5 at 65%, deadlifts 2×5 at 65%, light upper body 3×8, mobility (45 min)

Thursday

• Rest day or 30 min very easy spin

Friday

• AM: Easy swim, 2000m (40 min)
• PM: VO2max run (shortened). Warm-up 10 min, 4 x 3 min at 95% max HR with 2 min jog, cool-down 8 min (38 min)

Saturday

• OPTIONAL LACTATE TEST #1: Bike threshold test
  • Warm-up 20 min progressive
  • 3 x 6 min at 85%, 90%, 95% FTP with lactate measurement at end of each
  • 5 min easy between each
  • Cool-down 10 min
  • Total: 73 min
• If not testing: Easy bike 90 min zone 1-2

Sunday

• Easy run, zone 1-2, relaxed (60 min)

Weekly totals: 8-9 hours + 1 hour strength

Threshold: 20 min

VO2max: 12 min

Notes: Volume drops 35-40%. Intensity is maintained but shortened. One strength session only, deloaded. Use this week to absorb the previous 3 weeks of training. Sleep extra, eat well.

Lactate Testing Protocols (Optional)

When to test: End of recovery weeks (Weeks 4, 8, 12) to track fitness progression and validate training zones.

What you need:

• Lactate meter (Lactate Plus, Lactate Scout)
• Heart rate monitor
• Power meter (bike) or GPS watch with pace (run)
• Testing partner or coach (recommended)

Bike Lactate Test Protocol

Setup: Indoor trainer preferred for consistency. Outdoor on a flat road if necessary.

Protocol:

1. Warm-up: 20 minutes progressive from zone 1 to low zone 2
2. Stage 1: 6 minutes at 85% FTP – lactate sample at 5:30
3. Recovery: 5 minutes easy spin
4. Stage 2: 6 minutes at 90% FTP – lactate sample at 5:30
5. Recovery: 5 minutes easy spin
6. Stage 3: 6 minutes at 95% FTP – lactate sample at 5:30
7. Cool-down: 10 minutes easy

What to track:

• Power at each stage
• Heart rate (average final 2 min of each stage)
• Lactate reading
• Perceived exertion (1-10 scale)

Expected results:

• Lactate should rise progressively: ~2.0 → 3.5 → 5.0+ mmol/L
• Your lactate threshold is typically where lactate reaches 3.5-4.0 mmol/L
• Track how power at LT improves over 16 weeks

Run Lactate Test Protocol

Setup: Outdoor flat course or track preferred. Treadmill acceptable.

Protocol:

1. Warm-up: 15 minutes progressive run
2. Stage 1: 5 minutes at 85% threshold pace – lactate sample at 4:45
3. Recovery: 3 minutes walk/jog
4. Stage 2: 5 minutes at 90% threshold pace – lactate sample at 4:45
5. Recovery: 3 minutes walk/jog
6. Stage 3: 5 minutes at 95% threshold pace – lactate sample at 4:45
7. Cool-down: 10 minutes easy jog

What to track:

• Pace at each stage
• Heart rate (average final 2 min)
• Lactate reading
• Perceived exertion

Expected results:

• Similar lactate curve as bike: ~2.0 → 3.5 → 5.5+ mmol/L
• Threshold pace should increase from Week 4 → 8 → 12

Interpreting Your Results

Weeks 4 to 8:

• Expect a 5-10 watt increase in FTP
• Expect 5-10 sec/km improvement in threshold pace
• Lactate curve should shift right (same lactate at higher power/pace)

Weeks 8 to 12:

• Expect another 5-10 watt FTP increase
• Expect another 5-10 sec/km pace improvement
• Total improvement from Week 4 to 12: 10-20 watts, 10-20 sec/km faster

If results stagnate:

• You may be overtrained – add extra recovery
• You may be under-eating – check nutrition
• You may need more threshold volume – adjust plan

How to Use These Endurance Training Templates

These sample weeks aren’t meant to be copied exactly. They’re just frameworks showing how Norwegian training model principles translate into actual structured workouts. Here’s how to adapt them:

• Adjust for your available time

If you have 12 hours but Sample Week 2 shows 16, scale everything proportionally. Cut 10-15 minutes from longer sessions, drop one easy session per week, or shorten intervals slightly (3 x 10 min instead of 4 x 12 min).

• Respect your recovery capacity

If double-threshold days wreck you, do single-threshold sessions and distribute them across more days. The principle is the same: concentration of intensity with easy days around it.

• Swap disciplines based on your limiters

If you’re a weak swimmer, you can add threshold swim work and reduce one threshold bike or run. If running is your limiter, prioritize threshold run sessions even if it means backing off on swim volume.

• Listen to your body

If Wednesday rolls around and you’re still tired from Tuesday, make Wednesday a full rest instead of easy training. The plan serves you, not the other way around.

• Adjust for your race calendar

These are generic weeks. If you’re 12 weeks from a race, lean toward Sample Week 1. If you’re 6-8 weeks out and fit, Week 2 makes sense. If you’re inside 3 weeks, Week 3’s peak/taper structure applies.

The point is consistency, clarity, and sustainability rather than perfection. These weeks show what’s possible when you structure training around the Norwegian threshold training for triathletes. Now it’s your job to adapt them into something that fits your life, your goals, and your body’s unique response to training.