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Training8 min read

What Is the Norwegian Method in Running?

The science-backed training approach behind Norway’s endurance success, built on controlled intensity and double threshold sessions.

What Is the Norwegian Method?

The Norwegian Method is a training approach to endurance running that emphasizes high training frequency, controlled intensity, and precise monitoring of effort, particularly around lactate threshold. It gained widespread attention due to the success of Norwegian athletes such as Jakob Ingebrigtsen, but the method itself is rooted in decades of applied sports science.

Rather than relying on extreme volume or frequent maximal efforts, the Norwegian Method focuses on accumulating large amounts of quality work at submaximal intensities—especially near, but not above, lactate threshold.

The Core Principle: Train Hard, But Never Too Hard

At the heart of the Norwegian Method is a simple idea:

You can do more high-quality training if intensity is tightly controlled.

Most endurance athletes train either too hard on hard days or too hard on easy days. The Norwegian approach avoids this by clearly separating training zones and using physiological markers—most notably blood lactate concentration—to guide intensity.

Lactate Threshold as the Anchor

The method places enormous emphasis on lactate threshold, the intensity at which lactate production and clearance are balanced.

Key characteristics:

  • Most quality work is done below ~4 mmol/L blood lactate
  • Typical target range is 2–3.5 mmol/L
  • Efforts feel “comfortably hard,” not exhaustive

Research shows that sustained work near lactate threshold is one of the strongest predictors of endurance performance across distances from 5 km to the marathon (Faude et al., 2009).

Double Threshold Training Explained

The most distinctive feature of the Norwegian Method is double threshold days.

Instead of one hard session, athletes perform:

  • One threshold workout in the morning
  • A second threshold workout in the afternoon or evening

Both sessions are controlled, submaximal, and monitored.

Why Two Sessions?

Doing two moderate-intensity sessions allows athletes to:

  • Accumulate more total threshold volume
  • Avoid excessive fatigue from a single long workout
  • Maintain better movement quality and pacing

Studies suggest that splitting training into multiple sessions can improve quality and recovery compared to single, longer sessions at the same total workload (Stöggl & Sperlich, 2015).

What a Typical Week Looks Like

While exact structure varies, a common Norwegian-style week includes:

  • 2 double threshold days
  • 2–3 very easy aerobic days
  • 1 longer aerobic run
  • Minimal training above threshold

Easy days are truly easy, often well below marathon effort, reinforcing the strong intensity polarization seen in elite endurance athletes.

How This Differs from Traditional Training Models

Traditional models often include:

  • One hard interval session
  • One tempo run
  • One long run

The Norwegian Method replaces some high-intensity work with more frequent threshold exposure, while strictly limiting time spent at very high intensities.

This reduces injury risk and overtraining while allowing consistent training over long periods—an approach strongly associated with elite endurance development (Seiler, 2010).

Is the Norwegian Method Only for Elites?

While full double threshold days are not appropriate for most recreational runners, the underlying principles scale well:

  • Better intensity control
  • More discipline on easy days
  • Less “grey zone” training
  • Focus on consistency over hero workouts

Recreational runners can apply the method by:

  • Running threshold sessions slightly easier than expected
  • Limiting truly hard efforts
  • Prioritizing repeatable training weeks over peak workouts

Common Misunderstandings

  • It’s not about training harder — it’s about training smarter
  • It’s not all threshold all the time — easy running still dominates
  • Lactate testing isn’t mandatory — perceived exertion and heart rate can approximate zones reasonably well

Why the Norwegian Method Works

The method aligns with modern endurance science showing that:

  • Threshold intensity is highly trainable
  • Excessive high-intensity work increases injury risk
  • Long-term consistency matters more than occasional breakthroughs

By keeping intensity sustainable, athletes can train more frequently, recover better, and improve steadily over time.

Practical Takeaway

The Norwegian Method isn’t a magic formula—it’s a disciplined system.

Its success comes from:

  • Precise control of effort
  • Respect for recovery
  • Relentless consistency

For most runners, the biggest lesson isn’t double threshold days—it’s learning to leave workouts feeling strong enough to train well again tomorrow.

References

  • Faude, O., Kindermann, W., & Meyer, T. (2009). Lactate threshold concepts: how valid are they? Sports Medicine, 39(6), 469–490.
  • Seiler, S. (2010). What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 5(3), 276–291.
  • Stöggl, T. L., & Sperlich, B. (2015). The training intensity distribution among well-trained and elite endurance athletes. Frontiers in Physiology, 6, 295.
  • Sandbakk, Ø., & Holmberg, H. C. (2017). Physiological capacity and training routines of elite endurance athletes. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 27(9), 1007–1022.
  • Tønnessen, E., Sylta, Ø., Haugen, T. A., Hem, E., Svendsen, I. S., & Seiler, S. (2014). The road to gold: training and peaking characteristics in the year prior to a gold medal endurance performance. PLOS ONE, 9(7), e101796.