The road to gold: training and peaking characteristics in the year prior to a gold medal endurance performance.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Retrospective descriptive case series of 11 elite athletes without a control group.
PubMed 25019608 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101796
What was done
Analyzed 1-year day-to-day training logs leading up to their most successful career competition (Olympic or World Championship gold medal) in 11 elite cross-country skiers and biathletes (4 male, mean VO2max 85±5 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹; 7 female, mean VO2max 73±3 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹). Training was categorized into periodization phases, intensity zones relative to the first lactate threshold, and activity types.
What was found
Athletes averaged ~800 hours across ~500 sessions annually (~500 hours sport-specific). Aerobic endurance accounted for 94% of training time, split into ~90% low-intensity training (LIT, below the first lactate threshold) and ~10% high-intensity training (HIT, above the first lactate threshold). By session count, 23% were classified as HIT. Absolute HIT volume remained stable across phases, though patterns polarized further in the competition phase where 92% of training was sport-specific. Peaking volume was 32±15% lower than the preparation period (P < 0.01), but volume, frequency, and intensity did not change between pre-peaking and peaking phases. Only 3 of 11 athletes took a rest day during the 5 days immediately preceding their peak event.
Why it matters
Provides empirical benchmarks for annual periodization in world-class endurance athletes, showing heavy reliance on high-volume low-intensity training and demonstrating that elite tapering practices differ from experimental tapering literature, particularly regarding pre-competition rest days.
Limits
Small sample size (n = 11) restricted to elite Nordic winter sports athletes, limiting generalizability to other sports or fitness levels. Relies on self-reported training logs, and the observational design lacks a comparator group to establish causality between specific training structures and competitive success.
Cited by
- supports The 80/20 training intensity model originated from training logs of elite athletes showing roughly 80% of sessions were at low intensity and 20% at high intensity.