Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden & Aaron Royle - Threshold Session

We join Kristian Blummenfelt (Olympic Triathlon Champion, World Ironman Champion) and Gustav Iden (World 70.3 Champion) in the ever-popular European altitude hotspot of Font Romeu as they prepare for the remainder of the 2022 season. The mastermind behind the Norwegian success, Olav Aleksander Bu, also joins to give an insight into how physiological metrics are used to define training.
The workout:
4x2km
4x1km
Lactate threshold, 60 seconds recovery
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Kristian's Instagram: / kristianblu
Gustav's Instagram: / gustav_iden
Aaron's Instagram: / aaronroyle
Sweat Elite Instagram: / sweatelite
Shot and edited by Fintan Stewart: / fintanstagram
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Timecodes:
00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Warmup and Chat
06:30 - Olav, the mastermind
14:48 - 2k reps
21:30 - 1k reps
26:44 - Post session discussion
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[@Halfhand]

Holy moly, actual kristian blummenfelt training session in the channel. Gratz man!!!

[@RLL944]

Gustav, Kristian and Aaron sweeping the podium in PTO Canada. Wow. All in this video too

[@itsv0o0o0o]

Literally watching these 3 athletes take the podium in the PTO Canadian Open

[@adhajamil4263]

this guy utilized his prime to win as many as possible .great to see this kind of mindset from world best. and what a great content! subscribed!

[@gusmontano]

Fantastic video! Amazing that the coach is also a scientist, and lent some insightful information about devices and biomechanical information!

[@OrianIglesias]

Amazing video! Really love seeing triathletes and hope you get access to more of them in the future.

[@vinhnguyen7142]

Not sure what it is. Combination of time of day or camera or settings. But your footage has a nice nostalgic 90s feel to it.

[@laurent4451]

Jesus, these 2 guys are absolute machines, love to see them on the channel

[@israel_started_it_ALL_in_1948]

Blu, in one year, won the Olympics, IM world champ, sub 7, and had the 70.3 world record (which he just lost to Martin van reil). It's like Fred Kerly winning the 100, 200, 400 in the same year.

[@gourami7]

Also ITU World Champion Series winner

[@whamcee]

add 70.3 world champion also

[@GossAug]

It sounds more like an athlete winning the the 100 200 300 and 400 and placing in the 800. That’s so crazy he did all that in a year!

[@jayleppanen]

So these three guys just took the podium places in PTO Canadian open! Wow!

[@runningwithstelvio]

Your proposal for improving the actual tools for measurements of running dynamics sounds really good... very well done with the intervals!

[@vnderrr]

this was really awesome to watch. beautiful location and recording too. thanks for sharing guys

[@sarabt]

Idk if it's just me but I love how synched their footsteps are

[@robertstokes9034]

You’re not alone. I listen for cadence to see what “fast” sounds like. 😂

[@ryanwillms4180]

So rad to see this, such a good vibe with these guys!

[@mateusbittencourtmendes2684]

Great timing to post heheh just before The pto in canada… Incredible content as always 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@chmart]

Such awesome footage!

[@vereidepusen]

Great episode!

[@annapyea]

They are definitely driving the game now! World champs!

[@OmahaTonyG]

Kristian Blummenfelt does not have the traditional runners physique, but he is fast as hell.

[@samulihirsi]

triathletes seem to be getting more muscular these days

[@jeanlouis731]

Is his chest naturally so big ? Looks like he has a belly too

[@jeanlouis731]

@@samulihirsi Do they go the gym on a regular basis and do stength exercise ?

[@ziskablyat8451]

@@jeanlouis731 His chest is big because of his huge lungs and extreme vo2max. He's also a very strong swimmer. The belly probably comes from the insane amounts of calories he consumes before a workout. When he is done, the belly is probably flat again

[@jeanlouis731]

@@ziskablyat8451 Still I wander if it's good for his health on the long run

[@apostolisp4909]

Was waiting for this

[@joemoya9743]

Best yet.

[@tomasvalve930]

Very cool session and nice to hear their comments about it.

[@kacperwitowski5940]

amazing material :)

[@thomasklopstra6204]

Best 1 yet!

[@EMANUELEFERRAVLOG-english]

Good video!! 👏🏻💪🏻

[@joboytancinco9972]

and...... these guys were Top 3 in the PTO Canadian Open that just happened

[@juanseaforth5111]

Another great video 👊🏾👊🏾

[@jasonrehor7691]

Watching this wayyyy after the race and crazy that all three guys got top three!

[@paulsolon6229]

Inspiration Love it

[@AdamMullery-tg5xn]

Kristian and Gustav in sync

[@quintuyoyarzoenzo]

Amazing.

[@gianpaulcv6425]

Finally!!

[@cakej1]

I love STRYD. Used it since 2019.

[@mylesteller]

Kris is definitely one of the best athletes in the world today

[@bahmatandrey]

Fire

[@scotmoser8716]

Not surprised that was podium in Canada last week!

[@MohammadRauf1]

just met em racing in Edmonton, great race.

[@sergiohermelo7121]

PTO Edmonton full podium!

[@SojuPast3810]

The man is a fucking beast.

[@cphilipbrown]

What was the rest interval on these?

[@urbanreef17]

K.B is the greatest champion ever, he's my idole! one day, i'll go to font romeu ( i'm french) just to see him running swimming and biking! He's such inspiration for me, humble, performent and smart! Kristian, see you soon in Font romeu, would you accept to make a selfie with me? i hoep so cause it's a long drive

[@aitorarotzena2550]

Thw three men in the podium of the PTO Canadian Open!

[@joshbetteley3469]

Knew that was some fintan Stewart gimbal work even before I heard the Irish accent🔥🔥🔥

[@gildasribau9558]

What is the additonal module on their Garmin heartbeat sensor belt?

[@bradmac1299]

Keen to know rest time between intervals?

[@kristofferjohnson5789]

Did they do cool down?

[@chadbeyer7650]

Do they say what lactate range they are targeting for these 2k intervals? 2.2 to 2.5mmol I'd guess?

[@martynaopianiak5460]

Finally THE NORWEGIANS!

[@timobrien256]

What’s the drafting benefit Gustav is getting….can it be measured with the foot pod?

[@danielsquires5253]

Siiiiiick!

[@juliendolhen8982]

Good at running and very good at speaking english !

[@huntermaynard8837]

If we’re adding in extra volume on the bike to assist our run training, could we use the Norwegian model of 3 hard lactate days in a row then a day off? Obv this would be a very specific block but any thoughts guys? Great footage and so much knowledge

[@dominicpollizzi_tri]

Are you primarily using the bike for additional easy training or are you supplementing with intervals as well? From the information that's available, it seems that the Norwegians follow a 4-day cycle as Threshold, Aerobic, Threshold, and Easy with the Easy day being a day off every 3rd cycle. In this video they're likely hitting the 4th day hard to try and get as much stimulus as possible from the altitude, so the load is greater than normal. I think you'd find you can hit more quality via the normal 4-day schedule mentioned above than trying to do 3 consecutive hard days. You could try swapping out the runs for bike sessions (or add a bike session if you can handle the volume without harming your quality run sessions) on your Aerobic and Easy Days

[@huntermaynard8837]

@@dominicpollizzi_tri I’m using the bike as supplemental volume. Running is my sport. I have tried some harder intervals on the bike but my HR just doesn’t get as high as threshold run training

[@dominicpollizzi_tri]

@@huntermaynard8837 That's definitely typical. 8-10 beats difference is usually what I experience between my bike and run heart rate thresholds. However, as a runner, that difference will likely be even greater for you because your muscles are not as developed for cycling

[@huntermaynard8837]

@@dominicpollizzi_tri so just to be clear I could do threshold run, aerobic, then another threshold run, easy as a 4 day split then rinse and repeat with that third cycle having a day off entirely instead of the easy day? And basically use the bike as the second threshold session and the run as the primary threshold session? Or do one threshold as shorter intervals and the second as longer intervals and use the bike for additional volume to pass the intensity with easier aerobic work?

[@dominicpollizzi_tri]

@@huntermaynard8837 Correct on the 4 day cycle. As for run vs bike for the threshold sessions, it depends. For a runner, doing the threshold work as running will be the better choice but only if you can recover well enough. Hard running will be much more taxing on the body than hard cycling when comparing 1:1. Even though the point of threshold is that it's the most bang for your buck while still allowing you to recover relatively quickly, it is still high intensity What has your run volume and intensity distribution been like in the past? Gustav and Blu as well as the Ingebrigtsen runners are able to handle even 2+ threshold workouts on their hard days. But this is because of the time they've spent building up to it. It will take a little experimentation to see what you can handle without risking injury or illness

[@endurodadclint5377]

How long did they rest in between the 2km efforts ?

[@dehanlouw3006]

Anyone pick up what the rest intervals for this session was?

[@ohhreally92]

how long did they rest inbetween each 2k and 1k?

[@French_iron_boy]

Gustav looked so easy !

[@bobdown5520]

These 3 placed 1, 2, 3 in the PTO Canada race

[@furiousfelson252]

You've interviewed Gwen Jorgenson... Rio individual Gold

[@williambolduc3826]

They just finished 1-2-3 at the Canadien Open lol

[@alexisperez6074]

I believe the thief is Lionel 🤔

[@jjchang9874]

This is the first time I notice the altitude figuratively. It hurts just watching.

[@bradyrhodes6707]

I heard Sam Long stole your lactate monitors 😂😂

[@moritzmuller8203]

What does Gustav have on is left Arm?

[@TheNjackets]

Didn't Royle used to train with peak Brownlees? I'd be interested to know his thoughts on who trained harder/who he thought was the better triathletes etc (realising of course the differences in distance)

[@benjaminberlin]

He spoke of this on a podcast, apparently he could hang with them in training and even thought "maybe I can take these guys on race day". But then in the race, the Brownlee's just go god mode and annihilate any pacing strategies. He said they were the most impressive athletes in terms of what they could do in training versus how deep they go in a race.

[@juancarlosjuancarlos4629]

@@benjaminberlin prime Alistair Brownlee is triathlon GOAT. I remember 21 years old Al destroying Frodeno 2-3min constantly race after race in 2h olympic distance racing. Guy always swam top5 out of the water and then kill everyone in first 10min on the bike so everybody was already dead before running. Blu has similar mindset, but I believe 2009-2012 Al was best triathlete ever

[@Rambleon444]

Those champs check their lactate so often they should get some kind of blood spigot installed.

[@williambolduc3826]

Gustav is winning the Canadien Open tomorrow mark my words

[@milomilo8212]

Agreed. I can’t wait to see Gustav and Blu go head to head. Dunno if it’s just me but because G missed the world champs I feel he’s been slightly been overlooked (since Blu is smashing it lately - but head to head I think Gustav is the better triathlete

[@leslie7922]

Lionel will win :)

[@samisavola863]

man im so excited.

[@williambolduc3826]

@@leslie7922 I would love Lionel to win it but I don't think he's quite there yet

[@bradyrhodes6707]

Agree 100%. The 100k distance is perfect for him

[@rosswoods6039]

Love to know the pace on the run that they are chatting away 🤩

[@nickb6138]

Their easy running pace is probably around 4.45/km

[@gaiusvelleius]

@@nickb6138 I´d say it´s faster

[@ingmarneple6072]

@@gaiusvelleius no, don’t think so, altitude has a big impact. And font hasn’t got the fastest terain

[@paulsolon6229]

It seems too complicated But they win So it seems it’s the rt way

[@hansschenker]

"Gutav Indem Christlichen Blumenfeld"!

[@pjwright82]

Kristian always oddly looks heavy compared to his peers.

[@Olle-mg2lq]

KB:s breathing sounds so hard relative to his lactate

[@JohnSmith-gp9ut]

this is threshold? it looks like zone 2

[@felixthespaghettifan7541]

No wonder 3x1000 at 5k pace feels so easy, he did it like 9 more times

[@cphilipbrown]

I’m not exactly sure what you’re saying, but these are about half marathon pace for them. KB’s 5km pace is 2:45/km

[@felixthespaghettifan7541]

@@cphilipbrown damn, mine is 3:35/km

[@kaduarruda4741]

@@cphilipbrown That's pretty fast for such a massive man.

[@demoope]

I think Gwen Jorgensen beat Kristian to the punch on the Sweat Elite achievement.

[@josephandas5748]

Asics Hyperspeed

[@ltonetto]

Gustav makes it all look so easy, wtf...

[@brianreilly7332]

Joe Skipper the lactate thief?

[@RustyRacer]

7 seconds for the shoes!?!

[@Morfeusm]

I think he meant 7 seconds in that particular rep

[@davidmoa1364]

Had the top competitors the other day media didn't say much big surprise for the womans be nice for the men's too just saying

[@maerlobo]

Cracks.

[@joaopereira7179]

Is Gustav Iden diabetic?

[@janet3915]

I had the same thought. Maybe he likes to monitor his glucose for training purposes?

[@livinginitaly16years80]

Shouldnt train on hard surfaces ,not good

[@juanbautistaperezramon951]

Estos corredores están muy gordos

[@firefight33]

Kristian "The Fat Man" Blummenfelt

[@leslie7922]

Still he can destroy all of us skinny people in the comments section

[@Tethysmeer]

firefight33 why is this even a topic?

[@MrPeperoni79]

@@leslie7922 Nah, in the comments section, I am invincible. And he won't see me on the track.

[@Morfeusm]

@@Tethysmeer it’s the topic because for years mostly western athletes were drilled skinnier is faster and someone is clearly hurt watching this guy rip their bottoms… Time to rewrite some written rules, he is obviously the best at the moment so don’t fix what’s not broken. Btw I am not saying being ultra lean is bad in all instances.

[@bmp713]

I find it fascinating that these guys look for every possible technological edge yet won't even use the simplest strategy of all and simply lose weight.

[@nelson_alexander]

They tried that and tested it. His coach found that Kristian was much less effective at a lower weight. They are not runners, they're triathletes and you have to factor in all 3 disciplines. He's a bigger guy yet Kristian is still one of the fastest runners in the sport.

[@user-vs9kh5my2l]

Классная пробежка!Слава России!

[@sunnlands]

Thank you for supporting Ukraine, Kanat!

[@user-vs9kh5my2l]

@@sunnlands Russia winner 🏆 !

[@matthiashaupt9109]

Everything on Blummenfelt is awkward - when he runs, is stomps louder than an elegant, every running coach would say, that is not good for your legs, body and overall performance - I really doubt he will perform that crazy on the long run, Iden seems way more fit to do so, but impressive overall