A Comprehensive Guide to the most popular training philosophies including Polarized, HIIT, Sweet Spot, and the Norwegian training philosophy

Embarking on a journey to optimize your cycling performance? It’s time to decipher the intricacies of various training philosophies that can propel your physique to new heights. We’ll delve into the worlds of Polarized Training, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Sweet Spot Training, Pyramidical Training and introduce a dynamic twist with The Norwegian Model, which has gained a lot of attention in recent years. Let’s explore the strengths and intricacies of each method to help you craft the perfect training blend for your development as a cyclist. Depending on your goal and motivation, this article should help you decide what philosophy is the right one for you.

Polarized Training

Polarized Training is akin to finding a balance between yin and yang, focusing on large volumes of low-intensity efforts (80-90%) and explosive high-intensity workouts (10-20%). By steering clear of the moderate intensities, this approach aims to boost aerobic capacity, enhance fat metabolism, and reduce the risk of overtraining.

Benefits of Polarized Training:

• Optimal aerobic development
• Improved fat utilization
• Lower risk of training fatigue and injuries
• Easier to motivate yourself on the hard days, since you don’t have that many of them

In polarized training you typically use a 3 zone model determined by lactate lavels. The 80-90% of your training that is low intensity, is meant to be below you first lactate threshold. The middle zone is everything between the first and second lactate thresholds. And the 10-20% of your training that is high intensity is meant to be above your second lactate threshold.

There’s different opinions about how the 80/20 or 90/10 split is meant to be. Some say it’s your actual time in zone. Others say it’s your intent with the workout. So 90% of your rides are meant to be easy. That is actually quite extreme if you think about it.

Either way, the takeaway from the polarized approach is that you don’t spend much time in that middle zone, as it adds a lot more stress without a lot more potential benefit than the intensities below LT1. Your focus is to make the easy days easy and the hard days hard. The downside with this approach is, that you need a good amount of training time to be able to get any meaningful time at high intensities while maintaining the 80/20 split.

HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training

As the name suggests, HIIT focuses on interval sessions with high intensity efforts. Typically from zone 5 and up. While HIIT sessions have their place in any training philosophy, it’s typically periodized so you do more HIIT sessions to peak your fitness, and limit high intensity sessions in base season. With the HIIT training philosophy you focus on high intensity year round.

HIIT gained a lot of attention in the 90’s and 00’s. Studies carried out in laboratories showed that athletes who performed highly intense interval training showed bigger improvements than athletes riding at lower intensities. One of the reasons is, as we know today, that high intensity is required to reach peak fitness. It should be incorporated into specialty and peak phases of your training plan. Another reason is that lower intensity requires a larger volume over longer time to provide good stimuli. But it’s pretty hard to get athletes to ride for 20-30 hours a week for months in a laboratory to control their efforts and judge their outcome.

Another thing to consider with HIIT is the mental load. Hard session requires mental preparation, and are highly taxing to perform. You need periods of the year where you don’t need to go balls to the wall multiple times a week. Unless you ride less than 5 hours a week, having many high intensity sessions will also push your physique to the limit, and you will risk being overtrained, injuried and have a hard time recovering for your next sessions. Remember consistency is key to develop over the long haul.

Research shows that two days of intensity per week is enough to provide close to max stimuli that you can recover from and adapt to. A third day can provide gains, but it’s probably not worth it, as you risk putting too big a load on yourself.

Benefits of HIIT:

• Required to reach peak fitness
• Efficient calorie burn
• Enhanced post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)
• Cardiovascular health boost

Sweet Spot Training

Sweet Spot Training focuses on the sweet spot zone, typically set at 88-94% of your FTP (Functional Threshold Power). It’s not a zone on the typical zone models, but consist of the top end of the tempo and lower end of threshold zones. This moderate intensity level challenges your aerobic system without plunging into anaerobic territory and the stress that comes with. That means you can do high volumes of sweet spot intensity. It’s a zone that cultivates endurance and sustainable power.

What you need to be careful with in the sweet spot training philosophy is having too big a part of your training being in that sweet spot area. Even though the promise is being able to do big volumes of relatively high intensity, you shouldn’t have the major part of your days being sweet spot, unless you only ride 3 times a week. Better make your sweet spot days have a big volume of time in zone, and keep some of the days easy.

Benefits of Sweet Spot Training:

• Improved FTP and sustainable power
• Enhanced muscular endurance
• Time-efficient workouts
• Training at an intensity that is typical gravel grinding tempo

Pyramidical Training

The Pyramidical Training approach is a dynamic structure that combines elements of both high and low-intensity efforts. This method involves gradually increasing and decreasing the intensity of your workouts in a pyramid-like fashion. Starting with low intensity, moving to peak intensity, and then tapering back down, Pyramidical Training offers a versatile approach to building strength and endurance.

Benefits of Pyramidical Training:

• Progressive challenge for muscles
• Improved adaptability to varying intensities
• Versatility in training structure

The Norwegian Method

The Norwegian method is quite closely related to polarized training. It involves predominantly training at either low intensity or high intensity, with limited time spent in moderate intensity zones. This method typically entails doing easy, long-duration rides (low intensity) for building endurance and recovery, interspersed with shorter, high-intensity interval sessions to improve speed and power. The goal is to avoid spending too much time in the moderate intensity zone, which can lead to fatigue without significant performance gains.

Where The Norwegian Method differs from polarized, is that is has a big focus on threshold traning and lactate testing. Specifically just below the second lactate threshold in a 3 zone model. The Norwegians think training at threshold is too big a risk, as you might slip just a bit above it from time to time, and this is where training stress and risk of injury is much higher. But it doesn’t go as low as the sweet spot.

Conclusion: Crafting Your Training Philosophy

Now that we have gone through the most popular training philosophies, you probably wonder which one suites you the best. But the truth is you need to use multiple of them as you plan your season. It’s a matter of using the right approach at the right time. That’s where periodization comes in. A typical approach is pyramidical during the base season, which then transfers into a polarized or HIIT as you move into the specialty and peak phases of your season.