Jim Galanes on why a training year should change the dose of aerobic, threshold, VO2max, speed and strength work, and never remove any one of them entirely.
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This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you value coverage like this, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. This is a follow-up to my last article, Speed Creates the Load, Not Intensity. Before going further, it helps to define terms. Intensity is reflected in the heart rate response. Load is the physiological stress that drives adaptation. This piece takes a different angle, using high-intensity workouts and race heart...
Why “Training Volume Is the Biggest Predictor of Success” — and Why That’s Only Half True
Jim GalanesOctober 24, 2025
We read it again and again in studies, articles, and coaching posts: “Training volume is the best predictor of performance.” It’s one of the most consistent findings in exercise science, appearing across endurance sports for decades, and in national training systems. But the statement is often repeated without understanding what it really means, or more importantly what it doesn’t. One reason this line gets repeated so often is that “train more” is an easy message...
This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. Over the past three decades of coaching—monitoring dozens of athletes and using tools like Firstbeat analytics to track training load and recovery—I’ve developed my training theory that I call “continual improvement.” Some exercise physiologists, sport scientists, and coaches question whether this is even possible. Others...
The latest research used Norwegian and French World Cup skiers to look at how VO2Max and heart rate variability fluctuate over the course of one or several seasons. Plus, a new kind of "neurodoping" is now possible, using electrical currents or magnetic fields to make your brain better at everything.
Northug Back on the WC Circuit
Inge ScheveDecember 11, 2010
“It might have been good for me to fall down the drain a little,” Petter Northug said at the press conference in Davos Friday afternoon.
Elofsson: Petter Must Get Back in the Track
Inge ScheveNovember 23, 2010
“In this situation, the most important for (Petter Northug) is to relax and protect himself from all the commotion around him. He has to find his way back to the starting point and rebuild. Only then can he get back to training,” Per Elofsson (SWE) said to NRK.