Shownotes

Professional transition

02:55 -

• It all started back in 2023 when I took on a role at the National Olympic Committee of Norway as a coach. This position wasn’t about direct coaching but rather involved working with high-performance environments, overseeing national teams, structuring programmes, and managing funding.
• It was initially planned as a part-time role, alongside my part-time position at the Norwegian Triathlon Federation, where my primary focus was preparing for the Paris Olympics.
• The idea was that after the Olympics, I would transition into a full-time role at the National Olympic Committee.
• However, things took an unexpected turn when the Norwegian Swimming Federation needed to restructure its high-performance system. Given my position at the National Olympic Committee and my close work with various federations, I was approached to take on the role of High-Performance Director for Norwegian swimming.
• Since my long-term plan was already to work full-time within the Olympic Committee, and I had spent a valuable half-year gaining a broader perspective on high-performance sports, the transition felt like a natural step. Ultimately, it turned into a full-time opportunity, and I embraced it.
• Of course, triathlon remains a deep passion of mine, and it was somewhat strange to move on. However, I strongly believe that high-performance environments benefit from change. No one should stay in a single sport for too long, as fresh perspectives and new leadership help both individuals and organisations evolve.
• This change is healthy—not just for me but for the sport itself. While I still do some coaching and travel for triathlon, I see so many similarities across sports.
• Whether in triathlon or swimming, high-performance athletes are driven by the same relentless pursuit of excellence, dedicating themselves fully to becoming the best in the world.
• Swimming, in particular, is an incredibly complex and fascinating sport. When the opportunity arose, I knew I had to say yes.

Arild's responsibilities 

10:00 -

• When I first got involved in triathlon, my official role was as a Sports Director or High-Performance Director, but at that time, Norwegian triathlon was extremely underdeveloped. There were no professional coaches, no structured system, no funding, and barely any athletes.
• Because of this, I had to step into the role of a coach myself. While I was responsible for structuring the system and overseeing high-performance development, the reality was that my main function became coaching.
• Over a decade, we managed to produce strong results despite these limitations. Now, transitioning into swimming, I’m stepping into a vastly different environment.
• Norway’s swimming system is well-developed, with 280 full-time coaches, numerous well-funded clubs, and a federation with significantly more financial resources than triathlon had.
• However, despite having all these elements in place, the performance results have not followed. One of the issues, I believe, is that the system is too comfortable—coaches have secure jobs, and there isn’t enough challenge or pressure to push them towards high-performance development.
• The structure is more focused on acquiring new members rather than on long-term athlete development.
• My role now is much broader. Unlike in triathlon, where I could implement changes immediately, here I work within a larger organisation, managing nearly ten coaches across multiple disciplines.
• Beyond swimming, I also oversee power swimming, diving, artistic swimming, and water polo. While water polo and artistic swimming are relatively small in Norway, diving is a different story—we have two or three potential Olympic finalists for LA 2028.
• In sports like diving, where there is only one national coach working in isolation, my job is to support and challenge their methods, helping them refine how they structure their national team and approach athlete development.
• My role is not to be the technical coach but rather to ensure that the overall system functions optimally to maximise athlete potential.
• A key difference in swimming is that I don’t directly coach athletes. Instead, my primary focus is on working with both coaches and clubs.
• Out of the 280 full-time coaches in Norway, only about 15-20 are directly working with high-level athletes. While working with them is crucial, the club structure also plays a major role in long-term development.
• I cannot restructure clubs, but I can guide them towards fostering an environment that supports athletes beyond the junior level.
• One of the biggest challenges in Norwegian swimming is athlete retention. The world's top swimmers peak around 25 years old, yet in Norway, most swimmers quit before they turn 20.
• This is an issue that needs to be addressed both from a coaching perspective—ensuring sustainable long-term development—and from a club management perspective. Many clubs prioritise young swimmers (aged 9-11) because they bring in revenue through high parental fees.
• However, supporting elite swimmers between 18-25 is often seen as a financial burden rather than an investment. This creates a gap where the most crucial years for performance development receive the least support.
• The financial reality of swimming is also different from triathlon. In triathlon, an athlete who finishes in the top 10 at an Ironman event can make a reasonable living.
• In swimming, even an Olympic finalist might struggle financially. This makes it even more difficult for athletes to sustain their careers unless they reach the absolute top level.

The benefits of having a longer swimming career

18:03 -

• As a club coach, your salary is stable, but the clubs are often run by parents volunteering their time. Their primary goal is to make the club the best it can be in every aspect. As a result, club coaches are often evaluated based on immediate success, particularly in national championships.
• However, there's a well-known issue in swimming: between the ages of 16 and 18, many athletes drop out.
• Knowing this, a club coach might think that the best way to secure their job for the following year is to push young athletes very hard to achieve strong results early.
• Since many of them will quit at 18 anyway, the emphasis becomes short-term success rather than long-term athlete development.
• This system benefits clubs and coaches in terms of immediate recognition and results, but it is highly detrimental from a high-performance perspective.
• It fails to produce internationally competitive athletes because it prioritises early peak performance over sustained progression.
• This short-term focus is one of the biggest issues we are working to change. When I transitioned to triathlon, I noticed similarities but also key differences. In triathlon, there is a financial incentive to continue competing, as athletes can start earning money if they reach a certain level.
• When I began working with Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, my goal was to ensure they reached a level at 18 where they could see a professional future in the sport.
• However, my approach was always long-term. Having experienced athlete development myself, I understood that success had to be built over time. No one was pushing me to prioritise quick results, so I could fully commit to a long-term strategy.
• In contrast, club swimming in Norway makes it much harder for coaches to maintain this perspective. It’s easy to get caught up in short-term goals, especially with the structure of the season.
• There are multiple national championships each year, including youth championships for the youngest juniors. This means that coaches are constantly tapering and preparing athletes for races rather than focusing on their long-term growth.
• By the time they turn 18, they might have won national medals, but in the global context, they are far behind the world’s best. This cycle is what we are actively working to change—shifting the emphasis from short-term success to creating a system that fosters true international excellence.

Differences in how swimmers work

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• One of the biggest surprises for me when I started working with swimmers, especially sprinters, was how little time they actually spent in the water.
• Coming from a triathlon background, I expected them to do significantly longer swim sessions, but I found that many top sprinters would go through all the effort of getting to the pool, warming up, and preparing, only to swim about 1,500 metres in total.
• At first, I couldn’t understand how they could afford to spend so little time in the water. However, as I gained more insight, I developed a deep respect for their approach.
• The key difference is the enormous emphasis on strength training. The best sprinter we had—who, while not world-class, still competed in the Olympics—was in the gym six times a week from September to December.
• That level of strength training was completely foreign to me as a triathlon coach. In Norway, our triathlon training has traditionally been built around a strong aerobic base, with swimming, cycling, and running forming the foundation.
• Strength training was almost a non-factor. But in swimming, particularly for sprinters, strength training is a core part of their preparation, while their actual swimming volume remains surprisingly low.
• On the other hand, when looking at long-distance swimming, I noticed more similarities with triathlon training. The overall structure of the programme—the way the training builds up over time—is quite comparable, even if there are still differences.
• So, while I encountered some unexpected elements, I also saw validation that some of the principles we apply in triathlon swimming are in line with what works at the highest levels of competitive swimming.

Technique work for swimmers

29:19 -

• When I was training with triathlon, our approach to swim sessions was very focused on efficiency and volume. If we had a two-hour swim session in the pool, our goal was always to cover around 7,000 to 8,000 metres.
• Every minute in the water had to be effective—we focused on doing exactly what needed to be done without wasting time.
• This is quite different from how a dedicated swimmer might use a two-hour session. They might only cover around 4,500 metres because a significant portion of their time—perhaps 30 to 40 minutes—would be dedicated to technical drills, improving turns, or working on specific sprint efforts with long rest periods.
• That said, we didn’t push for that level of volume and intensity every single day.
• Given that we swam around 10 to 11 times per week, with many of those sessions lasting two hours, most of our workouts had to be structured intelligently to maintain consistency and avoid excessive fatigue.
• In those cases, we followed a structured approach similar to what I was accustomed to in triathlon training.

Changes Arild made in his triathlon coaching from the swimming learnings

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• I wouldn’t say there is a big difference. Of course, you always learn something new, and I’ve gained a slightly different perspective on how I structure my swim sessions.
• I might incorporate a bit more drill and technical work now, but overall, my approach remains quite similar. As a triathlon coach, my focus is always on what is necessary for performance.
• My swim sessions are usually quite efficient, around 4 to 5 kilometres, prioritising effectiveness. The biggest takeaway for me has been the variety in how the main sets are structured, particularly in relation to the specific physiological development goals—whether it's a threshold session or a VO2 max session.
• I now have a broader range of pre-set structures that I incorporate into training.

Negative surprises that Arild found

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• When I first started analysing the training methods in Norway, I was quite surprised by the approach to swimming, particularly the low training volume.
• Coming from a triathlon background, I’ve always understood that to be the best in the world, you need to do something better than everyone else.
• That doesn’t always mean training more, but often it does—especially when it comes to swimming. I was shocked to see that many coaches believed in a philosophy of significantly lower training volume than what we know is best practice globally.
• They seemed convinced that their approach was revolutionary, yet when their athletes failed to reach the top level, they couldn’t understand why.
• For me, as someone with a high-performance mindset in triathlon, that way of thinking is completely incomprehensible. If the goal is to be the best in the world, you must study what the best are doing and implement those practices.
• It’s not about finding shortcuts or drastically reducing training loads and expecting world-class results. You either need to train more or at least train better than everyone else.
• The idea that you can do much less than the rest of the world and still expect to dominate simply doesn’t make sense.
• That was one of the most frustrating things I encountered early on, but I must say that things are changing. There is now a much more positive attitude towards doing what is actually required to reach the highest level of swimming in Norway.
• Progress takes time, and we are not there yet, but the mindset is shifting in the right direction.

Top swimmer's training volume

35:14 -

• In terms of training volume, a long-distance swimmer typically performs 11 to 12 sessions a week, each lasting around two hours, though some might extend slightly beyond that.
• This adds up to approximately 25 hours in the pool per week. Swimmers also engage in gym sessions, which might involve strength training or other related exercises, contributing an additional 3 to 5 hours of training.
• Altogether, this brings the total weekly volume to around 30 hours, which is comparable to top-level athletes in other endurance sports, such as long-distance runners.
• However, when comparing how hours are counted between swimming and other sports, particularly triathlon, there’s a clear distinction.
• In triathlon, tools like Training Peaks are used, which allow for the precise tracking of training hours down to the minute.
• In swimming, on the other hand, the focus is on session time. For example, swimmers often perform a 30-minute warm-up before their main set, and this time is typically included in the total training count, even if the actual swimming set may only last 50 minutes.
• This means that when a swimmer claims to train for a certain amount of hours, they may actually be training less than what the total time suggests, especially compared to triathletes who do not include warm-up time in their calculations.
• In terms of distance swum, elite swimmers typically cover between 70,000 and 90,000 meters a week, and sometimes even up to 100,000-110,000 meters.
• In contrast, world-class swimmers may swim anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 meters a week, depending on their specialization. Middle-distance swimmers tend to fall in the range of 50,000 to 70,000 meters per week.
• Long-distance swimmers, as expected, have the highest volume. The training volumes also differ between swimmers and triathletes.
• For example, while coaching the Norwegian national triathlon team, the weekly swim volume for triathletes was typically between 25,000 to 30,000 meters, which is significantly lower than what is seen in swimming-specific training.

Things that Arild is trying to implement with elite swimmers from triathlon

38:13 -

• One of the key aspects of my work with the coaches has been addressing how they structure swim training, particularly in relation to speed elements.
• Swimming, especially in our region, tends to be heavily focused on sprint and middle-distance events. Because of this, it is very common for swim coaches to incorporate sprint work into almost every session, even when the primary focus should be on aerobic development.
• While sprinting is undoubtedly important, and we do need to include it in training, I’ve noticed a tendency among coaches to add short bursts of high-intensity work even in sessions that should be dedicated purely to building aerobic capacity.
• The concern seems to be that without frequent exposure to sprints, swimmers will lose their speed. This fear leads to practices where, for example, in a longer aerobic session, a coach might insert a 50- or 100-metre sprint every 800 metres.
• The problem with this approach is that it disrupts the intended metabolic adaptations. Instead of allowing the body to settle into and develop the necessary aerobic base, these interruptions interfere with the physiological goals of the session.
• This is something I have worked very hard to change. There are designated days for sprint work, and we ensure that swimmers get the necessary high-intensity exposure in those sessions.
• However, when we set out to develop aerobic endurance, the focus must remain on that goal. The body needs prolonged periods of sustained effort at a specific intensity to improve aerobic capacity, and adding unnecessary sprints can compromise the effectiveness of the training.
• Of course, implementing these changes is not always easy. Many of the coaches I work with, especially at the national team level, have decades of experience coaching at the club level—some for 30 or even 40 years.
• They have strong opinions on what they believe is necessary, and convincing them to shift their approach can be challenging. However, I don’t give up. Over time, I’ve been able to introduce some changes, and we are seeing positive results.
• This issue isn’t unique to Norwegian swimming; it’s something I believe happens globally. In many swim programmes, particularly at the masters and age-group levels, coaches feel the need to make sessions more engaging by mixing in different intensities, even when it’s not beneficial for the intended training goal.
• While elite swimmers tend to follow more structured training plans, many recreational and club-level programmes still struggle with this.
• It’s understandable—coaches don’t want their athletes to find training monotonous. However, to truly optimise performance, each session must serve its intended purpose.

Arild's coaching setup

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• I currently balance my role in swimming with coaching athletes across various levels. I work with around five to six athletes, including some who compete in extreme triathlons, as well as one or two short-course athletes.
• My athlete base includes a good mix of long-distance, short-distance, and age-groupers. While I don’t have many athletes, the ones I do work with, I commit to fully.
• I genuinely care about doing a good job and helping them achieve their goals, which is why I’ve taken on coaching in addition to my swimming work.
• I focus on one-on-one coaching because I believe in providing personalised attention, ensuring that each athlete receives an individualised training plan based on their needs and goals.
• I don't believe in mass-producing programmes or adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, as I see the coach-athlete interaction as the most crucial part of training.
• I want to be closely involved with my athletes, understanding how they think and what they need to succeed.
• Looking ahead, I’m not sure if I will return to full-time triathlon coaching. While I never say never, I’m currently focused on the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, as my wife is from there, and I’m envisioning a scenario where I’m fully immersed in swimming until that time.
• However, I will continue to coach a few athletes on the side, especially if the setup is right and I still have the motivation. By the time the Olympics roll around, I’ll be 62, so I’d love to have some years dedicated to coaching triathlon again if I feel that I’m still able to contribute meaningfully.
• Ultimately, I want to continue learning and evolving as a coach, and my goal is to stay involved with athletes so that I remain connected to the sport. But for now, this is just my vision, and it’s not set in stone.

Paris 2024 reflection

45:49 -

• Reflecting on the Olympic experience, I felt a deep sense of emptiness and disappointment. It felt like a total disaster, and I was sorry that we didn't achieve the results we hoped for. It was incredibly hard to accept.
• However, as I started to look back, I realised there were several factors that contributed to the outcome, which helped me make sense of what happened. One of the positive aspects I do hold onto is that we successfully qualified for the mixed relay team, despite not performing at our best during the Olympics.
• The qualification process itself was a huge challenge, and I’m proud of how the athletes worked together as a team. They handled setbacks with resilience and continued to push forward.
• During the qualification phase, we initially targeted the late race in Abu Dhabi, which aligned well with our altitude training plan. We decided to skip New Zealand, which was another qualifying race, as it didn’t fit into our training schedule.
• Unfortunately, the team that had initially secured a safe qualification spot later lost their position after some races, and this led to a situation where we had to perform in Abu Dhabi.
• When Abu Dhabi was cancelled due to weather, we found ourselves needing to qualify in Mexico. Although it wasn’t an ideal situation, the athletes rose to the occasion and performed when it mattered most, which made me incredibly proud.
• Looking at the Olympic races, however, I feel that none of our athletes were at their peak performance.
• Kristian, for example, was working with a different coach and set up outside the team, and although he was in good physical shape, he struggled to reach his optimal running fitness in time for the competition.
• He admitted that his running wasn’t at the level it needed to be, and we saw this in his performance, where he couldn’t keep up with the pace. Despite his efforts, he didn’t feel mentally or physically at his best, especially after a taxing spring season.
• On the women’s side, we encountered a combination of nerves and technical mistakes during the race. The preparation leading up to the Olympics, including the training camps, was stressful.
• While we did everything we could to set up a good plan, there were some issues with the training. For instance, the swim training was disrupted by poor water quality in Paris, which led to a lot of stress.
• The athletes were often forced to make adjustments last minute, which affected their mental state. The race itself was challenging, particularly the swim, where a mistake had much more significant consequences. Unfortunately, this contributed to the team’s struggles.
• The logistical difficulties surrounding the Olympics also played a role. There were constant delays, and the athletes were forced to adapt on the fly.
• For example, they had to wake up early each day to check the status of training, only to find that some sessions were cancelled or rescheduled. This disrupted their routine and added to the stress.
• The men’s race was rescheduled last minute, which further impacted the athletes' preparations. Despite all this, I recognise that the winners in Paris were deserving, and while our athletes didn’t perform at their best, they still gave it their all.
• In hindsight, I know that the preparation and training leading up to the Olympics didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped, and this was ultimately disappointing.
• However, the athletes did try their best, and we can take away lessons from the experience moving forward.

Training aspects that could have been different in the preparation

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• Looking back, I believe there were several small factors that contributed to the outcome. While I wasn't directly involved in Kristian's training, it’s clear that some elements of the preparation could have been better.
• For example, although they had a training plan leading up to the Olympics, it seems that the year was overloaded with long-distance training, even though the focus should have been more Olympic distance-specific.
• Kristian himself mentioned the impact of Ironman races and mixed relay events, like the one in Paris, on his training.
• One of the key areas where I felt we could have done better was in the preparation for the swim, particularly in dealing with the strong current at the Sena.
• We weren’t as adept at reading the current and reacting to it, which certainly hampered our performance. Additionally, our technique in certain swim drills could have been better, particularly in how the female athletes approached the water.
• This lack of confidence in the water affected her overall performance, and we should have addressed this issue earlier in the season.
• Overall, I think there were many details in our program execution that could have been improved. We were aiming for peak performance at the mixed relay, and the focus on Olympic distance wasn’t as sharp as it should have been.
• Looking back, we might have been too optimistic about achieving podium-level results at the Olympics, especially when considering the competition from athletes like Alex Yee and Hayden Wild.
• Even though Kristian and Vetle showed great potential in training, they were not quite at the level required for an elite individual result.
• That said, they were exceptional in the mixed relay training and preparation, which was the focus of our strategy for the Olympics.
• In hindsight, we could have been clearer about prioritising the mixed relay performance and shaping the training around that. Ultimately, the athletes’ performance wasn’t enough to match the best in Tokyo, largely due to the difference in the athletes' overall levels compared to the top competitors.
• Vetle’s fourth-place finish in Cagliari at the end of May certainly demonstrated that on his best day, he had podium potential.
• The results from that race were a testament to his capabilities, even though we did not manage to translate that performance into an Olympic medal.

Swimming tips

How triathletes should work on technique

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• The best approach would be to work with a coach who can give you personalised guidance.
• Even if you're training alone, I think it’s extremely beneficial to schedule at least one coaching session a month, where the coach can dedicate their full attention to assessing your technique and providing valuable feedback.
• If hiring a coach isn't an option, I’d recommend using online resources, like YouTube, to find videos on swimming techniques.
• There are plenty of tutorials available that can help you understand the basics and improve your form.
• However, it’s important to focus on learning from content that specifically addresses long-distance swimming techniques, as these are different from shorter, faster swimming styles.
• Once you’ve watched a video, it would be useful to film yourself while swimming and compare your technique to what you’ve seen in the video. This will help you identify any differences or mistakes you might not notice while swimming.
• Ideally, though, having someone there to observe you and offer advice during your training sessions is invaluable, as swimming is a highly technical sport.
• The way something feels in the water can often differ from how it looks, and that’s why filming yourself is so beneficial. You can compare what you feel to what’s actually happening, and this often reveals aspects of your technique that you might not have been aware of.

Swimming intensity balance

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• In my approach to training age group athletes, I emphasize the importance of a well-rounded weekly training plan. I recommend having at least one VO2 max session, one threshold (LT2) session, and one LT1 session each week.
• If there are only two main sessions available, I suggest focusing on two threshold sessions with one VO2 max workout. However, ideally, a balance of all three types of work is beneficial.
• This combination ensures that athletes are covering a broad spectrum of their energy systems.
• When it comes to LT1 and threshold work, I believe technique plays a crucial role, especially in swimming. Many age group athletes often look at running and cycling and assume that continuous swim sets are the way to go.
• However, if an athlete struggles with technique, doing long continuous swims, like 1000 meters at a threshold pace, can be detrimental. Instead, I recommend breaking the workout into shorter intervals, such as 10 sets of 200 meters with short rests in between.
• This allows the athlete to maintain proper technique, which can be compromised during long continuous swims. It’s about finding a balance between the intensity and maintaining good form.
• The question of when an athlete is fast enough in LT1 to perform more continuous work depends partly on technique, but generally, I would say if they are consistently swimming over two minutes per 100 meters, then shorter intervals are more beneficial.
• Once an athlete improves and swims faster than this, say 1:45 or 1:50 per 100 meters, they may be ready for more continuous work, but again, it’s all about a balanced approach. I’ve worked with athletes over long periods, where they initially did a lot of shorter repeats like 100s or 200s.
• As they progress, I’ve gradually added some 400 and 800-meter sets to introduce more variation. The key is not to overdo one type of workout but to have a mix for overall development.

What triathlon should do less in training

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• For long, continuous swims, I don't believe you need to focus too much on extensive lactate threshold (LT1) work.
• While it's helpful to incorporate some of this, it's far more beneficial to spend more time working on LT2 or even VO2 max efforts, especially at the higher intensity end. These efforts are more relevant for improving endurance and performance.
• When it comes to testing, if lactate or VO2 max testing isn't available, I recommend a simple performance test, like an 800m swim. This can give you an idea of whether you're improving or getting slower.
• The disadvantage, however, is that it doesn't provide much insight into exactly what you need to work on for improvement. It doesn't break down specific areas, but it gives you a general sense of progress.
• Some people use calculators that estimate your performance for 100m or other distances based on your 800m time, but I find this method a bit lacking.
• Still, it's a quick and easy option. You could try an 800m swim, pacing yourself properly, and then take the splits. If your splits start to fall apart towards the end of the swim, that's a clear sign that you need to work on your endurance. It's as simple as that.
• If you're considering critical speed testing, using distances like 200m, 400m, and 800m, that's a valid approach. It can help you assess whether your speed or endurance is the main limiting factor in your performance.
• Doing these tests, especially the 800m, will give you a clear sense of where you stand in terms of pacing. If you can maintain even splits throughout, that's a great indicator that your pacing and endurance are in good shape.
• On the other hand, if your pace drops significantly, it suggests that you need to improve endurance rather than speed.
• Personally, when I do an 800m swim, I can confidently say that my first 100m will be about 10 seconds faster than the last one. This indicates that speed isn’t my issue; instead, it's endurance.
• My challenge is more with sustaining my performance over the full distance.

Using an 800m test to place target speeds

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• When it comes to calculating threshold pace, I prefer not to rely on formulas. I believe it's far too individual to make generalisations.
• For instance, you can't just take the average speed from an 8-run workout, divide it by 100 meters, and then add a few seconds to determine your threshold pace.
• There's just too much variation between athletes for that to be effective. Instead, when I design workouts, I focus on RPE). I might use a maximum test occasionally, but for the most part, I rely on intuitive feel and structured sessions.
• One thing I frequently incorporate is a standard workout set. For example, I’ll use something like five to eight repetitions of 400 meters at an even pace, always aiming for the best time, and then look for progression over time.
• Another useful method I use is a test where I aim for consistent splits, such as 15 repetitions of 100 meters at the best average splits. These kinds of workouts help athletes get a sense of where they stand and highlight areas to focus on in future sessions.

Swim set examples

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• For an athlete like this, I typically recommend threshold sets around 2000 metres, and occasionally up to 2500 metres, with a standard set being 10 repetitions of 200 metres.
• This is a solid threshold set, and sometimes I mix it up with variations, such as repetitions of 400 metres or a combination of 5 times 200 metres and 10 times 100 metres.
• The aim is to have a mix of similar distances while maintaining a continuous swim. Sometimes, longer sets are also incorporated. In fact, these variations are part of about 8 out of 10 threshold sets that I use with athletes.
• Regarding rest ratios, for threshold sets, the rest interval varies depending on the distance swum. For instance, if you're swimming 100 metres, I'd recommend resting between 15-20 seconds.
• For 200 metres, closer to 20 seconds, and for 400 metres, the rest might go up to 30 seconds. This allows athletes to maintain good intensity throughout the session.
• For VO2 max sets, I usually work with 50-metre sprints. A typical set could be 8 repetitions of 50 metres on a 60-second interval, or sometimes on a 45-second interval, with 15 seconds of rest in between.
• There’s also the option of adding more variation, like doing 20 repetitions of 50 metres, alternating between hard efforts and easier swims, such as 3 hard, 1 easy, or 2 hard, 2 easy. Another option is to increase the intensity progressively by reducing the rest period, making the swimmer work harder towards the end of the session.
• The key with VO2 max sets is that they focus on building the swimmer's ability to maintain a high pace under fatigue.
• Occasionally, I might include 100-metre repetitions, but I never go beyond 6 repetitions of 100 metres. If I do use 100-metre repetitions, I typically set a rest interval around 2 minutes.
• A good set might involve a mix of 6 repetitions of 100 metres and 12 repetitions of 50 metres, or 8 repetitions of 50 metres. For age-group athletes, I don't recommend swimming distances longer than 100 metres in one go.
• When it comes to swim toys, I prefer to keep things simple. I don’t rely heavily on tools, though I do use some for strength work. For instance, I use paddles for strength, and I also find resistance bands to be very effective for building strength.
• That said, I don’t usually recommend using too many swim toys for age-group athletes, particularly if they’re aiming to swim long distances. For this level, a pull buoy can be beneficial, though I don’t advocate using it too often. I believe simplicity in training tools is often more effective.

Reflective questions

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What is something that you used to think or believe about training but have changed your mind about?

When I first started working with athletes, I never really focused on VO2 max work. Back then, I believed that this kind of training wasn’t necessary. However, over the years, I’ve completely changed my view on that. Now, I’m a strong believer in incorporating VO2 max training, though not all year round. It’s more about knowing when to focus on it during specific times of the year. Another significant change in my approach is the intensity of swimming training. Fifteen years ago, I didn’t believe we needed as much intensity in the pool as we do now. I’ve come to realise that intensity plays a more critical role in swim training than I originally thought.

How do you learn and improve your craft (coaching)?

I learn every day, primarily through discussions with my athletes. These conversations are key, as they provide valuable insights into how the athletes are experiencing the training. I’m fortunate to be part of an environment where cross-sport collaboration is encouraged. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from coaches in different sports, such as rowing and cross-country skiing. These discussions have been incredibly beneficial in shaping my coaching approach. For example, I spent two days with a national cross-country skiing coach discussing training methods, which was an invaluable learning experience. I always feel that the most significant lessons come from these discussions, whether with athletes or with other coaches at the highest level. I’m constantly inspired by coaches who are as committed as I am to the craft of coaching.

Is there something that you’re currently trying to learn or explore further?

Yes, there are two things I’m diving into at the moment. One is related to triathlon, specifically heat training protocols. I’ve spent quite a bit of time working on this with the Norwegian national team in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games. Now, I’m focusing on how to apply these protocols to age-group athletes and long-distance professional athletes. Heat training has been a big area of research recently, and I’m keen to learn more about how it can be optimised for different levels of athletes. It’s not a brand new area, but there’s still a lot that can be done differently, and I’m continuously researching and reading articles on this topic.

The second area I’m exploring is more technical, specifically within swimming. While I’m more of a physical training person—focused on pure endurance work in cycling and running—I’m becoming increasingly fascinated by the technical aspects of swimming. I’ve been discussing swimming technique and skills development with the strength and conditioning coaches in our team. It’s also closely related to how divers work on their special skills, which I find extremely interesting. This is an area where I’ve evolved in my thinking. I now understand the importance of technical training in swimming, and I want to continue learning so that I can contribute meaningfully to conversations about improving technical skills in swimming and other sports.

What is the most Influential book you have ever read?

The most influential book I read was Lore of Running by Tim Noakes. When I first got into coaching, this was the first book I read from cover to cover, and it had a significant impact on me. At the time, it provided a deep dive into the world of endurance training, and Noakes' approach and examples really captured my attention. It made me eager to learn more about the endurance world and its development.

However, looking back at it now, I realise there are aspects of the book that I would not agree with today, particularly certain points that have since evolved or been disproven by newer research. Despite this, it remains an important read for me from when I first began my coaching journey. It shaped my initial understanding of endurance sports, and for that reason, it’s still a key book in my development, even though I approach it differently now.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

• Arild's Instagram
• Olympic gold medal training and preparation with Arild Tveiten | EP#304
• Arild Tveiten – coach of Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes on triathlon training the Norwegian way | EP#223
• How Norway became a triathlon powerhouse with head coach Arild Tveiten | EP#154