Prestasjonsutvikling på skøyter : en casestudie på tre juniorverdensmestere på skøyter

Abstract

Background: The lack of studies regarding training characteristics among speed skaters. Aim: The aim of the study was to quantify in detail the physiological development, training distribution, and success factors of three international successful junior athletes in order to better understand best practice development for speed skaters. Subjects: Three male skaters with a total of 25 medals at the Junior World Championships Methods: Training and test data were retrospective and collected from documented test and performance results, plus training diaries and interviews with coaches. Workouts were digitized and summarized using standardized intensity and training type nomenclature. A personal interview was conducted to determine which factors the athletes themselves thought had been qualitatively most important to their success. Results: The average training time for the participants was 16.7±2 hr.wk-1, distributed over 9.3±0.8 workouts. The distribution between intensity zones 1-5 was 77.5, 12, 7, 3, and 0.5% respectively. No training month was identified where athletes performed more than 39% of all the endurance training in skating position. The athletes averaged 5.9±0.2 L.min-1 in VO2 max. Family, training environment and coaches were highlighted as important supporting factors for their success. Conclusion: The study shows that the athletes had a continuous development in performance and a gradual progression in their training. In contrast to other endurance sports, these athletes only averaged 26% of all the endurance training in the specific skating position. Low-intensity training accounted for 87% of the total amount of endurance training. Supportive environment and long-term coach relationships were identified as key success factors.