[Triathlon Science] Polarized vs. Pyramidal Training, Training Models from Canova to Kenyan to Norwegian, and More! | Arturo Casado, PhD

That Triathlon Show

Mikael Eriksson

Health, Swimming, Endurancesports, Run, Cycling, Health & Fitness, Fitness, Ironman, Swim, Bike, Sports, Running, Sportscience, Triathlon

4.9 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For many years, the topic of whether a polarized or pyramidal training intensity distribution is more effective for endurance athletes has been hotly debated. Arturo Casado, PhD, is one of the foremost researchers in this area (and former European Champion in the 1500 metres). Today, Arturo dissects what the science really says in 2026: whether there is a winner, and if not, what are the athlete-specific, event-specific, and other variables that impact which training distribution will bring the best results. We also discuss specific training models from Canova to Norwegian from both scientific and practical perspectives, and bring it all together with practical advice relevant for amateur triathletes and runners.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to That Traflon Show, the podcast presented by scientific traflon and hosted by me, Michael
0:13.5	Erikson.
0:14.6	Today's guest is Dr. Arturo Casado, who is an associate professor at Ray Juan Carlos
0:20.2	University.
0:21.4	He's a running coach and a former professional runner.
0:24.8	His research focuses on training characteristics, training intensity distributions,
0:29.2	and pacing profiles and tactical behavior in middle and long distance running.
0:34.2	And Arturo was an elite middle distance runner himself.
0:37.1	He became the European champion
0:38.9	in the 1500 meters at 2010 European Championships in Barcelona and has personal bests of
0:45.2	3.3270 in the 1500 and 1.44 in the 800. Today we'll be talking about training intensity
0:52.7	distributions across endurance sports and also
0:55.5	about some of the major training models in distance running and how this all applies to amateur
1:00.3	craft fleets, runners and endurance athletes in general. Arturo, it's a pleasure to have you on the
1:05.8	show. How are you doing? Hi, Michael. Thank you very much for your invitation to participate in this amazing show.
1:12.6	I'm doing well.
1:13.6	Thank you.
1:14.6	Did I get everything right in that intro or is there anything you would want to add, anything
1:18.6	I missed or anything you want to comment on?
1:20.6	Well, let's see if something comes out while we talk.
1:25.6	Yeah.
1:26.6	Well, as I mentioned with your very strong running background,
	...

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