I’m not sure how it started but I started getting emails from “Martin Bonnevie-Svendsen”. The name or pseudonym behind the wattkg.com website. Certainly the email articles appeared informative and conclusive on the value of polarized training along with descriptions of the format of the most effective Z3 intervals to employ. The most recent email is a pitch for selling his polarized training program.
Not that I am skeptical, but…Is this a starving medical student trying to fund his medical school costs from his research and knowledge of the Norwegian approach to endurance training? Or is it a front for some corporate entity selling canned training plans to those of us who have bumped up against our limits and are looking for some training magic?
I posted some links to Martin’s content in different threads.
I searched him beforehand to verify he was legit as best as one can via Google.
He appeared authentic to me and his articles are useful with good citations.
I believe when you access his content you are signing up to his email list.
This is the same guy that hosts the Norwegian site “wattkoden.no” (translates to: “The watt code”). His a former biathlon athlete now working in the field of chiropractic. He’s a real person and not a company front. I also found some articles by him on some Norwegian training blogs.
So he’s not a starving student. His LinkedIn states his a Doctor of Medicin. More of an Internet coach on the side perhaps?
His Norwegian site has been up for some years. I remember stumbling over it back in 2016 or so (and it wasn’t new then). That site promotes the same training regime and double as a training diary if I remember correctly. The site also has a free ebook “6 steps for higher FTP” (translated from Norwegian) on the subject. It’s in Norwegian, and actually was a bit interesting back then. Probably because it was an easy read and broke down the fundamentals for a guy who just bought his first powermeter. The book was of course a channel in to his training programs. Same as the email you describe.
The site you refer to looks like a leap in to the international market. Looks like the next iteration.
Disclaimer: I have never used any of his products, so I wouldn’t know about the quality of these training programs.
I don’t think this is BS, just an other way of approaching the subject of training. If it’s a better approach… I don’t know. If the plans easily integrates with Trainerroad… can’t say.
The ebook was a nice read, but nothing you can’t read from free articles on training peaks. I would say my knowledge about training with power grew way faster with TR podcasts and reading discussions on this forum.
Hope som others out here can shed some light on the actual training plans and their experience.
Thanks for the intelligence gathering everyone. The material was almost “too” professional and very seductive, and so I wondered if he was real or an avatar. He has likely teamed up with some marketing pros to maximize the intrigue of his version of the polarized training program. Not sure if I would pay for it, but I definitely enjoy reading it.
I unsubscribed and I don’t get them anymore. So that part is legit. I half expected to see him on some forums. Between the podcast and single digit research articles the polarized training discussion is turning into a bit of an echo chamber.
Too true. But it is like anything, whether it be training or nutrition. Someone who is good at marketing takes some research and runs with it. Before you know it every podcast is saying the exact same thing, regardless of its efficacy. When that concept starts to run out of steam, someone will either tweak it, so it sounds like a new secret that only they know, or promote a different concept, then the cycle starts over again.
Yep. I won’t say I haven’t learned a lot. My point with that perhaps overly negative characterization was this: this topic is hot right now. If this dude is legit I would expect to see him like Dr. Oz on a new diet plan*…everywhere, not just my inbox.
I think you are correct, but not in the way you think
This dude is not American, and America might not be the center of (and so on)…
(Hello, from the other side of the pond )
Yep! So the question stands… is he bringing something new to the table? I have no clue unfortunately. What I can say is that some of the article and journals he sites are from Norwegian studies done by Olympiatoppen (Norways athlete program).
I meant everywhere on the internet. To your point, cycling as sport is very much NOT America-centric. Hahahaha One of the things I like about it.
To me he wasn’t bringing anything new. He was telling me some recent info from cycling podcasts I listened to right about the time he listened to them.
I am intrigued by the stuff from Seiler, Neil, etc. There’s quite a lively discussion about it here on the TR forum.
Sure, that’s his choice, but at least he has responded to anyone who gets his emails.
Further on the topic, I am a paying customer who is really happy about his product. He creates training plans for different needs and backs up all plans and articles with tested science.
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