Marius Bakken on the Norwegian Method: Double Threshold, Lactate Control, and Muscle Tone (Science of Running, 2026)
A May 2026 Science of Running interview in which Marius Bakken, the Norwegian Olympian behind the lactate-controlled threshold model, sets out “muscle tone” as a third monitored variable alongside blood lactate and heart rate. The substance is a practitioner framework: it rests on Bakken’s own training records and palpation-based monitoring rather than on controlled trials, so it is filed as a signal from elite practice, not as established physiology.
Key takeaways
- Muscle tone is described as the baseline tension or stiffness of a muscle at rest, treated as a readiness signal that limits recovery and performance.
- Bakken identifies an inflection point above (sub)threshold intensity at which muscle stiffness rises and subsequent recovery becomes unpredictable; keeping work below it is part of the rationale for sub-threshold double sessions.
- Tone is monitored deliberately and used to schedule the week: a Saturday hill session raises tone, and a long easy Sunday plus easy Monday lower it again before a Tuesday double-threshold day.
- High-intensity work and heavy strength training carry a “hidden cost” to muscular state that can reduce performance readiness even when other markers look fine.
- The broader claim is that the muscular system plays a larger part in fatigue, recovery, and performance than the classical aerobic determinants alone capture.