Silvana Bucher Sandbakk

• PhD
• Associate Professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology

This scientific short report investigated how successful male coaches perceive gender differences in training characteristics and coaching practice among medal-winning endurance athletes. Ten male Norwegian coaches with a track record of coaching both female and male endurance world-class athletes (total of 269 Olympic, World and European Champions...

Purpose: The concept of training quality reflects that the effect of training is dependent on more than the mere product of training load (e.g., duration, intensity, frequency). The aims of this commentary are to 1) propose a practice-oriented framework to describe training quality and its general and context-dependent characteristics, and 2) discu...

Background: Elite sport is continuously evolving. World records keep falling and athletes from a longer list of countries are involved. Purpose: This commentary was designed to provide insights into present and future trends associated with world-class endurance training based on the perspectives, experience, and knowledge of an expert panel of...

Background Our scientific understanding of the mechanistic and practical connections between training session prescriptions, their execution by athletes, and adaptations over time in elite endurance sports remains limited. These connections are fundamental to the art and science of coaching. Objective By using successful Norwegian endurance coache...

Purpose: To describe warning signs, monitoring tools, as well as training and non-training related actions taken by world-class endurance coaches in cases of underperformance. Methods: Twelve highly acclaimed male Norwegian coaches, known for coaching world-class endurance athletes with a remarkable collection of over 350 Olympic, World, and Europe...

Background Many post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients struggle with physical activity behavior change (BC) for life-long secondary prevention. There is limited knowledge about factors influencing long-term physical activity BC among post-MI patients. This qualitative study aimed to explore the beliefs and experiences related to post-MI patients’...

Purpose: To investigate the training and development process of a multiple Grand Slam finalist. Methods: A mixed-methods case study design was used to capture the quantitative and qualitative aspects related to the training and successful development process. We used a three-step data collection process and pragmatic analyses of (1) training histor...

Purpose: To describe warning signs, monitoring tools, as well as training and non-training related actions taken by world-class endurance coaches in cases of underperformance. Methods: Twelve highly acclaimed male Norwegian coaches, known for coaching world-class endurance athletes with a remarkable collection of over 350 Olympic, World, and Europe...

Introduction This study (i) examined Norwegian and Swedish sports coaches' employment, practices, and beliefs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) compared these aspects between coaches in Norway and Sweden, two countries with clearly different movement restrictions strategies in this period. Methods An online survey was distribute...

Background Physical activity (PA) is associated with reduced mortality. However, whether there is an added benefit of long‐term endurance training is unclear. Thus, we aimed to examine 10‐year mortality in older male endurance athletes compared with an older male general population. Method Male athletes (n = 503) participating in an annual long‐di...

When successful athletes are asked to explain the reasons behind their success, they often highlight the quality of their training. This aspect has so far received limited attention in sport science, and several fundamental questions related to this feature need to be addressed. What is training quality? What factors affect training quality? Who ma...

Aims Endurance sport practice is associated with a high prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF), which increases the risk of stroke in the general population. However, stroke risk in endurance athletes with AF is sparsely investigated. Most studies have been limited by design and are largely restricted to younger and middle-aged populations. Thus, w...

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 5 years of supervised exercise training (ExComb), and the differential effects of subgroups of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), with control on the cardiovascular risk profile in older adults. Methods and results: Older adults aged 7...

The Tour de Ski (TDS: 6–9 sprint and distance races across 9–11 days) represents the most intense competition series of the cross-country (XC) ski season and is characterized by accumulated stress from consecutive days of high-intensity (~ 85%–160% VO2max) racing, travel, cold temperatures and low to moderate altitude (500–1500 m above sea level)....

Objective: To evaluate the effect of five years of supervised exercise training compared with recommendations for physical activity on mortality in older adults (70-77 years). Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: General population of older adults in Trondheim, Norway. Participants: 1567 of 6966 individuals born between 1936 and 194...

The purpose of this study was to compare speed, sub-technique selection and temporal patterns between world-class male and female cross-country (XC) skiers and to examine the combined associations of sex and speed on sub-technique selection. Thirty-three XC skiers performed an international 10-km (women; n = 8) and 15-km (men; n = 25) time-trial co...

Purpose: To investigate changes in self-reported physical fitness, performance, and side effects across the menstrual cycle(MC) phases among competitive endurance athletes and to describe their knowledge and communication with coaches about the MC. Methods: The responses of 140 participants (older than18y)competing in biathlon or cross-country ski...

Medeiros, LHL, Sandbakk, SB, Bertazone, TMA, and Bueno Júnior, CR. Comparison of periodization models of concurrent training in recreationally active postmenopausal women. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2020-Although concurrent training is the most effective way to improve both neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory functions in older populations...

Purpose: Sedentary behaviour (SB) and low physical activity (PA) are independently associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Compared to PA, high cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been associated with a higher protection against all-cause mortality and a number of specific diseases. However, this relationship has not been investi...

Background: Making older adults exercise and keeping them in exercise programs is a major challenge. Understanding how older adults prefer to exercise may help developing tailored exercise programs and increase sustained exercise participation in ageing populations. We aimed to describe exercise patterns, including frequency, intensity, type, loca...

Purpose: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is regarded a clinical vital sign, and accurate reference values for all age groups are essential. Little data exist on CRF and cardiorespiratory function in older adults. The aim of this study was to provide normative values for CRF and cardiorespiratory function in older adults, including people with hist...

Objective To investigate the independent and combined associations of fitness and fatness with cardiometabolic risk factors in older Norwegian women and men. Patients and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 505 women and 417 men aged 70 to 77 years enrolled in the Generation 100 study in Norway. Fitness was assessed as peak oxygen upta...

Background When assessing population adherence to physical activity (PA) recommendation using accelerometers, absolute intensity threshold definition is applied despite having limited validity in those with low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), who are unable to reach them (e.g older adults). Thus, PA thresholds relative to CRF may be an alternative...

Prolonged sedentary behavior (SB) positively associates with clustering of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The recently developed metric for physical activity (PA) tracking called Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) takes into account age, sex, resting and maximum heart rate, and a score of ≥100 weekly PAI has been shown to reduce t...

Objective: To determine whether meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations and/or having high age-specific cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) attenuate the adverse effect of prolonged sedentary time on cardiovascular risk factor (CV-RF) clustering in older adults. Patients and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of Norwegian women (49...

This study examined the influence of turn radius on velocity and energy profiles when skidding and step turning during more and less effective downhill turns while cross-country skiing. Thirteen elite female cross-country skiers performed single turns with a 9- or 12-m radius using the skidding technique and a 12- or 15-m radius with step turning....

This study examined the influence of turn radius on the velocity and energy profiles when skidding and step turning during more and less effective downhill turns while cross-country skiing. Thirteen elite female cross-country skiers performed single turns with a 9- or 12-m radius using the skidding technique and a 12- or 15-m radius with step turni...

INTRODUCTION: Nitric oxide is produced by nitric oxide synthases (NOS) during the catalysis of L-arginine to L-citrulline (NOS dependent) and due to ingestion of nitrate-rich foods via the reduction of nitrate to nitrite (NOS independent). Increased NO bioavailability may enhance oxygen and nutrient delivery to active muscles, thus improving tolera...

Purpose: To investigate performance and the associated physiological and biomechanical responses during upper-body repeated-sprint work. Methods: Twelve male ice sledge hockey players from the Norwegian national team performed eight 30-m sprints with start every 30 s and an active recovery between sprints. Time was captured every 10 m by photoce...

Three dominant techniques are used for downhill turning in cross-country skiing. In this study, kinematic, kinetic, and temporal characteristics of these techniques are described and related to skier strength and power. Twelve elite female cross-country skiers performed six consecutive turns of standardized geometry while being monitored by a Globa...

The purpose of this study was to test whether a long duration of aerobic high-intensity interval training is more effective than shorter intervals at a higher intensity in highly trained endurance athletes. The sample comprised of 12 male and 9 female, national level junior cross-country skiers (age: 17.5±0.4 yr, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max): 67....

Introduction Sledge ice-hockey is a modified version of regular ice hockey targeting athletes with a physical disability, typically affecting the lower body. An aluminum sledge is used as an adaptive device and each player carries two sticks for puck handling and player movement. Thus, the players rely solely on their upper body to propel themselve...

INTRODUCTION: Downhill turns in cross-country skiing are performed in widely varying conditions. In order to effectively utilize potential energy and accelerating forces, skiers adapt the entrance velocity, the trajectories throughout the turn and the employment of different techniques. The aim of this study was to characterize the main techniques...

INTRODUCTION: Downhill turns in cross-country skiing are performed in widely varying conditions. In order to adjust to these conditions and thereby effectively influence the utilization of potential energy and accelerating forces, skiers adapt entrance velocity, trajectories throughout the turn and different techniques. These parameters have not y...