How to Do the Norwegian 4×4 Workout Trend

I first tried the Norwegian 4×4 workout a year ago and since then it has become a staple in my fitness routine. I don’t do it every week (some people do), but it’s a workout I come back to whenever I want a tough, cardio-challenging routine that only takes about 40 minutes. It’s simple and effective.

The Norwegian 4×4 is constantly the subject of discussions on social networks and particularly in the biohacking and longevity spaces. This is because 4×4 has been the subject of much research to increase your VO2max. People who have high VO2max (a measure of their cardio fitness) tend to be healthier as they age, and we can perhaps expect a longer lifespan. With this in mind, some longevity influencers have sung the praises of the “Norwegian 4×4” workout, which aims to improve your VO2max. So how to do it? And is it really a magic bullet for fitness and longevity? Let’s go.

What type of drive is Norwegian 4×4?

I’ll walk you through it step by step below, but it’s basically a cardio workout (usually done while running or cycling) that has four-minute intervals. You do four of these challenging four-minute intervals, hence the name 4×4. There’s also a warm-up at the start of the workout, a cool-down at the end, and a three-minute rest period between each interval.

If you’re a runner, you’ll recognize this as a classic VO2max interval workout. Typically, VO2max intervals last three to five minutes, with recovery time similar to or slightly less than work time. Couldn’t I do any old VO2max interval training? you may be asking. Yes, you can.

Norwegian 4×4 is a good example of VO2max interval training, but it’s not the only one. Additionally, intervals like these that target your VO2max rate are This is not the only way to improve your VO2max. So 4×4 isn’t unique or special, it’s just a simple protocol that’s easy to remember and has been tested on a wide variety of people, including older people with heart problems.

What benefits can I expect from Norwegian 4×4 training?

According to experts, after performing this workout regularly (say twice a week) for several weeks or even months, you can expect an increase in your cardio fitness, including metrics like “cardio fitness” or “VO2max” readings on your smartwatch. If you enjoy running races, you’ll notice that you can run them a little faster. It will be harder to get out of breath if you go hiking or run around the yard with your kids.

Your heart health will likely improve; This exercise fits perfectly into the exercise recommendations for heart health and general health. Cardio exercises in general, including intervals like these, tends to reduce the risk of heart disease, improve mental health and more. Again: you can get similar results with other exercises as well. But 4×4 is a good option among many others.

I would like to contribute my personal experience. As I said above, I don’t do 4×4 as my main workout, so I can’t tell you how it feels. But I keep it in the rotation whenever I want to do an intense workout. When I do, my Garmin tends to tell me I’m “productive.” (Garmins is notoriously stingy with its praise.)

Having 4×4 as a training option made it much easier to perform VO2max intervals. I don’t need to design a specific workout, choosing the duration of the intervals myself. If I’m on a training plan, the system can tell me which split workouts to do, but that means I’m on my own when I’m not following a plan. But the 4×4 is still there for me, registered on my watch, just waiting for me to press “start”.

How to do the Norwegian 4×4 workout

The 4×4 gets its name because you perform four repetitions of challenging four-minute intervals. The authoritative source on this topic is the Cardiac Exercise Research Group at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), which has a video with researcher Anja Bye explaining how it works. Refer to this source for your additional questions, not podcasters or influencers who try to translate it into zones or modify reps or rest times. If you want to do 4×4, do it well. (SO experiment it yourself, if you like.)

4×4 was originally designed to be done while running, but researchers say it’s OK to do it with other activities like “swimming, cycling, or skiing.” (Forgive me if I don’t have skis handy.) Here is the protocol:

• Warm with 10 minutes of jogging or brisk walking of moderate intensity.

• First interval: 4 minutes at a brisk pace. It may take 1-2 minutes for your heart rate to reach target (85-95% of your tested HR max), and it’s OK. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor or don’t know your true maximum, try working hard enough that you can’t speak in full sentences. Bye says “the intensity of the last minute should be high, but not so exhausting that you can’t finish it.”

• Recovery: 3 minutes at a moderate pace, jogging or brisk walking. Try to get back to 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.

• Repeat intervals until you have done four, total.

• Cool: 5 minutes of moderate intensity again.

In total, it’s 40 minutes:

• 10 minutes warm-up

• 4 minute hard interval

• 3 minutes of recovery

• 4 minute hard interval

• 3 minutes of recovery

• 4 minute hard interval

• 3 minutes of recovery

• 4 minute hard interval

• 5 minute cooldown

Note that it is three minutes of recovery between difficult intervals, not four. (People tend to misremember this part.) Also: don’t skip the warm-up. This helps increase your heart rate so you’re ready to hit the required numbers during the first interval.

How often should I do the Norwegian 4×4 training?

The NTNU recommends doing this twice a week, plus a longer cardio session in which you exercise at a moderate pace only. They also recommend that if you exercise four or more times per week, your interval sessions make up half or less of your total workout. This generally always means two sessions of 4×4 per week, since you would do two to four sessions of another type of exercise.

What heart rate zones should I be in?

Trick question! This is not a zone-based workout. If you use a heart rate tracker, you have digital goals:

• 85-95% of your tested maximum during the last 2-3 minutes of 4 minute intervals

• 60-70% during warm-up, cool-down and recovery periods.

This 85-95% range includes parts of zone 4. And 5, in most five-zone systems. Recovery heart rate may put you in zones 1 and/or 2, again, depending on how your watch is set up. (As I keep saying, zone boundaries vary by device.)

If you use heart rate as a goal, make sure you know your actual maximum heart rate. Don’t trust your device to calculate it; people are different and the default formula can easily be shifted 10 beats or more. NTNU recommends using a modified version of the 4×4 to test your max. Start the workout as above, but when you get to the third interval, perform it hard. The highest number you see on your watch during this test is the number you should use as your maximum.

Is this zone 5 training?

You’ll probably hit zone 5 at some point during intervals, so in that sense, yes. But it’s not about reaching zone 5, it’s about following protocol.

Is this a VO2max workout?

Yes, this is a pretty standard set of VO2max intervals. That said, this is not the only way to improve your VO2max! Good cardio fitness comes from training in a variety of ranges, including longer, slower workouts and intervals of different lengths and intensities. All of this will ultimately improve your VO2max and, better yet, your cardio fitness in general.

The idea of ​​VO2max training comes from sports training, where coaches will consider different aspects of running performance and program different types of training throughout the season to help their athletes improve their strengths and consolidate their weaknesses. “VO2max” intervals are part of this process.

In another logical vein, researchers studying heart health and longevity have found that VO2max is an aspect of fitness that they can test consistently and reproducibly. People with better cardio fitness tend to be healthier and live longer, so you can rightly say that a VO2max is associated with health. But it’s not because you need to improve your VO2max over other aspects of fitness; This is because improving your fitness will improve your health and your VO2max will increase as a side effect.

Am I doing it right?

I keep seeing Reddit posts from fans of various biohacking podcasts, wondering if they did their 4×4 training right. Here is a checklist:

• Have you looked up the protocol from its actual source on NTNU? Because some influencers don’t explain it properly, or mention it alongside other exercise protocols and it’s easy to get confused about what the protocol actually is.

• Did you do the warm-up and cool-down? The warm-up prepares you for a good first interval. If you start from complete rest, you lose a lot of that first interval just to get your core up to speed.

• Did you take three-minute breaks? Not four minutes. Three minutes. (It’s not that four-minute breaks would be badbut this is not the 4×4 protocol.)

• Were you at 85-95% of your maximum heart rate during the last two minutes of each interval? It takes time for your heart rate to increase, but you should reach the goal for at least the last half of each interval.

• Were you at 70% or lower during most recovery intervals? It takes time for your heart rate to come back down, but you aim for 70% because that’s the intensity of exercise where your body can eliminate lactate most effectively (to be ready to go again).

• Did you finish the workout thinking you could have done at least one more lap? You don’t try to completely wear yourself out, just give yourself a challenging workout.

If you didn’t do the workout correctly, don’t worry: just write down areas you can improve on next time. Any type of cardio is good for you and gives you a foundation to build on.