Every Athletica plan begins as a sport template. Each template is built on the
HIIT Science framework and has been reworked season after season using feedback from athletes and coaches. Once you start training, Athletica adapts that template to your own data.This page covers the people who build the templates and the science they build on.
Who builds the templates
Dr. Paul Laursen built the templates for most sports on Athletica, drawing on years of work alongside leading experts in each discipline, including the HIIT Science textbook he co-wrote with Dr. Martin Buchheit. Paul has revised the templates many times since, based on what athletes and coaches reported back and what their training data showed.Many people have shaped the templates along the way. Coaches and sport scientists have used them with their own athletes and sent feedback session after session, and the plans have improved with every round. Collaborators include:
Dr. Paul Laursen. Athletica co-founder and exercise physiologist. 150+ publications, 25,700+ citations.
Marjaana Rakai, MSc Sport Science
Siren Seiler, MSc Sport Science
Øivind Sandbakk, PhD
The science underneath
Every template is built on the HIIT Science framework, developed by Paul Laursen and Martin Buchheit and published in
Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training (Human Kinetics, 2019). The framework starts from the physiological response you want a session to cause, then works back to the format of the session that will produce it.
The book applies the framework sport by sport, and each chapter was written by a leading researcher or coach in that discipline. Our templates are built on the framework these chapters set out:
- Triathlon: Daniel Plews and Paul LaursenRoad
- Running: Jamie Stanley and Carlos Alberto Cavalheiro
- Middle-distance running: Jean Claude Vollmer and Martin BuchheitRoad
- Cycling: Marc Quod
- Rowing: Daniel Plews
- Cross-country skiing: Dr. Øivind Sandbakk
From template to your plan
A template is where your plan starts. From day one, the models in this hub personalise it. Critical Power and Critical Pace set your training zones. The Banister training load model sets the dose and keeps it inside safe limits.
Frequently asked questions
Who designs Athletica's training plans? Dr. Paul Laursen, Athletica co-founder and exercise physiologist, built the templates for most sports and keeps refining them with feedback from athletes and coaches. Collaborators who have helped shape them include Siren Seiler, MSc, Marjaana Rakai, MSc, and Dr. Øivind Sandbakk, PhD.
What science are Athletica plans based on? The HIIT Science framework by Paul Laursen and Martin Buchheit, published in Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training (Human Kinetics, 2019).
Who wrote the sport chapters of the HIIT Science textbook? Daniel Plews and Paul Laursen (triathlon), Jamie Stanley and Carlos Alberto Cavalheiro (road running), Jean Claude Vollmer and Martin Buchheit (middle-distance running), Marc Quod (road cycling), Daniel Plews (rowing) and Dr. Øivind Sandbakk (cross-country skiing). Athletica's templates are built on the framework from these chapters.
Updated: 11/13/2026.
