Gustav Iden reveals leg niggle as Kristian Blummenfelt sets insane calf goal

The latest edition of the Norwegian Method Podcast has hit giving listeners an update on the state of play with IRONMAN World Champions Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt as they prepare for the new 2025 season.

The pair went deep on how preparation is going for the new campaign during their current training camp in Nice, France, home of the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship for men.

Iden, who claimed victory in Kona in 2022, has suffered with an Achilles problem over the past two seasons and he admitted that his lower leg issues have continued to hamper him in the offseason.

Iden’s injury issues persist

“I have had issues with my Achilles for basically two years, and that came from a tight muscle in my calf and all the way up,” Iden explained during the podcast.

“This time round it was not the Achilles, but on the other side of the calf and up to the knee. It was the same kind of reason for getting there but a different injury point.

“I wouldn’t say this was an injury though, but it was a little bit of a niggle for a few days. I got some treatment in Nice, and I think it’s been working well.”

Not only has the 28-year-old’s calf been causing issues, a continued bout of sickness has derailed his training plans.

“When you add in sickness, or something that’s disrupting your daily training, and you suddenly run a little less volume, then a little more volume – that’s the worst for running injuries.

“You really need to run consistently, build slowly – and even though I know to do this, it’s hard to do because you have the fitness to do it, but not the robustness. I made the same mistake most of our listeners do – you have free time and you run more then regret it later and go back to square one.”

A seven-minute stretching regime is the current solution for Iden’s leg woes.

“I’m on a stretching regime five times a day to stretch the fibres. I think this is making a big difference so I hope this is the key to success.”

Blummenfelt eyes bulging calves

While his training partner continues to search for 100% fitness, Blummenfelt has spent the offseason working on one specific area of his anatomy.

The 2021 St. George IRONMAN World Champion has spent the winter running on the track with the ambition of creating the strongest calves in the sport.

“My goal is just to get bigger calves, my goal is that my calves should touch my bottle when I’m riding the bike.

“I have tried to up the distance I can do in spikes, for the winter I used them for the end of my track sessions, just to strengthen up my calf muscles to see if that will help with my stride and the punch in my stride. I think I overdid it a little bit in the offseason.

“In the first session I put them on I did 10 x 400m from no training and I felt it quite badly for like a week or two, but since then I’ve felt I was enjoying running in spikes on the track.”

The duo are set to begin their 2025 campaigns at IROMAN 70.3 Oceanside in April before taking on the longer distance at IRONMAN Texas later that month.