For elite speed skater Viktor Hald Thorup, performance is about finding the small gains that can make a difference. In 2025, he added Unbroken to his training routine and began tracking what happened, not only in how he felt, but in the performance data he measures every day.
The search for marginal gains
At the highest level of speed skating, small improvements matter. Viktor is constantly looking for ways to optimize his training, nutrition and recovery.
With a background in nutrition, he takes a particularly analytical approach. He researches new ideas, tests them and looks at the data before deciding whether something deserves a permanent place in his routine.
“I look into all these small things that maybe can make me a better athlete.”
Most things he investigates don't make the cut. Unbroken did.
“Unbroken was that one out of ten where this actually has a pretty big impact.”
For Viktor, the difference was not based on one good training session. It became visible across weeks of consistent training.
More quality in training
Viktor's training environment makes him particularly well placed to identify changes. Speed skating involves months of highly structured and repetitive training, allowing him to compare similar sessions under similar conditions.
He tracks sleep, sleep depth, HRV, heart rate and wattage, alongside how he actually feels and performs in training.
After starting Unbroken, he began noticing changes.
“Unbroken made a massive impact, like an impact that I could easily measure.”
One of the biggest differences was his ability to maintain training quality. Viktor found he could lift heavier weights later in the week and produce higher wattage at the same heart rate and recovery score.
More importantly, he felt able to repeat that quality more consistently.
“Every week I just managed to get more training sessions in with better quality.”
Lower lactate
One of the most interesting changes Viktor measured was in his blood lactate.
Lactate is an important performance measurement in speed skating. Viktor regularly takes blood samples at the same point during comparable training sessions, giving him a consistent way to track what is happening as his training progresses.
During skating blocks at approximately 10,000 m world-record pace, Viktor saw his lactate readings fall by around 2 to 4 mmol after he had incorporated Unbroken into his routine.
“We would see it go down by two to four millimoles, which is massive.”
For Viktor, the significance was not simply the number. It was what that change meant for the amount of high-quality work he could sustain.
“In a workout, for four sets, I could now do it for six. If you look at that percentage-wise, it's pretty mind-blowing.”
He describes this as one of the biggest gains he observed after starting Unbroken.
Feeling the difference
The data matters to Viktor, but ultimately performance still comes down to how the body feels.
The changes he saw in his measurements were reflected in his training. He felt better at practice and was able to maintain quality as the workload increased.
For an elite athlete who was already paying close attention to nutrition, sleep and recovery, that stood out.
As Viktor explains, improving quality is valuable. Maintaining that quality while increasing training volume can be just as important.
Part of the routine
Unbroken became part of Viktor's regular training routine rather than something he used only after particularly demanding sessions.
For longer aerobic workouts, he takes Unbroken throughout the session. For shorter, higher-intensity training, he combines his usual carbohydrate strategy with Unbroken in a separate bottle.
That flexibility is important to him. He doesn't see Unbroken as replacing the nutrition he already uses, but as something that fits alongside it.
“I don't think it's so black and white, like now I'm using this instead of that. I think Unbroken should not change the routine you already have, but it should be a massive addition.”
For Viktor, consistency is key. Once he finds a protocol that works, he wants it to become automatic, something he doesn't have to think about every day.
When marginal gains become measurable
Elite sport is often decided by very small margins. Viktor's approach is to find those margins, test them and keep the things that make a meaningful difference.
With Unbroken, what began as another experiment became part of his routine because he could see the difference both in his training and in the numbers.
Lower lactate. More quality. Greater capacity to train.
For an athlete searching for marginal gains, those are the numbers that matter.
Viktor Hald Thorup
Pro Speedskater (Denmark) | Olympian (2018 & 2022, 5th place) | World Cup Medalist
