Ingebrigtsen’s way to break one of the most mythical records

Jakob has been training like a professional athlete since he was 10 years old. His brother Henrik (2012 European Champion) is just as talented, but he got injured a lot because I made a mistake in training. With Jakob I had the necessary experience to take him to the top. His training is very demanding, but controlled. We measure blood lactate levels during all hard sessions so as not to cross the threshold. At 16 I was already running 130 kilometers a week, twice what athletes of the same age do. This is how Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father and until 2021 coach of the wonderful Jakob Ingebrigtsen (22 years old), Olympic champion and European record holder of 1,500 meters, among many other achievements, explained a few years ago. Jakob beat the European top of the middle-distance race in Silesia (3’27”14) and has a monument of contemporary sport in his hands, the world record 1,500 (3’26”00) beaten by Hicham Guerrouj. 25 years ago (July 14, 1998).

If he succeeds, before or after the next World Cup, it will be the definitive success of a unique training method, controversial but widely documented in scientific articles. An approach that goes against the norm made by the father of the legend of three brothers (Henrik, 32, and Filip, 30, became European champions), who now acts only as a parent after the breakdown due to high demand. of training. Since 2022, Jakob has been training himself.

Lactate level control is the icing on the cake of a method that other elite athletes are trying to copy. When the body enters the field of anaerobic exercise, to the limit, the muscles produce waste in the form of lactic acid that is not absorbed by the blood. If this lactate is not eliminated or elevated, it will impair training, accelerate fatigue and reduce recovery capacity.

Jakob’s lactate was always measured after the most demanding, high-threshold exercise, usually performed on a treadmill. This allows him, says the theory, to hold his limit without going beyond it, avoiding the risk of overtraining and favoring his versatility: the ability, as he is, to shine in both 1,500 and a 10,000 or a cross. It’s possible, even in a half marathon, if he puts his mind to it.

The ‘Ingebrigtsen Method’ involves a lot of mileage, 160 to 180 per week, more than usual, but not always in high demand. In his case, moreover, a long-term work ‘in crescendo’ since he was a pre-adolescent, a genetics specially gifted for endurance sports and an enormous mentality and confidence that can sometimes be confused with pride , complete the menu. But it is that Jakob is special, and he himself knows it.