Jakob Ingebrigtsen: did this monster workout clinch his world indoor double?

Norwegian distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen isn’t tight-lipped when it comes to his training. His latest YouTube video, posted Friday, revealed his final hard track session ahead of the recent World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, where he won double gold in the 1,500m and 3,000m.

The impressive workout took place at the Sandneshallen arena in Sandved, Norway, on March 13, with Ingebrigtsen tackling 6 x 400m and 6 x 300m at race pace.

Ingebrigtsen’s training day included a specific race-pace workout in the morning and easier threshold work in the evening. “[I’m] excited,” he said. “A little bit nervous. The whole point is to simulate race pace and, at the same time, not to run too fast.” The 24-year-old holds indoor 1,500m and 3,000m personal bests of 3:29.63 and 7:40.32, respectively.

His older brother, Henrik, paced him on the bike. “The main goal is to be able to blame Henrik if we do the session wrong so Filip doesn’t get mad at us,” Ingebrigtsen joked. His wife, Elisabeth, and their daughter, Filippa, watched him complete the workout.

“Always socks without spikes, right?” the interviewer asked. “Of course–I’m not an amateur.” Ingebrigtsen replied–a subtle dig at Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, who wears socks with his spikes while racing. The pair of rivals is set for a highly-anticipated matchup at the London Athletics Meet in July as part of the Wanda Diamond League series.

The hefty session

Here are Ingebrigtsen’s splits from the workout:

400m repeats: 54.46, 55.99, 55.60, 55.44, 55.95, 55.62

300m repeats: 41.14, 41.50, 41.25, 41.50, 40.89, 41.21

Between sets, Ingebrigtsen tested his lactate levels. “From here, [the lactate] starts to go down a little bit, because [it’s the] same pace and same rest–just 25 per cent shorter,” the runner said. “It’s gonna be nice.” In the end, just including interval work, he logged 4.2 km.

The workout is a tough one, but it’s very effective; the brothers agree it’s important to complete the session as often as possible–as long as you can still recover.

A week later, Ingebrigtsen won the 1,500m and 3,000m world indoor titles in 3:38.79 and 7:46.09. “What’s better than winning your first World Indoor title?” he wrote on Instagram. “Winning two.”

 

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The video received an overwhelmingly positive response from track fans. “Please more of this,” one user wrote. “These concise workout vids from pros are desperately needed on this platform.”

“I can’t put it into words how much I appreciate this,” another said. “I would pay for this.”

“Jakob, great video and insight,” the comments continued. “Keep them coming.”