Karsten Warholm said he trained to 'look more like a horse' before breaking the 400m hurdles world record
Advertisement
Rachel Hosie
Aug 4, 2021, 01:31 IST
Karsten Warholm in his record-breaking 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics.
Getty/Wang Lili/Xinhua
Karsten Warholm's performance in the 400m hurdles has been called "the best race in Olympic history."
The Norwegian hurdler set a new world record, beating the one he set a month earlier.
Warholm told Insider he trains six days a week, up to seven hours a day.
Advertisement
Karsten Warholm set a new world record for the 400m hurdles, and it's been described as "the best race in Olympic history."
Not only did the Norwegian beat the world record he'd set a month earlier - which broke the longest standing record in men's track - but he ran faster than 18 of the men in the regular, 400m race without hurdles, clocking in at 45.94 seconds.
Warholm trains six days a week, sprinting and lifting light weights
Warholm's training regime involves what he calls "high-quality sessions" on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays - these are tough sessions of up to seven hours each, focused on sprinting, hurdling, weight lifting, and plyometrics work.
Each session starts with low intensity jogging and drills, before upping the intensity for sprints and hurdling. After lunch, it's more high intensity running, before finishing off the day in the weight room.
Advertisement
On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Warholm's training sessions are shorter and more likely to be based around interval work on a treadmill, for example.
On Sunday he rests.
While working out, Warholm has to keep an eye on his strength training to avoid bulking up - he's aiming to "look more like a horse," he said.
"We do lighter weights and we try to make the movements more specific to sprinting, so more dynamic," Warholm said. "It's all about getting more power in your stride."
{{}}
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.