Leif Olav Alnes

Leif Olav Alnes

Leif Olav Alnes is an near friend of HåkanAndersson and has been a sprint trainer on high level for over 20 years. He has coached several Norwegian sprinters to the international top level. He is majoring in sports from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and has taught there. There have been many highlights in his coaching career. Mention Geir Moen’s European Championship gold in the 200m in 1994 and his world championship gold in the 200m indoors in 1995, John Ertzgaards European Championship gold in the 200m U-23-class in 1999 and EzinneOkparaebos gold at 100m in the Junior European Championship in 2007. Ezinne took a silver on 60m in the European indoor Championship in 2009. Last summer she took 4.pl on the 100m European Championship. He lives in Oslo and got a hold on moor talents than HåkanAndessson, but it is amazing what he delivered of result for last 20 years. Four runners under 10,30. One under 6,60. He has been a sprint trainer all his adult life. No other work. That’s not easy I little Norway.

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Leif Olav is probably the most renowned sprint coach in Norway and perhaps in Scandinavia. Until 3 years ago, he coached the Nordic region’s fastest man, Geir Moen (10,08/20,17). He has also coached many other great Norwegian sprinters. When Leif Olav talking about sprint training you listen. Many of the methods and principles used by sprinters in Norway today, it was Leif Olav, who came with. Especially after the success in the mid-90th century, many were very interested in what his athletes did.

Leif Olav, know very much about sprint training, running technique and everything around competing at a high level. But when he talks with people and have lectures he speaks very understandable, has no business presentations and take himselves little solemn. He does not appear as junk and not his field, but he is humble and is not one that pretends to be the only right solution.

Leif Olav’s big questions and that his life has been about the last 20-30 years is: WHY SOME ARE RUNNING faster than other? This question, he has researched, written about and probably the swirl in his head most of the day. Leif Olav has in his thesis, written and researched biomechanical differences between sprinters at different levels. He has also written several articles in which he takes up this theme.

As I said Leif Olav are very humbled that he has had some successes, but also some ditch runs. Much in the sprint training will be trial and error, but he believes it is important to have a philosophy. Leif Olav has a clear philosophy of what it takes to run fast. He often uses to set up a list of statements about what is required .

1. Sports Performance = Inheritance + Environment
“Choose your parents wisely” Leif Olav tend to say. It can be done a lot of training, but do you not have the right genes when you’ve never reache top. An 18-20-year-old who runs 100m for the first time can improve his time by 1 second with training. This means that if you want to have a hope of reaching the world you should run 11 blank. There are not many sprinters who do not do it.

When it comes to the environment is the talk of the scheme around athlete. Training conditions, training, trainer, diet and other follow-up.

2. Main training principle: Specificity!
One is good at what you train for. If you want to be good to run fast, you have to run a lot fast! Many of Leif Olav athletes have run a lot fast. There have been many rumors about their outrageous phosphate sessions. The most extreme was probably a training session in a traing camp when Geir Moen ran 11x4x80m. 44x80metre! It was not running complete top speed, but i wad near max. This session took 8 hours! Geir Moen could not get off track without help after the session. Even the lightest of the obstacles on the way to the hotel he had to have help to get over. He was then placed in the bathtub while the rest went to eat. When they got back was still young Moen in the bathtub. He could not get up! This is an extreme type of session that they did not do normaly, but it was not unusual that the sessions may consist of 30-40 races. With such numbers, often the distance was 60m.

Athletes to Leif Olav has often trained for specific exercises that race overspeed running through running and resistans with parachute. Both of these training methods are also taken up by many Norwegian sprint coach and is used frequently throughout Norway.

Leif Olav parts training exercises for a sprinter in 4 categories:

Category A:
Exercises that have a direct correlation to the exercise you’re doing. For the sprint, there will be exercises like start and acceleration, and 30m flying. Improves you these exercises, you run faster in races.

Category B:
Exercises which are thought to have a relationship with it to run fast. Examples of exercises can be squat and jump with weights.

Category C:
Exercises that you think is important to be able to train on the A-B-exercises. Typical exercises here will be a stabilization exercises for abs and back.

Category D:
Exercises that are directly negative for performance.

3. Sprint = power + technique + special endurance
Power is the ability to perform an explosive movement in the shortest time possible with a combination of speed and strength. Power is the product of force x speed.

Leif Olav has written much about biomechanics in relation to race. His thesis is mentioned about this, and he has, in cooperation with other athletics coaches written several articles focusing on the mechanical aspects of the race. It can be said a lot about this subject, but I’ll take up a few points that Leif Olav is concerned off.

• The body must perform three types of work during races
1. Keeping her ass clear of the ground. Thus, work against gravity
2. To “flip” in the air.Working to accelerate the limbs relative to the body.
3. Pushing the body horizontally. Working to accelerate the body’s center of gravity in the horizontal direction (including air resistance)
• An increase of the maximum running speed can only happen if the balance between accelerating and retarding impulses to the runner gets a surplus of accelerating impulses, until it creates a new balance at a higher speed level.
• If you want to increase their maximum running speed, one has in principle two possibilities:
1. Leveraging its total resources better (better technique)
2. Increase their total resources (be stronger)
• Young athletes: use a lot of time making the running wheel (10 years)
• What makes a top international sprinter?:
- Relatively short reaction
- High initial velocity
- Strong ability to accelerate quickly
- High maximum running speed. Up to 12 m / s
- A large racing wheel (often between 43 to 47 steps on a 100m)
- Short contact time on the ground under the maximum speed (0.08 to 0.09 sec)
- Large horizontal speed of the foot just before fotisettet. It provides a smaller braking impulse
- Fotisettet’s high on the Soles and foot drops very little
- The foot leaves the ground without the knee is fully stretched
- Full stretching of the hip joint is desired, but there are exceptions
- The foot commute close to the seat and knees near contact fot

The speed of a 100 m drops at the end, but Leif Olav think it is the top speed that determines who wins the 100m. What is the cause of this loss rate is somewhat uncertain. It is proposed that both the metabolic restrictions and limitations of the nervous system.

4. Top speed is most important
The correlation between the winner of the 100m and the top speed is high. At a timestudy of 100 m at the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988 there was a correlation between the athletes’ maximum running speed and performance of more than 0.95 for both sexes. Exercise to increase the maximum running speed must be given high priority. Many train as if it is the one with the best stamina to win the classic 100 meter.

5. Kill the nervous system - and it is a long time until you sprint again
Lactic acid kills the nervous system! Much training with large amounts of lactic acid negatively affects the nervous system. After hard workouts with maximum sprint training the nervous system need a long time before it is completely recovered again. After a competitive weekend with a lot of sprint Leif Olav think that it may take as much as 10 days before the nervous system has fully recovered. In the period between hard contests they do not run with maximum intensity. The intensity is a maximum of 95%. But the element with maximum intensity that takes place under three seconds is not very stressful on the nervous system. These occur between tough sessions.

For 400 m runners recommended a 6 week grueling acid Bolk in April to improve the special 400-m endurance.

6. Without rest, food and drink the training is not working:
Between the intensive sessions the sprinter must rest and be trained easily. Several sessions a week is just recovery sessions to be ready for the hard workouts that will make you better, and to get a enough practice.

Most of the athletes to Leif Olav swear to traditional sounds Norwegian food. But there are som people who use supplements. It is used supplements such as creatine and CLA. These products believe they may have a positive effect.

7. Belief in the program is necessary for success
The term “Faith can move mountains” applies very much for the sprinters. IF the coach can convince athletes that the program is very good, good performance is often whatever program they train.

Athletes should not be too concerned with technical details and details of training program. They must believe it works and just give all during races! One is too hung up on race technical details are often poor performance. The athlete should feel that it went well, not that the angle of the knee joint was like that and that.

The coach now be able to convince athletes that the program is first class. A runner who enters the starting line with great confidence have great opportunities to perform well.

8. Success factor = knowledge-based boldness
Leif Olav admits that it has gone off the rails many times. But if you want to progress you need to take some chances. Leif Olav use to say: “Normal training gives normal results”. If you exercise safely without taking any chances, you always manage results, but will never perform at high levels. Do you want to perform at a high level you need to take the chance that it can go wrong.Either very good or very bad. Do not you take this chance, you never athletes at international level.

9. Athletics biggest challenge = indoor units
In order to perform well, one must be able to have good workouts frequently. In Oslo they have to train during the opening times for track training. It is not always beneficial to train sprint when the hall is open. People are going to have to train for a fixed week pattern. It is rare that an optimal match sprint program. Now it looks like that Leif Olav’s athletes have fared pretty well with the facilities, Oslo has been able to offer. There have certainly been enough to bring out the World and European champions!

It is not only in the Oslo area which indoor plants: Norway has not a single reindeer athletics hall. In order to foster the top sprinters wee need facilities. If Norway is to develop good sprinters, many have to have good conditions to run fast. It is not the case in Norway today.

10. TTT = Things take time
Should you be a top sprinter, one must be willing to train a lot for a long time. One must lay a foundation with a lot of training with low intensity at a young age. When you have a good training foundation you can run at a maximum intensity training. Geir Moen trained many years of relatively low intensity. When he started training with Leif Olav he was 24 years. He received a huge boost. Leif Olav believe that if you train several years with much running, but not too high intensity, then start running with high-intensity exercise is very beneficial for a sprinter.

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Training scheme to Leif Olav:
Many of today’s Norwegian sprinters train with several of Leif Olav’s training principles. Phosphate training (alac), supramaximal running, parachute and squats. This is well-known ingredients in a sprint program. Leif Olav has probably not inventet up any of these exercises, but it was after the success in the 90’s that everyone wanted these exercises in their programs.

The plan to Leif has varied over the years. He follows the principle: “Always change a wining Concept”. What you trained last year is not enough this year. The body has adjusted to the training and must have new stimuli to develop. So do not run his athletes for the same program each year.

Here is an example of a system which was used in the middle of the 90’s:

Periodization:
• Familiarisation: 2-3 weeks
• Hypertrophy: 3-6 weeks
• Maximum strength: 2-4 weeks
• Explosive strength: 3-4 weeks
• Speed: 3-4 weeks
• Best shape of the year: the last 10 days before this year’s main competition (running at 90-95% every other day)

Training programs for hypertrophy and maximum strength period:

Monday
Drill, technical starts 6-8, jumping (stairs)
Squat Jump (ex: 5x5x60-100 kg)
Clean (ex 3x3x60 kg)
Clean outs (5x60-100m)

Tuesday
1.session:Strengthening the upper body (bench press, shoulder press, seated rowing)

2. session:
10-20x80-200m relative easy (eg 3 sec after best in 100 m) Relatively good breaks
Circuit training (primarily stomach /abs)

Wednesday
Heavy on the legs, with a focus on squats (eg 3x3x150 kg)
cleans
Clean outs (5x60-100m)

Thursday
1.session: Upper body as Tuesday

2. session:
Recovery / light aerobic session:
200 m + 250 m + 300 m + 250 m + 200m quiet
(eg: 31/40/47) (2-4 min break)
Circut tr.

Friday
Phosphate (alac.) training. Lots of reps at high speed (95% +)
eg 3x5x60m (2 min rest / 15 min break series)

Saturday
Strength legs.Medium intensity. (ex: 5x5x120 kg)
Strength upper body
Clean outs (5x60-100m)

Sunday
Rest and recovery

Eg.training in the explosive strength period:

Monday
Drill
1x60 m with parachut
3x60m + 1x80m + 1x100m + 3x60m 1x150m
(Pauses = 6 + 8 + 10 + 60 + 5 + 15 min)

Tuesday
Explosive strength:
Part 1:
- reactive jumps
- jump with weights 55-75 kg
- jump without weights
- cleans
- 5x60 m clean outs

60 min break

Part 2:
- jump with weights 5x3x50 kg
- abs and back

Wednesday
Restitution / light aerobic session:
200 m + 250 m + 300 m + 250 m + 200m quiet
Circle (abdominal focus)

Thursday
Drill
2 technical start + 3x30 st shots (10 min break)
1x60 m with parachut + 1x60m without parachut
2x4x60 m (3 min break / 15 min break series)
2x5x60m clean outs

Friday Part 1: Explosive strength:
- reactive jumps
- jump with weights 55-75 kg
- jump without weights
- cleans
- 5x100 m clean outs

30 min break

Part 2:
- upper body

Saturday
Bench press (heavy)
Recovery / light aerobic session:
200 m + 250 m + 300 m + 250 m + 200m quiet
Abs

Sunday Rest