A strength athlete tries the decathlon

A strength athlete competing in a decathlon sounds like a good joke at first—until that first 400 m is over and your body starts to realize what it has signed up for. This is the unvarnished story of how nine friends took on a full decathlon in the summer of 2009, on August 1–2, over two consecutive days.

Why a strength athlete would try the decathlon

The idea came about in mid-June 2009. As a PE teacher, I had a stadium, equipment and measuring tapes more or less at my disposal. The equipment certainly wasn’t state of the art. Old and well-worn would be more accurate. But we could complete every decathlon event, and that was enough.

We called the competition the Friends’ Decathlon. The participants were old friends and acquaintances. Almost nobody had trained specifically for it, but nobody was coming straight off the couch either. The group included basketball players, gym enthusiasts and a couple of recreational cyclists.

Nine friends lined up to compete. Our average body weight was 95 kg. The lightest competitor was a schoolboy in grade 9 who weighed 75 kg. The heaviest was my brother Silvar at 112 kg. Most of the men weighed 85 kg or more. My own body weight at the time was 106 kg, as I had deliberately lost a few kilos, though not for this decathlon.

Honestly, I had thought beforehand that the strength I’d built in the gym would help quite a bit. Heavy squats and rows should give you explosive power, after all. But the decathlon demands more than strength. It takes technique, recovery, nerve and the ability to get back on the start line on the second day.

How a strength athlete got through the events

The first day: speed, jumps and 400 m

The first event was the 100 m. Judging by my warm-up, I wouldn’t have expected much of myself, but the race went well. I clocked 12.46 and won the event. We ran on the red gravel track at a school stadium, rather than a rubberized track. Basketball player Rauno Tamm came second in 12.90. Incidentally, this was the first time I’d ever run in spikes. They felt strange. I would have felt more at home in trainers.

The second event was the long jump. I hoped to match my personal best of 5.18 from 2 months earlier, but this time I managed 4.98. My technique was almost nonexistent. Interestingly, the 100 m had already left my legs feeling like jelly before the long jump. Still, I won this event too. Rauno Tamm jumped 4.86. I can jump 3.10 from a standing start off both feet, yet I managed 4.98 in competition and my personal best is 5.18. That says quite a lot about my technique.

The third event was the shot put. Before the competition, I was certain I should win this one; the only question was how far I would throw. I finished with 12.83. I wasn’t happy, as I’d thrown 13.41 a couple of months earlier and had hoped to reach at least 13 m. Silvar came second with 11.36.

The fourth event was the high jump. There were more laughs than some of the men had strength. Each competitor had 4 attempts to clear each height, and we weren’t too strict about technique. The rules require you to take off from one foot, but our aim was to get a result on the board. I cleared 130 cm almost from a standstill, taking off from both feet. My final result was 1.50. The best results were 1.60, once again from the basketball players.

The final event of the first day was the 400 m. By then, fatigue had set in. It also started raining, and puddles formed on the track. My tactics were simple: stay with or behind the others for the first 150 m, then hit the gas. I finished second in my heat in 1.06.01. The winner, Alar Kukk, ran 1.04.06. Considering my body weight of 106 kg and the lack of specific training, I was happy.

I ended the first day with 2219 points and a clear lead. Alar Kukk was second with 1991 points. Afterwards, my whole body was incredibly sore. My muscles, joints, back, legs, torso and shoulders were all making themselves felt. That evening, I stretched thoroughly and had my wife massage my back and legs just so I could make it to the start on Sunday.

The second day: hurdles, throws and a long finish

Sunday morning was rough. At 9.45, I set off for the venue to get everything ready. Competition started at 11.00. My muscles and joints were still stiff, but there was no turning back now.

The first event of the second day was the hurdles. Almost everyone’s technique was nonexistent. Arms flailed like windmills as we cleared the hurdles. Even so, I won the event in 17.51. Kert Kerem ran 18.33 and Rauno Tamm 18.36.

I had big plans for the discus. It was the only event I’d tried and practiced a little beforehand. In training, the discus often flew 41–42 m, with some throws of 40 and 40–41 m as well. In the competition, though, I threw from a circle rather than from the track as I had in practice, and that changed everything. I was afraid of stepping out. I finished with 35.57. That was enough to win the event, with Silvar close behind in second at 34.81.

For the pole vault, we had one aluminum pole and one fiberglass pole. We landed in a sandpit, mostly on our feet. It sounds crazy, but the sand had been dug deep and loosened, making the landing surprisingly soft. The lowest height recorded was 1.30. Silvar cleared the greatest height at 2.57. My result was 2.40. The last of the other competitors went out at 1.85, leaving my brother and me to battle it out. A bodybuilder taking 2nd place in the pole vault.

The penultimate event was the javelin throw. This was not my strong suit. I had tried throwing a javelin a few times before, but there was no snap or power to it. I felt I was being as explosive as I could, but from the sidelines it all looked like slow motion. I finished with 36.55. Silvar threw 45.72, and 108 kg basketball center Renee Kukk recorded 41.96. I came third.

Then only the 1500 m remained. Our school track was 250 m long, so we had to run 6 laps. As I recall, you started scoring points if you ran the 1500 m in 7.54. That gets you 1 point on the calculator. Any slower and you get nothing. I planned to run 7.30, but finished in 6.09.20. I felt that 6 minutes would have been possible, but no faster. Kert Kerem won in 5.38.04. The bodybuilder finished 2nd in the 1500 m, too.

A strength athlete’s lessons in technique

I scored 4206 points in total. My target was 4000 points, so a small dream came true. After the discus throw, I was afraid I would fall short of 4000, but I had underestimated how well I would do in a few events. My 4206 points put me in first place, 629 points ahead of second.

So what actually happens when a gym regular takes on a decathlon? You quickly realize that raw strength only gets you so far. The 100 m and shot put gave me a chance to use my strength. But the long jump, high jump, discus, javelin and pole vault showed just how much technique matters. The same strength can produce very different results if your timing, stride and body position are off.

Another simple truth: competing for two days in a row is a completely different matter from doing one workout. By the evening of the first day, you feel as though you have taken a serious beating. On the second day, you still have to run, throw and jump all over again, then suffer through the 1500 m at the end.

Practical lessons from the decathlon

If you organize a decathlon like this with friends, it is worth taking it seriously without making it too formal. Our aim was to complete the events and record the results honestly. At the same time, the rules had to give the heavier men a chance to record a result at all. In the high jump and pole vault, the priority was to make sure nobody did anything foolish and injured themselves.

Warming up matters. Rauno Tamm strained his biceps femoris after the 100 m and could no longer compete properly in the running events. I managed an easy kilometer of jogging before the 400 m, and it helped. In some events, that little bit of preparation can make the difference between getting a result and your body calling a halt.

Recovery between the two days matters too. Stretching, massage, food, sleep and a calm mind will not turn you into a decathlete overnight, but they give you a chance of getting through the second day without falling apart. The decathlon teaches you respect for the men who score 6000 or 7000 points. That level demands versatility, not just a single strong attribute.

Third, the experience confirmed that a bodybuilder or strength athlete can be surprisingly versatile. There is speed, there is strength, and there is some endurance too. It would also be pretty cool if Estonia’s well-known bodybuilders, such as Kiivikas, Ader, Morozov and others, got together for a decathlon on a proper athletics track. That would be a fantastic event.

Our Friends’ Decathlon should now take place every summer. The marks have been set, and the men have something to beat.

Finally, the points totals:

• I 4206
• II 3577
• III 3564
• IV 2833
• V 2810
• VI 2477
• VII 2398
• VIII 2236
• IX 1991

FAQ: strength athletes and the decathlon

Does gym training help in the decathlon?

It helps, but only to a point. Strength gives you an advantage in sprinting, the shot put and some jumps, but a lack of technique costs you many of those points.

Which event was the hardest?

Physically, the 400 m was very painful, and everyone dreaded the 1500 m. But the overall challenge came from having to compete in the events on two consecutive days.

Is it worth doing a decathlon with friends?

Yes, provided safety is taken care of and nobody foolishly tries to play the hero. A competition like this gives you a very good sense of just how much versatility the decathlon demands.

Author: Janar Rückenberg

Source:Turg.Fitness.ee

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