Not satisfied: four years ago, decathlete Bryan Clay took home the silver. With a "smarter" training regimen, the 28-year-old will chase the gold in Beijing

Men's Fitness, June-July, 2008 by Laura Lane

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MEN'S FITNESS: With 10 events to prepare for, what is the decathlete's training strategy?

BRYAN CLAY: We usually try to touch on each event at least twice a week, with some variation of two or three events a day.

Has your workout routine changed since Athens?

Not a lot, but I think we're starting to train smarter. We try to work in four-week cycles: a week of low-intensity training, then two moderate weeks, and then a high week of training before coming back down to a low week. You're pounding on your body all day long for a year, maybe four years. If you don't start getting smart about training, you're really going to regret it later on.

Walk us through an Olympic day.

Well, my event lasts for two days. My first event starts at 9 a.m., which means I'm up at 5 a.m., do a little warm-up, take a shower, and eat breakfast. My last event will start somewhere around 10 p.m. By the time I get done, I'll have to do a cool-down, ice bath, and massage. Most of the time I'll have to get an IV because I've lost so much fluid. And by the time I shower and get back to the room and fall asleep, it's 2 in the morning. I'm back at the stadium at 5 a.m. to do the same thing all over again, except usually the second day's longer.

So you're competing on no sleep.

It's crazy. And what people don't realize is that even the slightest sound of a camera clicking can take away your concentration if you're not focused.

How has already going through the whole experience helped you?

Now I feel confident to know that if I'm healthy, if I'm doing everything that I'm supposed to do, I'm the No. 1 guy in the world. No one can take that away from me as long as I take care of business.

INSIDE THE DECATHLON

Becoming the "world's greatest athlete" requires taking on 10 track and field events that test speed, strength, skill, endurance, and determination. The two-day Olympic event will take place August 21 and 22.

DAY ONE      DAY TWO

100 m dash   110 m high hurdles
Long jump    Discus throw
Shot put     Pole vault
High jump    Javelin throw
400 m dash   1500 m run