In two days the decathletes participate in ten events to determine ‘superman’ status. Who can run the quickest, throw the furthest and jump the highest? America’s powerful multi-event athlete Bryan Clay started the decathlon with raw speed and energy, maintained it with focus and determination, then ended it in a slow, gruelling run of endurance. Over the two days, the ten events, he is the new ‘superman’. His victory margin was the greatest since 1972.

Here’s a list of his performances in Beijing:

Day One:

• 100m - 10.44secs
• Long Jump - 7.78m
• Shot Putt - 16.27m
• High Jump - 1.99m
• 400m - 48.92secs

Day Two:

• 110 Hurdles - 13.93secs
• Discus - 53.79m
• Pole Vault - 5.00m
• Javelin - 70.97m
• 1500m - 5:06.59secs

He struggled round that final 1500m but it didn’t matter victory had already been secured. The decathlon never ceases to amaze me, or should I say the athletes who compete in the decathlon. To complete ten contrasting events, with different skill and fitness requirements, to such a high standard, is just phenomenal. Barring a couple of events towards the end of each day, Clay was a class apart.

If you fancy yourself as a potential multi-event performer, you’ll need to boost your general strength and fitness. Try circuit training to get you going:

Circuit training improves strength, which lowers the risk of injury, helps to improve efficiency of movement, and can be the prelude to considerably more powerful athletic performance. In addition, circuit work can heighten VO2max, especially if one replaces the rather wimpy intervals used in the research studies with more intense effort. And circuit training can also heighten lactate threshold, the best predictor of endurance performance, as key research has shown. In case you haven't noticed, that means that circuit training can improve all five key variables which are important for endurance success - strength, power, economy, VO2max, and lactate threshold.

But what kind of circuits should you use? There are an almost infinite number of possibilities, but the following circuit workout will boost your fitness dramatically:

Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging, swimming or cycling, and then perform the following exercises in order. Move quickly from exercise to exercise, but don't perform the exercises themselves too quickly (don't sacrifice good form just to get them done in a hurry). The idea is to do each exercise methodically and efficiently - and then almost immediately start on the next one.

1. Run 400 metres at current 5-K race pace
2. Do 5 chin-ups
3. Complete 36 ab crunches
4. Perform 15 squat thrusts with jumps (burpees)
5. Do 15 press-ups
6. Complete 30 body-weight squats (fast)
7. Run 400 metres at 5-K pace again
8. Do 12 squat and dumbbell presses (with 5kg dumbbells)
9. Complete 10 feet-elevated press-ups
10. Perform 36 low-back extensions
11. Do 15 bench dips
12. Complete 15 lunges with each leg
13. Run 400 metres at 5-K pace

Repeat steps 2-13 one more time (for two circuits in all), and then cool down with about 15 minutes of light jogging, swimming, or cycling.

This routine has been taken directly out of our Peak Performance newsletter, click here to try it now and be the first to access the latest circuit training techniques.