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Good to see you up and at it again Tom.

You'll get there pal!

Tom

You need your head testing...

Best of luck though.

Get yourself some compression shorts!! Don't want that hammy going ping again...

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I don't think 7.75 is that bad for a first effort on one leg. What distance would you be happy with, bearing in mind that even the women throw 22 metres.

Remember you are doing a decathlon! What is Randy Barnes pb for the pole vault?

PrawnHeed - exactly.

Firstly, women throw 'only' 4kg shots so not worth the comparison.

Secondly, most international Decathletes in this country throw somewhere between 12m-15m so anywhere approaching 10m is very good, especially with a slightly smaller frame than the average 6'2/85kg.

Just remember the higher the release, the further it will go. You need to aim for roughly at 40 degree release and it is all about the intial velocity of the shot putt at release. The women throw 22m because the shot putt they use is so much light. You should work with a lighter shot putt (5kg) to try and perfect your technique.

Good luck

7.75m is worth a good 350 points, so that's not disgraceful in the least. If you can squeeze out an extra metre (easier said than done; translate as "if you can improve your PB by about 13%") then you're well past 400. I don't anticipate that you'll perform at PB levels in the one-hour event itself, because (a) you're trying to squeeze everything into an hour, (b) this will be knackering and (c) you might not even get three attempts at each throwing and jumping event because of the time pressure, but already you're at a very respectable level of performance.

Anything in the 8's is a solid performance for a 4000pts target.

Personally, I wouldnt recommend trying to add either a glide or a spin as they both introduce a lack of consistency in beginners. Better off taking a solid but consistent standing throw, especially with the limits on number of attempts and the time pressure.

If you think the shot put is tough, spare a thought for 'International King of Sports' competitors when they do the underwater shot put.

Good to see you back on the mend. I am currently injured while marathon training so know how it feels.

BTW - sugar in UK usually (and for as long as I can remember) has been sold in 1kg (2.2 lb) bags therefore 7kg=7bags of sugar

Tom - The men's shot it basically that a shot as in cannon-ball. there is nothing light about it. I officiate this event and whereas I can return two women's shots at a time doing that with the men is likely to sprain your wrists by about the third round!! For my sins I have occasionally been asked to fill in at lower division men's matches (I am really a distance runner) and probably throwing less than you ! I much prefer Hammer, there is no fun in throwing a shot its just about brute strength.... OK so there is a lot of technique but its still not fun if you're not built like the back-end of a bus.

Tom - no sweat. Ran through a mock point-scoring calculation for you earlier. 4000 is more than achievable.

With regards to things you can do from home for the shot, you need to decide whether it's worth doing the 'shift' technique at all. I'll have a look during the session at some point. If you decide you do want to then you can practice the drill of jumping backwards from start position to end position, concentrating on getting the feet in the right place.

Beyond that... press ups!!

Forders - you're a legend mate. I've been reading your blogs with huge interest (especially the Daley training session) and I, like many other silent followers I expect, am really willing you on for this. If I hadn't moved to Canada I might even come and cheer you on for the actual event. Anyway, hang in there Tom. In a funny kind of way, I'm finding myself supporting you in this as much as I do England in your Ashes commentaries. You don't need to be world class to have your efforts mean something. Look at the passion and emotion on the terraces at clubs like Darlington every week. So next time you're feeling like giving up, just say to yourself "No, Hitcho is gunning for me and I'm not letting him down". There's likely a small army of ´óÏó´«Ã½ blog readers like me. Don't give up on us Forders, you've started this and you've got yourself a following. Finish it!

(And best of British to you by the way)

PS - why aren't Dirs, Cheese and Stevo doing this with you?

Tom,
there may or may not be footage of Randy doing hurdles, but there certainly is of Werner Gunthor doing said hurdles, and all manner of other stuff. You tube has a few clips of his 'preparation physique'. It's all in French, but nonetheless will get your jaw dropping at watching such a big guy (6'6", 20.5st) look like a ballerina!
MB.

This blog reminds me of my PE days at school...i was great at atheletics..100m/long distances etc...great at football/cricket/badminton/hockey etc, for the cricket team i was a fast bowler. But when it came to the shotput or the javelin i was useless! confusing!

Tom,

Am seriously impressed so far, to be doing all this with a dodgy hammy is pretty tough - how do you see it holding up during the hour? hopefully you'll be fully recovered by then!

I always found (when I reached the lofty heights of 4th in the UK U13 Championships...) that the slide technique was great, it provides a bit of momentum going into the throw - and you're a talented enough athlete to manage that, I see that you've won triathlons in the past, good stuff! Don't do the stand-still throw, it won't go as far!

I recently put the shot at a Chinese university sports meet, where I'm studying) - let's just say that a 6 feet 5 foreigner has a significant advantage in the Orient... Best of luck mate, I'll be cheering for you from this side of the globe.

Best of luck Tom, I don't envy that sport haha!

Hitcho, ha ha ha ha ha ha. Obviously, Stevo and myself are decathlon regulars - but Dirsy??! Ridiculous idea.

Anyway, yes, good luck Tom. I can't wait until you've done it... mainly so you can stop going about it, and I won't risk tripping over you in the office as you do your so-called stretches.

Hi Tom

Just want to say well done for getting back on the horse and carrying on what you've started. I had massive achilles problems last year which meant my taekwondo training was all shot up. Takes a fair bit of will power and mental strength to get back into it. Wishing you have a fast and uncomplicated recovery.

Keep up the good work

Tom - two words for you: Daley Thompson. If that doesn't get you through this, nothing will.

Also, for the actual event can we have Cheese and Dirsy doing live commentary and a Stevo's Predo on your performance in each event? Just a thought...

There's a secret to the shot put Tom! You need muscles.
Looking at the pictures you should stick to egg and spoon.

Still, best of luck

Hitcho - I wholeheartedly agree. We're all pulling for you Tom, the athletic and the not-so-athletic who are regular readers of this blog, so keep it up for our sakes as well as yours. Best of luck with the rehab.

Tom:
My work access won't let me check that link, but you will find them all at
If you're keen to throw the discus at all in the last couple of weeks, I can probably lend some expertise.
MB.

Tom,

What you are throwing with the shot is impressive, especially if you have a leg injury. Be aware that adding a glide to your standing throw will only increase the distance by 2 metres at most. With limited time you may want to consider keeping with standing throw.

If you don't have a shot do some imitation throws- simply practice the throwing action without a shot. Based upon the picture from UWIC make sure you are on the balls of your feet (not your toes)because you need to turn both feet to the front during the throw; bring your left shoulder further round so at the start of the throw so your upper body is facing the back of the circle and try and keep looking backwards for as long as possible through the throw as it will add height (and ultimately distance).

Hope this helps and good luck!

Stevo - according to Caroline you're a regular decathlete so I'll assume you're being modest. What's your predo for Forders' decathlon, event by event? I'd love to follow Tom live online while he's competing. Any chance of getting this set up?

just read your blog for the first time
i am impressed that you want to give the multi events a go
and i dont think you should be too worried about times heights and distances as long as each time you measure your improving kepp plodding through and eventually it will all click into place
as for the women throwing 22 in the shot all well and good to say that but there shot is a lot lighter

Tom, if you would like some encouragement and a few laughs, have a look at You Tube and search for 'Bedford, Decathlon, Steve, Mad'. You will find a short clip about how three 50 yr olds, who had never done any athletics before, trained for 11 months and entered the Southern Championships last September for Charity. We raised £15000 and it was a fabulous experience. We each came in with about 2200 pts - expect you are a lot younger so must be aiming for 4000 pts at least!! Must B Mad (the charity) aims to help disenfranchised kids and any support you can give would be very welcome. Steve

Fearless or stupid?

Tf, was nervous the injury had 'come for you', and you were hiding behind the day job..,

Having read about daley doing 370 mles on a push bike, with hugo porta et al..I'm with Hitcho, get dt to do some weight sessions with you, rather than amateur suicide by Macey, and that shot will feel like a cricket ball...

GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK

Respect