OR Practice—Training Optimization for the Decathlon

Decathlon coaches usually spend days or even weeks on designing training schedules for their athletes. A major complication is the fact that the athlete has only limited time for an extensive range of training exercises, whereas the effects of exercises on the athlete's performance in the various events are interrelated. This paper presents a mathematical model for optimizing the use of the total available training time by assigning time to training exercises. The data used in this time capacity planning model concerns a decathlete preparing for the Olympic Games.