America's Greatness Lies in it's People!

GREATNESS LIES IN IT’S PEOPLE! THAT SPIRIT The Durdan farm consists of 500 acres of corn and beans with some livestock. so Steve and his older brother, Greg made a gym out of their Grain Storage facility. In the winter, the grain is stored and the weights are moved to the family’s basement. Sometimes in the summer it gets well over 100 degrees in the storage bin. “It doesn’t make any difference,” says Greg, “It would be just an excuse not two inches of water. Our philosophy. JUST GET IT DONE!”

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After interviewing Steve Durdan, I left with a good feeling. A warm feeling. He is a genuine person with an unpretentious way about him that leaves people happy. | first learned about Steve through his brother, Greg. Greg wrote, “Steve started to train with weights in 1982 after attending a clinic by Coach Shepard in Dwight, Illinois. He was 11 years old at the time. Steve attended another BFS clinic put on by Stefan Fernholm five years later in Rockford, Illinois.” Greg is tremendously proud of Steve and his accomplishments. There is an obvious strong bond of love between them. championships won in powerlifting and his 3.833 Grade Point average. Greg even sent me Steve's report card.

He had classes like Chemistry and Trigonometry. Every teacher wrote additional comments such as outstanding attitude and performance.

Greg bubbled with pride, “Last summer, Steve had the greatest lifting day of his life at the Midwest High School Powerlifting Championships.” He further added, “Steve comes from a very small farming community and with the drought destroying our crops, his lifting was an inspiration Program.” Greg even sent me a video to show me Steve's meet. | saw his lifts. They were all legal. He was intense. Then, | got an added treat. I saw Steve on his farm working hard on agilities and sprinting. Steve propels his 6-2, 240 pound frame to a 4.85 forty time. Steve was an athlete who used Powerlifting contests also as a means of reaching his goals. Steve stated, “Those meets were a lot of fun.

To me, the fun starts when you have a contest. I look forward to contests. I set my goals around those meets. my goals with a 625 Squat, 315 Bench, and a 600 Dead Lift.” Steve's brother has helped him with the weights for the first five years. Since the high school is 15 miles from Durdan farm, he and Greg decided to build their own weight room. They've trained together ever since. The Durdan family is big. Greg 29, weighs 225 and Squats over 600 himself. Steve's dad is also a big man being 6-2 and 230 pounds. Steve admitted, “I can’t take my Dad yet.” Still 17, Midwest High School Champ with a 625 pound Squat!

Steve's family goes to a small Catholic Church which is only a quarter of a mile away on a regular basis. They’are a close family. They do something extremely unusual in this day and age— They eat breakfast together every morning at 6:30 A.M. Steve stated proudly, “We're a country family. My Mom fixes breakfast and typically we have eggs, pancakes and sausage. We have our own livestock, so we have our own meat at the table.” Steve has had to learn to organize and balance his schedule. “I helped my Dad during harvest. I got home after football practice at about 6:30 and then worked in the fields for about three hours. I asked Steve about his homework.

He remarked, “Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night like two or three and study. I’m just too tired at ten. After studying at those wee hours, I just go back to bed and get up at 6:00 A.M. It seems to work out Okay.”

Steve wants to go into accounting and become a C.P.A. At this writing, he may go to the University of Louisville Steve Dead Lifting 600 Pounds completing a and play football while getting his degree. Steve pondered Record Breaking 1540 Total. about his experience with sports and weight trianing, “It’s helped me with my intensity and made me understand the importance of consistency, not missing, and being on time.” Steve believes that it takes a lot of hard work to be successful in school. He afÏrmed, “I just don’t skip. You've got to study and always turn your assignments in on time. You can’t be late because it'll just pile up.” [ asked Steve if he'd ever skipped a class or been late.

In his own warm humble way he said, “No, I’ve never skipped or been late. You get detention if you're late.” My next inquiry was on Steroids and Steve responded, “I've never seen anybody take Steroids. Some people think Ido because of my lifts, but it’s a short cut [ won't take. It takes a while to get strong. People need to be more patient You can’t do it overnight.”

Realizing that drug and alcohol abuse is a severe problem in our nation’s high school, | asked Steve about Steve completed a joyous senior year of football The Ottawa his thoughts, “There’s a lot of kids around that get Pirates made it to the Illinois State Playoffs for the first time ever. Ottawa High School made it to the second round. involved especially alcohol. I never do.” “Wait a minute! You mean never?” “Honest Coach,” Steve answered, “I’ve never drank even one beer. As far as drugs, I haven’t even had an opportunity. No one’s even ask me to take drugs. All of my friends never do any of that stuff.” “Steve, what are the three most important things in life?”

Steve paused and then said, “Family, my family is important. My brother Greg and my parents are what's important. The second thing would be my church.” Then, a long pause came and Steve stammered, “Coach, | don’t know after that.” He seemed somewhat embarrassed that he couldn't think ofa third most important thing in life. : that if you do right with your family and you've got your spiritual values in the proper perspective, then everything mies! else has a habit of falling into place. Steve had given the “Sonos: perfect answer.

Obviously, Steve is an Upper-Limit person and we * Repairs Cuts, Splits Seams, Cigarette Burns, Punctures, Rips and Large or Small thank him for living an exemplory life. We thank Greg Durdan for his contributions for making this article possible. We wish them both much success.

So Tough You Can't Tear the Repair!

BFS PROGRAM CASSETTES THE BFS CORE PROGRAM NEW VIDEO: explained thoroughly and completely: the parallel squat, the box squat, the power clean, the dead lift, the bench press, the towel bench press and the straight leg dead lift. Why we do it, how it is done, what benefits are derived and specific spotting techniques are fully explained. This cassette is for ALL sports. Proper lifting and coaching techniques are emphasized! Live action of Stefan Fernholm and Stefan Squatting: A Key BFS Core Lift other athletes demonstrate the BFS core lifts. (80 min.)

AUXILIARY LIFTS —SETS & REPS NEW VIDEO: This cassette brings you every auxiliary exercise recommended for football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and many other sports. The BFS philosophy is fully explained. Stefan Fernholm, NBA Shot Block Champ Mark Eaton, and other athletes demonstrate. We also bring you an exciting live action of the BFS Set-Rep System. You'll understand fully the meaning of intensity and its tremendous motivational value. We guarantee you'll break 8 personal records per week and 400 per year. This video will make everyone a Straight Leg Dead Lift: Auxiliary lift develops speed FLEXIBILITY —NUTRITION NEW VIDEO: Bob Rowbotham, our flexibility believer!

You'll also fully understand how to record your records in the BFS Set-Rep Log Book. (55 min.) expert who stretches our Utah Jazz of the NBA, is featured along with Stefan Fernholm. The new 1-2-3-4 BFS flexibility program is fully explained. Your athletes will be motivated to work hard on flexibility everyday.

Coach Shepard describes the now famous 30-point BFS Nutrition System. It’s easy to understand. We explain, in easy terms, the importance of carbohydrates versus protein in an athlete's diet. (SO min.)

Stefan's Hip Flexor Stretch for increased stride.

SPEED —PLYOMETRICS NEW VIDEO: Stefan Fernholm demonstrates upperlimit speed and plyometric techniques. We illustrate the BFS 7-point speed technique system. Various athletes have their speed, vertical jump, and standing long jump form analyzed, which demonstrates exactly how to perform at your utmost optimum level. This video is of great importance to the high school athlete and yet 4 sophisticated and advanced enough for the best professional athletes. (50 min.)

From BFS Magazine — Winter 1989. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).