May/June 2007 Happenings
The Eyes Have It! BFS’s resident exercise guru Paul Gagné was featured in the April 2007 issue of Golf Digest, the largest golf magazine in the world, with a monthly circulation of 1.55 million. The article discussed how Gagné was able to help 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell with special eye exercises; in fact, between plays at the Open, Campbell took numerous breaks to perform his special eye exercises. Gagné says that because Michael’s right eye muscles were weaker, his body would compensate by adjusting the alignment of his head, hips Campbell and and shoulders.
In the past this adjustment would Gagné Paul Gagné testing eye convergence at a cause Michael to miss most of his putts to the left. seminar Circle of Life: BFS Style BFS President Bob Rowbotham has seen his BFS family grow, and in more ways than one. On October 14 of last year his daughter Sara married Dustin Criddle. And on March 1 of this year his daughter Amy and her husband, Doug Kaufusi, and “Keiko” welcomed a new baby boy, Karson, to the family.
Getting Down with Hamstring Training! The kneeling hamstring raise has been a popular exercise with sprinters, but the traditional variation requires a partner to hold your heels and is too intense for beginning athletes. Canadian strength coach Raphael Jabbour shared with us his variation, which can be performed without a partner and is perfect for all levels of athletes. As shown in the first photo, you will secure your feet under a barbell that is resting on the lowest setting of a power rack. A 3-in-1 box squat bench is placed in front of you.
From this starting position, lower yourself to the bench, keeping your knees, hips and shoulders in alignment, then push off as much as needed to return to the start in the same manner. As you progress, you simply use a lower setting on the bench, eventually turning it on its side and then not using it at all. You can also make the exercise more difficult by lowering your body more slowly or by wearing a weighted vest. Because the feet are not pushing against a pad as in a regular back extension, the hamstrings are activated more.
When combined with the regular glute-ham raise to ensure that the entire hamstring muscle group is worked throughout a full range of motion, this auxiliary exercise will provide optimal overload for these important muscles and will help prevent hamstring pulls. One practical way to do this is to perform 5-6 reps of this exercise, and then immediately go to the glute-ham raise and perform another 5-6 reps – talk about feeling the burn!
Bookshelf Musts A classic weight training textbook that is frequently referenced in scientific works is Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky and William J. Kraemer. It’s now in its second edition, and it’s a great book. Here’s why. The authors have combined Eastern European and North American resistance training practices to present a truly global perspective on current theories on how athletes should train. Compared to the first edition, which was published in 1995 and written only by Zatsiorsky, this edition is much more practical and has a larger format that is much easier on the eyes. It’s published by Human Kinetics (www.humankinetics.com).
Faith Lamb, now Faith Wolfley, was featured in our September 1991 issue. Wolfley is a two-time AAU National Karate Champion who also competed in Olympic weightlifting, track and cross-country. She recently made headlines by being selected to be a referee and judge at the 2007 USA Boxing Midwestern Trials, which will help elite athletes qualify for the Olympics. Wolfley is a coach and co-owner of the Martial Arts and Sports Complex in Bridgeville, PA.
Today, Faith with one of her boxers, Mike Strauss
From BFS Magazine — May/June 2007. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
