Rex Trobridge June 25 at 5:15am
Exer-Genie I think we started using Exer-Genies my sophomore year at Syracuse, ’63-’64. Strength training even for collegiate athletes was uncommon back then because according to the prevailing mythology, you’d get “muscle bound” and for basketball players, it would “throw your shot off.” Sport training has come a long way! I was a “guinea pig” in research the then-SU basketball coach, Fred Lewis, did for his E.D. in which we used the long rope for repeated bouts of Exer-Genie-resisted running with a harness. As I recall from well over 50 years ago, we took baseline data on resting heart rate, then following several bouts of run-outs, maximal heart rate, and then, taking the pulse at 1 minute intervals, measured recovery time back to or near resting pulse rate. If I recall correctly, the results over time showed a reduction in resting heart rate, reduced maximal heart rate for the same exercise intensity, and reduced recovery time. Years ago I visited the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and was interested to see on display an original Exer-Genie used in the Apollo Space Program exactly like the one I still have, and occasionally use with personal training clients.