Dan Vickerman is recognised as one of the top lineout forwards in world rugby. Born in South Africa, he has the unusual distinction of having represented both South Africa and Australia at the Under-21 level. In 2002 he made his debut for the Wallabies against France, going on to make 55 Test appearances. He played Super Rugby with the ACT Brumbies from 2001 to 2003 and the NSW Waratahs from 2004 to 2008.
Having been forced to study online throughout his first degree, a Bachelor of Financial Planning through Open Universities Australia (RMIT), he responded to the opportunity to study at Cambridge by suspending his international rugby career to enjoy the luxury of full time study. He is now reading for a degree in Land Economy at Cambridge's Hughes Hall.
At 204cm, Dan's limb geometry is unsuited for exercises such as the squat. Not surprisingly he acknowledges that "I have suffered from back injuries in the past due to the nature of some exercises in the gym." In fact, a very high proportion of professional rugby forwards avoid squatting because of back problems.
Fortunately, for the past four seasons both in the Waratah's gym and at Camp Wallaby at Coff's Harbour, Vickerman has had access to the MyoQuip ScrumTruk which he describes as "an asset to me during my rugby career." Recently, when forced by injury to take a break from national representation after the Super 14 Final, he went back to his club, Sydney University, to undertake rehabilitation with strength and conditioning guru Martin Harland. At the Uni gym he made extensive use of both the ScrumTruk and the HipneeThrust lying leg press before setting off for Cambridge.
"For me the two machines, the ScrumTruk and the HipneeThrust, have been absolutely great," Vickerman says. "The use of these machines gives the ability to build strength without putting strain on one's lower back. As a forward the strength gained transfers well onto the field due to their practicality and specificity to what we do during the game."
(The Sydney University gymnasium has now replaced its ScrumTruk and HipneeThrust machines with the more advanced MyoTruk and MyoThrusta)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Daniel Vickerman rates MyoQuip strength machines as "absolutely fantastic"
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2 comments:
For somebody like me with recurrent knee injuries, I just do not feel comfortable doing barbell squats. I would love to be able to try this machine out. I think with a machine like this, you can train at the right intensity-without fear of exacerbating prior knee problems.
You are right as usual, ND. These machines have been proven to be very kind to knees.
We are eagerly awaiting the day when we can invade your country with the MyoQuip range. Machines which give a decided advantage to rugby players could be confidently expected to confer similar benefits on American football players, not to speak of hockey players and basketballers.
Freight costs from Australia are a significant burden, so we would love to negotiate a licensing arrangement with a company that could exploit the possibilities over there.
Regards
Bruce
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