MyoQuip medals at Henley

The 2011 Henley Royal Regatta concluded with outstanding performances by rowers who had extensively used MyoQuip machines in their training.

Nick Hudson of the Sydney University Boat Club reached the final of the prestigious Diamond Challenge Sculls, while London Rowing Club had two crews competing on the final day. Their top coxless four won the Wyfold Challenge Cup while their top coxed four were runners-up in the Britannia Challenge Cup. The picture at left shows the Wyfold winning crew exhibiting typical English constraint after crossing the finish line.

The link between all of these rowers is Phil Bourguignon, senior coach at London Rowing Club and previously Director of Rowing at the University of Sydney. Bourguignon has pioneered the use of MyoQuip apparatus in strength training for rowers.

Both the London Rowing Club and the Sydney University Boat Club have the MyoTruk and MyoThrusta machines in their gyms, and Phil Bourguignon is an enthusiastic proponent of their use:

"With rowing heavily involving the legs and core muscles, squatting alone provide many problematic issues such as an athlete not being able to support heavy weights through their core muscles. MyoQuip systems can do the extra weights without worrying about the core muscles, which provides more strength gain without the worries of injuries to the back.
 
"When athletes get too strong for their skeletal frame and core stability in squatting, they can use the MyoThrusta and the MyoTruk to increase strength safely where they can add far more weight than they are able to squat without the risk of injuring their back.

"After a long session on the water, backs are fatigued. Therefore, squatting after rowing is very dangerous. With the use of the MyoThrusta and the MyoTruk systems, athletes can still do their heavy weights after a long and hard session on the water.

"From my use with the MyoThrusta and the MyoTruk systems, I employ them heavily in my training programmes with athletes rowing at elite levels. I have not had one back injury to my athletes in 2 years of heavy training."

The picture at right shows the spectacularly colour-coordinated Phil Bourguignon with Ed Noel, part of the Sydney University contingent at Henley. Phil has teamed a London Rowing Club blazer and cap with a Sydney University Boat Club tie.