The Scud's power pact
By MICHAEL McKENNA in Los Angeles
03/july/2003
MARK Philippoussis loves cars, but he hates pushing them up hills.
That's what he's been doing in recent months after a chance encounter with
Markus Heon -- a San Diego fitness trainer who works with America's sporting
and military elite.
Heon, who prides himself on breaking and then rebuilding his clients, had
rarely seen an athlete so committed to the job so he decided, after months
of torturing the tennis ace, to drive him a little harder.
"It might sound strange but once in a while I get Mark to push my Jeep
Wrangler up a hill," he said.
"I like to mix up the training and this is one way to test his strength
and endurance.
"I sit in the Jeep, music blaring, and Mark pushes it up a slight gradient
. . . it is great for his focus."
Heon said Philippoussis had a warrior's mentality "like a lot of the marines
and special-ops forces I train".
"We talked about his game, how he needs to visualise the shots before the
game and get into the zone," he said. (=.=)
Pushing the Jeep uphill is just one in a long list of tests the former
kickboxer and US serviceman has set for Philippoussis, 26, over the 15
months since they met.
"We've done some crazy drills where he's nearly made me cry," Philippoussis
said.
The tears now seem to have been worth it.
Two years ago, Philippoussis was in a wheelchair after knee surgery and
written off by many in the international tennis community. Then Heon stepped
in.
A 32-year-old former camouflage instructor for the Berlin Brigade, a top US
infantry unit based in Germany, Heon works with a range of people including
professional gridiron players, cancer patients and specialist military
forces.
The battle to get the Scud back into form was equally difficult.
It has involved overhauling almost every facet of Philippoussis' life --
taming his partying, changing his diet and taking him through a training
regime.
They met in a gym when he saw Philippoussis doing leg presses as part of
his rehabilitation after three knee operations.
"Mark was doing leg presses and he looked a little lost," he recalled.
"I asked him what he was trying to do and he explained that it was part of
his rehabilitation and I had to tell him that he wasn't doing it right.
"I didn't know who he was but I like to help people and I showed him what
he should be doing and wrote out a three-day training plan."
Two weeks later, Philippoussis asked Heon if he would work with him
permanently.
Heon, a Californian with a turn of phrase reminiscent of US army drill
sergeant straight out of the movies, laid down the law.
"Mark said he had been written off, that people said he no longer could
play and he wanted to prove them wrong and make a comeback for himself,"
he said.
"And I was straight with him -- I said that unless he committed 110 percent
to the task, I wouldn't take him on.
"I wanted to see whether he was a pussy or not and, after working with him,
the answer is definitely no.
"He is no quitter. He is a very tough guy."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6690929%255E662,00.
html
--
"Life is a lot more beautiful when you have to struggle and fight for something"
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.217.207.117