JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?mMk,9FH5iv.U(8=km3hNg?Y:1lBRULGRMDf2Fc+GR(CȠQj! dXh/q9i- A/'G +U9◘[jLЅ[H5}$F!q\j]jD_UHn`?"D+rI]÷֭X>|p+Cq& S<|drqVe-hqB}imm488z z{+[^5$Qې9<}/ sJΦNȤHNo/lIb>|!E1%v5[eWa_&7z\6*t_)hjEM;#yL"(\3VlVtQs =jϖp{k_ö_H*ԞR*ڝ``J3V2\s֭$0?Pin EPn)byr;wa,+$_dUTT`O('=A&cdh@G_XFywSmX`8朜t0M&v jcF2sruR:{W$`H5iz0eV@lu2qHռed a&9rdU듊r^MW=F;=Z+K9 k/Vؾ@l8l?Z%yF+BE~ЎT?!)8Mvvk&o`Z?e~s]Zǜ\ZY g;@b9ǧQ#pI=džb||zZ| tOrj8 !n}KtU誸$'MIrsڦJ&\+!󢵔,`,@}}IQ!P s1Im<c`OЎ 靉b+ԵʰjVm^ T<֊MSbF'˻hͼ3W uɬVcv~bqZAV#Ԯ@?) WE6`@bgu[v'IWe9  ݤak: jZ`}ҪG@)nWɃ qp٨mKR'~@ŷ9m-S/J5lfj*Cc:9`?xhE>8$(d=2pEYӴV-li~ w9^iMh?3kӴM.2(ɮ.mBRIh-hZ"kl<>AQMv-10?ʺqԟrnWu5SJWie˽s>k<;I=&R`qg/!c߭s+h})Zg hJ4sjBJ" 5cBdE<MvvHoaܺEiMqWg% xntRg@9*Arxu&%@}M"U)Ij$rF+f=k]< qrf#k-j}d΀磎5j:Ճ"2GW|*3AEH֕yCNja5"0xƺԹUduzc|!c8RV Gkqn|QwexY(!{'^(EYaløqF_V(~+Kn)q2v25>X /8\ e ʫ/Jq1ݳUFR'Ҫt#4 ~b#@:c*Cō;8:h:IȧF9 AE3xz=@QcMO8< r3YJs`ٯJ(x`q]ېO+k[f(8b=.IL4D#9bvn0㊶NGjWP;lW[[p0h i#Wv{gנWɾt-41LgꞠ_mɜ0 \eKsHϡ+rck㊿Hb'?Tm9`v54"CQ[L/iGh3b'Q_W=nį'bp ?3?~x:(VLr?s.Q]09s_k]& ?cE7,)Eo(Q@d not suffer any low back pain. The only difficulty I had was the stress it put on the back of my knees. I tried the SLDL with my knees slightly bent like some lifters suggested but it did not seem to strengthen my lower back quite as well. What was my objective? To win the power lifting contest and to Dead Lift as much as possible without lower back strain in order not to disrupt my training.<br> What is an athlete s objective? To win the football game or the volleyball match, etc. Therefore, as a strength coach, the idea of doing heavy SLDL or even heavy Dead Lifts without a spot was not what I recommended. I really focus on winning. That s what I want for my athletes. As a result, I did what Coach Van De Zande and the NSCA have suggested. I had my athletes do light to moderate SLDL with the knees slightly bent taking care to keep the chin up and locking in the lower back as much as possible. This was my philosophy in the 1970's. Then I met Stefan Fernholm.<br>Stefan taught me the secret of the Straight Leg Dead Lift.  Think of it as a stretching exercise, said Stefan. He further explained,  Use a very light weight. What you want to do is stretch and strengthen the hamstrings and glutes at the same time. <br> But what good will that do? I asked with skepticism. <br>He just smiled,  Do you want to knock a couple of tenths off your forty? That got my attention! Stefan demonstrated that keeping the knees locked was absolutely essential. You can t bend your knees and stretch the hamstrings. The knees must be locked. Of course Stefan had heard about the argument of creating too much stress on the lower back. What was his answer? Keep the weight very light. An athlete who can do a legitimate Parallel Squat of 500 pounds should only train with about 135 pounds on a SLDL and never do more than 40% of a true Parallel Squat. You don t break records or ever max out. You just always keep it very light. Beginning high school athletes or college athletes start with only 65 pounds.<br>Stefan felt the lock-kneed SLDL was one of the very most important lifts for developing speed. He said the greater your hamstring flexibility, the more fluid of a running movement you can achieve. It s like adding