Client Success: Michael Stolper
January 10, 2009
“I didn’t discover sculling until I was in my mid-thirties. I rowed in the Head of Charles over the next 15 years off and on mostly as an “also rowed,” never breaking into the top 3 finishers. Last year I finally came in 4th place but I was still a very distant 34 seconds out of first. I was introduced to Bob Kaehler in June of ’08. I was nursing a bad back and I had just 4 months to get myself ready for the Charles. Bob did a full assessment of my strength, cardio and flexibility. Then he worked up a detailed plan that included stretches to rehabilitate my back and an exercise regimen to strengthen certain rowing specific muscle groups. He also designed a day-by-day schedule of land and rowing workouts designed to maximize my race readiness for the Charles. During the summer and fall he made adjustments to the program based on my progress and even worked around my busy family, business and travel schedules. Throughout the process he never once seemed to doubt that he could help me overcome those 34 seconds. By race day he had completely transformed my approach to racing: he brought my stroke rating up over 15%; dramatically increased my flexibility at the catch; and, gave me the endurance to sprint the last quarter of the race.
I went to Boston the underdog behind a former Olympic Medalist, a former U.S. National team member and a Crash B hammer winner. All three of them had long and successful rowing careers with multiple head race wins including the Charles. In contrast, I had never won a major head race in a single. Nevertheless, I won the Charles by 5 seconds and was decisively faster than the entire field in the final quarter of the race. When I saw Bob after the race he didn’t betray even a hint of surprise. Besides getting married and having four girls, I can’t recall a more satisfying experience in my life than winning the Charles and I don’t believe I could have done without Bob’s help.”
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