IFLWHAT THE CONTENDERS CAN`T WIN WITHOUT

IFL
EASON REPORT
WHAT THE CONTENDERS
CAN'T WIN WITHOUT
PLUS: THE SINGULAR GREATNESS
* OF ANDRE JOHNSON
LIVING THE
MASCOT LIFE
.... ... ..... ...... .....
~()
~~v()
rtf).~
~
BLAKE GRIFFIN
TRIES TO FIT IN
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II
2010 WINTER OLY MPICS
RAM PS 6) TRA MP S
j
NATE HOLLAND
31, Snowboard cross
BASE Squaw Valley, Calif.
BOAST Five X Games go lds
Holland admits he's "n ot the biggest fan of the gym." but he
temporarily re located to Park City to power up his sta rts .
Ge tti ng the hole sho t in boarder cross means th e best line
through turns, clean snow and fewer tang les with ot her
rider s. Holland trains by simulating starts on a ramp that
measures the force each side of his upper body generates.
He does about 10 all-out starts per session. "Any more than
that and I'm cooked," Holland says. With a "sour taste" still
in his mouth from the 2006 Games. when he crashed and
finished 14th, Holland hopes pre-Olympic discipline and
coaching will translate into a podium finish this time around.
"There's so mebody watching me do every lift and making
su re every th ing is fi nished," he says. "I can't decide to go
fly-fish ing halfway through a workout."
SHANNON BAHRKE
29, Moguls BAS E Tahoe City, Calif. BOAST Silver medal at 2002
Games; seven World Cup wins Bahrke is a woman of extreme s-and we're
not talkingjust about her pink locks. In a
recent workout. she complained after do ing
"only" 60 pu sh -ups in 90 secon ds. "I went out
too fas t." she says. To help manage her brio.
Bahrke pra ctic es yoga , such as the varia ti on
of a half moon pos e sh own her e on a Bosu
ball. "Yoga engages every mu scle an d ligament
in my body." she says. "It hold s me togeth er
physically. " And men tally. Before ru ns, Ba hrke
inha les fo r six seconds and exhales f or seven
se conds two or th re e times, jus t as sh e does
on th e yoga mat. "That keeps me focu se d and
ca lm," she say s. "Th e se cond s get signific antly
shorter as the race near s." Amazing what a
few well-placed oms can do for control.