The Atlanta Maccabiah Press
In the medical field, Fragile X Syndrome is known as the leading cause of learning and developmental disabilities that is genetic. It does not, however, prevent people with this condition from becoming Olympic champions
A prime example of that is Scott Heyman, who at the age of 17 and who has Fragile X Syndrome, won three gold medals at the 1998 Georgia Special Olympics Indoors Winter Games held recently in Cobb County.
by BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
(article from The Capital Online)
Non-participants probably don't consider sailing a strenuous sport. There's this image of middle-aged men and women sitting on a comfortable boat drinking beer.
Competitive sailboat racers know there is a lot of physical activity involved. Hoisting sails, cranking winches and hiking out all require a certain degree of strength, endurance and athleticism.
Yet the reality is that many sailors, both amateur and professional, don't train the way they should. Sitting behind a desk all week then going out and doing a four-hour race on Saturday can lead to injury and/or exhaustion.
Returning to Annapolis after more than two decades away, Harry Legum was stunned to learn the area had no workout programs targeted toward sailors. Legum, an elite-level certified personal trainer at Annapolis Athletic Club, has taken it upon himself to remedy that situation.
Read more: Trainer tailors fitness program to amateur, pro boaters
"On July 26 the Annapolis Athletic Club was the site of a special Fitness for Sailing workshop. About 50 sailors turned out for the free session, led by Harry Legum. Legum has been working with some of the areas top sailors as they prepare for racing and other adventures on the water. An Annapolis native and active sailor, Legum is uniquely qualified to work with sailors. The workshop and his training programs focus on flexibility, strength, agility, and stability.
Read more: Fitness for Sailing at the Annapolis Athletic Club
by Rosemary Harty
(article from Chesapeake Life Magazine)
If Jahn Tihansky was a little disappointed at finishing mid-fleet at the 505 World Championships in August, he sure couldn©t blame it on his physical condition.
Thanks to personal trainer Harry Legum, Tihansky was fit and ready for the demands of sailing the high-performance seventeen-footer in the Pacific Ocean. But before he found Legum, Tihansky©s zeal for working out had never quite matched his love for sailing. ©I needed someone to help me get over the hump psychologically,© he says, ©not just tell me what exercises to do. I needed inspiration and a drill sergeant.©
Read more: Ship Shape: Meet Harry Legum, personal trainer to Annapolis's sailing stars
by Josh Adams
Photos by Walter Cooper
(August 2005 article - reprinted with permission from SAIL magazine)
TERRY HUTCHINSON LOOKS like he is going to be ill. It’s 0700and he’s 30 minutes into his morning workout with trainer Harry Legum, the architect of the Fitness for Sailing program at the Annapolis Athletic Club. A 38 year-old professional sailor who races grand-prix keelboats-mostly in the afterguard of a Farr 40 and on Emirates Team New Zealand the America’s Cup Class racer-Hutchinson signed on to Legum’s program for sailors because he had “nowhere to go but up”
By Annie Linskey, Baltimore Sun reporter
(Originally published February 12, 2006)
Program strengthens sailors for a sport that's no breeze
Those who think the sport of sailing is code for floating around the bay and drinking beers during the day ought to talk to Harry Legum. For 18 years, Legum has been tailoring fitness programs for Annapolis sailors. He works with America's Cup racers, junior sailors, Naval Academy midshipmen and casual day sailors. Next month he plans to restart a sailing fitness class at the Annapolis Athletic Club.
"When you're sailing, you have to move quickly," said Legum, 41. "You have to explosively get up and start performing. If you're not working out, the chances of getting hurt are higher."
The new class -- which started briefly last month and was then put on hold for a few weeks -- will be 30 minutes long and will include routines geared toward increasing core and upper body strength. Those are muscle groups that Legum says sailors need to strengthen to hoist sails and grind the winches.
In the class, sailors will work out at different stations for short periods.
Legum has some specialized sailing workout equipment including a "hiking bench," which mimics the oh-so-painful motion of leaning out of a boat to keep it flat.
By KATIE ARCIERI, Staff Writer
(article from The Capital Online)
"Don't swing your legs – stay focused ”, Legum says to Dan Wittig as he works through a grueling set of pull-ups, his face turning a shade or two lighter than sunburned red.
Mr. Wittig, head coach for J World Sailing School in Eastport, is already in great shape, but Mr. Legum's workout exclusively for sailors is pushing even this ablest of athletes to the limit.
Since 2003, sailing professionals like Mr. Wittig have trained with Mr. Legum, getting their triceps screaming and abs burning for whatever the ocean has in store for them come race day.
Now Mr. Legum has opened a 1,200-square-foot gym where sailors can target the specific muscles needed to pull halyards, tie down sails and hike out of a dinghy.
Mr. Legum opened the Annapolis Sailing Fitness studio in the Eastport Yacht Center on Aug. 1, making it the only studio of its kind in the country.
Mr. Legum and Rob Almeida, former Naval Academy sailing coach, are aiming to train anyone - high-end competitors, Wednesday night buffs or just casual sailors.
"We're going to get them where they're going to be challenged," Mr. Legum said.
Read more: Annapolis Sailing Fitness hopes to fill niche with new gym in Eastport
Sailors around the world who knew Annapolis sailor Geoff Ewenson recognize the distinctive “EWE” lettering with which he marked his lifejackets and other gear. After his sudden passing at the age of 50 from a heart attack October 14, close friends banded together and created “EWE” stickers, which became available on Facebook for donations for causes honoring Geoff’s joyful and giving spirit.
All who knew Geoff well knew his smile and laugh well. His friend and trainer Harry Legum took this photo.
Although she was not involved with the stickers, Geoff’s wife (and SpinSheet publisher), Mary Ewenson, was moved by the gesture and the quick spread of stickers around town. She says, “Geoff loved stickers, and he loved branding our gear with that EWE! It’s the perfect tribute.”
The Baltimore Sun
Harry Legum, who teaches fitness to sailing buffs, has heard the query before. What do sailors need to know but how to swim?
The answer: Nothing, really, if you’ve got a plush, push-button yacht with an automated crew. But what’s the challenge in that? For purists, sailing pits muscle against Mother Nature. Popeye didn’t get bulging forearms just from eating spinach.
IT'S A BREEZY AFTERNOON in Annapolis, and elite sailor Jahn Tihansky, at right, is preparing for an upcoming world championship regatta — indoors and sans sailboat.
To pump up his sea legs (and arms), Tihansky turns to Annapolis Sailing Fitness (Eastport Yacht Center, 726 Second St., 410-570- 6121), a gym catering to the not-so-ancient mariner set.
"You do perform better if you're fit," Tihansky says between bicep curls and tricep push-downs.
Sailors may not seem like a hard-bodied bunch, but racers can reap immense benefits from workouts like those developed by Harry Legum, Tihansky's trainer. Legum, who owns Annapolis Sailing Fitness, works one with about 30 clients in regular one-on-one sessions and numerous others in local groups and around the world (through Web consultations). Among his clientele: America's Cup competitor Terry Hutchinson, Olympic hopeful Geoff Ewenson and U.S. Naval Academy teams.