January 22, 2006: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Sports: Weight Lifting: The Santa Fe New Mexican: Colombia RPCV Carl Miller spent lifetime lifting weights

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Colombia: Peace Corps Colombia : The Peace Corps in Colombia: January 22, 2006: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Sports: Weight Lifting: The Santa Fe New Mexican: Colombia RPCV Carl Miller spent lifetime lifting weights

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Colombia RPCV Carl Miller spent lifetime lifting weights

Colombia RPCV Carl Miller spent lifetime lifting weights

After college, Miller moved to New Mexico and began learning about weightlifting styles. Carl joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Cali, Colombia. As luck would have it, Cali was the sports capital of Colombia, where multinational sports clinics were held. Miller sees his stint in the Peace Corps as "a godsend" because he was able to learn about different cultures, as well as participate in weightlifting clinics that included people from Germany, Russia, Romania and China.

Colombia RPCV Carl Miller spent lifetime lifting weights

A LIFETIME OF LIFTING WEIGHTS

Jan 22, 2006

The Santa Fe New Mexican

What do Joe Montana and Michael Jordan have in common? Besides both winning championships and MVPs in their respective sports, they also shared a training consultant who helped them become better athletes: Santa Fe resident Carl Miller.

Although he's not well-known to the general public, in the weightlifting community Miller is known and respected. Tommy Kono and Frank Spellman, both Olympic weightlifting champions, are among many who endorse Miller's new book, The Miller Fitness Plan.

Miller was introduced to weightlifting in 1952 when his stepfather, Leonard McRae, took him to the famous Goodrich Gym on Hollywood Boulevard. There, Miller met Spellman and fell in love with the sport of weightlifting.

Miller continued to do Olympic-style weightlifting throughout high school. He also played football and participated in track and field. He played well enough in both sports to continue them while attending UCLA.

"I originally went into college as pre-dental, but realized I didn't want to spend my entire life looking down other people's mouths," Miller said. "I remembered I enjoyed the biomechanic courses as well as exercise physiology. So I decided to switch."

He switched his major to exercise physiology and stopped playing as a quarterback for UCLA after one year. "I realized I didn't have outstanding talent as a quarterback," Miller said. "I enjoyed being able to read the defenses and throw the ball right, but also had that same feeling about Olympic-style weightlifting. I love that feeling when you get a perfect lift; it feels like you're lifting nothing."

After college, Miller moved to New Mexico and began learning about weightlifting styles. Carl joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Cali, Colombia. As luck would have it, Cali was the sports capital of Colombia, where multinational sports clinics were held. Miller sees his stint in the Peace Corps as "a godsend" because he was able to learn about different cultures, as well as participate in weightlifting clinics that included people from Germany, Russia, Romania and China.

After two years in the Peace Corps, Miller went to Japan to coach the Japanese women's Olympic volleyball team. He used his knowledge of weightlifting to train the women from 1965 to 1968. The team won a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics.

After returning to New Mexico, he was given one of the greatest coaching honors -- he was named head coach of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Weightlifting team. He received this honor, not only because he learned training methods from around the world, but also because he was the founder and coach of the Santa Fe weightlifting team. When he was the coach for Pan-Am games in Mexico, his team won five gold medals, three silver and one bronze. In Montreal, his team won two silver and two bronze medals, the best results for the United States in 16 years.

After the '76 Olympics, Miller attracted the attention of Al Vermeil, the strength and conditioning coach for the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox. In 1979, Miller became a consultant to Vermeil and spent six seasons helping the Bulls and the 49ers win championships.

During training camp, Miller would meet with Vermeil and the players and go over exercises on how to build strength and cardiovascular ability. Much of his effort was dedicated to improving athletes' jumping skills. Miller worked with the 49ers from 1979 until their 1982 Super Bowl win.

He later worked with Vermeil with the Chicago Bulls when they began their quest for a second "three-peat." Miller said he enjoyed working with Michael Jordan and draws many comparisons between Jordan and Montana. "The two biggest competitors I ever met were Montana and Jordan," Miller said. "When the pressure was on, these people loved the pressure. 'Give me more, give me more.' They thrived on it."

For the past 23 years, Miller and his wife, Sandra Thomas, have operated a gym in Santa Fe, Carl & Sandra's Physical Conditioning Center. What distinguishes their gym from others is how they interact with their clients. When someone joins the gym, the client tells the staff member what he wants to work on. A custom program is created -- well over 300 different exercises are available at the gym -- designed to help the client achieve his goals.

"It's goal-oriented," Miller said. "You change it every six weeks so you don't get bored. If you enjoy the exercise, you'll continue it. If not, you'll stop working out. I don't want that to happen."

The Miller Fitness Plan includes several sample programs; all of the exercises shown are ones his clients use. Why should people consider reading this book? According to Miller, "It gets the total body in strength, flexibility, cardiovascular and power in the most efficient time."





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Story Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Colombia; Sports; Weight Lifting

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