don't call her the "Blonde Bomber" for nothing. As a two­

Women 's World Long Drive Champion, world renowned

strength coach, inventor, published author, Olympic trainer

and the first woman ever hired to work with an NFL team , Lee

Brandon knows that power is the name of the game.

It 's fitt ing thai Brandon's most famous feat of phys ical force -

hilling two drives upwards of 300 yards - only happened on the

power of a dare. Brandon was already an established strength and

conditioning coach when she swung a golf club for the firs t time ,

at the request of some older clients who were experiencing back

pain after weekend rounds of 18. Brandon was skepti cal , but took

the dare and was hooked on golf like Bubba Watson on a curvy

par 4 .

" If you can drink and smoke and do it, it 's not a sport. It 's adult

T-ball for god 's sake ," Brandon says, laughing , of her fi rst

impress ion of golf before trying it. "Well since then , which was

well over 13 years ago, I' ve been very, very humbled."

Brandon credits her dual Women's World Long Drive

Championships to a disciplined training protoco l. She did

extens ive hiking , heavy lifting in the gym and even practiced

swinging a golf club underwater in the pool to prepare. And she

drew on her background as a strength and conditioning coach to

undo the natural imbalances caused by coun tless golf swings.

"Typically one glute wants to dri ve while the other glute spins,"

Brandon explai ns. "A Jot of one -sided rotation comes on from

swingi ng , so I'll go to the gym and make sure that my quads are

open and my hamstrings and gl ules are on." This allows her to

train her core and lower back properl y, while regaining balance

throughout her body.

PRO WORKOUT: Lee Brandon

The foundation of her training - and her goal for all the athletes

she works with - is the ability to be great. And to be great again ,

and again . " Duplicating great performances demands practice not

making perfect , but practice making permanent ," Brandon says.

" If you can permanently groove great neuromuscular pattern s,

then you can permanentl y go on to the next leve l. You' ve got to

be a litt le biliucky, but a 101 good."

After years of hard work , countless hours of research and four

patents for her core trainin g system built into the AB- Inforcer~ ,

Brandon published her theory of spinal triangu lation· to help

athletes (and non-athletes) avoid unnecessary back pain,

strengthen core musculature and avoid the repetit ive micro-trauma

associated with traditional abdomi nal and core drill s. Spinal

triangulation'" focuses on keeping the spine within optimal ranges

of movement , much like a spring or a suspension bridge . All three

are designed to withstand repet itive trau ma in the form of twisting

or bending - to a point. The goal is training the spine to remain in

neutral zones during athletic performance, or to avoid the breaking

point where the bones actually touch, known as end-range.

"Neut ral spine is not just a locked, rigid , constant , tight place ,"

Brandon says . " It 's a place of fl uidity, it's a place where a lot of

power happens . Curves are designed to be in the spine just like there

are curves designed to be in a spring, but if you start training those

curves out or training regardless of those curves, di saster strikes ."

Spinal triangulationS allows Brandon to visualize the two

triangles in the upper body; the support triangle from the hips to

the head and the suspension tri angle from the shoulders to the

sacru m. She will train the two triangles to bend and curve in a

way that rei nforces the neutral spine and turns proper kinemat ic

sequencing - the order in which muscles fi re to complete a golf

swing - into muscle memory. Good ki nematic sequencing allows

the spine enough flex ibility and strength to withstand the pressure

of repetitive movement , keeping athletes injury-free and helping

them play their sport as effi cient ly as poss ible , as long as possible.

"The greatest engineers who designed some of the greatest

suspens ion bridges of all time were tremendous anatomists,"

Brandon says, "because the hu man body is one of the greatest

suspension and support systems ever made."

Brandon gOI the chance to be part of an entirely different Iype

of support system as the strength and conditioning specialist for

the New York Jets in the early 90 's . She tell s the story of how

the team managers were surp rised to see a woman show up to the

job interview claiming to be "Lee Brandon," whose resume and

name looked very im pressive on paper. Brandon asked for the

prerequisites, and was told she would have to deadlift 325 pounds

to prove she could support players or lift heavy weights off their

chests. She told them to put the weight on the bar, lifted it, and

got the job.

"I always say, thank god my gender doesn ' t inhibit my

understanding of great biomechanics ," Brandon says, laughing.

"God has indeed blessed me and 1 am quite strong."

What Brandon learned during her time working with million

dollar athletes and Olympians - assisting the US track and

field team in Los Angeles ' 84 and three different swim teams in

London ' 12 - is that high level athletes from different sports

aren't all that different. "Different people have different genetic

real estate," Brandon admits, "but when you're dealing with

multi-million dollar athletes and great Olympians, their work

concept and ability to duplicate greatness is not accidental. They

train with the intensity of world-class athletes."

No matter the athlete or sport, Brandon 's specialty lies is creating

open lines of communication between the athletes , coaches,

medical team and athletic training staff so she can help athletes

duplicate their world-class efforts. From college players who

just want to have fun to world record holders like Olympic

Silver Medalist, Markus Rogan , Brandon 's elite background and

extensive research allow her to connect with athletes on a deeper,

stronger level.

"Being a professional athlete allows me as a strength coach

to bring to the table a certain degree of intensity, to refocus

that athlete and almost command their respect ," Brandon says.

"Because power typically is something one can respect."

end. sWipe