Published on June 16, 2016

Billions (yes billions) of people around the world are mourning last Friday’s death of Muhammad Ali. Unquestionably, Ali was not just one of the greatest fighters of all time, but truly one of the greatest and most influential athletes of all time – perhaps better known around the world than any other person. I had the great privilege of working with Ali for a little more than three months in 1978 helping him to train for his rematch with Leon Spinks.

Here’s why and how I came to meet The Greatest, and some of what I learned about this truly wonderful and amazing man.

Unknown to all but his small team, Ali had a knee injury and could not do the training runs which are absolutely essential for a boxer. An NFL trainer who was a friend of Angelo Dundee called me at CYBEX to ask if we might be able to help.

After getting torso and leg-segment measurements, I had one of our Fitron® Isokinetic bikes customized to provide optimal body positioning and knee and hip range of motion for Ali. I designed a special exercise training routine that allowed Ali to do all-out maximum effort intervals at high speeds and high forces in a way that protected his injured knee while it healed and strengthened. This was the first machine-based HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) program ever developed and implemented.

Results? Check out Ali's conditioning and performance in the fight – www.youtube.com/watch?v=y78w0_uskT0.

Even at 36, with limitations on training and the earliest stages of his later-discovered Parkinson's disease beginning to take hold, Ali danced to a 15-round unanimous decision to win the Heavyweight World Championship for an unprecedented third time.

Ali had genetic gifts that could have made him a superstar in almost any sport. I believe that if he had had the benefit of scientific training and equipment in his early career, no one would have ever beaten him. But, there was far more to Ali than athleticism.

He was one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I’ve ever met – celebrity, athlete or otherwise. In person, Ali showed a caring and humble spirit – not even a hint of arrogance or self-importance. He treated everyone around him with respect and warm-hearted good humor.

On our first meeting at his Deer Lake, PA, training camp, I quickly learned that you had to “lean in” to hear Ali’s conversation. I mentioned that I was surprised he was so soft-spoken. He replied, “That guy you see on TV isn’t me. That’s my promoter.”

Even more telling was the almost paternal interest that he took in my then-fiancée, Venise, who accompanied me on my first visit. He asked her if she intended to have children with me. Her “Yes” reply led to a one-on-one talk about the importance of parenthood and child-rearing. The world’s most famous man, despite the seriousness of his own situation barely three-months before a hugely important fight, took time to have a philosophical discussion with a young woman that he knew he would likely never see again.

In my years at CYBEX, I worked with hundreds of athletes and celebrities. Pictures were taken with dozens of superstars. Only one such picture hangs in my office – the one above.

Andy Glass
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-glass-717ab758