It's King Mo.

We were in LA recently and dropped by the Reign Training Center to check up on how “King” Mo Lawal is training for his World Light Heavyweight Championship fight against Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante on Saturday, August 21st. Mo showed us how he adds some variety to his MVP workouts by playing a little poker:

This will the undefeated King Mo's first title defense and we wish him the very best.

Success is in the cards....

In the Lightweight Women's Double Sculls, Greece is the reigning World Champion. And at the Rowing World Cup I in Bled, Slovenia they would have one of their world champions boating with a new partner. The rowing team from Britain, bronze medalists last year, were also considered one of the favorites. The British pair are in the second year of their partnership.

Representing the United States, Abby Broughton and Ursula Grobler had been together for three weeks....

But it didn't seem to matter as Abby & Ursula rowed to victory in each of their preliminary heats and semis. This placed them in the Finals where they would face both the Greek and British teams. Unfazed, Abby and Ursula took an early lead that they never relinquished, finishing more than five seconds ahead of the runner-up British.  

Coach Carlos has Abby and Ursula using the Shuttle MVP to develop power through momentum. It's a momentum that a rower has to feel, Carlos states. And he believes the MVP has the unique ability to help a rower develop that feel. In his words, the MVP "is the closest you can get to the real leg drive of rowing on the water: elastic, dynamic and explosive. The plyometric motion of landing and taking off is amazing. I've been wondering for years how to simulate the leg drive acceleration on the rowing stroke and the MVP is the answer. Coordinated power in a dynamic elastic motion is the future of efficient rowing," he states.

It's that efficient rowing that is helping power Abby and Ursula's success.    

"We had a great race," said Grobler. "You always have to react to what's going on around you, but we stayed on top of it."

Staying on top of it was an understatement. Speculating on the rowing prospects for Abby & Ursula's in the future, one of the British race commentators summed it up nicely: "They can only do what they're doing now...which is demolish the competition!"

See the complete video of the Lightweight Women’s Double Scull Finals over at World Rowing Live.

Despite their brief time together, Coach Carlos had Abby & Ursula rowing in fast unison, winning their time trial by over 10 seconds and taking their final in the Lightweight Women's Pair with a nearly seven second victory. Abby & Ursula had the fastest women's time for the day.

With the win, Abby and Ursula have officially made the US National team and will head to Bled, Slovenia where they will represent the United States in the first World Cup of the season. If they place in the top four in Slovenia, they qualify to compete in the World Championships in New Zealand in November.

To get Abby & Ursula ready for NSR2, Carlos had them rowing on Lake Sammish in Bellingham, Washington near a brand new rowing center he has created. The beautiful lake has provided them with the rowing reps they needed to get in sync with each other. Abby & Ursula have also been getting their workouts on the Shuttle MVP. Carlos had them doing some creative things to improve their start times, increase leg strength, develop dynamic power, and improve their "feel" for rowing momentum.

Awesome performance by all three - next stop, Slovenia!

More coverage on the race:

Rowers Illustrated - Where real rowers talk real rowing:
Join the conversation

Thursday Results from USRowing.org:

USRowing Training Center – Princeton’s Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho) and Ursula Grobler (Pretoria, South Africa) posted the fastest time in the final of the lightweight women’s double sculls. Broughton, a silver-medalist in last year’s world championship lightweight women’s quadruple sculls, and Grobler, who won the lightweight single sculls at NSR #1, clocked a 6:55.344 for the win."

Read the full report at USRowing.org

Well, the King proved plenty of people wrong on Saturday night. Using his speed and athleticism - coupled with heart and determination - King Mo took the former champion to the ground again and again. Mo fought what some have called his perfect fight - taking his opponent to the ground and controlling him. And he did that for five rounds, emerging with a unanimous decision - and a new Light Heavyweight Championship!

Photo: Esther Lin

With a reputation as a "talker", the significance of what Mo had just accomplished revealed a different side of this humble fighter....

Unwilling to let his training partner monopolize all the spotlight, Jayson "Mayhem" Miller took to the cage at the conclusion of the Jake Shields/Dan Henderson fight to ask Shields for a rematch - which was code for "At my signal, unleash hell."

Cuz that's what happened - a brawl for us all - captured on nationwide television.

Jayson made his official apology to the world yesterday. But we kinda like his response on Twitter, posted just moments after the brawl ended....

 

But if her membership on the Olympic team seems secure, why knock herself out racing twice?

It's what is best summed up as an uncertain future. The question is what race is she going to focus on for the 2012 Olympics in London. If she races in the Lightweight Women's double scull, then she is waiting for a qualified partner to join in her training. If she can't get a top-notch partner, then she will opt for the Women's single scull event. But the single scull is an "open" category - open to all, lightweight or heavyweight.

Thus, her dilemma... and the decision to race twice at NSR #1.

Complicating things a bit further, Ursula's coach Carlos Dinares will also be racing at NSR #1. So, Ursula and Carlos have now become training partners.

As is her custom, Ursula looks on these changes and challenges as a good thing. With Carlos now her training partner, Ursula has had to kick her self-responsibility and motivation up a notch. Like Carlos keeps telling her, if deep down she doesn't want it for herself, then he can't force it on her as a coach, anyway.

With two races there's also added pressure for Ursula to make weight as well as focus on the recovery that will be required to race multiple times. It provides a unique training challenge that her Shuttle MVP is helping her to meet. Ursula said that in the effort to make weight, there's the possibility of losing crucial power in her legs. The MVP is helping her maintain her muscle quickness so she can still be dynamic despite her lower body weight. As always, she really appreciates how the MVP is functional and recreates the dynamic motion and "sense of momentum" that translates to successful rowing.

Ursula also said something that we hear quite often from other users: she simply likes using the MVP. She said that with a lot of other exercise machines, when you use them, it's hard to envision yourself in your particular sport. In other words, you may be working on certain muscles that will help you in your sport, but you don't get the same feeling or translation of your exercise into the actual motions of your sport. Simply put, it's not functional. With the MVP, she experiences the same smooth motion, the sense of momentum that she feels in the boat. Consequently, she never get's bored using the MVP. She sees and feels the translation of what she's doing on the MVP to her rowing. It's very motivating, she says.

Love to hear that, Ursula! A double shot of luck to you and Carlos in New Jersey! 

To learn about Ursula's story:

Ursula Grobler & Carlos Dinares: How to Develop Efficient Power

The New World Champion

To follow Ursula's success head over to her blog.

King Mo, our newest TEAM MVP member, has a shot at the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title this Saturday on CBS. Look forward to seeing him do well. 

"The MVP is a must for helping me develop explosive power in my legs. With zero stress on my joints I don't have to worry about injuries while strengthening my legs and joints."

King MO

Shayne Simpson, owner of Team Rock Solid Fighters, had this to say about Yancey: "What a great fight! 4th Round TKO from Ground and Pound. A fight that fighters dig down deep to fight! A fight with heart. I salute both him and his opponent for a great fight!"

As a member of Team Rock Solid Fighters in Bellingham, Washington, Yancey trains on the Shuttle MVP to develop his length strength and explosive power. He has recently incorporated upper body work on the MVP to increase his punching strength and power.

Congrats Yancey!

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