Winge - The Program - Personal Evolution

Copyright 2012 Andrew Winge MD
All Rights Reserved

ISBN-10: 0615716644
ISBN-13: 9780615716640

To Russ and Aileen, the most selfless people I know.

Daren Korf, MPE-AA, USAW-1

I am thrilled to introduce Andrew Winge, MD, or as I call him Dr. Drew, as an author, and give my testimonial on the life changing effectiveness of The Program: Personal Evolution. For starters, he is highly accomplished in a multitude of fields including medicine, nutrition, strength sports, and martial arts. His direct and honest demeanor makes being a friend, colleague, and former training partner a pleasure. In writing this book, Dr. Drew spent a great deal of time combing through hard science and organizing it into this useful resource. His purpose is clear: help the reader understand how to achieve their personal fitness goals in the most efficient manner possible.

Honored. Thats the first thing that came to mind when Dr. Drew, asked me to write the foreword to this book. Our friendship began when we developed respect for each other as hard trainers, and hard studying college students in Eugene, OR, during the early 1990s. Shortly after, he earned a coveted medical school scholarship through the U.S. Air Force while I took advantage of a scholarship to study kinesiology at Boise State. I started a coaching career in collegiate strength and condition, and later shifted my focus to strength sports and physical education. Like Dr. Drew, I appreciate working with athletes from youth to Olympic level athletes, and we share the same joy assisting people in achieving their physical fitness and performance goals.

Dr. Drew has helped people from all walks of life accomplish their fitness goals for over twenty years, myself included. Im one of the fortunate people who have listened to him, acted on his no-nonsense advice, and enjoyed improving my physique with The Program. At age 39, I used it to go from a soft and round 300lbs to a leaner and athletic 215lbs in less than nine months. Whats remarkable is that I did this without being hungry. I enjoyed good food and wine throughout the journey.

Finally, with my lighter body and improved strength I have more fun and do more physically active things now than before. Thanks to The Program, I feel great. Now I am urging you, the reader, to imagine how great you will feel when you get on The Program, and begin your own Personal Evolution.

I urge you to study hard, train hard, and may the next honor be yours.

Sincerely,

Daren Korf, MPEAA, USAW-1

This book has gone through many stages over the years. Many times, it was shelved for years at a time when the demands of work and family life required that it be set aside. If it were not for the following people, and many others whom I havent mentioned, this book would have remained a scattered collection of Word documents on my hard drive, never having seen the light of day. You have my sincere thanks and appreciation for all you have done.

Daren Korf, MPEAA: The man whose tireless encouragement, fresh perspectives, and countless hours of work behind the scenes made this book possible. No man could ask for a better friend and colleague.

Christopher Alfonzo, MD: His tireless hypomania, creative eye, and unmatched talents transformed this book from simple text to a work of art.

Andrew Henderson: His time and effort going into the stretching images are very appreciated.

The Club Fitness Center for the generous use of their facility and equipment.

There isnt a person anywhere who isnt capable
of doing more than he thinks he can.

Henry Ford

It is midnight at Balad Air Base, otherwise known as LSA (Logistical Staging Area) Anaconda in Iraq. I have just finished a long shift in the theater hospital emergency department. All day, Blackhawk helicopters brought in a steady stream of casualties, including American soldiers, Iraqi army, and police as well as civilians. Fortunately, my replacement had arrived, and it was time for me to head back to my bunk and try to get some sleep. I quickly reported on the patients still in the emergency room and headed out. Tomorrow would surely be another busy day. Fortunately, this late at night, the temperature had dropped to a very comfortable sixty-five degrees. Walking the four hundred meters or so to my bunk in full body armor during the day when temperatures routinely exceeded 120 degrees was not pleasant. At night though, the cool air actually made the walk enjoyable. I thought about some of the patients my team and I had treated, thought about what I would do at the gym the next morning, and counted how many weeks I had left before I could go home. Despite the late hour, there was activity everywhere. This base never slept. Everywhere, loud gas- and diesel-powered generators roared, vehicles convoyed through the streets, and jets landed and took off. Its a good thing I was a hard sleeper. After a while, you learned to block out the constant droning. I even learned to sleep through it. There was one sound that I never became accustomed to however, one sound that always got my attention. ThudThudThud

As I strolled home, I was snapped back to reality from my idle daydreaming. Those are incoming mortar rounds. In over four months, there was rarely a day that insurgents did not fire mortar rounds and rockets over the fences and onto the base. I quickly got my bearings and hustled into the nearest concrete bunker. The warning siren blared its all-too-familiar high-pitched tone. Alarm redAlarm red. The blasts sounded far off. They were probably over by the airfield a half mile or so away. I didnt feel too threatened, but I wasnt taking my body armor off and I sure as hell wasnt leaving that bunker until the all-clear signal was given. Soon, the incoming thuds stopped. A few minutes later came a different sound, more high-pitched, and with a more audible Whoosh. Outgoing rounds. Those I liked to hear. The base defense personnel had calculated the origin of the incoming rounds and were returning fire. I hoped they got the bastards, but I realized they were probably long gone by the time our rounds landed.

As I sat in the dusty bunker, I looked around and noticed some old newspapers and a recent copy of a popular bodybuilding magazine. It was a little beat up but still readable. On the cover was a freakishly huge professional bodybuilder curling a massive dumbbell with a headline that read something like Amazing New Secrets for Huge Arms! I chuckled a bit and paged through the articles and advertisements inside to help pass the time. I knew it would be at least thirty minutes before the post-attack reconnaissance teams would give the all clear. Inside, I read ads for the latest protein supplements, herbal muscle builders, and pro-hormone supplements, all of which promised steroid-like gains in muscle mass almost overnight. I recognized most of the bodybuilders featured in the ads. They all either directly or indirectly credited that particular supplement for helping them build the massive muscles that won them the title of Mr. Olympia, Universe, or whatever. It didnt escape my attention that many of them had telltale signs of steroid use in the form of gynecomastia (enlarged male breast tissue).