Baechle, Thomas R. 1943-

PERSONAL:

Born 1943; children: Todd, Clark. Education: Eastern Kentucky University, B.S., 1966; University of Nebraska, M.Ed., 1969; University of South Dakota, Ed.D., 1976.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Omaha, NE. Office—Exercise Science and Athletic Training Department, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, staff member, beginning 1968; Briar Cliff College, Sioux City, IA, staff member, 1969-78, chair, 1971; Creighton University, Omaha, NE, staff, 1978—, chair of the exercise science and athletic training department, 1981—, weightlifting coach, head of cardiac rehabilitation program.

MEMBER:

Nebraska Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (president, 1983), National Strength and Conditioning Association (founding president, 1983-85; executive director, 1991—), Nebraska American Heart Association (president of Douglas County Division, 1992-93), National Organization for Competency Assurance (president, 1998—).

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Strength and Conditioning Association, Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year Award, 1984; Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, Creighton University College of Arts and Sciences, 1991; Award of Merit for Excellence in Education and Development of Professional Standards, International Fitness Institute, 1996; Lifetime Achievement Award, National Strength Conditioning Association, 1998.

WRITINGS:

(With Barney R. Groves) Weight Training: Steps to Success,Leisure Press (Champaign, IL), 1992, 3rd edition, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 2006, original edition also published as Weight Training Instruction: Steps to Success, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 1994. (Editor) Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 1994, 2nd edition, edited with Roger W. Earle, 2000. (With Roger W. Earle) Fitness Weight Training, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 1995, 2nd edition, 2005. (With Wayne L. Westcott) Strength Training past 50, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 1997. (With Wayne L. Westcott) Strength Training for Seniors: An Instructor Guide for Developing Safe and Effective Programs, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 1999. (Editor, with Roger W. Earle) NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training, Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Thomas R. Baechle is a lifelong athlete and fitness enthusiast whose efforts in weight lifting and power lifting led to his winning a number of Midwestern bodybuilding titles. He helped to initiate the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and National Strength and Conditioning Association NSCA-CPT exams that are used to establish NSCA certification, and he has been a long proponent of Creighton University's Cardiac Rehabilitation program. Baechle has written extensively on fitness, especially on weight training, including several books aimed at senior citizens who are interested in achieving or maintaining a level of physical well being. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, for one, offers a basic introduction to the scientific principles behind fitness training, providing suggestions on exercise technique and how to design an effective training program. A reviewer for Palaestra wrote that "this excellent resource is highly recommended." Baechle's Fitness Weight Training compares weight training to some of the alternative methods of fitness training, and offers both suggestions on a safe, effective weight training program and safety tips designed to help readers get the most out of their fitness program with minimal risk of injury. Wes Lukowsky, writing for Booklist, found the volume to be "a very well done guide that is sure to be popular for years with the fitness crowd."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1994, Wes Lukowsky, review of Fitness Weight Training, p. 467. Palaestra, summer, 1996, review ofEssentials ofStrength Training and Conditioning, p. 50.Physical & Health Education Journal, autumn, 2000, review of Essentials of Strength Training andConditioning, p. 40.

ONLINE

Creightonian Online,http://press.creighton.edu/ (April 14, 2004), Amanda Porter, "Parenting Rock Stars Not for Faint of Heart." DSW Fitness,http://www.dswfitness.com/ (July 24, 2006), biography of Thomas R. Baechle.