Peter Shmock ( ; ''Peter Carlton "Pete" Shmock;''Sports-Reference.com

''Olympics at Sports-Reference.com''. Retrieved March 7, 2011. born April 29, 1950, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

) is a retired American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, primarily known for throwing the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

, and former

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

coach. Currently Shmock is a personal trainer at Zum (stylized "ZUM"), a Seattle health club he founded in 2002.Paulson, T., "A Unique Approach to Teaching Fitness and Personal Training", ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', September 16, 1994.Downey, R., "Best Do-Less Body Sculptor", ''Seattle Weekly'', October 15, 2003.Martin, M.
"Tuning In: Zum Challenges the Mode of Conventional Health Clubs"
, ''The Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine'', July 28, 2002.

High school and college athletics

Shmock went by "Pete" throughout his high school, college, and Olympic shot-put career. In 1968, while attending San Dieguito High School Academy in Encinitas, California, Shmock won first place in the California State Championships and threw 62-1 3/4 to finish fifth at the

Golden West Invitational The Golden West Invitational (GWI) high school track & field all-star meet brings together top high school athletes from throughout the country and provides them with the very highest levels of competition. The GWI made its debut in 1960 and is held ...

.Golden West Invitational
"Olympic Alumni"
, Golden West Invitational website, February 16, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2011. From 1969 to 1972 Pete Shmock competed on the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

's track and field team, the

Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, coached by Olympic team coach

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...

.Newnham, B.
"Pre Hits 3:56.7, Shmock 64-11 1/2"
''Eugene Register-Guard'' (Eugene, Ore.), April 24, 1972. Shmock did exceptionally well at the university's annual Twilight Meet, telling a reporter, "'This is the first meet this year I've really got psyched for.'" In 1970 he broke 60 feet for the first time in his college career, and in 1971 he threw a personal best of 63-2 3/4. He threw 64-11 1/2 in 1972, setting a new personal best and qualifying him for the Olympic trials. Ranking sixth in the U.S., Shmock did not travel to Munich for the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

.Track and Field News
"History of US Nationals Results: Shot Put"
, ''Track and Field News'' website, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2011. He finished second in shot put in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

that year, and he threw a lifetime best in the hammer throw of 166-11.Track and Field News
"All-Time U.S. Rankings – Men's Shot"
, ''Track and Field News'' website, 2002. Retrieved March 7, 2011. Shmock graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's in social science in 1973. After college, Pete Shmock competed with the

Southern California Striders The Southern California Striders (also SoCal Striders or SC Striders) is a track and field athletics club based in Los Angeles, California. From its foundation in 1955 through the 1980s it was an elite club producing numerous national and Olympi ...

(also known as the Tobias Striders) in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU). He ranked among the top six shot putters in the AAU and the U.S. Nationals from 1974 to 1980.

Olympic shot put

On June 5, 1976, Shmock threw his lifetime best, 69-3, at the University of Oregon's historic

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...

in Eugene.Koskimies, M.
"Alltime List: Shot Put (Men)"
''Matti Koskimies – Kotisivu'' website, January 1, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011. Fifteen days later, on the first day of the U.S. track and field trials, he qualified for the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

team.Sentinel Wire Services
"Albritton Fails in Olympic Bid"
''Milwaukee Sentinel'', June 21, 1976. @ 27:17 Shmock told reporters, "'Qualifying is a very unpleasant thing to go through. It's a mental thing, and I'm glad I didn't have to take more than one throw.'"Conrad, J.
"Shmock Ducks All the Hassles: Pete Needs Only One Toss to Make Shot Put Finals"
''Eugene Register-Guard'' (Eugene, Ore.), July 24, 1976. He expressed concern about over-exerting himself on the lengthy walk to get dinner in the Olympic village, saying, "'I'm just going to keep my feet up and try to rest.'" He placed ninth in men's shot put at Montreal, a result he later described as "far worse than I'd hoped."Shmock, P., "The Life Athlete"
Messenger''
July 2004-February 2007. The summer of '76 was not all disappointment for Pete Shmock. He met Olympic hurdler

Patrice Donnelly Patrice Michelle "Pat" Donnelly (born April 30, 1950) is an American retired track and field athlete and actress, known primarily for hurdling. Background Donnelly was born in San Diego, California. She attended Grossmont College. She was a high ...

in 1975, and the pair's July romance in Montreal was well-publicized at the time. They married in August 1976, though they later divorced. In 1977, both Shmock and Donnelly were training full-time for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

in Moscow. Without employment, they were struggling to pay the bills, and Shmock was frustrated by the "poor coaching, inadequate facilities, and financial insecurity" faced by athletes once they left college. At March 1979's USSR-USA Track Meet in Fort Worth, Texas, Shmock threw 65-10 to place second, between the USSR's first-place Vladimir Kiselyov and third-place

Aleksandr Baryshnikov Aleksandr Georgievich Baryshnikov (russian: Александр Георгиевич Барышников, born November 11, 1948) is a former Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the Shot Put. He trained at Dynamo in Leningrad. He competed for ...

.GAM, "USSR-USA Track Meet", ''The Globe and Mail'' (Canada), March 5, 1979. Such goodwill gestures between the two superpowers came to an abrupt halt on December 27, 1979, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.Exposrip
"Geo-Politics and American Athletes Denied Olympic Opportunities Profiled"
, ''Sports Perspectives'' website, July 9, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2011.Eldridge, L., "Olympic Trials: Long on Drama, Short on Rewards", ''Christian Science Monitor'', July 1, 1980. On April 12, 1980, the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

voted to officially boycott the Moscow games. Despite the boycott, Shmock was back at the University of Oregon's

in Eugene for the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on June 27, 1980. Pete Shmock "surprisingly" beat

Al Feuerbach Allan "Al" Dean Feuerbach (born January 14, 1948) is a former American track and field athlete. He competed in the shot put at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and finished in fifth and fourth place, respectively. He missed the 1980 Games due to the b ...

and

Brian Oldfield Brian Oldfield (June 1, 1945 – March 26, 2017) was an American athlete and personality of the 1970s and early 1980s. A standout shot putter, Oldfield was credited with making the rotational technique popular. With his "Oldfield spin," he set the ...

with a throw of 68-4, securing his spot on the 1980 team.Sports graphic, ''The Washington Post'', June 29, 1980. Shmock was considered the top U.S. shot putter, though there was speculation that some "likely medal winners ... skipped the trials" or stopped training as intensely once the boycott was made official.Wilbon, M., "Summer Olympics 1980: Lineup Is Decimated for Summer Olympics in Moscow", ''The Washington Post'', July 13, 1980. On August 25, 1980, Shmock came in second, behind Oldfield, at London's international Golden Mile meet.Apple, Jr., A. W., "Ovet(sic) Wins Golden Mile in 3:52.9; Scott 2D", ''The New York Times'', August 26, 1980. This was his final shot-put competition. Pete Shmock appeared on the cover of the November 1981 issue of ''Power & Fitness for Every Body'' beside the headline "Life After The Olympic Boycott: Shot Putter Pete Shmock Turns To Surfing."Adams, B.
"Power & Fitness for Every Body"
''Vintage Muscle Mags'' website. Retrieved March 7, 2011.

Coaching career

In 1983 Shmock joined the

as a weight-training coach, and from 1994 until 1999 he was also a conditioning coach for the male and female dancers of

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

.Martin, M.
"Movers And Shapers – Twenty Local People Who Have Influenced the Fitness World"
''The Seattle Times'', June 7, 1998. With the Mariners' blessing, Shmock was soon appearing in training videos and publishing fitness advice. He made a weight training video with pitcher Mark Langston in 1989, and in 1990 Mariners head trainer

Rick Griffin Richard Alden "Rick" Griffin (June 18, 1944 – August 18, 1991) was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. As a contributor to the underground comix movement, his work appeared regularly in ...

wrote the introduction for ''Weight Ball Training'', a paperback Peter Shmock co-authored with Eric Swenson."AL Insider", ''USA Today'', May 19, 1989.Couture105 (seller)
"Weight Ball Training"
Amazon.com. Retrieved March 7, 2011. Shmock was cast in two ''Professional Sports Training for Kids'' videos: ''Football with Dan Fouts'' in 1990 and ''Baseball with

Ken Griffey Jr. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Marin ...

'' in 1991.Escondido Public Library
"Professional Sports Training for Kids: Football with Dan Fouts (videorecording) starring Dan Fouts, Peter Shmock"
library website. Retrieved March 7, 2011.Flixster
"Professional Sports Training for Kids – Football with Dan Fouts (1990)"
''Rotten Tomatoes'' website. Retrieved March 7, 2011.Unger, J.

''Entertainment Weekly'' website, April 19, 1991. Retrieved March 7, 2011. The media were also seeking words of wisdom from Peter Shmock. Asked about third baseman

Darnell Coles Darnell Coles (born June 2, 1962) is an American professional baseball player and current hitting coach for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball primarily as a third baseman a ...

in 1990, strength and conditioning coach Shmock said, "'His body is bigger but he's just as flexible as before.'"The Associated Press, "Sports News", March 23, 1990. ''The Washington Post'' quoted him in a story on medicine balls that was picked up by a wire service and republished in Ontario, Canada.Proulx, L., "Whatever Happened to Medicine Balls?", ''The Washington Post'', March 8, 1994.Proulx, L., "Return of the Medicine Ball: Round Heavy Blobs Help Improve Strength and Agility", ''The Record'' (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario), March 12, 1994. Even though he rubbed elbows with

, Lou Piniella, and other baseball elites, Shmock made time to teach classes to ordinary Seattleites. In 1994, he taught Heart of the Athlete with Johan Morgen and Outdoor Gym, Euro-Sport Circuit, and Elite Edge.Bleakney, G.
"Initiation Into the Heart of Life: Opening Through Sports Training"
''M.E.N. Magazine'', May 1994. Retrieved from MenWeb website March 7, 2011. Incorporating T'ai chi ch'uan,

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, and

medicine balls A medicine ball (also known as an exercise ball, a med ball, or a fitness ball) is a weighted ball whose diameter is about a shoulder-width, (approx. ), often used for rehabilitation and strength training. The medicine ball also serves an impo ...

, Shmock created fitness routines for people "'35 to 60 who want to live without pain and to have the strength and energy to perform ... the movements that they encounter most often day to day.'" As a coach, Shmock was full of contradictions. A "muscular and lithe" fitness instructor, he disdained both being "called a 'personal trainer'" and "any focus on fitness for the sake of appearance." He spoke about "training that 'went inside,'" needing to "relax to allow things to happen", and "the mind-body relationship", but dispelled any New Age connotations, saying, "I'm not interested in being anyone's guru." As a result of the

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that season ...

, the Seattle Mariners cut 17 staff members including Peter Shmock on September 24, 1994.Street, J., "M's Lay Off 17 in Staff, Office Jobs; Ellis, Others Take Sizable Pay Cuts", ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', September 24, 1994. Shmock was training advisor for the Seattle Reign in 1997, and he continued working with Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers and teaching classes at Woodland Park and at Sound Mind & Body. In 1998, ''The Seattle Times'' listed Peter Shmock as one of the city's top fitness experts and quoted him saying, in his typical mellow style, "I just do a smattering of things that make the most sense for my energy." By 2000 Shmock had "a national reputation as a teacher", and the one-minute and five-minute exercise ball routine he developed for ''The Seattle Times'' was republished in Wichita, Kan.Martin, M., "No Time? No Excuses! Even a Little Exercise Can Make a Difference If We Make a Commitment and Find Ways to Sustain It", ''The Seattle Times'', June 30, 2000.Martin, M., "The 1-Minute Exercise Guide", ''The Wichita Eagle'', August 8, 2000.

ZUM Health Club

Peter Shmock opened Zum, his "long-awaited new health club" on May 1, 2002. Located at Fifth Avenue and Bell Street in the Belltown section of Seattle's Denny Regrade neighborhood, ZUM originally occupied a "1930s-era brick" building, "formerly the longtime home to . . . American Games."Anderson, R.
"Location, Location, Location"
''Seattle Weekly'', December 22, 2004. ZUM rented the space from Clise Properties under an 18-year lease agreement, and Shmock worked with Rocky Rochon Design and BjarkoSerra Architects to build out $643,000 of tenant improvements.Enlow, C.
"Zum: A Zen-Like Temple for the Physically Fit"
, ''Daily Journal of Commerce'', January 21, 2004. Rochon and BjarkoSerra helped select the site, and they added a second-floor mezzanine to bring the space to 7,338 square feet. They created a nightclub-like charcoal exterior with "massive steel-plate doors", hung a cut-metal sign simply saying "ZUM", and replaced a wall with a garage door to let in air and light on sunny days. Inside, they added a crystal chandelier, a 5-by-15-foot sand pit, a climbing rope, an "all-white quiet room", and a Zen rock garden. Zum was stocked with regular weight-lifting and circuit-training equipment plus balance beams, fitness balls, and 35 medicine balls – Shmock's specialty. In 2003, Shmock's fitness expertise was quoted in ''The Seattle Times'', ''Next: A Magazine by Amer Sports'' (makers of Wilson and Precor fitness equipment), and ''Seattle Weekly''.Seven, R., "Sweat It, or Don't", ''The Seattle Times'', August 8, 2003.Seulamo, M.
"Well-Being Guides"
''Next: A Magazine by Amer Sports'', March 2003. From July 2004 to February 2007 Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist¬Æ (C.S.C.S.¬Æ) Peter Shmock wrote a monthly column called "The Life Athlete" for the neighborhood ''Belltown Messenger'', and he contributed to the book ''Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness: Functional Exercise and Nutrition for Every Body''.Seven, R., "A Better Way to Warm Up for a Run", ''The Kansas City Star'', November 7, 2005. ZUM was threatened in 2004 when the

Seattle Monorail Project The Seattle Monorail Project was a proposed five-line monorail system to be constructed in Seattle, Washington, US, as an extension of the existing Seattle Center Monorail. The , 17 station Green Line running from Ballard to West Seattle via Seat ...

(SMP) planned to condemn the health club's building and redevelop the site as a monorail station. The monorail said "just compensation" for condemnation only applied to the owner of the property, Clise, and it would only pay ZUM's "relocation fees and up to $50,000 in related expenses." Standing to lose his nearly $900,000 investment in tenant improvements, founder Peter Shmock hired attorney Bruce P. Babbitt and began litigation. Luckily for ZUM, before monorail construction began, "Seattle voters pulled the plug" in November 2005.Bennett, S.
"17 More Monorail Property Sales OK'd"
, ''Daily Journal of Commerce'', April 11, 2006. On April 10, 2006, SMP sold the American Games/ZUM building to Anmar Co. for $2.3 million, well above their $1.5 million purchase price.Lindblom, M.

, ''The Seattle Times'', April 11, 2006. Meanwhile, Peter Shmock continued to earn praise and press for his fitness programs incorporating "active rest", focusing on rotational "movements you use in real life", centering on balance, and "paying attention to the cycles and the rhythms of energy." A March 2005 article highlighting Shmock's work with Mariners catcher Dan Wilson was picked up from ''The Seattle Times'' by a wire service and republished by a newspaper in Passaic County, N.J.Seven, R., "Spring Training: Whether You're a Baseball Star or a Weekend Warrior, It's Time to Get Going", ''The Seattle Times'', March 11, 2005.Seven, R., "Spring Training, and Training for Spring: Weekend Warrior or Baseball Star, It's Time for You to Get Going", ''Herald News'' (Passaic County, N.J.), March 15, 2005. In a November ''Times'' article republished in Bradenton, Florida; Kansas City, Kansas; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Columbia, South Carolina; Shmock urged readers to "progressively warm up" and reminded them, "There's no rule that says once you start you can't stop, and if you do, you've failed."Seven, R.
"To Warm Up for a Run, There's a Better Way"
''The Seattle Times'', November 4, 2005.Seven, R., "When You Warm Up for a Run, Skip the Stretching", ''The Bradenton Herald'' (Bradenton, Florida), November 10, 2005.Seven, R., "Soft Drinks", ''The Myrtle Beach Sun-News'', November 17, 2005.Wire reports, "Stretch Time", ''The State'' (Columbia, South Carolina), December 15, 2005. In April 2005, "uber-trainer" Shmock appeared on "Science Guy"

Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...

's TV show '' Eyes of Nye'' to explain sports science.Paulson, T., "That Science Guy is Back, in 'Eyes of Nye'", ''The Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', April 5, 2005.Disney Educational Products
"Educator's Guide – Sports: Science in Action"
. Retrieved March 7, 2011. Peter Shmock's work with his health club, ZUM, didn't stop him from continuing his other fitness programs. In 2006 he was still associated with the Elite Edge off-season program for skiers, and he taught a free bicycle workout class at Seattle

REI Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

with Ken Williams.Swarner, R.
"Crystal Mountain"
''Ski Bum News'' website, October 17, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2011."Go and Do", ''The News Tribune'' (Tacoma, Washington), March 13, 2006. "'Less about performance and more about vitality,'" Shmock continued to add services at ZUM, and by 2007 the Seattle health club hired Colleen Casey as massage director.Collier, C. P.

''The New York Times'', December 17, 2008. Retrieved March 7, 2011. In 2008, Casey told ''The New York Times'' she was averaging 40 sports massages a month, up from 30 in 2007. By 2010, ZUM offered chiropractic,

naturopathy Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturop ...

, acupuncture, and a weight-loss program.The Vance Corporation
"Get Moving to Fitness at ZUM"
, ''Vance Corridors'', Summer 2010. Having outgrown the Belltown space it fought so hard to keep in 2004, ZUM moved to The Vance Corporation's Tower Building on Seventh Avenue in January 2010. ZUM (now branded as ZŪM Fitnes

occupies the ground and second floors of the 17-floor building.The Vance Corporation
"The Tower Building"
The Vance Corporation website, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2011. The health club kept the sand pit and monkey bars, added a climbing wall and floating staircase, and swapped the old building's "all-white quiet room" for a new "sage green serenity room." Founder Peter Shmock said, "'We've created a comfortable space that people want to come to.'" Asked about his "personal philosophy of movement" in 2010, Shmock replied, "I want people to pay attention to their bodies, to observe their cycles of energy so they don't push too hard."

References

External links

Personal website

ZUM Health Club website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shmock, Peter 1950 births Living people American male shot putters Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics University of Oregon alumni Track and field athletes from Seattle Track and field athletes from Detroit Congressional Gold Medal recipients Olympic track and field athletes for the United States