What inspired you to become a Personal Trainer

My passion for fitness started when I was 17 years old. I joined the local gym because I wasn't happy with how I looked and how I felt. From the moment I did my first exercise, I became addicted... I fell in love with everything related to fitness.

It all started when I was studying Accountancy and my friends kept asking me for advice because I was making progress so fast. After I helped them make progress, they told me I should do something with fitness because they felt my passion. That's why I started working as a fitness instructor during my studies.

After my studies, I started working as an accountant at a major accounting firm. My colleagues quickly noticed that I kept talking about fitness. After working at the company for over a year, I felt dissatisfied. I enjoyed working with my colleagues in the company. I just felt like the job wasn't for me. I then started working at 3Sixty5 Personal Training and learned about Personal Training, but more importantly, I learned about people.

How did your own fitness journey influence your approach to training?

I started at the local gym because I wasn't happy with how I looked and how I felt. I was then taken care of by the gym's “powerhouses”. They taught me a lot about 'mentality' and 'hard training'. I achieved great results but was always tired and always had aches and pains or injuries. During my studies, I mainly found out how to train “smarter”. Unexpectedly, this made me stronger, more muscular. Training just gave me energy while also saving time. This allowed me to achieve results while still having a social life. My life wasn't about training anymore.

Expertise and specialisations

I am naturally a strength athlete. In my early years, I was most concerned with muscle building and fat loss. My biggest strength lies in my empathy, I understand well what someone is going through, and after listening carefully and asking questions, I often get to the heart of the problem. I understand physical therapy but I am not a physiotherapist, but I have had a number of injuries in the past that could not be resolved by physical therapists. As a result, I have taught myself a number of things. Who were able to ensure that many people were relieved of their physical complaints.

Can you share a success story of a client you've helped?

It's hard to choose someone, but I have a wife who was a single mother and who had a tough period after pregnancy. That's why she arrived. She wanted to be able to keep holding her daughter when she was older. It's just that she no longer had faith in her body. We then set a modest goal to lose 1 kg. Contrary to her own expectations, she had already lost it after 1.5 weeks. I see this as a success story because she is now going through life with more confidence and has already lost several kilos.

Training philosophy

I like to keep training as simple and fun as possible and to go for things. I try to explain very technical topics in understandable language. After all, I see every day that people lose themselves in the details or go for all kinds of hip trends or hypes that rarely really add anything. In addition, I think it's important to keep fitness fun so that it doesn't control your life like it once did for me. Keeping the basics under control is often also the most effective.

How do you adapt your training to different clients?

Everyone is different. That's why I try to take a good look at who I have in front of me, to take a good look at how the exercise is being carried out. In addition, I try to ask a lot of questions about the exercise and how you feel about it. After all, I really see Personal Training as customised. Because I want not only the result to be good, but also the way to get there.

What am I all working on?

Besides the training itself, I like to be around people and I like a lot of social things like going out to eat with friends or family. Apart from training, my hobby is actually fitness, so I often try to find out things about that outside of providing personal training. Of course, you can also find me behind the TV, watching a Netflix documentary.

How do you stay fit?

Contrary to expectations, it became harder to stay fit after becoming a Personal Trainer than before. After all, I was so busy providing training that being fit myself became a challenge. Later, I planned my time better so that I could also train properly myself. Because I think that, as a trainer, you should set an example for what you do yourself.

How do I start fitness?

Just watch one YouTube video with the basics and then run to the gym to try it. If you are unable to do that or if you feel like that is too big a step, I would recommend that you work with a trainer.

Do you have any easy tips for me?

• Set a goal that you can achieve
• Track your nutrition
• KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
• Try to be consistent
• Get a Personal Trainer

‍

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I can't see myself going off the floor yet. Because I like to train people too much. I do want to have a team behind me with trainers who have the same vision as me about training. It is possible that I hereby have my own location with a supplement and/or clothing line so that I can offer a more complete experience.

‍