A personal trainer in a rehabilitation centre full of physiotherapists. This may look a bit strange to us, but it’s completely normal for Johan. “As a PT I only have one aim: helping people achieve pre-set physical targets. That’s why I’m often brought in at the end of athletes’ rehabilitation processes, in order to improve their performance. And I supervise non-athletes from beginning to end. For both, the aim is simple: working towards better physical health.
Is professional footballer Mehdi Carcela a greater challenge than housewife Rita? Absolutely not to Johan. “I find them equally interesting. They are motivated, and want to work towards a target. Of course, I’m more enthusiastic about someone who has been struggling with “something” for years or an athlete who wants to jump just that one centimetre higher, than about men who want a flatter stomach and broader shoulders, or women trying to get tighter buttocks and thinner arms. But I give my all for them too, during my training sessions.”
Whether it’s a top athlete or top manager, in his sessions Johan applies ‘functional training’, which is trainer speak for ‘learning to move better’. “Our brain is like a computer. It thinks it’s moving properly, despite using an incorrect pattern. Using functional training, we erase the incorrect patterns from our hard drive, and we adapt the automatic ways of moving. For this, it makes no difference if it’s a regular person or a top athlete.” Where Johan makes a difference as a personal trainer, is in his motivational framework.
He owes much of this to Lieven Maesschalck. Lieven was of course hailed as a pioneer in rehabilitation without surgery, and, in particular, his initial analysis. However, what few notice, is Maesschalck’s talent for analysing who the person is. “I learned a lot from that. My father was the best at that. Is the person shy, or insecure, or just over confident or arrogant? That dictates how I coach the person. Here, you see a clear difference in approach for athletes and non-athletes. Top athletes are competitive people. You have to push them, make them face their limitation, and sometimes work them harder still. Then they’ll go through a wall for you. You can’t raise your voice as much with non-athletes (laughs). I’m more careful when working them. I annoy them less, and let them see for themselves how to improve things.”
The intake conversation, preparing the psychological profile and coaching are almost as important as the physical process?
“Absolutely. Denying an athlete the ability to practise his sport, is like taking his world away. The impact of being out of action is more than just physical. So, the mental aspect should certainly not be forgotten during rehabilitation.” These days, many non-athletes also come here for mental rehabilitation. Often without realising it. At Johan’s practice, it’s almost 50 percent physical, and 50 percent mental, revalidation. “Exercising, and pushing yourself hard, releases things in you. How often do I have times like that with clients, when they get emotional, cry, or share things they don’t know why they are sharing them? Then, you have to operate in the proper manner. Of course, I’m not a psychologist, but at that moment I do have to play a supportive role. Often listening to them is enough. For other people it’s a sign to seek therapy.”
Every day, Johan helps people to rehabilitate, and increase their physical and mental strength. Nature plays a coaching role in this. “Both for rehabilitation and on a purely athletic level, outside is always better. Whether that means getting out of the four walls for a short while, or just taking the vitamins of sun, oxygen-rich air, etc., nature is always good.” Nature in Antwerp? (Laughs) “Yes, of course it’s not like Maasmechelen. For instance, if you look at the air quality, the health parameters here are not very good. So, if you can exercise with people on a farm in the countryside, as I used to do at my Maasmechelen practice, you notice straight away that it is all-round healthier for people. Limburg has a great advantage there.”
And, for his own personal rehabilitation, Johan himself escapes into nature to recuperate. At work, that means walking around the block, and, on holiday, visiting mountain peaks with his daughter or girlfriend. “We live in a busy society, where everything must progress at breakneck speed. To escape this, you have to get into nature, that’s the only way to slow down. I’m very strict about this. I’m always surrounded by people. So I need to be alone to recharge my batteries. It must be quiet, at my own pace. In that case, nature is always the answer.”