Stronger than ever gave me the energy I needed

When you enjoy going to the gym every week just like I do – and have for 3 years now – that’s saying something about your personal trainer. Martijn manages to motivate me every time, and it’s thanks to several aspects. It starts with listening: He knows what my goals are and manages to flawlessly adjust every session to obtaining them. Every hour of exercise has a varied schedule, and I never feel like we’re stuck on repeat. He understood when I needed to be challenged, and when to tone down the intensity a little. My boundaries are pushed sensibly. Thanks to his intelligent explanations, I now know which muscle groups have to be trained which way.

I still notice that when I work out alone, I don’t feel the results as quickly. Apparently it’s often those extra exertions, or that slightly adjusted posture, that make the difference. And it’s hard to notice that for yourself. When I ask for it, he e-mails me the exercises for every week, so I can do the same workout again for myself. And when I go on holiday, he creates an exercise routine that I can do with limited means, no matter where I am. What a service!

Thankfully, training with Martijn is a lot of fun. We often discuss nutrition, other forms of exercise and sports, and we have some good laughs. In short, Martijn is a trainer who suits me like no other. My sessions with Stronger than ever give me energy!

Erik
Communications Manager

Results through goal-oriented training

When I started working with Stronger than ever, I had been working out independently for a while. I was doing group lessons, and exercises on the same machines every time, using programmes from the internet. I thought I was doing a good job! However, I wasn’t achieving what I wanted. I got to talking with Martijn, and we clicked immediately. I decided to try it with a little help.

The first time I trained with Martijn, he saw in no-time what my weaknesses were and what I needed to work on. My posture was off, and my core was weak. The foundation had to be strengthened before I could progress. He built up my schedule from single to multiple sets. Every time I was curious about new exercises, and it kept me motivated! Balance is the mantra that Martijn taught me, balance between training and recovery, balance between exertion and relaxation, and balance in your diet. Training with Stronger than ever has been an investment that I will profit from for the rest of my life, even now that I’ve moved house and can no longer work with Martijn, the knowledge he taught me is still the basis of everything I do in the gym. For everything I did, Martijn also taught me why I did it. I know what my weak points are, and how to improve them. I can recommend Martijn to everyone who wants to train more efficiently and more goal-oriented, and wants to learn more about the various training methods. Even if you have to do it yourself, you don’t have to do it alone!

Sunaina
Strategy Consultant

 15 lbs weight loss in 10 weeks

Over the past ten weeks, I’ve lost 15 pounds, and when I’m sitting on the couch I can see what I’m doing when I’m tying my shoelaces, I no longer have to go by touch.
For several years I’d been planning on working on my fitness, endurance, measurements etc., but thankfully I kept finding an excuse not to. My physiotherapist once gave me three personal trainers’ addresses, because I was convinced that without that extra push I would definitely give up, and probably never even start (which I had proved so far…). But the note with the names and phone numbers was now crumpled up and unreadable, lying between the socks in my gym bag. In late January 2017 I’d had enough and asked her for the names again.

I told myself to ‘stick with it this time’ and called Stronger than ever on a Monday. I could have my intake on Tuesday, and the first appointment to really get started was the Monday after. I had explained to Martijn during my intake that I’d rather die than do ground exercises and hated well-intentioned cheerers-on on the side lines (the ‘three more, two more, come one, you can do it, one more’ types). Once I got home, the phone rang: it was Martijn, telling me I could come over and train right away, and that this Saturday, we could do a ‘very early morning’ session at 7.00. To this day I am not sure if that session was purely meant to test my motivation.

By now, after twenty sessions, I’m doing ground exercises (thankfully he didn’t turn into the side line type!), and without complaint! I have muscles in places I didn’t know there were any. I do challenging exercises in the gym (the fact I ended up there makes my old college mates snigger; when they were working on their health and fitness in a similar place 45 years ago, I was always making fun of it).
I always go, no matter the weather, I cycle to my training hour at the most impossible times. No, I even go half an hour early. And what’s more: I’m happy to do it, to the amazement of my lifelong girlfriend, who gave up getting me to exercise 35 years ago. Over the past ten weeks, I’ve lost 15 pounds, and when I’m sitting on the couch I can see what I’m doing when I’m tying my shoelaces, I no longer have to go by touch.
Try it for yourself! I am dedicated to my possibly out-of-reach goal, which Martijn tells me is achievable.
Tom
Retired dentist

Never too old for personal training

I’ve been training with Stronger than ever since 2013, and even after 5 years, I get so much benefit from it. I’m a little older, and for me, training means the difference between being able to make everyday movements with or without pain. There’s always a focus on details. Feet 2 inches further apart, shoulders back, tilt the pelvis. They pay attention to what you do and explain to you exactly which muscles make that small adjustment necessary. And that’s where you feel it. When something gets a little painful, the exercises are adjusted, to make sure I can train responsibly.

For the rest, we have a lot of fun. We talk about all kinds of things while training, and we laugh a lot. You are never too old to start working with a personal trainer!

Michiel de Vries
Retired physicist