We are excited to announce that the CFH Staff Team is growing! Please give a warm welcome to our newest Coach, Coach Twan!

Twan, already a member of our community since 2016 (!), is definitely a familiar face and completed his CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course together with Coach Maikel in November last year. After months of hard work and developing coaching skills during our Coach Development Program he is already leading classes independently as we speak! We are very proud to add Twan to the team and wish him all the fun and fulfilment that comes along with his new role as coach.

Get to know coach Twan!

Can you tell us a bit about you and your sporting background?
I am Twan and am a very enthousiastic and ambitious yet analytic personality. From a distance, I might seem focussed on my task and not really focussed on interacting, however, if you ask me a question I’m definately the person in the mood for a nice conversation and for some fun and jokes. I have been involved with sports all my life actually and am really passionate about exercising all different kinds of sports. Needless to say, that’s one of the reason I got hooked on Crossfit. In the past, I’ve done Soccer and Judo. Next to sports, I’m also very enthousiastic about music. I play drums for a hobby and also practice dancing 1 time a week.

What made you want to try CrossFit in the beginning?
I was starting to get really into fitness, but was missing something. A feeling of community, engagement and next to that a purpose to do fitness (an end goal let’s say). A friend of mine showed me a video of the Crossfit games (murph of 2016 to be more specific), which got me very excited and I immediately sound up for a trial class. I got hooked on the sport, the vibe at the gym and the progress. The rest is the history.

What is your favorite aspect of being a CrossFit coach?
My favorite part is really giving something back to the members and gym who’ve always been good for me. I’ve reached a peak level as an athlete which I’m proud and now like to share the knowledge and enthousiasm gained over the last years with the members of the Gym.

As a coach, what is the best advice you can give to early CrossFitters? And what advice would you give to someone who might be interested in trying CrossFit but is too nervous or feels like they need to get into better shape first?
Best advice: Enjoy that hour of clearing your head and enjoy the company around you. Ofcourse, it’s also important to focus on your fitness goals, but make sure you have fun, while aiming for those goals along the way. Depending on your fitness goals, working on your weaknesses instead of expanding what you’re already good at.

For someone who’s interested but too nervous to try: It honestly thrills me to see new people coming to the gym. Now as a coach, this group seems like so much fun as you know what they can accomplish in a short period by coming to the gym. Whatever level of sports they might already have or not have. Coming through the door might be the best decision you’ve ever made.

What was your first CrossFit WOD ever?
A variation of Cindy!

What’s your favourite CrossFit WOD?
Definitely Murph. This workout always gets me hyped up!

And what’s your favourite CrossFit movement/exercise?
Hard to say if you love so many of them. If I have to choose, either the handstand walk or the bar muscle up.

What’s your favourite workout music (genre and/or track)?
I really like working out on Trance music from the 90’s/00’s. But my alltime favority song for working out is: For the win – Two steps from hell.

What are some of your favourite activities outside the box?
Hanging out with friends, hiking in nature (with as much variety as possible), jamming on the drums, watching series and discovering new unknown places/cities.

Finally, what is your ultimate goal in CrossFit and/or at CrossFit Heerlen?
I’ve already reached many of the goals I’d set out. The one remaining among others is becoming a great coach and (as an athlete) 200 kilo deadlift.