Interview met Frank den Blanken

Geschatte leestijd: 4 minuten Name: Frank den Blanken Age: 28 years Residence: IJsselstein Specialization: Hypertrophy, cutting, nutrition, bodybuilding

When and how did your interest in fitness arise?

I had just quit team sports (basketball) and was attending the ICT Academy in Utrecht. At this point, I was 14 years old and decided to start training with my father at the gym. I wasn’t leading an active lifestyle, but I wanted to ensure that I was moving enough. Once in the gym, I enjoyed competing with my father so much that I wanted to make every exercise more challenging. The first gym where I trained operated on air pressure machines. It was linked to a card system. This system indicated how many repetitions and how much weight you should use. The advantage (which I only learned later) is that I actually started training with progressive overload from the beginning. I noticed that I was getting stronger with each workout and often progressed faster than the system suggested. However, this wasn’t fast enough for me. So, I decided to search online. At that time, I was studying to become a Private Digital Investigator. To put it briefly, CSI on the computer. So, internet research was something I was familiar with. I quickly found an overload of information online and became a ‘program hopper’ for the next few months. A ‘program hopper’ is a person who switches to a new program as soon as they find one. Due to an internship, I switched gyms. This was because the other gym had longer opening hours. Here, I was approached by an instructor who asked if I was paying attention to my nutrition. I hadn’t really thought about it yet. That same evening, I went online to search for nutrition for training. This is going to be it. Eventually, I came across a bodybuilding video of Flex Wheeler and I thought: “I want to be that big too!”. I gathered everything I could find about him. I found out that he had written an autobiography. I bought it immediately. A few days later, I received the book in the mail and finished reading it the same evening. Much became clear while reading. The book contained a sample diet that he followed. I had to eat that. Then I would also become that big. So, as a 15-year-old boy, I tried to follow the diet of a 130 kg pro bodybuilder. Every day, I stuffed myself. At that time, I was doing an internship, for which I luckily got paid. The supermarket next door had a great customer for half a year. I went from 72 kg to 98 kg in 6 months. Not just muscle mass, but I was still proud of my transformation. I went from bench pressing 70 kg to sets of 120 kg (not a clean execution)!. After completing my ICT studies, I switched to HBO to study Sports & Exercise. During the first year of my studies, I also started working in the gym. Now, 12 years later, my passion for fitness is still there, and I mainly get my information from America because they are simply 10 years ahead in knowledge compared to the Netherlands.

Do you have any other sporting background?

Yes, before I started fitness, I played basketball and soccer.

Why does fitness play an important role in your life? (as an athlete, not as a coach?)

The structure that fitness gives me can be applied to any aspect of my life. You have a goal, you make a plan for it, and you work hard for it. If you keep doing that, you will eventually be rewarded. Thanks to fitness, I have come to realize this.

When and why did you start coaching and how did you develop yourself for this?

I was working at Gold’s Gym in Nieuwegein as a manager. After years of working actively one-on-one on the gym floor, I was looking for a bigger challenge and wanted to do more according to my own vision. My company Frank den Blanken PT was started in September 2014. That’s when I decided to focus on a specific target group; Fitguys and Fitgirls. This is where my interest lies, and I find this the most enjoyable group to work with. Transforming a body into the best ‘me’ of a client is amazing to me! My approach is that the basis must always be scientifically substantiated. I read a lot of studies, take courses in the UK and USA, and constantly test whether new methods work. I always inform my clients about this and ask if I can use them for my own research. Fortunately, many are willing and provide clear feedback. This allows me to learn much faster and become a better coach than always depending on research.

What are your specializations and why did you choose them?

Building muscle mass is probably my best specialty. This mainly came from the large number of years I researched it out of personal interest. I also followed most of my studies in this area.

What are the most important qualities of good coaching for you?

Being honest in your communication with a client. Clearly stating what is possible and what is not. I’m not someone who beats around the bush, but I tell you how it is. Additionally, I am an advocate of listening to the feedback from a client. If something doesn’t feel right or isn’t achievable, then the person won’t stick to the process. Therefore, I highly value feedback and make adjustments to ensure that goals are achieved. This is not always optimal for short-term results but achieves huge results in the long term because the client can sustain it.

When are you satisfied as a coach with the work you have done for a client?

When the client has achieved their goal and can maintain it independently or knows how to continue making progress. Achieving a goal is one thing, but understanding how you got there and what steps you can take now to continue is much more important to me. So, in short, sharing as much knowledge as possible with the aim of being able to achieve the next goal independently!