One day a week, twenty-eight year old Rick Stolker works one day less at his regular job and live out his passion as a personal trainer at The Crunch. Like many personal trainers and instructors at the gym Stolker’s interest for sports started when he was a kid, “eight years old to be exact” he states on the other end of the telephone. That is when he began with karate and then two years later moved on to soccer, which for the last 18 years has been dedicated to. “I’ve played in many football clubs in Amsterdam, first KBV in Amsterdam Zuid, then Blauw-wit Amsterdam after he moved to Amsterdam Noord, and then played for SV de Meteoor, and finally started playing for TOB. Besides soccer, Rick is a full time dad since he became the proud father of Benthe Lois on August 26th. He also runs his business Fysiofit-PT, a personal trainer company.
Physiotherapy
In early twenties Rick became fascinated with the human anatomy and the muscles of the body. Rick adds, “Which was reason enough for me to want to study physiotherapy and satisfy my thirst for knowledge”. After his studies, Rick started working as a full-time physiotherapist at SMC (Sport Medical Centre) Fysiomed near the Olympic Stadium, where he coaches injured professional athletes. Rick laughs, “not only professionals. I also treat many non-professionals that have age-related physical strains and other injuries, or are recovering from an operation. Even my father who works in the building industry is one of my clients”, he adds.
The Crunch
Rick argues that many kids today are too stationary and only play computer games. When boys are usually 16 years old, then they get involved in physical sports. It’s around the time they become aware that they want to have a nice body, and then they immediately start with weight training. Rick sighs, “they want big muscles, and usually for cosmetic reasons”. When a client comes to Rick for personal training, he insists the most important thing is to find out what their goal is for wanting to work out. “Once I found that out, then I can help someone with a training program that will make them strong and healthy. In my work there is nothing more rewarding than watching clients develop fit bodies and seeing them grow confident, both on the outside and inside”. That is why he likes working at least one day a week at The Crunch instead of full time as a physiotherapist. “Its also good for me to see people train and develop their bodies instead of only dealing with injured ones”. With his physiotherapist background he can help clients prevent a lot of injuries. He exclaims, “It’s the ideal combination”.