Thijs Avezaat — Personal Trainer at Fundamentals in Haarlem and Alkmaar

Meet Thijs!

Thijs is both a personal trainer in Alkmaar and Haarlem and the owner of Fundamentals. He founded the company in 2017, giving the first sessions in Haarlem's Schoterbos park. The need for more equipment soon led him to offer sessions at Fit For Free in Haarlem Noord. Combining services such as personal training and group classes helped many members achieve strong results, and demand grew. Less than two years later, Thijs opened his first gym in central Haarlem.

Fundamentals has since become a complete fitness concept, offering personal training, Open Gym, group classes, physiotherapy and food coaching: everything for your health in one place in central Haarlem. Almost three years later, a fantastic new gym opened in central Alkmaar too.

What else lies ahead?

How does Thijs work?
“When you start with me, there are several directions we can take. At Fundamentals, and with me, it is about you. The more clearly and specifically you describe your goals and wishes, the better our collaboration will be. During sessions, I enjoy explaining why I structure programmes the way I do, how that structure meets your needs and what our work together will look like. Naturally, we do everything we can to fit this into your current lifestyle.

As I said, it is about you. If you would rather simply get on with training, that is fine too. Let's get to work!”

Method:
“Many people want to become stronger, lose weight and feel fitter overall. My primary focus is on moving well. A brief technical explanation:

I optimise movement mechanics at an individual level, according to what you can and cannot do. I first address stability, then mobility—prioritising range of motion over weight on the bar for every movement—and only then strength. Once these three main parameters work optimally, I structure sessions with a block of specific strength work, followed by hypertrophy training for more muscle, stronger bones, better hormonal balance and a larger energy-burning engine for fat loss. Depending on the goals, I often finish with high-intensity interval training. This approach focuses on a strong, athletic body.

See you soon,
Thijs Avezaat”

A client's perspective: Nienke
“Thijs provides real accountability for me. Without him, I simply would not train, and that is why I do not think I will ever leave Fundamentals. I never expected to benefit so much from strength training, let alone look forward to going back. Thijs makes our sessions enjoyable. Even after five years, I still feel proud every week when I leave the gym satisfied. I wish everyone had a Thijs in their life.”

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