Making it personal with our top trainers – meet Jakub Jandura

4th October 2018

PT interviews are back. Right on time to meet Jakub Jandura, our personal trainer at EVO Berggasse, Learn more about HIIT and Tabata and try his specially designed HIITworkout.

Q: Hey, Jakub. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Sure! I’m Jakub, and I am a personal trainer at EVO Berggasse Vienna.

Q: Why have you decided to become a personal trainer?

I’ve decided to become a personal trainer because I wanted to show people how sports has impacted my life. By training with me, my clients will gain awareness of how important it is to control their movements and our entire body. It is not just about heavy weights, it is about why am I doing something, what moves are more important. That is what I focus on when I give PT sessions.

Q: We have heard that you are really into HIIT. Can you explain what HIIT is? What does HIIT stand for?

Yes, I am really into HIIT Workouts (HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training). Its focus is on short but very intense activities with less intense recovery periods.

The goal of HIIT is to reach momentary muscular failure by pushing your body to its maximum levels. When we get to the point of muscular failure, our body takes advantage of the oxygen shortcut inside our trained muscles, which provide us with EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). As a result we burn calories not only during the exercise but also afterwards. This happens because our muscles need a lot of energy to recover. With HIIT workouts we also improve our cardiovascular-system.

Q: And what is Tabata?

Well, Tabata is a form of HIIT. It lasts 4 minutes and is a great way to end your workout because it can ensure that we have used our muscles effectively and enough during our workout. Tabata consists of 8x 20sec working periods (very intense ones) and 8x 10sec resting phases in between. It is good to choose exercises during the working stages that encourage multiple and larger muscles to increase the EPOC effect. For example, burpees, mountain climbers, squat jumps or push-ups.

With Tabata, you benefit from the after-burn effect, which I mentioned before. Everyone can train in this way by adjusting the intensity to his or her limits. It´s crucial to start slow and progress in your rate.

Q: What are the benefits of this kind of training? And how does HIIT training align with EVO’s concept?

Let me put it in perspective: I feel the problem with our present society is we have forgotten how to move correctly. As little kids, we played a lot outside and tried out new things. I know that sometimes a week can be exhausting, but even in those weeks, you should find some time to fit a HIIT Workout into your schedule! At EVO, we mostly work with our own bodyweight and perform exercises that are similar to the activities we face in our daily routine – the natural movement philosophy. Together with HIIT, we improve not only our movements but also our cardiovascular system. That’s the best way to learn how to control our body.

Q: Can everyone train in this way? Also people who just started and might not yet be that fit?

If you have any doubts, you should make an appointment with your doctor to make sure your body can deal with physical activity and overall training. Usually, sports activities are always good for you. It’s just a case of intensity in this case.

Q: Any words for people thinking about starting working out?

Stop waiting for the perfect moment and let’s get you in the best shape of your life. If you feel good in your body, your satisfaction with your life will increase, you will be happier and will have more energy. That’s a promise I can make to you.

Q: Just to finish: do you have any favorite motivational quote?

It’s not really a quote, but I think that if you want something, you should go for it. In life it’s never too late to start something new, so stop waiting and start pursuing your goals.