Our Athlete of the month for May goes to Nick van Veen. There are days when workouts suit you perfectly, the bar feels light and you hit PBs. There are also days when it’s cold, you can’t seem to get going and your feeling the effects of yesterday’s workout but you still come in and get the work done. Then there are all the days inbetween – This is where your consistent efforts to move well, stay focused and push hard against the clock whilst having fun count and matter. Nick is our Athlete of the month not because he moves the most weight but because his efforts to move well consistently day in day out, add up. Fitness is a journey not a destination, work hard consistently, enjoy the ride and then reap the rewards.
Name:
Nick van Veen
What do you do for a job?
I am a business man. Together with my wife we are running three companies.
How long have you been training at CFJ East?
I started the 1st of August 2014. Almost 10 months already!
How did you first hear about CrossFit?
I saw it on TV (I think it was the Reebok CrossFit Games). As well, some of our friends are doing CrossFit in Edenvale (CrossFit Jozi). So, when CrossFit Jozi East opened, it was a no brainer!
Are there any memories from your first days that you’d like to share?
Lol, all I can remember is standing there, looking at the athletes lifting the bars, doing box jumps and pull ups etc. I seriously thought I was in the wrong place. 30 min. later I was dying doing the first CrossFit test ever…
What is the coolest thing you have achieved at CFJ East?
This week I did a scaled down bar muscle-up, but still pretty awesome! (In general it is just nice to see the progression a person can make!
What changes in your health have you noticed since starting?
Of course there is the muscle growth etc. However, for me, having a very busy lifestyle, it is a stress relief as well. Which for me, is maybe even more important. I feel much better after CrossFit in the morning.
Favourite exercise?
Deadlift and back squat.
What is your biggest challenge in CrossFit?
I think that has to be the gymnastic element in CrossFit. Those muscle ups, handstands etc. I am not build for that. One day……
List some of your big goals?
When it comes to CrossFit, I would like to take part in one of the competitions one day. I must be able to be competitive though, so let me keep on training for a while.
What is your nutrition fit? (Paleo, Zone, Anything And Everything, Etc.)
At this stage nothing. I know, very bad. However, I go through these phases whereby all of a sudden I can do a diet for weeks or months and sometimes it just looks impossible. The easy excuse is the busy lifestyle, however, I know it is just the will power!!!!! I did change my Coca Cola habit for normal water (does that count?).
If you could invite 3 famous people to dinner, who would they be and why?
– Catherine Zeta Jones (my favourite actress from “the past”)
– Donald Trump (behaves like an idiot sometimes, but I think you can learn a lot from him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is the biggest party animal ever)
– DJ Tiesto (At a certain stage he was the biggest export product of the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a great reputation when it comes to DJ’s and he started it!)
Who inspires you at CFJ East?
I must say, Andre and Carl are great. To hear Carl’s story and his CrossFit career and to see how Andre is going on like a machine. What more can I say?!
Tell us something we don’t know about you?
As you can guess from the answer above, I am from the Netherlands (moved to SA 5 years ago). I met my wife when I was still a student (long time ago). She (Suzette) was part of the South African Ladies Golf Team and I was driving one of the cars for an international golf tournament in the Netherlands (as a student you do anything to earn some money). So, I think you can say, at the end of the day, she married her driver…. What a story!
