Hennie Pietersen

Personal Fitness Trainer (since October 2002)

Professional Health and Fitness Diploma (Reebok University)
Basic Science of Exercise Foundation Diploma (Reebok University)
Valid adults and infant CPR certificate

Specializing in

Nutrition
Weight management
Toning
Conditioning
Bodybuilding
Sort specific training
Functional training
Plyometrics
Group/ couples training
Rehabilitation

Achievements

Competitive bodybuilding 2000 to 2002 on Junior circuit.
Boksburg Classic 2000 – 2nd place Novice U/75kg
Boksburg Classic 2000 – 1st place Juniors U/23yrs
WPF Provincials 2000 – 2nd place Juniors U/23yrs
Welkom Classic 2001 – 1st place Juniors U/23yrs
WPF Nationals 2001 – 6th place Juniors U/23yrs
Millennium Gold plate 2002 – 1st place Juniors U/23yrs
Millennium Gold plate 2002 – 1st place Senior Light heavy weight U/90kg

Biography

My name is Hennie Pietersen. I am a Personal Fitness Trainer at BodyGuru Meyersdal. I’m originally from the Limpopo province, where I matriculated in 1997.

I played rugby in Primary school and decided to give track and field a try in High School. I wasn’t motivated enough to make anything of it, so I stopped. In the summer of 1995 I met my cousin’s new boyfriend at the time, who was a gym fanatic. I was so fascinated by him that I decided to try it out myself. 1 April 1996 I signed up at this old hardcore gym. I never expected it to make such impact on my life.

I started my first job in telecommunications in April 1998. I was very technical and loved working with from supplying the next-door neighbour with telephone service to the access planning and records of telecommunication towers in rural areas. Later on it wasn’t challenging anymore and I found myself just living life from weekend to weekend.

One of my friends from school who started doing competitive bodybuilding in 1999 convinced me to give it a try. I competed in my first show, the Boksburg Classic in August 2000. I was in the Juniors under 23 years division where I placed 1st and only weighing 74Kg, I also tried the Novice under 75Kg division where I came second. Two weeks later was the provincial championships where I placed second again. Another two weeks after the provincials was the SA championships where I unfortunately didn’t make the top 6.

I again entered the 2001 Boksburg Classic the following year, but was so sick on the day, that I couldn’t compete. I was so upset watching the guys from my division going at it, while I was sitting in the audience. The next day I saw a poster for the Welkom Classic that was to be held 4 weeks later. I just had to enter and prove to myself that I deserved to be on that stage. I weighed in at 83Kg and won my division. I was very happy, but also decided I had enough. After stuffing my face for two weeks, my friend competed in the IFBB provincials and somehow persuaded me to enter the WPF SA championships two weeks later. Back to training hard and dieting I entered the show, but only placed 6th.

End of October 2001, about a month after nationals, my dad passed away. In January 2002 my mom and I decided to move to Gauteng to be closer to the family. I decided upon a career in the fitness industry. I had to wait until June for the courses to start, so I just loafed around and went to gym twice a day. One day I saw a poster for the 2002 Millennium Gold plate show to be held in April and decided to compete for the last time while still being on junior level. I was sure that my dad would’ve wanted me to at least do one more show. I had 6 weeks to prepare. I managed to weigh in at 88Kg and decided to also enter the senior light-heavy weight division. I won the juniors line-up and was so motivated by this that I gave my best performance ever and also ended up winning the senior light-heavy weight division.

I started my Personal Fitness Course in June 2002 and after getting my qualification as a Fitness Professional I started my new career as a personal trainer end of October 2002. I have discovered my passion. I used to be an introvert, but dealing with so many people from different walks of life, I soon opened up. I have trained from kids wanting to either get fit for sport or just losing a bit of excess body weight, to people with disabilities, various sports athletes, to high risk individuals suffering from osteoporosis.

One of my cases that I’m very impressed with, was this thirty something disabled male that suffered brain damage after being in a serious motorcar accident. I used to push him around the gym in his wheelchair and help him onto machines all the time. He has been to rehab before and had another personal trainer to get him to the point where he could stand up for a few seconds and walk very slowly while holding onto you for support. With the help of certain exercises on machines, physio balls and hydrotherapy, he could eventually walk around on his own. He still looks uncomfortable when he walks because of him still slouching a bit.

I’ve been in this industry now for almost 7 years and still enjoying every minute of it.
I would still like to add a few more qualifications, one being sports psychology and maybe also rehabilitation of individuals recovering from accidents or serious injuries. I’m not into being big anymore, just keeping my body fat low and staying in shape. People don’t ask you on the beach, how much you bench press. Lol. I don’t follow a specific diet, just watching what I eat and very seldom have a pizza or fast food. Dieting is very emotional and in order for it to be successful, it needs to become a lifestyle and not just a quick fix.