“I see training as an opportunity to reach physical attributes we never thought would be possible. A trait that might benefit you well aside from a training world.“
Niklas Kratzer
Master of Science Sports & Exercise Science
Specialized in Human Movement Science
German Fitness Training A- License
Training Philosophy
Generalist – become all around strong, mobile and skillful
My goal is to build physically capable and athletic humans. This leads to the design of programs that are primarily bodyweight-strength-based complemented with smart biomechanical weight training to improve usable joint mobility.
The skill aspect of my philosophy comes from the thought of always having an overarching bodyweight movement goal in mind to work towards. Not only, does this help the psychological part of training consistently (which is arguably the most important tool of any good looking and capable body) – it also serves well to give your training direction and meaning.
From this, following procedure of program design evolves. I analyze the movement goal in terms of the physical attributes needed to accomplish it as well as the motor patterning necessary. The distribution between mere physical preparedness and motor coordination obviously varies between skills. Some can be achieved by “just” building up strength and muscle size, others need more dedicated work to learn the motor patterning. However, in general from my experience – spending a lot of time on developing “physical capacity” will be the most bang for your buck, particularly when starting off (it will also give you the most drastic changes in terms of aesthetics).
Why should you choose exactly me from this unlimited supply of coaches?
These days, there is not an issue of obtaining information – we rather face the challenge of sorting out valuable sources without getting overwhelmed by the flood of information. Because I probably won’t convince you by telling you how deeply investedI am in the theoretical background of human movement, and also the practical application through self-exploration and coaching others – I will try it in a different way.
Regarding physical exercise, social media shows us the peak of the iceberg in terms of physically capable humans. To remotely reach that level, the overwhelming majority of us (including me) has to put in decades of hard work and even then, won’t be guaranteed to “achieve” such skills. This might not sound too motivating, however there is hope – let me explain.
I was a soccer player all my life and had no gymnastics or acrobatic background whatsoever. When I started with bodyweight training, I had a weak upper body and legs that were immobile and mainly trained for endurance. I was also not blessed with a genetic make-up of being super athletic and talented in body awareness.
However, what I had developed was an obsession with movement and the aesthetics of it. My first goal was to learn a handstand push up around 8 years ago. Thus, I changed my study program to pursue a Master of Sports & Exercise Science. I wanted to learn the whole spectrum of human movement, ranging from training science to biomechanics and cognitive aspects of motor control to somehow get an edge on people that were more talented stronger or more mobile.
Fast forward – I studied and trained for years until I finally saw tangible results. I got stronger, moved better and finally was able to do freestanding handstand push-ups. Even though this movement has gotten me into this rabbit hole, I stopped seeing it as the end goal. It was just the door opener into a world of physical training in inconceivable facets. At this time, I knew that I want to be a life-long student and teacher of human movement in practice as well as theory. In retrospective, I am grateful that I was not talented because the effort I had to put in helped me to gain a much deeper understanding of people’s challenges in their training journey.
This leads me to the initially raised question of why or in what case I would be a good fit for you as a coach. If you are interested in achieving a physical appearance that looks aesthetic because your body is capable. If you want someone who has a university degree in sports science and not just anecdotal knowledge. If you start on bodyweight skills in an adult age without superhuman background. If you are looking for exercise cues that are not shown in every social media post to really understand the HOW of the movement. If you want someone that works just as hard in his journey as he demands it from you. If all the “ifs” apply – be sure to contact me!
