1) Who is Johanni Taljaard? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I am 35 years old and I come from Stellenbosch, South Africa, born and bred. I am a competitive weightlifter, one of the top in my country and I work as a biokineticist from my home in Stellenbosch. Biokineticists are human- movement specialists who prescribe exercise routines either as a preventative health measure or to correct a health problem such as a sports injury or recovery from disease, operation or illness. I have turned my garage into a gym where I work and train from. Currently there isn’t much time for hobbies, as being a competitive athlete and working at the same time is a lot to juggle as is. My hobbies are reduced to watching series and movies. This gives me time to recover and be off my feet.
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I started doing artistic gymnastics when I was 3 years old. When I was 14 I injured my neck and went over to doing rhythmic gymnastics for the rest of my high school years. I took up artistic gymnastics again when I was studying at university. After university I didn’t do any sport. For about 4 years I was only playing around in the gym. I was desperately trying to find a sport that interests me, but not knowing what sport to do next, I tried to start gymnastics again in 2012. Six months in, I tore my medial meniscus, anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in my right knee. In July 2013 I found CrossFit when the gym I was working at opened a CrossFit section. CrossFit was a perfect way to feed my competitive nature and finally I found a sport where my gymnastics background could be used. I did my first CrossFit regionals within less than a year and did competitive CrossFit until June 2018. I’ve always been interested in the more technical movements in CrossFit like the weightlifting and gymnastics movements. In 2017 I started competing in weightlifting on the side. Soon the weightlifting took off and I qualified for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. It was there that my heart and dreams changed, and I decided to leave CrossFit and go into weightlifting to pursue the Olympic dream.
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
In 2016 I was at my peak with CrossFit. I was really fit. I won some big CrossFit events in South Africa and I placed 1st in South Africa in the CrossFit Open that year and top 10 in my region to qualify for the Meridian Regionals as an individual athlete. However, my knee that I injured in gymnastics started to really flare up. It got so bad that even cycling was hurting it. I went for an MRI scan which showed that the cartilage behind my kneecap was worn out and that I picked up bone bruising behind my kneecap which caused the pain. The doctor told me to stop doing sport and completely rest the knee for 4 months in order for the bone bruising to heal. I decided to finish the 2016 regionals first and then took my 4 months break after that. After those 4 months the muscles in my right leg were completely waisted away and I couldn’t even do a body weight squat without pain or pulling skew. At that point I heard about a brilliant strength coach, Petar Kartev, who lives in Fishhoek which is about an hour’s drive away from me. I started seeing Petar in November 2016 to help me get strong again and back to competitive CrossFit. Petar is originally from Bulgaria where weightlifting is a very big sport. Petar immediately recognized my talent for weightlifting. Although he was getting me strong for CrossFit and helping me with my weightlifting technique, he kept on urging me to go over into the sport of weightlifting. The 2017 CrossFit open came and since my fitness levels weren’t quite on track after my injury, I just missed out on qualifying for Regionals. I literally missed out with one point. I was extremely disappointed about this, but I used this opportunity to give weightlifting a proper go.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
A typical training session for me takes 2 hours. I train once to twice a day depending on my energy levels and working hours, 5-6 times a week. My ideal will be to train twice every day, but because weightlifting is a minority sport in South Africa, we receive no funding whatsoever from the federation or government so I still have to work to make ends meet, which influences my recovery and training schedule.
I believe in following a balanced diet with all food groups included. My calorie intake depends on which part of my competition/training cycle I am in. I try and train 2 kilograms above my competition bodyweight. So usually after a competition, I will eat a bit more (higher calorie intake) until I am at my training weight. From there I will sustain my weight and eat enough to sustain my energy for training. I prefer getting my calories from real and healthy food. I keep junk food to a minimum and stick to supplements only during/after training. Leading up to a competition I eat as clean as possible and cut on my calories slightly to get to competition weight.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition? (And How has it changed your focus for the future).
I have learned that different things work for different people. Different training techniques, different lifting techniques, diets, mental strategies, recovery methods, etc. I have learned that I must do what works for me. People will always try and influence you from the outside, but at the end of the day, only yourself and your coach has a say over what you do and how you do it. I am unique and that is awesome!
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
I will not live without whey protein. Whey protein is absorbed very quickly which is ideal for recovery after training when the blood flow to the digestion system is still limited. I can not eat a big meal straight after training, so I usually drink a smoothie with whey protein for recovery straight after training.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
If I had the opportunity I would’ve loved to start weightlifting from a young age. It’s such a brilliant sport for developing strength, speed, explosiveness, muscle coordination, balance, mobility, body awareness, discipline and more. Having said that, I believe that we all have our different journeys for a reason. It makes us who we are. So actually, I wouldn’t change anything. Even setbacks shape us, so I will take my life as it is.
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
I do not look up to one person specifically. People that achieves success but still stay humble and kindhearted inspire me the most. To be a good athlete and a good, kind-hearted person at the same time is what inspires me.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
You be you. We all have different strengths and abilities, and everyone must start somewhere. Try to become the best version of yourself. Let others inspire you, but don’t try and be like them. Be you and become the best you. Don’t forget to reward yourself along the way with every small achievement. Sometimes we are so focused on the end goal that we don’t see how far we have come and forget to reward ourselves for the progress we have made.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
My main goal is to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
People can find me on Instagram, johanni_taljaard_weightlifter, or on my facebook page, Johanni Taljaard.
