Meet Your Coaches: Say Hello to Bérenger

Say Hello to Coach Bérenger! The newest addition to our coaching team, and our token Frenchman. Bérenger, also known as B, has been an incredible asset to our CFTH Community. His knowledge around sports science, ability to see and correct barbell movements, and dedication to our community is evident. He is shy at first, but over the last year we have seen him come out of his shell, and has become quite the talker!

Bérenger is dedicated to his own training, as well as the progress and improvement of all of the members of the CFTH Community. He is flexible and open minded, and is always coming up with new ways to improve things or make them run more efficiently. We are very fortunate to have him on our team!

He often looks scary, especially with headphones in while training, but it’s only for focus and time management, he is actually quite nice for a French guy. Bérenger describes himself in a few ways:

• French
• Not as old as he looks
• Record holder of the squat snatch lift at CFTH since April 19, 2023 with a lift of 115kg
• 185cm tall, over 90kg in off season
• Loves eating, but struggles to gain weight

Read on to find out more about Bérenger including his solid advice for anyone starting out, what he loved about the Invitational (hint, it involves beating Rico), and the interesting art he studied at University.

Certifications:

• Master of Science in Training and optimization of sports performance
• University degree in Strength and physical conditioning
• CrossFit Level 1

Hometown:
Sens, in the south of Paris, in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of France.
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How did you get into CrossFit and how long have you been doing it?
Been training since I was in high school, different types including bodyweight, weight training, weightlifting. After coming to Vietnam and in the middle of covid, I contacted Rico to start training at the box, and maybe eventually finished by finding the missing piece to my training that was CrossFit. It’s now more than a year and a half properly in the CrossFit world!

Do you remember your first ever CrossFit workout? What were your thoughts after?
Yeah in part, how can you forget a first session with Katie as a coach?! But not entirely though, was something with running and HSPU. Remember struggling with my kipping on HSPU and being quite frustrated, but that was a first for me as I was used to do it strict. I understood how much new stuff I’ll had to learn as well.

When and why did you decide to become a coach?
Loved sport since a very young age, and studied it eventually leading to Strength and Conditioning coaching work. After that, it was all natural to start in CrossFit coaching as it’s very similar to what I learned and had been trained for. One of the main reasons is probably to help people progress, solving problems and show them that they are capable of much more than they think.
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What do you like about coaching?
Said it before, but it’s all about sharing experience and knowledge so that people can progress towards their goals. And also inspiring people like many people inspired me all the time.

What advice do you have for people just getting started with CrossFit?
Don’t rush, step by step, it’s not about mastering every skill and workout tomorrow, it’s a long journey of training. Whatever your goals are, it’s always about being able to keep training, improve your health (if you’re not in a professional competition aspect) and staying injury free. So don’t skip a step, and even move back if necessary, you’ll always go further after if you’re patient.

What is your favorite CrossFit Tay Ho moment?
Hard to choose, so many great memories here!! I would say the invitational of 2022 last year, first CrossFit competition with great teammates, incredible atmosphere and in bonus beating Rico’s team to finish on the first step of the podium!
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What is a fun fact that would surprise us about you?
Don’t know why, had a passion for Diabolo (the circus art) when I was younger and end up being quite good at it. Turned out during one semester in university, I studied Circus art and I was more skillful at it than the teacher so I taught him some tricks.

The Official Bio

Bérenger is a food lover, training addict and has a passion for simple things. He is a Strength and Conditioning coach doing multiple tasks such as CrossFit, personal training, and golf fitness. A pure look alike french product, he has discovered living abroad almost 4 years ago and decided that he would probably never go back to work in France. He’s sharing his passion for sport and movement, helping others through his experience and knowledge, both as a coach and an athlete. In the box most of the time, he can also be found on his bike riding around the city or working somewhere in a coffee shop. Even though he’s quite busy, he will always be up for a talk. As a good french, he enjoys cooking and his skills are pretty good according to his friends.