Peter Hespel is professor in Exercise Physiology at the KU Leuven and Scientific Director of the Bakala Academy. He has extensive experience in training elite cyclists, a.o. Zdenek Stybar, and providing scientific support to elite athletes in other sports disciplines such as Frederik Van Lierde, the Iron Man Hawaii winner, Bart Swings(speed skating), the Borlée brothers (400m sprint European champions) as well as the successful Belgian national football team, the ‘Red Devils'.
We asked him about the preferred partnership between the Bakala Academy, a world-class athletic performance center, and SEAUTON, a European reference player in the MICE (meetings, incentives, congresses and events) industry.
Before we talk about the partnership with SEAUTON, could you tell us something about the Bakala Academy?
"Bakala Academy is an athletic performance centre linked to the University of Leuven that does scientific research on sports performance optimisation. The output of this research is directly used to enhance the performance of both top athletes and recreational sportsmen. In the case of professional athletes the goal is to explore their performance limits, when it comes to recreational sportsmen it is all about optimising health and fitness by improving sport performances. We learn a lot from the testing and training in top athletes to enhance fitness and performance in recreational athletes. You could compare it to the relation between Formula 1 racing and the regular car industry, where the latter uses test results from the first to make cars safer, more efficient and perform better."
What makes the Bakala Academy so unique?
"The link with the University of Leuven is a guaranty to work research-driven and thus allows us to keep innovating and provide services that are always up to date. For instance, over the past 25 years we have been doing a lot of research on sports nutrition. Optimal nutrition can help an elite runner to improve his performance by the milliseconds needed to win, but it can also help a recreational athlete to use his limited training time more efficiently, say making more progress for similar training volume. The same goes for cyclists. Careful adjustment of the athlete's position on the bike serves to improve performance and prevent injuries. By analogy, optimal bike positioning in recreational cyclists helps to increase comfort while even going faster, and thus enjoy the sport even more."
What does Bakala Academy's partnership with SEAUTON mean for the corporate world?
"Companies and organisations willing to invest in the health and fitness status of their staff can come to us for professional training and advice. If a company wants to take part in the Antwerp 10 miles for instance, we prepare its people by performing careful sports medical screenings, designing high quality training and nutritional programmes, or recommend optimal strategies to improving health and fitness. For smaller groups we organize ‘Bakala experiences'. For a management team including recreational runners, cyclists, or triathletes we offer one-day or multi-day tailor-made programmes which may include combinations of exercise performance testing, nutritional analysis and body composition screening, as well as expert seminars on various aspects of training and nutrition, health and fitness improvement, or coping with exercise in the hear or at altitude. In addition, the surrounding region of ‘Vlaams Brabant' offers fantastic opportunities for exciting running and cycling training sessions. In addition mountaineering managers can use the Bakala Academy ‘Altitude Training Centre' to prepare for mountain challenges."
SEAUTON develops unique BAKALA experiences for smaller groups as well for larger corporate teams. Clients looking for a one-of-a-kind experience at an exclusive location where scientific research and innovation are key, one address: the Bakala Academy.
Please do not hesitate to contact stefaan.decorte@seauton-international.com for more information.
