published
Functional FitnessEuropean and world champion – Jan Matiaska (28) is the fittest Swiss
Jan Matiaska trains around 20 to 25 hours a week.
20min
That’s what it’s regarding
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Jan Matiaska has been training semi-professionally in the functional fitness area since 2018.
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In 2022 he was rewarded for this: he became world and European champion in functional fitness at the same time.
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In Switzerland, Matiaska is currently one of the few athletes who can practice this sport professionally.
Jan Matiaska is world and European champion in functional fitness. Born in Aargau, he has been practicing the sport on a semi-professional basis since 2018. “I came to the sport because my physiotherapist at the time worked in a CrossFit studio.” There he saw athletes doing exercises that he mightn’t do. “I have always considered myself to be very fit and flexible. So that got me excited.”
Before starting Crossfit in 2018, he played American football with the Zurich Renegades and made it into the Swiss national team. “When I started functional training, I quickly realized that I really liked the sport,” says the 28-year-old. At his first national competition in 2018, he immediately achieved 40th place. Last year, however, he achieved his greatest success to date: winning the European and world champion titles in functional fitness. “It was an incredible feeling,” said the athlete. “I will always remember this moment and one day I will tell my children regarding it.”
He got into sports because his former physiotherapist worked in a CrossFit studio.
20min/Celia Nogler
In functional fitness, athletes complete six different tests: endurance, strength, bodyweight, skill, mixed and power.
20min/Celia Nogler
“I believe in the future of the association”
But what is functional fitness anyway? During a competition, athletes complete various tests. They show top performances in the disciplines of endurance, strength, endurance, flexibility, agility, speed, dexterity, balance, coordination and accuracy. In each test, athletes measure themselves similar to CrossFit in various exercises that are performed for time, repetitions or weight. In the “Mixed” category, the athletes have to do around 200 double rope jumps, 150 squats and 75 shoulder presses. The “Skill” category is regarding holding out as long as possible in a handstand, parallel bar sit (L-Sit) or one-legged squats.
The difference between crossfit and functional fitness is marginal. According to Matiaska, functional fitness is organized differently, with an international association and national associations that send athletes to the competitions. “I consciously chose functional fitness because I believe in the future of the association.” He expects that functional fitness will also be recognized by Swiss Olympic in the future and that the athletes will be supported by the state.
He is currently financing himself through sponsorship contracts and a part-time job in marketing. “In Switzerland, however, I am one of the few athletes who can practice the sport more or less professionally.”
