Handball: YME Bertels

Name: Yme Bertels
Birthday: 30 April 1996
Current location: Antwerp, Belgium
Club: HC Sasja

I started with handball at age 6 in HC Sasja, Antwerp. It ran in the family: My dad, uncle and aunt all played handball so I grew up with handball. I loved the sport since day one.

What I enjoy the most about the sport is the results you see after all those hours of hard work in the gym and on the field. I like the feeling when you win games and get compliments from fans or other players.

But what excites me most is scoring a decisive goal. When you hear the fans screaming, it pumps you up and motivates you to play even harder. Success for me is when you can see the results after years of hard work. When you can earn a living by doing what you love, you are really successful. But that requires really hard work.

I also like lifting weights, cycling and walks in the park. Cooking a nice meal is also something I enjoy. In a way, it is like handball – you work a lot at the basic and have good ingredients and you put it together to great something that is really good.

Common injuries in handball are bone fractures in fingers, sore shoulder muscles, knee injuries, shoulder injuries and sprained ankles, among others.

Handball is an aggressive contact sport and with explosive movements. Your body has to take many hits, anywhere. You may get hit while you’re jumping in the air and that your landing is poor. That can cause injuries.

The BLACKROLL® APP has a great selection of exercises for a training or warm-up session. Exercises like the plank, leg extensions, dips, crunches, squats or lunges provide a good base for gaining strength.

There are a lot of core exercises in the APP and well-trained trained core is necessary for good stabilization and good body control on the ground as well as in the air. It transfers the strength from your arms and legs into fast movements and also helps with balance and good posture.

Not only power is important in handball, flexibility is also a must. And with BLACKROLL®, you can gain strength whilst training your flexibility.

The BLACKROLL® STANDARD is my absolute favorite, I use it every day. It provides relief for the sore muscles after a good training session. I also like the MINI because you can take it anywhere you want. I use it mostly for my shoulders and pectorals.

The DUOBALL is also a great product! The gap in the middle is so nice. I use it on pain points because you can put just the right amount of pressure on them. I also use the BALL 12. It releases the tension in my lower back, my glutes and outer thighs. These are the areas that frequently develop tight, painful spots and the BALL is just the perfect product to loosen the tight muscles.