From electrician to PhD – a life shaped by fitness

While still a student, he founded the Fitness Institute, an educational platform that he continues to run today. He is also involved in designing and revising educational programmes under the auspices of the Czech Chamber of Fitness and the National Pedagogical Institute.

Jan Caha first fell in love with fitness during his teenage years. “Like the other boys in our village, I played football. But at fifteen I wanted to stand out, be more muscular and impress girls,” he recalls with a smile.

How did you get into bodybuilding in the first place?
I was influenced by sports magazines and by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was very popular at the time. I was also drawn to body aesthetics. For the first few months, I focused on powerlifting, but then I moved fully into bodybuilding – specifically natural bodybuilding, which avoids performance-enhancing drugs. Bodybuilding and fitness have been recognised sports since the 1960s. The difference is that in most sports the body is a tool for performance, while in our case the body itself is the result.

You were very successful in the sport…
My career lasted 17 years. I competed 54 times and won national, European and world titles at amateur level. I also did well on the professional scene. The pinnacle of our sport is the annual Natural Olympia in Las Vegas, where I finished second. Although I no longer compete, I wouldn’t say my career is over. Peak performance in our sport comes around the age of forty, and most athletes return to the stage after a break.

Over the years, you also started coaching fitness athletes. What does preparation for a natural bodybuilding competition look like?
It varies. Some competitions require a year of preparation, others much less. The most common is probably a three-month training cycle. During that time, you try to get the maximum out of your muscle mass and significantly reduce body fat so that the muscles are well defined. This involves legal dietary supplements such as protein products, creatine and others, specific strength training methods and, of course, carefully planned nutrition. Everything changes over time, so no two preparations are the same. In essence, you have to lower energy intake and increase energy expenditure to reach a body fat level that is not physiological.

That doesn’t sound very healthy…
It’s important to stress that fitness supports health. Elite athletes time everything so that they reach peak form for competitions. That state is not fully physiological, but it only lasts a few days. Afterwards, the body returns to a healthy balance, including normal levels of body fat. In the media and on social networks, you mostly see athletes at competition peak, with extremely defined muscles. In reality, they only look like that for a very short time.

You started bodybuilding and fitness at around sixteen. When did you decide to go to university?
I originally trained as an electrician, but I soon realised that this wasn’t what I wanted to do in life. Sport and nutrition interested me much more. There weren’t many options nearby for studying in this field, apart from the Faculty of Sports Studies at Masaryk University. The faculty also had excellent reviews, so I chose the programme Regeneration and Nutrition in Sport. It was the right decision.

Graduates of vocational schools don’t often go on to university. Was it demanding?
I didn’t have ideal conditions, so I had to work harder. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even in secondary school, I read extensively on my own. Fitness is closely linked to physiology and nutrition, so many topics weren’t completely new to me. At the start of my studies, I did have to put more effort into subjects such as anatomy and biochemistry.

On top of that, you were working…
In my first or second year, I started working for companies that produced dietary supplements. I wrote texts for them, took part in online discussions and dealt with legislative issues, for example concerning ingredient composition. Later, I worked in a supplement shop, where we also founded the still well-known Aktin magazine focused on this field. I served as its editor-in-chief.

That was during your bachelor’s studies. You then continued with a master’s degree in physical education teaching. Was teaching your goal?
I was interested in education within fitness. And after graduating, I did spend some time in teaching practice. For three years, I taught physical education at Matyáš Lerch Grammar School. It gave me space to slow down a bit and was great training for developing my teaching and communication skills.

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From selling supplements, you moved into educational entrepreneurship. Was it a dream to teach others how to approach fitness properly?
My sports career certainly played a role. I also wanted to help create modern education in this field. We had some courses at university, but they didn’t fully meet my expectations. I wanted to learn about, and pass on, new trends in strength training, nutrition and related areas. At the time, there weren’t many institutions offering this kind of modern education, so the simplest solution was to start one myself.

You founded the Fitness Institute in 2012. You offer nutrition counselling, training, educational courses, a podcast, your own magazine and even a fitness centre. What does your work look like today?
I’d say I spend two to three days a week lecturing. That obviously requires constant preparation, self-development and keeping up with new information. Our work is a bit unusual in that most of it happens at weekends. We run retraining courses for the ministries of education and health, aimed at nutrition advisors and trainers. We also organise webinars, courses and conferences. Over a single weekend, we might hold three or four events. The year is organised by semesters, so we take longer breaks during the summer and at Christmas.

Despite this workload, you returned to university and defended your PhD in kinanthropology this year. Why did you decide to pursue a doctorate?
I’m genuinely interested in my field, and I felt I was missing an impulse to acquire new knowledge in a more focused way. I also wanted to be more involved in the academic environment and see whether I could conduct actual research and complete this level of education. Many people see a PhD as just an extension of student life, but for me it was a motivation to move forward. I enjoy what I do, and when that’s the case, studying becomes much easier.