Teen builds on fitness to soar
Frantisek Hecko drastically improved his fitness over the last 18 months. • Photos Submitted
By Tom Victoria
Frantisek Hecko is like the eagle tattooed on his forearm — he wants to soar.
The Czech Republic 19-year-old is doing just that with his fitness, developing an impressive physique as seen on his Instagram and TikTok accounts.
"I want to hit my natural potential," said Frantisek, who also goes by Frank.
He works out six days a week up to 2 hours a session.
“I mostly do compound exercises,” Frank said. “In quarantine, I was training on street workouts and doing body weight exercises. I learned some calisthenics exercises during quarantine and now I implement some of them into my exercises in the gym.”
He incorporated ab routine variations and back exercises as well as weighted dips and pull-ups.
Frank has been working out for nearly 18 months. He was spurred to improve his fitness after having been heavy when young before becoming overly lean.
"Before I started lifting, I was skinny," Frank said. "I just wanted some change in my life. After a few months, I knew this was what I wanted to do. It's more of a lifestyle for me."
His physique and strength significantly improved.
Frantisek, who also goes by Frank, incorporates calisthenics into his workouts.
“It started slow,” Frank said. “And then, I was noticing strength gains through exercises like squats, dumbbell presses, deadlifts. For me, strength is not the main thing now. I’m focusing just on aesthetics.”
To make the most out of his exercise, he employs various methods in addition to getting sufficient sleep.
"I'm doing cold showers to help regeneration when I feel I need to," Frank said. "I do mobility routines and foam rolling. I also take supplements that help by body recover better, such as vitamins, amino acids and creatine."
Initially drawing upon advice from a friend, he eventually created his own workout program.
"I never had a fitness coach," Frank said. "I learned a lot about it."
He cited the benefits of working out, including feeling healthier and building confidence.
Frank significantly increased his strength and enhanced his physique through hard work.
“Confidence improved almost every area in my life,” Frank said. “I think the biggest problem of young people nowadays, especially boys, is the lack of confidence. Working out could be a great option to improve it. Confidence improved my relationships with family and people around me. I started setting bigger goals and now I know I’m going to smash them. If you have confidence, you are going to want more from your life and you know you are going to achieve it.”
He added there are other advantages to fitness such as improving mental health.
"For some people, it's even like therapy," Frank said.
He also cited increased strength and personal growth resulting from fitness.
"You have to be responsible to do fitness at some level," Frank said. "It's a lifestyle."
He plans to teach others fitness.
“I’m planning to get a coaching license and start online coaching and coaching in the gym as well,” Frank said. “In the future, I would like to start my own brand with fitness clothes or supplements.”
He also is preparing for the future of world commerce.
"I'm already investing into crypto, but also in individual stocks and index funds," Frank said. "I even have some nice profits on my investments. I'm learning a lot about it now."
He advised those starting to work out about maintaining the focus on self-improvement, not worrying about what others look like.
“Everybody has different bodies,” Frank said. “It’s not a fair comparison.”
His tattoo also depicts a compass with an arrow.
“The whole meaning is to not waste my life on things that I don’t love or they’re not important to me,” Frank said. “The arrow means a strong direction and the compass reminds me who I am and who I want to become. I don’t want to end up average.”
Akin to the soaring eagle on his arm, he already is soaring above the crowd with only higher altitudes to ascend.
The link to Frank's Instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/aesthetics_fh/
Frank’s TikTok page features even more videos.