You moved to Amsterdam. You’re working long hours, navigating a new city, eating out more than you planned, and your workout routine from home evaporated the moment you landed. This is the most common story we hear at Behind Closed Doors. And it makes complete sense. Starting fresh in a new country is cognitively exhausting — and exercise is usually the first thing to go. Here’s why a private trainer is the most efficient solution for exactly this situation.

The Expat Fitness Problem

Expats in Amsterdam face a specific set of barriers. You don’t know which gym is worth joining. You don’t know the neighbourhood. Your social network is being rebuilt. Your work demands are high during the settling-in period. And Dutch gyms are often crowded, Dutch-language focused, and built for people with an established routine — not someone starting from scratch. The result: most expats either join a gym they never use, or don’t start at all.

5 Reasons Private Training Works Especially Well for Expats

• 
  No language barrier — BCD coaches speak Dutch, English and Italian. Everything is in the language that makes most sense for you.
• 
  Time efficiency — 30-minute sessions built around your schedule. No commute to a far-flung gym. We’re 5 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal.
• 
  Built for busy professionals — the programme adapts around travel, long weeks, and irregular schedules. Miss a session? We adjust — not restart.
• 
  Instant structure — you don’t need to figure out a Dutch gym culture. You walk in, your coach has a plan, you execute it.
• 
  Community within the studio — BCD is a small private studio. You’ll quickly feel like you belong — something that matters a lot when you’re new to a city.

Amsterdam Centrum: Location That Actually Works

Peperstraat 15H is a 5-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal and a 10-minute bike ride from the Jordaan, De Pijp, and most of the city centre. For expats living or working in the centre, this removes the single biggest logistical barrier: getting there. Our sessions run from 07:00 to 21:00, Monday to Sunday — including Saturday until 17:00. Early morning before work, lunchtime, or after a late meeting — the schedule is built around you.

No Long Commitment Required

We know that as an expat, committing to a 12-month contract feels impossible — you don’t know how long you’ll be here. This is why we designed the 3-week trial. €207 for 6 sessions, including an InBody body composition scan, a personal blueprint, and app access. After 3 weeks, you decide. No pressure. Most people continue — but that’s entirely their choice.