Our Heart & Soul of Precor series highlights the incredible, inspiring people who work at Precor. These articles focus on employees who embody the Precor creed both inside and outside of the workplace. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the people who make our company so unique!

Next in our series we would like to introduce Yuichi Haze who joined the Precor service department in Japan last year. Like many Precor employees, Yuichi enjoys outdoor sports as an extension to his day-to-day job at Precor.

What is your fitness story?

Even when I was a student, I had never tried to do any kind of sports, or had exercised for fun. After going into the real world, I usually worked until late at night on weekdays, and usually spent my weekends at home and never got outside.

However, I found I disliked that kind of lifestyle, so I took the plunge and purchased my first road bike. I was so happy to get it, and went to Mount Rokko to ride, but it was very steep, so I had to walk down the bike instead.

Soon I made friends from riding my new bike, and started getting more involved in cycling. I even rode along the Yodogawa River. When I realized how much I enjoyed biking, I started riding 100 km every weekend. I did not have much confidence at first, but I decided to face my fears and entered the endurance race at Suzuka Circuit, and Okayama International Road Race with my team members.

I have never felt accomplished after doing something my life, so this experience really opened up a new door. I felt excited, and more motivated to do more new things in and out of work. Rather than the sports that involve competing with others to win, I prefer to get involved with people and exercise in nature. This has led to me finding a mountaineering club.

This was very different from anything else I had done on my bike. The first mountain that I climbed was considered a very easy one; although I soon got short of breath and my legs started to feel sore, my group members were very kind and supported me.

I have been going to the mountains to ride since the spring of 2017, and have enjoyed a day trip in the Kansai area. In the summer of that year, I went to Tsubakuro-dake (2763m) in Nagano. I hiked 17 mountains in 2017, and 40 mountains in 2018. Now my weekend habits have completely changed and I would rather be out in the woods on weekends than spending them at home.

How do you find balance working at Precor while still making time for your passions?

It has been a year since I started working for Precor at Amer Sports Japan. I try to have work-life balance, working really hard on weekdays, and playing hard on the weekends. At first I would bring my work phone to the mountains because I did not want it to get lost, but usually in the woods there isn’t much service, and no way for people to reach me. Now I choose to leave it at home. I try to leave work at work because it can get done tomorrow, next week, or next month, and this allows me to be able to enjoy my weekends as much as I can.

Also I try to care about my health as much as I can. According to how I’m feeling, I choose the level of the mountains I want to climb over the weekend, and am recovered by the start of Monday so that I can work effectively.

What is your training routine?

I always pack my towels and change of clothes in my bag, and I go to the gym after work. I like training with the pull-down strength machine and smith machine. As I get busy at work, it gets harder for me to go to gym, but once I start training, I feel very refreshed so I like going there.

I sometimes have a training session with a personal trainer, and am interested in circuit training, studio classes, and group cycling. I am always looking for the kind of the training that suits me best.

Do you have any specific goals (long or short term) for your hobby?

I have not had a chance to try, but I would one day like to traverse Mt. Rokko (50km). In order to train for this I would walk for 15 km a day, so I would train myself first to get more strength.

What achievement are you most proud of so far?

It has been 2 years since I started mountain climbing, but I have gone to Mount Ishizuchi. Mount Ishizuchi is located in the west of Japan, with a height of 1982 meters. It is one of the highest mountains in the west area. Before going to the peak, I had to climb two spots with the chain hand-rails (65M and 68M) and I was nervous, but my friend talked to me while I was on the spot and got me through it. The view I actually saw that day was very different from the pictures on the Internet.

What is your favorite line of the Precor Creed and why?

“I desire a life without limits”.

I was alone before starting outdoor sports. I had no hope, and every time I thought of my future, I felt stuck. I was not living in my life.

However, I choose how I live my life, so I took action. With the activities on my bike and mountain climbing, I found what the happiness is and started believing in myself again. My life has just begun.