Programming for Bodyweight Athletes with REFAEL PAZ

Frinksmovement Podcast

Welcome to the third Frinksmovement podcast. Today i decided to invite my friend Refael who apart from being a very advanced bodyweight athlete and calisthenics coach - is one of the smartest people i know within the community. This podcast was a true learning experience for me, on many different levels. The center of our discussion was programming for bodyweight athletes. We went through all the topics like the importance of programming and periodizing, splitting our training to strength and skill work. We took the example of handstand pushup and planche and discussed different methods and tools to create basic progression plan. When to deload, how to start gymnastics rings training, should we build muscle, train legs and use weights in our training? All these questions were took under the microscope in the podcast. We even touched upon nutrition approach and training motivation/psychology related topics. Take it to the gym, on a walk or just play while doing your house work, and absorb the knowledge Refael shared with us. Below you got our instagrams and the timestamps so you can choose the parts you are interested in. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction - Refael’s training overview, coaching experience 4:42 Should bodyweight athletes care about training programming? The benefits of having a schedule, Crossfit athletes transitioning to calisthenics. 11:13 Lose skill work approach vs Strict strength approach in bodyweight training - handstand/planche. 23:27 Dream machine/Pulley - Valuable tool or not? Bands vs dream machine 33:10 Basics of Periodisation 36:35 Is periodidsation neccesary for bodyweight athletes who don’t compete? Can making things complicated too early can slow down our progress? 44:10 When I can’t progress linearly anymore - planche example 51:56 The importance of psychology in training, how your program influences that 59:20 Should bodyweight athletes build muscle? Should we be more careful? Relative strength discussion, How to choose accesory exercises for bodyweight skills? 1:08:30 Lower body training for bodyweight athletes - will it slow us down? If so why? Thoughts of abandoning leg training to excel at calisthenics, is it wrong? 1:16:00 Programming for handstand pushups - how to increase reps? Eccentrics/High reps/Technique/Military press? 1:24:18 Refael’s take on deloading, how to know if you need a deload? 1:29:55 Weight training for bodyweight athletes, dumbell Maltese press carryover to rings maltese, calisthenics studies, Isolation exercises and functional training rant 1:40:00 How to start rings training? Questions from viewers: 1:46:56 One leg progression - for planche and front lever - valuable tool? 1:50:00 Changing the intensity throughout the set (leaning more in first rep) - how to progress with hybrid sets? 1:56:30 Tuck planche press to increase advanced tuck planche? 2:03:00 Specificity of training - pseudo planche pushups in straddle? 2:06:06 Is there genetic limit in calisthenics? Can every healthy person learn straddle planche? 2:11:20 Iron cross technique - Internal rotation vs Neutral 2:16:45 Minimalistic approach to training/ Low vs high frequency 2:33:00 Refael’s approach to nutrition 2:44:11 How to educate ourselves / what to read to become better bodyweight athletes? 2:47:15 Ending

Refael: https://www.instagram.com/refael.paz/

Frinks (me) https://www.instagram.com/frinksmovement/