My friend Refael @Refael.paz is a bodyweight strength coach specialising in men over the age of 30. You may have spotted Refael In my video on training planches. Check out Refael’s YouTube channel here.
1) Hey Refael, which archetype(s) do you most resonate with?
I resonate most as The Hero. I wasn’t sure what the archetype was exactly referring to, until I read the quote “If there’s a will, there’s a way”. I will say 2 things:
- I believe everyone is special, everyone has different talents. Someone might be more genetically gifted for strength/power, the other is gifted with the brains to map the best solution, the last is gifted with ruthless consistency. All of them can use their talents to achieve the same goal.
- My job as a business is to find a way for the average man to achieve high level results, and guide him to it. They have to have the spark, the desire to change.
2) You’ve described dips as “the final boss of bodyweight training.” What makes them so challenging, and how do you help clients conquer them?
I believe I was referring to one of the harder progressions of the bodyweight dips which is The Ring Turned Out Dips, where you keep the rings supinated throughout the whole range. That’s a Dip variation that will challenge any top lifter.
What makes it challenging is:
- You have to tuck the elbows in. You can’t flare your elbows out.
- You have to lean forward a lot in order to execute them. Similar to a planche.
I love benchmarks. Conquering high rep benchmarks for bodyweight exercises before you move on to the next progression. For instance, once an athlete is able to do 3×10 Ring Dips with full control and range, we will advance into Ring Turned Out Push Ups 3×10, then I will challenge him with the RTO Dips.
3) You are training advanced calisthenic movements at a higher than average bodyweight. Any tips for staying injury free and maintaining progress?
Afraid of packing on size? You crave it! Let’s be honest, most of us started training to build muscle and get stronger. I know I did. Then the movement complexity and skills caught your attention (for good reasons).
If you train for long enough, you get to understand that:
- Ring gymnasts are absolutely jacked for a reason. The amount of muscle mass accommodates the demands of the tasks (tasks being iron cross, malteses, victorians, planches, etc).
- Being jacked is awesome and useful in itself. I’m currently sitting at 190 lbs at 5’7″, for reference.
4) Do you have a dietary principles that have helped you break through training plateaus?
Absolutely, nutrition is huge. I credit my admiration of high quality food to the size I’ve been fortunate to build with calisthenics. A few tips that are known but still underestimated:
- You need to eat more protein. Yes I know you’ve been prioritising protein… eat more! Especially the stronger and bigger and older you get. There’s really no upper limit and the more you eat, the more you grow. I personally aim for x1.3-1.5 grams of proteins per lbs of Lean Body Mass (body weight minus body fat) for myself and my students.
For example, a 190 lbs athlete with 15% body fat will aim for 210-240 grams of protein a day.
- Whole sources of foods. Single ingredient foods, packed with micronutrients. The quality of calories matters.
- Don’t nerf your rate of progress because you are afraid of losing some definition. Track performance instead. If your lifts go up, relative strength goes up – keep going. That’s the ultimate factor. Not a single digit percent body fat.
5) Minimalism runs through a lot of your content and programming. Does this philosophy extend to your lifestyle/ home?
Less options, less confusion, less guessing – creates more intention, more intensity, more results. Simple!
Check out Refael’s Instagram here.
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