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Over the last few years, calisthenics has captured my imagination. The ability to manipulate our bodies in space and master our mass at angles of deficit really appeals to my idea of strength. And believe me, that is the point behind Calisthenics – To get stronger. But exactly how does one go about Calisthenics Progression?
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Calisthenics – It’s this crazy thing that you’ve seen people do that shouldn’t seem humanly possible. You’ve probably seen a few cool youtube videos with athletes performing all sorts of amazing feats from freestyling on a pull up bar to balancing single arm handstands. Maybe you’ve even read my article on Calisthenics vs Weight lifting vs Machines, while trying to figure out which style of training is best for you.
You’ve made up your mind. You want in on the calisthenics lifestyle, and you believe you have what it takes!
If only you knew where to start, right?
Well, I was like that too once.
We were goofing around one day after Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class where one of my friends attempted the Crow pose. I think she’d tried it before a few times and this time, she managed to hold it for a few seconds. Not to be out done, I gave it a try and promptly proceeded to fall on my face.
Now at this point, I had been weight lifting for a good many years and I had a decent foundation of strength. I was certainly stronger than my female friend. I thought propping up onto my arms should be easy, I was benching more than my body weight at the time. Yet, despite a few more attempts, I couldn’t do it.
After class, I researched the movement, along with many other Calisthenic exercises like the handstand, front lever and planche.
I was enamoured.
Since then I knew this is what I wanted to do.
Since I started, I haven’t looked back.
It took me a great deal of research and trial and error to figure out the ideal Beginners Calisthenics routine. Today, I’am going to share with you what I have learned.
My name is Jay Parekh and I’m a Peak Performance and Health Specialist. I’ve been working with people for over 13 years, first in the field of Human Resources and then in the space of Coaching, Speaking and helping people break through their physical and mental barriers to become the best versions of themselves. My website runs a blog with the objective of simplifying peak performance strategies including nutrition, sleep, recovery, peak performance psychology, behavior modification, health, and fitness! I also develop online courses while running live workshops and seminars and working one on one & group coaching environments with key clientele.
I’ve personally tried each of these training methods for at least a few years. Different “experts” tout different methods to be the “best”. I’am going to break each down for you to help you get to the bottom of The Best way to train – Calisthenics vs Weight lifting vs Machines!
For most people that decide to first join a gym, their introduction to training usually start with exercise machines. As such, I’am sure most of us are quite familiar with the standard fare like Chest press machine, Pec deck machine, Leg press machine, the Smith Machine, etc. These machines target specific body parts with the option to increase or decrease the resistance via a pulley mechanism. As you get stronger, you increase the resistance by adding more weight to the system.
Read More »Calisthenics vs Weight lifting vs Machines – The Best way to Train?
My name is Jay Parekh and I’m a Peak Performance and Health Specialist. I’ve been working with people for over 13 years, first in the field of Human Resources and then in the space of Coaching, Speaking and helping people break through their physical and mental barriers to become the best versions of themselves. My website runs a blog with the objective of simplifying peak performance strategies including nutrition, sleep, recovery, peak performance psychology, behavior modification, health, and fitness! I also develop online courses while running live workshops and seminars and working one on one & group coaching environments with key clientele.
Misconceptions are rampant in the fitness industry and this topic isn’t any different. Questions like ‘How do I get stronger without lifting weights?’ or ‘How do I get stronger with body weight exercises?’ or ‘How do I get stronger with calisthenics?’ are common. There is a myth that you need to lift heavy shit to get strong while body weight exercises are geared more towards general conditioning, or some rubbish like body toning.
The question is inherently flawed. The right question to ask is:
First and foremost, what is strength? One definition puts it as the maximum capacity of work of an individual. In weight lifting jargon, this is referred to as the weight at which you can do only a single repetition or your 1 rep max.
Resistance training is the method of training used to get stronger, and the resistance could comprise of weight training or body weight training. To be more specific (again in weight training terms), lifting 80 – 90% of your one rep max for lower repetitions has been shown to be more beneficial for strength because of something called myofibril hypertrophy.
High resistance exercises also leads to neuromuscular adaptations ie. the nervous systems becomes more efficient at contracting and recruiting more muscle fibres to perform the exercise.
Read More »How to get stronger without lifting weights
My name is Jay Parekh and I’m a Peak Performance and Health Specialist. I’ve been working with people for over 13 years, first in the field of Human Resources and then in the space of Coaching, Speaking and helping people break through their physical and mental barriers to become the best versions of themselves. My website runs a blog with the objective of simplifying peak performance strategies including nutrition, sleep, recovery, peak performance psychology, behavior modification, health, and fitness! I also develop online courses while running live workshops and seminars and working one on one & group coaching environments with key clientele.
In part one of this two part article series, we introduced the concept of weight loss as a product of lifestyle change in lieu of crash diets and fad diets. We spoke about how to set up your weight loss goals and how to become more aware of your current eating habits and figure out your current baseline diet. Finally we discussed how to clean up your baseline diet to free up caloric currency. If this doesn’t sound familiar to you, then you haven’t read Part one and you should click here to go read it right now.
In Part two, we’re going to figure out exactly how you can customise your baseline diet to help you achieve your weight loss goals like I achieved mine not long ago.
My name is Jay Parekh and I’m a Peak Performance and Health Specialist. I’ve been working with people for over 13 years, first in the field of Human Resources and then in the space of Coaching, Speaking and helping people break through their physical and mental barriers to become the best versions of themselves. My website runs a blog with the objective of simplifying peak performance strategies including nutrition, sleep, recovery, peak performance psychology, behavior modification, health, and fitness! I also develop online courses while running live workshops and seminars and working one on one & group coaching environments with key clientele.
Weight loss may not be easy, but its nowhere beyond the realm of possibility. I struggled to lose the extra 10 kilos I’d been lugging around for most of my teen and adult life despite regularly working out for years until I hit upon the right amalgamation of Nutrition and Exercise to get the job done. Today we will take a closer look at the former.
“Fad diets” or “Crash diets” don’t work. Certainly I’ll admit that there are people who have actually lost weight following some of these diets. I just don’t think that the excessive caloric deficit and restrictive food choices recommended by these diets are sustainable in the long term. So most people who see some success in weight loss following the GM diet or another similar diet usually end up gaining the weight back when they revert to their normal way of eating.
Instead, I feel a gradual shift in our attitudes towards food and change in our eating habits is much more sustainable for lasting results.
Following the method I’am about to explain to you I lost 10 kilograms over the course of 5 months and then kept them off. The proof is in the pudding.
Part One of this two part article is going to focus on gaining awareness about our current food consumption and taking the first few steps towards this attitude shift.
Read More »How to lose weight without a diet – Part OneMy name is Jay Parekh and I’m a Peak Performance and Health Specialist. I’ve been working with people for over 13 years, first in the field of Human Resources and then in the space of Coaching, Speaking and helping people break through their physical and mental barriers to become the best versions of themselves. My website runs a blog with the objective of simplifying peak performance strategies including nutrition, sleep, recovery, peak performance psychology, behavior modification, health, and fitness! I also develop online courses while running live workshops and seminars and working one on one & group coaching environments with key clientele.
There’s no easy way to put this. I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with inversions, particularly the handstand. I’ve only been working on it for a year and half and I’ve gone from having zero skill in handstands to, well, have a look for yourself:-
I am nowhere near the proficiency level I’d like to be at. On the other hand, I am close enough to where I started to remember what it feels like to be a complete newbie (and fall flat on your arse)!
So, I find myself in a position to share some insights that I feel will be uniquely helpful for people just starting out with their own handstand journeys.
Contrary to popular belief the handstand hold is NOT a high level move. In Yoga, the Brazilian Martial Art Capoeira, Gymnastics and Calisthenics, it is considered a basic skill. It does not require a high level of strength or endurance and is within the reach of most people that lead moderately active lives. There are some prerequisites though, so lets get them out of the way first:-
Read More »Handstand Holds – How I learned to handstand at Age 28!
My name is Jay Parekh and I’m a Peak Performance and Health Specialist. I’ve been working with people for over 13 years, first in the field of Human Resources and then in the space of Coaching, Speaking and helping people break through their physical and mental barriers to become the best versions of themselves. My website runs a blog with the objective of simplifying peak performance strategies including nutrition, sleep, recovery, peak performance psychology, behavior modification, health, and fitness! I also develop online courses while running live workshops and seminars and working one on one & group coaching environments with key clientele.