California Calisthenics
(click on the picture below to visit www.californiacalisthenics.com)
The week after I graduated from Davis, my personal health hit rock bottom. I had always had stomach problems growing up and was softly diagnosed with crones disease. It hit me in episodes where I would spend a couple days in the bathroom roughly five to six times a year. That week I had my worst episode yet, In a matter of four days, I lost 12 pounds and was rushed to the hospital. Once I recovered, I knew it was time for a change. I needed to take control of my stomach problems and find a way to get healthy. My solution was simple, get back in shape and overhall my diet.
This is where Abe (shown below on the right) comes in. After spending that entire week of rock bottom with me and seeing how I was ready for a change, he made it his personal goal to get me back into shape.
This is where Abe (shown below on the right) comes in. After spending that entire week of rock bottom with me and seeing how I was ready for a change, he made it his personal goal to get me back into shape.
This picture is of me and abe a couple weeks after
I hit rock bottom. July 4th 2012 |
Abe was a recent grad as well, and with neither of us having access to the college gym anymore, he had moved into working out through calisthenics. Calisthenics are exercises that use only your own body weight. I had always enjoyed the idea of using my natural body weight to get fit; in fact, I considered myself somewhat of a pull up specialist. Even though, I always worked out in a gym, I never really liked the idea of a it - cooped up in a room that reeks of B.O. with everyone constantly staring at you.
Abe pushed me to go out to the local park every day and exercise with him. It started as simple as pull ups, push ups, and dips using whatever the park offerred us. I fell in love with the idea, it was free and it allowed me to spend time outdoors. Supplementing my workout, was a very strict diet. In order to control my stomach, I learned what to eat and what to stay away from. The foods I ate became very simple - fruits, veggies, and lean meats. Everything I ate came from the earth, no foods with preservatives. My twin brother, who is a practicing med student, turned me on to the idea of a food glycemic index. I then further tailored my diet following this scale of healthy foods. For further information on our nutritional diet, visit our webpage above and click on the nutrition page. After some time, we started to have people come talk to us as we worked out. They asked us if we followed a specific routine. Before we knew it, we had a group of people showing up to workout with us. As the interest grew, so did the idea of starting a webpage. Our website highlights our specific program for calisthenics with detailed "how to's" for every exercise. It also contains videos, our nutritional plan, and a blog. It is getting healthy and fit through your own natural body weight and the beautiful outdoors. |
This picture was taken February 17, 2013, over seven months later without lifting a single weight in the gym.