hoc – house of calisthenics

Raphael is an incredible instructor, as well as a wonderful and patient human being. He helps you reach your goals with a highly personalized plan regardless of your starting point. I was in relatively good shape when I started, but after the first session I realized that while I had upper body strength (weightlifting), I lacked mobility and balance, and had a weaker core than I thought. Within six months, I was doing solid handstands, and within 20 months I could do a press- to-handstand. After 2.5 years, I succeeded in doing my first handstand pushup. I can now do 3 free handstand push-ups, one-leg planche, one-leg front lever, 3 ring and bar muscle-ups, 10 pistol squats and weighted pull-ups with 45kg (I weigh 75Kg). Beyond this, I have highly improved mobility including an ability to do a full bridge, and experienced significant muscle mass gain and moderate weight loss. I have never been stronger, leaner, or more agile, and I am 47 -years old. Learning calisthenics under Raphael’s guidance has invigorated my health and changed how I think about fitness. I can’t recommend him enough.

Raphael is a true expert in calisthenics. I progressed super fast thanks to his advice and posture corrections – the video coaching works marvels and it was easy to adapt all of the exercises to my setup at home.
Very good communication and support as well, a great all around coach.

Rafa is an excellent Personal Trainer. He’s very detailed, and always makes sure technique is perfected, as to ensure the right muscle groups are working, and to avoid injury. I’ve seen amazing results since starting with him a year and a half ago. Highly recommend

Rapha is an amazing calisthenics trainer and a great guy. I have been training with him for a couple of years – he is very systematic and goal oriented, adjusting himself perfectly to my different aims and needs , always with a smile, tons of patience and lots of knowledge. highly recommended! מאמן מעולה, מומלץ בחום

HOC is a game changer. I have been training with Raphael for 3 years. I used to train at the gym and will never go back. With just a few workouts a week, I have seen great results in strength and posture. And this training and mindset got me through Covid, kids and many more challenges that life inevitably throws at us. Highly recommended!

I discovered body weight training when I wanted a holistic and “healthier/playful” type of workout.
Raphael supported me to improve my movements in order to activate the right muscles.
Although I consider myself an office worker, i was able to achieve movements like a muscle up and backlever – with no injuries on the road. Love the Calisthenics and physiology knowledge that Raphael brings to the workouts.

I’ve been training with Raphael in the last 2 years. excellent trainer, very professional, with huge knowledge. the sessions were very fun and challenging and so is the interaction with Raphael. excellent!
אני מתאמן עם רפאל בשנתיים האחרונות. מאמן מעולה, מקצועי ביותר, קפדן, בעל ידע נרחב ביותר. האימונים היו מהנים ביותר וכך גם האינטראקציה עם רפאל. יש גם אופציה להתאמן דרך הפלאפון מה שהיה מאוד מועיל בתקופת בידודי הקורונה והסגרים. מצוין!

I’ve been training with Raphael for a year and half now. He’s a great trainer. He’s got a wealth of knowledge and experience that’s helped me grow in my calisthenics practice and achieve my goals.
He’s always focused on long term effectiveness and sustainability. He’s given me so many microadjustements throughout our time training together to make sure I’m activating the right muscles and not positioning myself wrong to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere.
He has a pretty holistic view of health which works well with my own. I’ve been really happy that I’ve been able to develop my calisthenics skills, build muscle, and get definition too. For me one of my greater fears transferring from a regular yoga to calisthenics routine was that I’d start to get stiff and sore, and start to experience the same back pain I had when I used to train weights. But Raphael’s focus on proper form and execution of every rep has helped me to workout pain free. He’s also added into my routine stretches that have even increased my flexibility in some areas. He’s a great instructor who I highly recommend.

I trained with Raphael during 6 months and it was an amazing experience! I enjoyed each training session with him, thanks to his professionalism, his competence and his smiling and positive attitude! Not only he knew how to push me towards challenging targets but he also took very good care of my small injuries and helped me to achieve results I would have never thought possible to achieve! I managed to lift 65kg dead lift, do a full push up and almost an unsupported handstand…..and I started from scratch! I am super thankful to him and my only regret is that I left the country and won’t be able to have live sessions with him anymore! Highly recommended!

I did one-on-one live video coaching with Raphael for over a year. I had a pretty solid calisthenics background already but I got a huge amount of value from our work together. In general he is very precise and demanding (in a completely friendly and positive way) about form, and with this attention to detail I made steady consistent progress without any injury. I thought I knew what an engaged core was, but it turns out I didn’t until he coached me, and I don’t think I would have figured it out on my own. In our time together I achieved strict slow ring muscle-ups, full back lever, 20 second handstand, 1-leg front lever, and perfect dragon flags, And by the way I’m 57 years old, which makes these achievements more impressive. I always looked forward to our sessions and I highly recommend coaching with Raphael.

I have trained with Rafael to achieve some calisthenics goals like handstand and human flag, and although I’m working out since years already, Rafael showed me new ways of workout that are very effective!
I can only recommend and have nothing but good things to say about the style of teaching and professionalism!

Motivating, fast progresses, nice people and comfortable environment to train in – this is all you get if you have the opportunity to train with Rapha in his calisthenics classes!
Unfortunately, I was only here for 4 months. But it was definitely a good alternative to crossfit!
will definitely go again!

I only had time to catch a few classes, but the experience was excellent! Raphael is a great person & instructor. He makes sure everyone in class is getting the workout he/she needs by fitting the exercises and instructions individually. Compared with a focus on technique and a lot of helpful tipps, great progress and tons of fun are guaranteed with Raphael.

Really really excellent! Rafael is a great coach. I recommend him highly for dedication, attention to detail and a fun attitude.

Raphael was amazing, I did 3 sessions while on vacation, and got more than I hoped for, Raphael was extremely nice and professional, explaining everything in a way I could easily understand, identifying what I need to improve on and subscribing the right exercises for it, and as evidence, I had noticeable progress between the 1st session to the 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd, I will definitely have multiple sessions with Raphael in my yearly vacation in Israel – Dankeshen Raphael! I feel I got so much from our limited time!

Great coach with a lot of knowledge and attention to details. Rephael listens to your needs and adjusts the workout to your level. Always gives good progression advise and ideas. highly recommend him!

Rapha is an incredible couch. Cares about safety and helps with a great eye for detail, achieve what seems like impossible. He puts no pressure and honestly the group session is a non-competitive, friendly environment. Adjusted to everyone with no need for previous experience, though if you do have some Rapha will surely match your skill level to the drill.
And besides, it is just an excellent workout. Discovered through a friend and couldn’t be happier that I did.

I found out about Calisthenics about 3 years ago through YouTube videos, I immediately realized that was exactly the workout I wanted.
I started exercising a few times a week in a park near my house, With guidance from YouTube videos, I managed to reach some gains, especially in pull-ups, but for maybe half a year I tried to get the ability to do a muscle-up, but by no means succeeded. Until I met Raphael , I started training in the group under his guidance, which was great, after about three months I was able to do this hard thing called muscle-up and much more.
Despite his very young age, Raphael is a real expert in his field, he always knows how to give the exact tip that will correct the movement and boost performance and promote ability.
Ever since I started practicing with him, I’ve been coming piously every week, because it’s a shame to miss out even one such high-value sessions.

Highly recommended training experience!! I joined Raphael’s group workouts and also did private sessions with him. I managed to learn new complex movements and improve existing skills,thanks to Rapha’s extensive knowledge. He pays much attention to proper warm up, which is vital if you want to enjoy the benefits of training long term. Train smart and hard. During group sessions, Rapha found each participants personal progression for specific exercises. Entertaining and rewarding, highly recommended!

i didnt know anything about calisthenics before i went to his course and i decided to give it a go! its really recommendable. raphael is a very fun person and an amazing trainer. everyone is working on his own level and you will make progress very fast. and also the workouts are just fun!

Rafael never leaves anyone behind. Everyone is worked with to progress at there own level. The group workouts are both fun and challenging in there unique way. I personally have progressed tremendously in my working with Rafael and he has always been there for any follows ups needed. He is a higly expreinced trainer and coach

Highly recommended! I train around the world and Raphael is the best trainer ever. He is extremely knowledgable and trained me to the point where I achieved beyond my own expectations in a very short space of time. Amazing!

Raph was absolutely awesome!!!! I have trained with calisthenics trainers all over the world and I would have to say that Raph is one of the best I have ever worked with. He breaks down the movements in a very simple way and very quickly gave me direction to allow serious advances in my training. I could not recommend Raph more highly. AAA++++++++++

Excellent coach, with an engaging and fun training program. Highly recommend for anyone who seeks to improve their strength, mobility, and coordination in a fun and pleasant atmosphere. Thanks to Raphael I see significant progress both in terms of strength and unlocking various calisthenics achievements.

Highly recommended!!
I am a Calisthenics newby – first try was in this class. Rafael is a fantastic teacher and creates and develops his classes based on the levels of his students so that everyone is pushed to a level that challenges them & I plan to never stop attending his classes. I strongly recommend Rafael’s group classes or private sessions

I was relatively new to Calisthenics when I started. Raphael has really transformed my body. He is very clear, methodical, alert and creative in the way he is conducts his lessons. I now have the necessary tools to understand,take care of and advance my body

There have been visible and noticeable changes since I started training with Raphael in July. The training has been carefully tailored to my needs and stamina. Raphael regularly surprises me with new exercises, making the training varied and I am really taken aback at everything that I can now do. The training is tailored according to my day-to-day stamina levels. A big plus point is the time and location flexibility as well as Raphael’s expert knowledge about sport, the body and its resilience. With his motivational and friendly manner, he coaxes you into repeating the exercise once more. After an hour of training I am worn out and proud of what I have achieved. In short, training with Raphael can only be recommended. Thanks and see you at the next training session.

We have now been training together for several months and I am really happy with the training. Raphael is not only very competent, reliable and friendly but there are also really noticeable results, especially when it comes to mobility and how fit I feel. This has got to be because there is a clear structure to the training and therefore improvements are easily recognisable, which is of course also great for self-motivation. I would never have thought before that so many positive changes would have been possible and we haven’t even finished yet…! Personal training with Raphael is definitely one of the best decisions that I have made.

Raphael is an excellent trainer, who satisfies his clients’ goals and meets their physical capabilities through individually tailored training plans. What is more, he motivates you and remains focused and flexible.