Demi Bagby is an American bodybuilder, CrossFit athlete, Martial artist and social media influencer from San Diego, California. She has been involved in many different sports and fitness activities since a very young age and has become a shining example of overcoming a crippling injury to become a flag bearer of fitness and peak performance. This article takes a closer look at her inspiring story as well as diet and current workout routine.
Demi Bagby Statistics
| Full Name: Demi Brooke Bagby | ||
| Weight | Height | Age |
| 115 lbs (52 kg) | 4’11” ( 150 cm) | 22 years |
| Date of Birth | Place of Birth | Nationality |
| January 10, 2001 | San Diego, California | American |
Demi Bagby Biography
Early Life
Demi Bagby took her first steps towards a sports and fitness lifestyle as a child. Her brothers played soccer and her father coached the sport. Naturally, she was inclined towards it. However, she expressed interest in competitive cheerleading when in sixth grade. The family respected Demi’s decision by supporting her to go ahead.
Bagby got an admission in the cheerleading gym in spite of having no experience on one condition – she had to learn the necessary skills before their first competition. The San Diego native opted for taking private lessons as well since she did not feel confident with her skills. She trained by herself in the comfort of home.
“I’d take these rectangular cushions from outside by our pool and put them in the living room and start flipping. That’s where I did my first ever backflip,” Demi told in an interview with Men’s Health.
As months went by, Demi got remarkably better and the pace of her progression astonished even the coaches. But something that starts well does not necessarily end well. Bagby suffered a horrendous back injury on the last day of cheerleading practice. As she was descending down during a basket toss, Demi was dropped and the impact immediately broke her back.
It took Demi one full year to recover completely from the injury and the process raised her pain threshold exponentially.
“Unless I die, nothing’s ever going to hurt that much,” She says.
Introduction to CrossFit training and subsequent success
Discovering CrossFit training played a crucial role in Bagby moving on from the injury. She decided to check out a CrossFit gym after a display sign awakened her curiosity. The then 14-year-old was intrigued to see the gym and knew what she wanted to do next.
“I walk in, and it;s a little gym with black mats, pull-up bars and an open floor… And I’m like, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ It just looked so cool. Like, this open space means you do something here.”
Gymnastics and conditioning were Demi Bagby’s favorite aspects of competitive cheerleading. She could do a whole lot of it in CrossFit and do light lifting work as well. Once again, Demi started making rapid progress in CrossFit and competed in the teen competition at CrossFit Open, placing 517th in the US for 14 to 15-year-old girls. She returned the following year and jumped to the 23rd place in the world.
The young prodigy never looked back after finding her way forward. She never stopped learning new things and added ocean surfing, wake surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding to her long list of accomplishments.
Demi Bagby started posting her progress on Instagram and other social media platforms. She soon shot up in fame and started gaining followers at a rapid pace. But more than the means to become famous, Instagram was always the means to track her progress.
“It’s a journal of my skills. I can watch myself surfing and say, ‘I know what feeling I had when I was carving, and this is what it looks like.”
Demi Bagby Workout
Demi Bagby’s Instagram and YouTube channel content give a fair idea about her training philosophy. Fitness is not merely a function of her strive for achieving peak performance level but a motivating factor in all aspects of her life.
She gives her all to fitness and training. Also, Demi Bagby likes to constantly learn new things and not get comfortable with what she is already good at. Her training philosophy revolves around the principle of trying new things and learning through failure as well as success.
“I’ll do something and know that it’s not right or I’ll get hurt and be like, ‘I know what I did. I need to never do that again,’ rather than someone saying, ‘Don’t do that,’” Demi Bagby said in an interview.
Demi’s training routine is a mix of different disciplines like calisthenics, plyometrics, CrossFit as well as combat sports. The workout routine mentioned below isn’t a hundred percent accurate summary. Instead it gives a broad idea about how she trains based on various social media posts on her Instagram and YouTube channel.
Monday- Calisthenics
Calisthenics is nothing but a fancy epithet for body weight exercises. It is a training method where the person relies on his own body weight for resistance to build muscle strength and other attributes necessary for leading a healthy life.
It is an excellent way to work mainly for two reasons – you don’t need to spend on equipment or gym as your body and a little bit of open space is the only real estate required to perform calisthenics workout. Calisthenics is a holistic way of training and helps improve functional strength instead of being focused heavily on the aspects like aesthetics or body composition.
Push-ups, pull-ups or bodyweight squats are some most common examples of bodyweight training. Demi Bagby starts her training week with calisthenics training and does a full body circuit on Monday.
Repeat the circuit three times
Tuesday – Muay Thai
Being a mix of aerobic and anaerobic training, Muay Thai offers great benefits in terms of strength and endurance. The aerobic elements of Muay Thai training like jump rope, battle rope, running and shadow boxing helps improve the cardiovascular strength required for maintaining the optimal function of the human body.
Every Tuesday in Demi Bagby’s training schedule is reserved for this art of eight limbs and she does not cut any corners when it comes to learning this craft. Apart from the health benefits, no one can deny the efficacy of Muay Thai in self defense situations.
The Muay Thai training session typically consists of:
- 2.4 mile Run on the Treadmill or outside
- Jump Rope or Battle Rope – 3 sets of 100 reps
- Shadow Boxing – 3 sets of 25 reps per side
- Pad Work or Sparring – 3 sets, 50 reps
- Bag Work – 3 sets, 1 minute intervals
- Meditation and Stretching
Wednesday – Yoga
For those with a superficial understanding of the practice, Yoga is beneficial improving flexibility, muscle coordination and balance. However, the more experienced individuals will tell you that the most potent benefits of Yoga go above and beyond that. The ancient Yogic practice helps with managing stress, improves mental health and makes positive changes in every aspect of life.
Demi Bagby practices different forms of training like calisthenics, CrossFit and Board Sports to name a few. To maintain focus on each one of those disciplines without mental fatigue setting in, Yoga practice must help her immensely. The Yoga session in Demi Bagby’s routine looks like this:
- Downward Dog – Hold for 10 breaths
- Crescent Lunges – Hold for 5 breaths
- Warrior II – Hold for 5 breaths
- Triangle – Hold for 10 breaths
- Plank Hold – Hold for 10 breaths
- Low Plank – Hold for 5 breaths
- Upward Facing Dog – Hold for 10 breaths
- Tree Pose – Hold for 5 breaths
- Half Pigeon Pose – Hold for 10 breaths on each leg
- Seated Forward Hold – Hold for 5 breaths
Thursday – Surfing
Surfing is a good full body workout in that it engages the shoulder and back, core as well as lower body muscles. Its benefits for the cardiovascular system cannot be denied. Additionally, it is an amazing way to spend time in a natural environment and reduce stress and anxiety.
Demi Bagby enjoys surfing as much as she loves to train in the gym or outdoors. Also, a full body activity like surfing can really put the gains made with body weight and strength training to test and give a person an idea about their level of fitness.
Friday – Calisthenics
Demi Bagby is back to working calisthenics on Friday. She goes through a full body training circuit to improve functional strength and muscle coordination.
- L Sits – Hold for 45 seconds
- Squats – As many reps as possible in 45 seconds
- Push-Ups – As many reps as possible in 45 seconds
- Hanging Leg Raises – As many reps as possible in 45 seconds
- Kettlebell Swings – As many reps as possible in 45 seconds
- Pull ups – As many reps as possible in 45 seconds
Repeat the circuit for 3 rounds
Saturday- Cardio
Demi Bagby’s Saturdays start with a long run along the beach with her dog. On some occasions, she also rides the exercise bike to get the cardio work in.
Sunday- CrossFit Workout
It would not be an overstatement to say that CrossFit gave Demi Bagby’s aspirations a second wind and allowed her to pursue an active lifestyle after the career ending back injury. She goes through an intense CrossFit training session every Sunday which concludes her training week.
- Clapping Ring Push-Ups – 2 sets of 5 reps
- Muscle-ups – 2 sets of 5 reps
- Backflip Wall Balls – 2 sets of 5 reps
- Backflip Burpees – 2 sets of 1 to 5 reps
- Pistol Squats – 2 sets of 5 reps on each leg
- Flag Raises – 2 sets of 5 reps
- One Arm Toes to Bar – 2 sets of 5 reps on each arm
- Bar Rope Climb – 2 times through
Demi Bagby Diet
Hydration is the key to maintaining healthy body function, especially when you are as active as Demi Bagby. The 22-year-old gives utmost importance to staying hydrated and makes sure to drink enough water throughout the day and during her training sessions to fuel performance.
Demi’s diet includes a balanced mix of Complex carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, other micronutrients and most importantly, protein and fiber. Ice cream is her weakness and she can walk miles to have a scoop of her favorite flavor. However, Demi practices immense self control and does not waver from a strict diet plan necessary for maintaining peak physical health.
She follows a simple dietary routine of three meals per day. It consists of simple and nutrient dense whole foods that are not laden with calories.
While chicken, eggs and Salmon are the primary sources of protein in her diet, vegetables, fresh fruits, brown rice and oats serve as healthy sources of fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
A full day of eating in Demi Bagby’s routine looks like this:
Breakfast
- Whole Grain Oats
- Fresh Fruits
- Scrambled Eggs
- Greek Yoghourt
Lunch
- Grilled Chicken
- Brown Rice
- Steamed Vegetables
Dinner
- Grilled Salmon
- Brown Rice
- Steamed Vegetables
To Conclude…
Demi Bagby has overcome life altering injuries at a very young age and that has helped her build an unbreakable mind and body. Still in her early 20s, Demi has a lot of time left to take her fitness career and business endeavors to a whole new level. Her progress in different disciplines of training shows that if you have the drive and a right mindset, nothing can stop you from achieving the highest levels of human capabilities.