By: Tiffany Dobbyn, Capitol Morning Report

Asms. Flora and Chen, trainer Zamora

The first rule of exercising with Asms. Phillip Chen and Heath Flora: exclude no one. The fitness enthusiasts who frequent The Academy Training & Performance Center located six blocks from the Capitol have created a community of legislators, staff and lobbyists who put politics aside and work out together. “It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican or Democrat,” Chen said. “We’re all here for the same goal.” Chen and Flora often exercise alongside lobbyists Amy Brown with Arc Strategies and Ryan Spencer with Mercury Public Affairs. The group was dubbed #PoliticalMuscle on Twitter and the nickname stuck. “There’s a camaraderie that’s here,” Flora said. “No partisanship, no policy, just an opportunity to hang out,” Chen added. The friendliness wanes though, if someone decides to skip a work out. “We have a group text and if you don’t show up to the gym, you’ll be ridiculed,” Chen explained. “It helps keep each other in check.” Flora says that light-hearted trash talk is sometimes motivation enough to show up. “It’s much better to drag your rear-end out of bed than deal with the wrath that will come after,” Flora chuckled. “It’s a lot less painful.”

Before being elected to the Assembly, Flora participated in bodybuilding competitions and played on a Stanislaus County rugby club. He says his freshman year in office took a toll on his waistline. “The first year I got up here, I put on 26 pounds,” Flora said. He says now he makes smarter food choices during fundraisers and also tries to exercise every day. Chen does the same. He has extensive training in Chinese-style kickboxing and from 1999-2001 he was a member of the US National Wushu Team, which is a form of Chinese martial arts. His forte now is CrossFit. “People say ‘Oh Phil, you’re so disciplined for working out several times a week,’ but it’s actually not discipline. It’s just a lifestyle,” Chen said. “I don’t go to bed without brushing my teeth, so I wouldn’t end the day without a workout.”

Last week at The Academy, trainer Riley Zamora led Chen and Flora in a sweat-inducing, late-morning workout. Zamora prescribed three sets of deadlifts, box jumps and weighted sit-ups. Chen and Flora faced each other for the deadlifts with a resistance band connecting their barbells, which Zamora said forces them to stay in good position during the movement. They laughed with each other at first, realizing they would be looking right into each other’s eyes. “It feels harmonious and lovely,” Chen snickered. “We’re very in tune as one,” Flora joked. Then came the box jumps. Flora landed 11 in 30 seconds while Chen landed 16. Next they hit the floor with 20 pound weights on their chests for the sit-ups, the last exercise of their first set. During the second set, the wisecracks turned into cheering. “Come on, you got this,” Flora yelled. After they finished the third set, Zamora had them race each other at pushing a 75-pound sled across 25 yards of astroturf. Flora won.

Chen and Flora will be back in action tomorrow at a community workout, hosted by Chen and Asm. Mike Gipson, that is set to start at 6 a.m. at Anywhere Fit (808 R Street). The event will be an hour-long CrossFit circuit workout. Chen is also gearing up for a triathlon in Malibu this December and he hopes to achieve his longtime goal of completing the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon next year.

Staying fit is a top priority for Chen and Flora, and it helps build camaraderie among the #PoliticalMuscle group. “Heath always reminds me: friends don’t let friends skip leg day,” Chen said.