TRX TRAINING
The TRX is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment you can find anywhere! It's adapted from Gymnastics rings. Although you don't have to do the Iron Cross on them! The beauty of it is that you can adjust the difficulty of the exercises simply by moving your feet. Doing so will change the angle of your body and therefore change the resistance or percentage of your bodyweight you're lifting.
The TRX has two mounting options. One can be in a doorway and the other can be around a bar of some type. This could be a tree branch, a chinup bar, monkey bars at the local playground, or anything else similar. Best of all, it weighs almost nothing and fits into a little bag that can easily be thrown into your suitcase when traveling. So as long as you've got a door, you've got a gym!
Before getting to the actual exercises, there are a few considerations to go over. First, higher reps are generally done on the TRX. It's excellent for strength but also for endurance. Second, your core is extremely important in all the movements. Unlike some exercises where your torso is inert just sitting on a bench or machine, your core in the TRX is what's holding you up and aligning your body. The very nature of the TRX makes every exercise a whole body movement. Don't intentionally tense your core. Just focus on it. There's a big difference. Third, don't ever let the straps go slack. There must always be tension on the straps. If there isn't, then that means there's no tension on your muscles either.
So onto the exercises! Rather than give you an endless list of exercises, I'm going to give you some exercise categories with just a couple of examples. And from there, you've got tons of variations. Far more than I could possibly cover here. So here are the categories and exercises that go with them.
1. UPPER BODY PUSH
- Pushups
- Tricep Extensions
2. UPPER BODY PULL
- Rowing
- Bicep Curls
- Lateral Raise / Crucifix
3. SQUAT
- Regular Squats
- Lean Back Squats
- Jump Squats
4. LUNGE
- Lunge with Knee Raise
- Side Lunge
5. CORE CONTRACTION
- Mountain Climber
- Pike Crunch
6. CORE STABILITY
- Plank
- Side Plank
7. METABOLIC / CARDIO
- Speed Skaters
- Side to Side Jump Squats
So when doing a TRX workout, choose one or maybe two exercises from each of these categories. You can do them either as straight sets, supersets, or a circuit. It's absolutely fantastic for both a strength and endurance workout, you learn fantastic body control working all those auxiliary muscles that are often missed with machines, and it's a lot of fun!
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